A Stylish Paper Doll July: A Little Rainbow Weather Theme

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Like yesterday’s paper doll, today’s paper doll was inspired by some doodles I did of different “themes” for dolls. Once I started really thinking about this project as a project lasting 31 days (oh my) I thought to myself- Self, you need some dolls.

So, I came up with a few themes I liked- strawberries (originally cherries, but strawberries seemed more fun once I started drawing), rainbows and clouds, florals and geometrics. I managed to carve out some time over the weekend to get all of them done and ready, except the geometric one. That one is still in progress.

Today is weather themed and tomorrow will be flowers.

As always, I find it much easier when I batch my work. I tend to work on several things at once.

Regency-Core: A 2022 Fashion Trend

A printable paper doll coloring page with an eight piece mix and match wardrobe of regencycore inspired clothing with trousers, two dresses, shoes and purses.
A printable paper doll with an eight piece mix and match wardrobe of regencycore inspired clothing with trousers, two dresses, shoes and purses.

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Today’s printable paper doll is all about regencycore. Which does lead to the next logical question… So, what is Regencycore?

Well, it’s sort of a hyper feminine style inspired by the Regency. Not the actual regency (I doubt we’ll see a neck-ruff revival), but the ideas people have of the Regency thanks to shows like Bridgerton. I’m a big Bridgerton fan and I was struck at how much I started noticing this trend in my fashion magazines and my online puttering around.

There’s a nice article about Regency-core from Women’s Wear Daily I think I highlighted this in a newsletter a few weeks back. This was my major inspiration as I designed this particular printable paper doll set. I wanted soft pastels, raised waists and lots of puffy sleeves. I also didn’t want to do a paper doll set of nothing, but basic babydoll dresses (there’s just one) and nothing else. That felt boring and not really modernizing regency. As for the puffy sleeves, I tried to get in as many variations on that shape as possible.

Along with the dresses, there’s a pair of high-waisted pleated front trousers (a trend that is returning which I am not so keen on) and I cropped most of these tops to match. I do like the fact that modern cropped tops are being paired with high-waisted pants. It’s a much better look than the hip-huggers of the 1990s.

The paper doll’s hair is based on the hair cut of Daphne from the Bridgerton tv-show. Normally when I see bangs in historical dramas I wince, because straight bangs were really not a thing in the 19th century for ladies. There were like curled ringlet sort of bangs in the Regency (see examples here), but not the bangs the paper doll or Daphne rocks. However, as mentioned, Bridgerton is a fantasy, so I am willing to embrace the bangs.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with how this turned out.

Meanwhile, I want to let my Patrons know there will be patron exclusive content on Friday! So, look forward to that- Vivian is getting another outfit in her steampunk trousseau.

A Whimsical Winter Paper Doll to Print

A winter themed paper doll with nine mix and match clothing pieces including coats, jeans, sweaters, and hats.
A winter themed paper doll clothing page with nine mix and match clothing pieces.

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In my world, it is still way below zero and the snow is still deep. People tell me spring will come, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I’m antsy and super tired of winter. Up here, some people call this feeling the “heebie-jeebies” – that antsy icky anxiety that comes from wanting winter to end. This time of the year time seems to blur together. There’s not enough day light yet and there’s not enough changes in the weather. You start wonder- will Winter ever end?

Different people deal in different ways. I deal by being deeply and intensely attracted to all things cheerful and whimsical. I want hats that look like pandas and pink shoes. So, I designed this paper doll set to capture the whimsy of winter- the things I seem to crave as the dark and cold feels like it will never end.

Other coping strategies this time of the year for me include covering my planner in flower stickers and sticking unicorn washi tape all over my journal . What do you do to deal with long winters? Or do you live in a place where spring is already on the way? I’m only a little jealous.

By the way, I have restarted my newsletter for 2022 quietly. If you haven’t signed up, you can do that here- Newsletter Sign Up. It usually goes out about every two weeks and there’s a paper doll coloring page in every issue.

If you’d like to support PTP in a more direct way (plus get extra paper dolls very month and access to a backlog of wonderful things as well) you can sign up to be a patron on Patreon. It was a slow start to 2022, so you haven’t missed anything new there.

In the Tropics with Pearl

A printable paper doll  coloring page with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe of tropical patterned fashion pieces to print.
A printable paper doll with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe of tropical patterned fashion pieces to print.

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Tropical patterns seem to be here and they don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. I actually had a lot of fun expanding my Jewels and Gemstones 1.0 version mini-dresses with some more pieces to fill out a tropical pattern fun wardrobe. I also had more fun than I should maybe admit designing Pearl’s swimsuit.

When people ask me my “favorite thing” to draw, I’m always a little stumped. I tend to be most proud of my historical work (hence why the Historical Gallery exists), but when I see these complicated patterns and I think about how much fun they are, I confess that they do have a special place in my heart.

