B&B: African-American Fantasy Maiden’s Second Gown


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Athena- Goddess of Wisdom, Renaissance Faires, and This Paper Doll I drew in 2013.

A fantasy paper doll gown featuring owls and puffy sleeves and trim and things. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

Yesterday, I posted my big beautiful brown skinned fantasy maiden B&B paper doll with some rockin’ boots and I explained how that paper doll set was inspired by a project to look again at older sets on the blog and use them for inspiration for newer sets. Yesterday’s paper doll and today’s gown were both based on a Pixie paper doll set called Dionisia.

Athena, goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology, inspired the trim on the bottom of her dress. Owls were the symbol of Athena and I wanted to give a nod to the goddess in this gown. In the Renaissance era, which was a minor inspiration for this gown, ancient Greek myth and legend was super popular, so the owl motif is also a nod to that.

Plus, it was an excuse to draw some owls and who doesn’t want to do that?

My natural instincts told me to make the undergown cream as I did with Monday’s paper doll gown, but I fought those instincts and went with a deep gold instead. Since the gown is trimmed in a nod to Athena, I decided that this gown was worn by a woman of education and distinction.

Therefore, she got a pot of ink, a scroll and a book as her accessories. Seriously, that’s why. It has nothing to do with my love of drawing books. Honestly.

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Tomorrow, there will be a ninja!

Also, I hope all my USA readers take the time today to go vote. Super important.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.

B&B: A Curvy Black Princess & Her Amazing Boots


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pageant Hair, The Toddler Paper Dolls of Paper Doll School, A Pixie Set Called Dionsia, and Boots Made for Walkin’.

A brown skinned fantasy paper doll to print with some dark rockin' boots and an elegant gown. Free from paperthinpersonas.com.

Can I confess that my favorite part of today’s curvy paper doll to print are those amazing boots? I want them. I don’t know where I would ever wear them, but I would find a way.

For a while, Julie of Paper Doll School was making Toddler Paper Dolls inspired by some of her older paper doll sets. Like this toddler paper doll set named Riley is based on an older set named Ruby.  I thought this was a really cool idea, but wasn’t sure how to develop it my way.

On occasion readers have asked if I could redraw something from one paper doll series for a different series. I’ve always said no. Drawing the exact same outfit again sounded boring. But watching Julie’s process, I was inspired to look back at my own work and see what ideas were sparked.

So, today’s curvy paper doll to print from the B&B series is based on a Pixie paper doll named Dionsia.  The paper dolls share a color scheme and Dionsia’s clothing inspired both today’s gown and tomorrow’s gown- both for my curvy B&B paper doll series.

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Tomorrow, there will be another fantasy gown inspired by the Dionsia paper doll set and owls.

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Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Mia as a Loon


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Loons and… well, Loons. That’s actually all I got. 

mia-loon-masquerade-paper-doll-dress

Of all the dresses I designed for this week, the only one I was really worried people wouldn’t get was this one. Loons are beautiful birds for which I have always had a fondness, but they are hardly as well known as the Raven or the Flamingo. Interestingly enough, the Loon is the state bird of Minnesota, where my mother grew up. As a child, I had a puzzle my grandfather made featuring a loon, so I have fond associations with the birds.

Wig instructions are available if you’re not sure how to attach the back piece here.

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Well, now that the week of bird masquerade gowns is wrapped, I am curious which one people liked the most. So, let me know in a comment. Was your favorite the Owl, the Flamingo, the Raven, the Hummingbird or today’s Loon?

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Monica as a Hummingbird


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, Chokers, and Yellow Hibiscus Flowers

A beautiful hummingbird inspired masquerade dress and black paper doll to wear it from paperthinpersonas.com. Also available as a coloring page.

This was the only dress I based on a specific bird subspecies. I knew I wanted to so the Red Throated Hummingbird from the start. Hummingbirds come in so many color combinations, I really felt like I had to pick just one to focus on with this paper doll masquerade gown modeled by the wonderful Monica.

