mermaid

Mini-Maiden Mermaid Paper Dolls Going Deep Into the Sea

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Patron Requests for Mermaids and Liana’s Paper Dolls
A mermaid paper doll coloring page for the Mini-Maiden printable paper doll series. From paperthinpersonas.com.
I was asked by two Patrons, Cathy W. and the Steger family to make more fairy tale and mermaid paper dolls. So, I decided to finally get around to a posting a paper doll I drew last year. When I create mermaid paper dolls, I always think of Liana’s mermaids.

Who was Liana? You wonder, well, she ran a site called Liana’s Paper Dolls and created the best mermaid paper dolls. The mermaids of Liana of Liana’s Paper Dolls. Her mermaids weren’t just beautiful and innovative, this black tailed adventurer mermaid was a favorite of mine, but also had amazing detail stories about the world that mermaids came from.

If you’re new to the paper doll website world and you’ve never spent anytime on her site, you really should. She’s not updating these days, but there’s plenty of backlog and her art is really outstanding. I would suspect that there would be no other paper doll blogs (and certainly this site wouldn’t exist) if not for Liana’s Paper Doll blog.

Any of my paper doll blogging friends feel the same way?

Frankly I’m not good with coming up with personal stories about my paper dolls. I rarely think of them that way. I sometimes think about time period or technology level, but I tend to think on a society level rather than on a personality level. For example, I love writing pseudo Victorian descriptions for my steampunk outfits (like this one), but I can’t imagine trying to decide the personality of the doll.

Bios like these Boots writes are just impossible for me to imagine.

I think this is okay though. The world would be super boring if we were all alike.

Meanwhile, I’m still running a sale on the blog’s Etsy Store. There a coupon code good for 25% off an order of 4.00 or more until the end of March. Use the code: READER2017

Or if you’d rather become a Patron and see behind the scenes, then donate through Patreon.

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

Ursula & Zarchary Under the Sea: A Last Pair of Tails

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Paper doll mermaids get some wonderful paper tails! Free to print for the Sprites paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

While I liked all the mermaid paper doll tails this week, I’ll confess openly that this is my favorite set of the bunch. It seems fitting to end the week on my favorite, doesn’t it?

Zachary’s tail was based on the eel and then Ursula’s tail as made to match. Of course, any of the Sprites can wear these tails.

I ran out of shirts for Zachary, so he doesn’t get one this round, but Ursula gets two to make up for it. And he does get a stylish knife and trident, though I suppose either of them could be wielding those weapons. I thought of him when I made them.

As I said with several of the other mermaid tails, I would recommend strongly adding floating tabs to the back of the tails as needed to secure them to the paper doll’s body. Also, if you missed Zachary and Ursula, I posted them on Monday. Any of the Sprites Dolls can wear these tails or any of the other tails! You can see the whole week’s work below.

Mix and Match Black Mermaid Paper Dolls!

I posted a blog on my Patreon page about finding inspiration a couple of days ago. You can read it over there for the next few days, but I’m closing it to non-Patrons on Monday. So hop over there and consider joining if you’s like to support the blog.

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Ursula & Zarchary Under the Sea: More Mermaid Tails

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A pair of paper doll mermaid tails with tops for the Sprite paper doll series. Also available in black and white. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

May I make a confession? I always liked my mermaids more dark and creepy than sweet an innocent. A lot more drowning sailors and a lot less singing songs with hermit crabs.

However, I’m not really good at drawing creepy paper dolls, so these are a bit more “singing songs with hermit crabs” than they are “drowning sailors.”

If you missed the paper dolls to wear theses colorful mermaid tails then slip over to Monday’s post for them, but any of the Spite paper dolls can fit the tails. I should also mention that the tails may need floating tabs to be really secure. I confess I didn’t play-test them.

If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve split my person and “blog” twitter accounts, so follow here:@paperpersonas. And if you like the blog, than consider becoming a Patron.