The leaves might be changing and there might be termination dust (an Alaskan term for the fresh snow on the mountain tops that indicates that winter is coming) on the mountains, but I can still bask in the tropical warmth of these paper doll patterns.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

By the way, want a new paper doll coloring page in your inbox? Subscribe to my Very Occasional Newsletter!

Want access to more paper dolls every month and support the blog? Join us on Patreon!

A Valentine’s Day Paper Doll For 2021

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Valentine’s Day is a holiday I always try to make a paper doll for, because of my grandmother who often sent Valentine’s Day cards with paper dolls in them to me and my sister. This paper doll has a small colorful mix and match wardrobe with some retro dresses and slip on shoes. Don’t forget to cut between the dolls shoulders and her hair, so the tabs fit better.

Want to know more about my paper dolls & get another Valentine’s Day doll? Subscribe to my Newsletter!

Want to support the blog and access to more paper doll every month? Join us on Patreon!

A Pair of Halloween Paper Dolls! One Bee & One Fairy

I’m not super into scary Halloween stuff. I like the occasional well written ghost story and will watch horror movies if my best friend watches them first, provides me a summary, and warns me if I can handle it. Then I watch them at noon with the lights on and quickly watch something like the Great British Baking Show afterwards to keep myself from feeling to scared.

Yes, I am pathetic in this regard.

A pair of Halloween paper dolls on this fun coloring page! Super cute bumble bee costume and a fairy for these fun printable paper dolls.

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So, to do with the Ghost and Frankenstein’s monster of last week I wanted to end October with another set of Halloween inspired paper dolls. Sometimes, when I draw Halloween paper dolls they are clearly a person with costumes and other times they are meant to be the actual creatures.

This set I think falls somewhere in the middle. Ruby could be fairy or she could be a person in a wig with an ear prosthetic. Sapphire is probably not a bee (clearly), but she could be somehow. I’ll need to think more on that one. I paid the bee with the fair, because I knew I could draw one set of wings for them to share.

A pair of Halloween paper dolls! A bumble bee costume and a fairy costume for these fun printable paper dolls.

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For this set, I stuck with a pretty narrow color scheme, as I wanted the wings and other pieces to be somewhat interchangeable between the two dolls. I’ve always felt like paper dolls are best when they have more options.

I hope everyone has an amazing Halloween, but, most of all a safe one.

If you want even more paper dolls with costumes, I just finished doing a bunch of Masquerade dresses for my 5 dollar patrons. Join us over on Patreon to see those and get more paper dolls each week.

1890s Paper Doll to Print with Lapis

My favorite thing about the decade of the 1890s is that short period in the middle of the decade when sleeves become truly absurdly huge. I mean, like sleeves the size of your head. It’s utterly charming and impractical and I love it. So, if I am going to draw an 1890s fashion paper doll, she is going to be the middle of the era.

By the 1890s, there’s a bunch of fashion magazines being published by home sewing pattern companies. The sewing machine has made this a super lucrative field. So, most of these pieces come from the Delineator Magazine which was published by the Butterick Company. One of the reasons I like the Delineator is that their fashion plates were all available for sale as patterns. So they aren’t a dress someone imagines, but one you know people could have actually made.

A printable paper doll coloring page celebrating the 19890s with two historical outfits, shoes, underwear and hats. Super great way to show fashion history to kids.

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The 1890s underwear is a combination with a corset over it. Combinations were a “combination” of pantaloons and a chemise. They went under corsets while on top of them a woman might wear a corset cover and slip or a slip that combined those two garments. V&A has a nice photo.

Lapis, our 1890s fashion paper doll, has two outfits. The first is an At Home Costume based on an illustration from 1896. You can see it on this page of the Delineator. In the 1800s, there’s also a lot of interesting things going on with women’s sporting clothing. Bicycles were super popular in the 1890s thanks to the new “safety bicycle”. There’s many different styles of women’s bicycle clothing from this period, but I chose a Turkish trousers ensemble which comes from the Delineator Magazine in 1894.

A printable paper doll celebrating the 19890s with two historical outfits, shoes, underwear and hats. Super great way to show fashion history to kids.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

Colors are actually pretty vivid in the 1890s. Thanks to chemical dyes, there’s a lot of richness. I was really struck as I poured through museum collections at the number of dark colored corsets I saw. While bright purple seems sort of scandalous, jewel tone corsets really do seem to be a thing from the decade like this purple one and this pink one.

Her At Home Costume I did in pinks and corals. The bicycle outfit I thought would be more practical in blues and browns. After all, it wouldn’t make sense in a world where laundry isn’t easy to be biking around in white or pale blue. I’m sure people did, but I mostly saw brown and blue in my examples.

Anyway, I had fun with this paper doll and I hope others enjoy her as well. If you have a few hours to kill, pouring through Delineator Magazine really is neat. I also want to thank my Patrons, because I don’t think I would have drawn this era if it hadn’t won a poll. I had a lot of fun doing it.