Of course, the choker is red to match the red throat of the hummingbird. The flowers decorating the wig and the gown are yellow hibiscus which are a hummingbird friendly flower. If my Raven masquerade gown was a gothic fantasy, than this gown is much more romantic and soft.

I have some wig instructions if you’re not sure how to make the pocket by pasting on the backing piece. Read them here.

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Tomorrow will be the last bird masquerade gown- a gown based on the Loon.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Marisole as a Flamingo


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Flamingos, 1980’s Prom Dresses, and Spiky Hair Cuts

A paper doll masquerade ballgown based on a flamingo available in black and white or in color from paperthinpersonas.com

There is something really silly looking about flamingos. Still, I love their color and I wanted to do something a little playful for one of the masquerade gowns, and who doesn’t want to dress their paper doll up like a flamingo?

I was trying to research flamingo folklore and I didn’t find much. I did however find a great history of the pink plastic lawn flamingo, should anyone be curious. I also learned, though I haven’t been able to confirm this through a really reputable source, that in Ancient Egypt Flamingos were considered sacred to the sun god, Ra.

The over-skirt of the gown is meant to mirror the fuller body of the flamingo. Originally, I had a very narrow skirt attached to the bottom, but later I altered it to fit in better with the rest of the gowns. Due to the very low neckline and decorate edging, I think the dress will work best with floating tabs, so I positioned two on the page. You may need to add some longer floating tabs for the skirt.

Our printable model for the flamingo costume is Marisole. I thought her light brown skin-tone would be set off really beautifully by the pink gown.

If you’re not sure how the wig works, here are instructions. Also, I would recommend adding some additional tabs to the skirt as needed. It is a very wide skirt.

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Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here

Marisole Monday & Friends Masquerade: Meaghan as an Owl


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Owls, Victorian Ballgowns, and Platform Sandals

An owl masquerade dress for Meaghan of the Marisole Monday & Friend's paper doll series. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween always feels like it is a holiday ripe for paper doll activity. It’s all about costumes, after all. So, while I abandoned themes last week, I will be returning to them this week. Each day this week there will be a different Marisole Monday & Friend’s doll and her bird themed masquerade ballgown.

Meaghan is starting us off with an owl themed paper doll masquerade dress which was the first of the dresses that I designed. The sketchbook page of this gown on Instragram went up a few months ago, but it can take a long time for things to be finished. My goal was to capture the idea of an owl without being specific to species, so the buns on her head are supposed to be like the owl’s ears and the layers in the skirt give a sense of wings.

Due to the width of the skirt, I would strongly recommend adding some floating tabs to the back of it. Her wig is designed to work with my usual method of pasting the back to the front and leaving a pocket for the dolls head. Here are the full instructions. I really should do full instructions on floating tabs, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Now, tomorrow there will be a flamingo and after that, I haven’t decided which ballgown will go up next.

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Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here

Sprites: Some Norse/Viking Inspired Fantasy Outfits


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Viking Dress, Medieval Clothing and Celtic Knots

A pair of viking inspired fantasy outfits for the Sprites paper doll series, both for a male paper doll and a female paper doll. Also available in black and white for coloring

Now, I’ve done a historical viking paper doll before for the B&B paper doll series and I suspect I’ll do one again, but that is not happening today. Today, I decided to play with viking clothing in an entirely fantasy realm.

I tend to do my laundry in the evenings. I never seem to remember to start it before I go to work, so I am writing this post to the rhythmic noise of the washer cleaning clothing for tomorrow and the dryer doing the same.

The truth is that I designed these outfits so long ago, that I don’t really know what to say about them and listening to my washer is not very inspiring on the blog post writing front.

I guess what I’ll say is this: One of the most interesting things about doing the Sprites is getting to think about what to draw for a boy and then what to draw for a girl. That’s also one of the more challenging aspects of the process. These two outfits are really tied together more by their color scheme than by their design motifs.