All right my readers, how do you like your mermaids? Sweet and musical or dark and creepy?

Ursula & Zachary Under the Sea: Mermaids Tails!

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Mermaid tails and tops for the Sprites paper doll series. Also available in black and white. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com

As promised, today we have mermaid tails and the shirt that inspired this entire set. There are shirts like this all over the interwebs, but I liked the idea of a modern mermaid with a tongue in cheek style who wears a printed shirt with seashells, rather than the “real” thing. So, all my mermaid tops this week will be based on bikinis rather then the assumption that mermaids simply wear seashells.

Because, honestly, am I the only one who imagines wearing hard seashells as a bra would be really really uncomfortable? I bet any smart mermaid would take a well made swimsuit top in an instant.

Designing male paper doll mermaid tops is a little harder. I think they would mostly get in the way, but in the interest of being fair to Zachary and Ursula, I have included one.

If you missed the paper dolls to wear theses smashing tails then hop over to Monday’s post for them.

Today is also National Coloring Book Day, apparently. I don’t really get the appeal of coloring books (try as I might), but if you’re looking for a paper doll coloring page than here are all of mine. Even the posts that only show a colored version, there is a black and white version linked in the post, just like the black and white version for this set which is at the top of the post. (I hope that makes sense.)

If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve split my person and “blog” twitter accounts, so follow here:@paperpersonas.

Ursula & Zachary Under the Sea: Mermaid Paper Dolls (Tails to Come!)

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A pair of black paper dolls with blue hair and multi-colored dreadlocks.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Mermaid paper dolls? Where are the tails?”

So, yeah, there are no tails. This wasn’t my original plan.

My original plan was to have Zachary with a tail on Monday and Ursula with a tail on Tuesday. Then to post joint outfits for them on the following days. I thought this was a great plan, until I realized I could not fit the tail and the Zachary paper doll on the same page together. It simply did not fit.

And to think my layout problems were a thing of the past? Sigh.

So, instead we get two paper dolls and a promise of tails tomorrow. I swear these are mermaids. They’re just tailless mermaids.

Reminder that the black and white versions are linked up at the top of the post, if anyone is looking for it.

Anyway, Zachary and Ursula are both from the Sprites series which I introduced WAY back in January. As some of you may recall, I have been naming the Sprite faces in reverse alphabetical and I had gotten to the letter U, so Ursula it was.

I realized later that making the first Ursula paper doll a mermaid does bring up connotations of Disney’s A Little Mermaid, but that wasn’t my intention. I named the paper doll LONG before I picked out a theme and I could have started with a modern set, but mermaids were more fun. Her hair was inspired by this pin of a woman with teal hair on Pinterest.

Lastly, you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon. If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve moved them over to @paperpersonas.

Beneath the Waves in Black and White Paper Doll

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So… slightly slacker post from me today. I as out of town last week in Alabama and just got back. I prepped this while sitting in the Chicago airport waiting to get on a plane to go home. I posted Beneath the Waves in color last year in June. I found the file and decided to put it up in color. I have been getting more and more requests for paper dolls to color, so here is another one.

I love spring when the rains come and the paper doll blogs are in bloom. Actually, I joke, but I have stumbled across a few new blogs over the last few days. My latest find is called Miss Missy Paper Dolls, slightly unnerving for me since I have a good friend named Missy, never the less, I am enjoying the posts as I work my way through her archive. I recommend her blog to those of us who like such things (and if you don’t like such things, what the heck are you doing here anyhow?).

New Free Printable Magnetic Paper Dolls for Hanukkah

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Four of the six free printable Flock paper dolls are shown above, posing on my refrigerator
So, this was supposed to go up yesterday, but life got busy with travel.

