Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

Jewels & Gemstones: Floral Elves Paper Dolls

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Well, when I decided to shift to this newsletter and monthly update schedule, I did not consider the downsides. The biggest one being that it’s much harder for me to step away as might be needed from time to time. I need to think on that, but I am enjoying the newsletter most of the time.

This month has just been very busy with non-paper doll related tasks. The statewide library conference was in-person for the first time in years, so I went to that. And I have two more library related conferences I’m attending this year. Plus, I’ve been working on a side project that isn’t quite ready for prime time (soon it will be and I couldn’t be more excited). And I’ve been prepping things to become prints for the paper doll party in May. Any leftovers from the party, I plan to offer for sale on Etsy, so maybe that’ll be an interesting change of pace.

Anyway, about this paper doll set- I admit that I started on these paper dolls largely, because I wanted to work with an old Marisole Monday set- Fabulous Fairy that I’ve always had a fondness for. Originally, I had planned on drawing wings, but actually ended up running out of paper in a sketchbook and not having a back up one. Opps. I really didn’t want to deal with paper I didn’t like. So, needless to say, the wings never happened.

Influences were largely flowers and the fact that I like gardens. I’m not much of a gardener, though I keep thinking I should take it up. I rent, so I don’t really know if tearing up the yard would be okay. I do keep herbs on my porch when spring comes and I like flowers. Flowers are pretty, useful to insects, and smell nice. It’s hard to be opposed to them, really. Plus, you can eat some of them.

The other big influence over this drawing fantasy hair which I don’t get to do nearly as much as I’d like. I love complicated hairstyles. You can check out some of my influences on my fantasy section of my Hair pinterest board.

If you’re a patron, there will be a Vivian gown sometime next week (exact date depending on how life shapes up) and we’ll continue on from there.

The 2022 Jewels and Gemstones Round Up!

Every year for the last few years, I’ve done a round up of all the Jewels and Gemstones Paper Dolls and I thought I would continue that tradition this year. It’s always fun to see everything! One of my goals for 2023 was to get up to 100 paper dolls in the Jewels and Gemstones series and I am so happy to say we did it!

As some of you may know from my Monday post, things are going to be looking pretty different around here for 2023. I don’t know exactly what this means for Jewels and Gemstones, yet, but I do know anything new I made for the series will be compatible. I am not resizing the series again! I promise.

Jewels and Gemstones in Historical Clothing

Over this year, I did 11 different historical dolls (one was a Patron exclusive and she’s down at the bottom in that section). I explored the 1980s, the 1950s, the Italian Renaissance and the 14th century. All fun eras! My favorite, I think, was my 1980s aerobics paper doll set.

Jewels & Gemstones in Modern Clothing

My modern paper dolls this year focused on a lot of trends like coastal grandmother and regencycore. I also did a Purim paper doll which I am super happy with. There aren’t enough purim paper dolls in this world.

Jewels & Gemstones in Fantasy & Sci-fi Costumes

My fantasy and sci-fi paper dolls are some of my favorites and based on your feedback- you’re all big fans too! My favorite fantasy paper dolls from this year I think were my regency fantasy set, my circus set and my mermaids (both Opal and Citrine got to be mermaids this year!).

Jewels and Gemstones just for my Patrons!

I debated how to share my Patron paper dolls for this year. I wanted to both show off what I’ve made for my amazing supporters and maybe entice a few of you who aren’t supporters yet to consider joining us here! As always, thank you so much to those of you who support PTP. It really does make a difference.

And that’s it folks!

The most popular post on PTP this year was Gallant Ladies! I was surprised, I confess.

Did you have a favorite? Let me know in a comment!

And now, the Late 1950s with Jade!

A black 1950s paper doll coloring page with five dresses from the later part of the decade.
A black 1950s paper doll to print with five dresses from the later part of the decade.

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And the 1950s styles continue with Jade here. In the Late 1950s, you start to see the 1960s silhouette sneaking in with the higher waisted dresses and the shape of the skirts. So, our paper doll is more about that easing into the transitional era of the early 1950s. I did some digging around into black fashion magazines of this era and tried to match the colors I saw in those sources when deciding what colors to use on today’s black 1950s paper doll.

Let’s talk sources!

The red dress came from this catalog page from 1958 Sears and the pink dress is from this Vogue 9137 from 1957. Her swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. The yellow dress is from this 1959 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, but I don’t think I got the skirt quite right. You can see more of this style here. The whole thing is that there was a distinct silhouette change going on as the decade changed. The goal was to show off how the shape of dresses as transitional at this point.