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Looking for a Sprite paper doll to wear these outfits? Pick out a Sprite paper dolls here.

Ms Mannequin: Layered Fantasy Gown with an Underbust Corset


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Victorian Garters, Folk Art, and Layers, Layers, Layers

ms-mann-paper-doll-fantasy-gown

Sometimes when I draw a paper doll outfit, it is really an excuse to explore something artistically. In today’s fantasy paper doll gown, I wanted to practice drawing drapery and layers. One of the things I am always thinking about when it comes to paper doll designs is how different pieces will layer over each other. Clothing, after all, has bulk and drape.

I previewed today’s fantasy paper doll gown way back in June and I actually drew the design back in December of last year. So, this has been a long long time coming, clearly.

There’s a second similar fantasy gown for the Ms. Mannequin series over on my Patreon page that everyone, not just Patrons, can download in color or black and white, so check that out over on my Patreon page and consider joining. It’s a great way to support the blog.

The corset designs are based on folk art designs which I love. I’ve always liked folk art florals and traditional crewel embroidery designs. The garters are, as I said above, based on Victorian garters which often closed with a clasp.

Meanwhile, please let me know what you think of today’s paper doll gown in a comment.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick out a Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll Here

Faye in the Woods: Fantasy Folkloric Paper Doll Fashions


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A folkloric fantasy paper doll fashion to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com

This is the last of Faye’s Folkloric Fantasy Fashions (say that ten times fast) and I am pretty pleased. I love the tulip circular border patters and I think every printable paper needs a blouse with checkerboard sleeves and flower design over her cleavage. Actually, this is probably my favorite blouses of all of them, I only make fun of what I really like.

Still, this has been a long week. Ever have one of those weeks when you hit Friday and you think, “Oh, I am so ready for this weekend!”

The funny bit is that I didn’t really have a super busy week. I got an oil change, vacuumed daily to work on the Flea Removal Project (FRP for short) and got addicted to the show Penny Dreaful on Netflix. Not really the most intense week I’ve ever had.

And yet, perhaps because I’ve been living in my new place for less than a month or perhaps because, well, fleas, but I am bone tired. I am ready to go home, watch a movie and eat popcorn while I don’t do anything. Of course, I will have to do something. I have to sort out what paper doll content goes up next week. 🙂

Faye’s Folkloric Fantasy Fashions: A Paper Doll to Print and Color

Normally, this is the point where I’d offer some kinda preview like, “Next week there will be…” But as I have no idea what there will be next week, I fear I am going to have to let this one go.

Anyway, I would love to hear what you all, my readers, thought of this week’s theme and paper dolls and everything, so leave a comment and tell me what you think of this week.

Faye in the Woods: Accessory Thursday With a Cape & Boots


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Three pairs of printable paper doll shoes, a cape and a book for the Mini-Maiden paper doll series for coloring

Happy Accessory Thursday! One of my favorite features of this new paper doll blog format is Accessory Thursday. I am finally at the stage where I am designing paper doll sets specifically for this new format and I find I always have to think about what I should post for Thursday.

Now, the cape with the hood is maybe my favorite piece from this set of paper doll accessory pieces. I love the pattern and the shape. It is the piece that made me think of Little Red Riding-hood. It’s floral motifs were in part inspired by Jacobean floral embroidery designs. I’ve always loved that style.

And of course any paper doll I create is going to have shoes. So, Monday’s paper doll is getting two pairs of boots, all designed to go over the leggings she’s gotten. She also has some tulip patterned stockings and slippers. I really had fun making all these tiny patterns up and I wanted to show them off. I actually had a few more pattern motifs that never made it as far as these paper dolls.

So, if you missed this week’s paper doll, she’s in Monday’s post. I used Faye, my Asian Mini-Maiden this week.

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Need a Mini-Maiden paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Mini-Maiden Paper Doll Here.