Still, better late than never we have a new set of printable magnetic paper dolls in time for last minute gift giving (four of them are pictured above- my printer decided it really really didn’t want to keep printing magnetic sheets after I got through these ones, so the other two are waiting). As you can see, they have taken over my freezer door. In response to suggestions from some readers, I made the new Flock magnetic paper dolls larger for smaller hands to easily handle. There’s nothing specifically Hanukkah about the design, but I thought mermaids were a fun and fairly universal.

Anyway, I just bought a tin for my Flock paper dolls at the dollar store during a round of last minute shopping, though due to their larger size I recommend either printing one out on regular printer paper to take with you for sizing purposes or bringing the printed magnetic doll with you. Yes, you might get some funny looks (I did), but its good to know the paper doll will fit. When I was out tin shopping, I found these framesless magnetic whiteboards from Micheals for less then five dollars a piece. They will free up my fridge for important family photos and reminders.

Now, if you want to do something a little more festive (and who doesn’t?), Make it and Love it has this wonderful tutorial making magnetic paper dolls and then using on a cookie sheet for a play surface. She even show how to make a cover for the cookie sheet with fabric. The idea of covering the cookie sheet with fabric is ingenious. For kids, a magnetic cookie sheet might be the best option- it’s got a ridge around the edge to hold the pieces in place and they could play with it on the floor.

Just remember, that not all cookies sheets, tins or white boards are magnetic and the stronger the magnetism, the easier and better the paper dolls work. One of the reasons I like printable magnetic sheets over stick on magnetic sheets is that they seem to be stronger magnets.

The Flock Magnetic Mermaid Paper Doll Set

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Our first Flock set consists of six dolls, six pairs of shoes, There is also a set of tails and a set of dresses for when the mermaids are on land and not in the ocean.

 

The Mermaid Set PDF Downloads

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Dove PDF Download Oriole PDF DownloadPhoebe PDF Download
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Robin PDF DownloadStarling PDF DownloadWren PDF Download
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Dresses PDF DownloadTails PDF Download

 

 

Marisole Monday: Beneath the Waves

I was going to call this post Under the Sea, but I called my last mermaid paper doll Under the Sea. I didn’t think I could use the name twice, so I did the best I could with another, basically the same name. Synonyms… wonderful things.

marisole-beneath-the-waves-mermaid-paper-doll

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It took me a long time to decide to do a mermaid version of Marisole. It was requested by a few different people, but I put it off since I wasn’t sure how to make tails work with the paper doll’s leg pose. In the end, I drafted both tails in full size several times, before settling on these designs. I wanted to do one traditional green tail and one more tropical exotic tail in the colors of my pet beta fish, Levi. (His full name is Levithan, but I call him Levi for short.) He has more blue in him then the pink and gold of the tail, but I liked the bright colors and though the pale yellow looked wonderful with the pink.

I strongly recommend taking an exact-o knife, or a pair of scissors, and cutting up along the side of the paper doll’s body between her arm and stomach. That way the tops and tails will both fit much better. The placement of the right arm is one of my major frustrations with Marisole. She needs to be redesigned, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Edit: This paper doll is now available in black and white to be colored.

Under the Sea: Mermaid Paper Doll

Curves Mermaid

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Mermaids and I have a mixed relationship. On one hand, I really think they look pretty. On the other hand, I don’t think I can draw tails to save my life. The result is that I always think the idea of mermaids is great, but the reality usually doesn’t make me happy. But I think if you don’t try new things and stretch then you can not learn, so here we have me stretching.

Yes… that’s my excuse.

So, a new paper doll blog that was pointed out to me is Vee’s Paper Dolls which are darling and then on Monday, Liana linked Cutout Couture which has a fantastic name. I mean, I kinda think my blog title sounds like I either can’t properly pluralize my Latin or I have multiple personality disorder and paper dolling is my therapy (one of these is true… or both… you decide). I know I’ve gotten some requests to comment on other people’s work and I do try to comment on blogs when I can/when I remember, but I usually don’t remember to comment even when I do check out people’s blogs.