Lapis: A Cybergoth Paper Doll & Her Clothing

Cybergothic fashion is described by being a mixture of punk, industrial and futuristic fashion. I am fascinated by various types of alt fashion. My love of alt fashion is probably obvious if you spend much time around here.

My other cybergoth paper doll was my first foray into this style. She has the dubious honor of being the of the few paper dolls got me an angry email from a reader. Don’t worry- I didn’t take it personally. Last year, I did a whole Cybergoth Week, so I selected my favorite pieces from that series to use in this collection for Jewels and Gemstones 2.0.

A printable paper doll coloring page celebrating cybergoth fashion. The paper doll has 13 mix and match clothing pieces.

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Cybergoth fashion is not as popular now as I think it was 20 years ago, however, as a child of the 90s, I still feel a kinship with it. If want to know more about the style Wikipedia’s Article on Cybergoth is pretty good. Cyberdog (clothing brand), Lip Service (clothing brand), Cryoflesh (clothing brand), F*** Yeah Cyberlox (Tumblr site devoted to Cyberlox) & Cyber Goth (Another Tumblr, sort of NSFW) are all sources for todays paper doll.

Specifically, these Lovely Ladies (one in the center), this Fierce Fashionista (her body suit), these Pants, these pants from Rebels Market. Unlike some of my other sets, I chose not to recolor this set much, because I noticed these were the colors most common in cybergoth fashion.

A printable cybergoth paper doll with clothing. The paper doll has 13 mix and match clothing pieces.

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I am trying to share these Jewels and Gemstones 1.0 reboot paper dolls mostly on Fridays, but lord knows if I’ll be consistent. If you want totally new content on Fridays, join us on Patreon.

And speaking of Patreon, a huge thank you to my patrons who voted for this theme last year. Your support makes all the difference. And you can always print the Jewels and Gemstones 1.0 pieces at 80% if you want them to fit these new 2.0 versions.

Lastly, cybergoth, what do you think? Too much? Okay, but not your taste? Super cool? Let me know in a comment! I love hearing from you.

A link to the exclusive Friday paper doll content on Patreon

Paper Dolls in Masks! (A Pandemic Paper Doll Extra)

I have been really debating what to do about the pandemic. On one hand, I am not in anyway qualified to give anyone medical advice. (I’m qualified to maybe give archives/library/paper doll advice.) On the other hand, I wanted to respond to the current crisis somehow. It felt weird to pretend it wasn’t happening out in the outside world beyond my small isolated corner of it.

So, I decided to respond in paper doll fashion, plus I figure people need kids activity ideas right now. You need to occupy children at home and while I don’t have kids, I have a lot of empathy for folks who do.

So, behold- paper dolls in face masks!

Sapphire, Ruby and Pearl With Face Masks

Three printable paper dolls in black and white.
Three paper dolls in color to print- Diverse curvy paper dolls with different skin-tones.

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When Alaska mandated facemasks a few weeks ago, I pulled out my trusty fabric stash and sewed up a few for me, my partner and some friends who didn’t sew. I’ll openly confess I’m not a great seamstress and mostly I work in doll clothing creation, but the mask pattern was easy enough. I used the New York Times pattern for the pleated mask. Now the mandate is lifted, but I still wear my mask when grocery shopping, as the CDC recommends.

Originally, I had planned to make the face masks for the paper dolls removable, but my prototypes did not work. So, instead, they are permanently attached to each doll. I thought about doing extra heads- the way Dolly Dingle sometimes does- but frankly that kind freaks me out. Paper doll decapitation feels weird for a kids activity idea.

Opal, Amethyst and Lapis With Face Masks

Three printable paper dolls in black and white. A kids activity idea for dress up. Three fun curvy paper dolls.
A kids activity idea for dress up- three paper dolls to print in different skintones- diverse curvy paper dolls.

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I’ve done all the Jewels and Gemstones paper dolls here, so each page has three dolls and there are 9 dolls in total- Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Diamond, Opal, Topaz, Amethyst, Lapis, and Jade. I try not to have favorites, but I really like how Opal’s bangs came out in this set.

I also wanted to do a variety of mask styles. None of these are N-95, but rather the sorts of masks you might wear to the store. There seem to be two major styles- the curved one and the pleated one. I have a pleated mask, but I have seem lots of patterns for curved masks and those seem more popular among the folks I see during my rare grocery forays.

Topaz, Diamond and Jade with Face Masks

A kids activity idea for dress up- three paper dolls to color- diverse curvy paper dolls.
A kids activity idea for dress up- three paper dolls to dress- diverse curvy paper dolls.

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These cute girls can wear any of the Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 clothing, so they can dress up as princesses, evening gowns or to go fishing. They can wear any of the Jewels and Gemstones 1.0 clothing by printing those outfits at 80%. There’s dozens of different outfit options at the moment.

I think my favorite mask might be Topaz’s one all covered in abstract roses/flowers/swirls. Do you have a favorite?

Everyone stay safe out there.