Jade’s hair is based on this photo of a very young Diahann Carroll from 1955. The paper doll’s swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. As usual, I find movie stars to be a super useful way to track down hairstyles. Her lipstick color is also based on what I was seeing in fashion magazines from the era- lots of very red or very pink lipstick.

So there you have it, a few of the sources of this 1950s paper doll and her five dresses from five different years. That last bit was not on purpose- it just sort of worked out that way.

Enjoy!

In upcoming paper doll news, I am going to share a Patreon treat on Friday and then take a bit of a vacation until sometime in January, when I hope to return full of pluck, persistence, and paper dolls.

Ruby Dressing Up in the Mid-1950s

A 1950s printable paper doll coloring sheet with a mix and match wardrobe.
A cute redheaded 1950s printable paper doll with her mix and match wardrobe.

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I mentioned in my last 1950s printable paper doll about how important I thought it was to have some 1950s fashions for these paper dolls that include pants and Ruby is getting two pairs of them. She has what was known as a “playsuit”- basically, a romper. There’s something very infantilizing about the terms “playsuit” and “romper”, though I’m not sure I have the energy to really dive into how infantilizing the 1950s was towards women. I mean women couldn’t get mortgages on their own until the 1970s, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

I digress.

The point is that women wore pants in the 1950s and I wanted to illustrate some of those styles for this paper doll.

As usual, my references were mostly catalogs- Sears and Montgomery Ward. I went through do many catalog pages and I did not do the best job of documenting what I used. However, you can see the romper from 1954 here and the camisole and Bermuda shorts worn together from 1955 here. You can see some of the hats here from 1956 and one of the dresses here also from 1956.

As November wraps up, we are stumbling into December which is always a hit and miss month for me. I have an idea that I hope I’ll get finished. Then January will come which may be a month off, I’m still debating, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Hope everyone has been having a lovely end of Fall and beginning of winter (though given that it was -27 here yesterday, I think winter is already here in Alaska.)

Citrine Wearing Some 1950s Styles

A 1950s vintage fashion paper doll coloring page with four dresses and two pairs of shoes and other accessories.
A vintage fashion paper doll from the 1950s with four dresses and two pairs of shoes in color. This printable paper doll can share clothing with many other paper dolls in the series.

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This week is going to be quiet. It is Thanksgiving week here in the states and I am on pie duty. Personally, I love to bake, so it’s no trouble to dive into the world of pie. The only thing I don’t like is the crowds at the grocery store this time of year. I really dislike grocery shopping in general. Grocery pick-up might be the one good thing to come out of the pandemic.

Anyway, today’s 1950s vintage fashion paper doll is the first in large collection of 1950s dolls that I’ll be sharing. Citrine has a wide range of 1950s fashions from a pair of jeans with a casual blouse to a smart wool suit from Vogue. Her underwear is from 1955, but since the dolls all need to share clothing it doesn’t quite give the pointy boob effect that was popular in the era. Maidenform being the big name in that genre. Anyway, I don’t feel like linking every single source image. You can find many of them on my 1950s Pinterest Board.

Coloring these pieces are always a challenge for me, because my modern eye does not seen the same things in a black and white image as people at the time might see. So, I try to base the colors on the catalog descriptions as much as possible, especially because the catalogs are mostly produced in black and white. It’s tough for me, because I love color.

One thing I really wanted was to be sure to draw some trousers for these paper dolls. I tend to like drawing dresses more than trousers, but they were popular in the 1950s. I did some for my 1940s Jewels and Gemstones, but they never made it onto the blog’s version (they are included in the Etsy set). Trousers were still pretty strictly a casual garment in the 1950s. Never the less, I wanted to be sure to include jeans, shorts, and a playsuit. Stay tuned for more 1950s clothing over the next few weeks as I finish up the other sets.

Don’t forget, there’s an older Sapphire 1950s set which fits right in with the aesthetic.

Autumn Looks: Printable Paper Doll

Printable paper doll coloring page with autumn themed clothing. Nine mix and match pieces.
Printable paper doll with autumn themed clothing. Nine mix and match pieces.

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Very similar color scheme here to my November Vivian Gown. I really like purple, orange, and green together. Also, I realized I hadn’t done a doll with glasses in a long long time, so I wanted to fix that.

One thing I’ve noticed this year is a lot of maxi-skirts and a lot of cropped tops, so I tried to use both of those in this set. The other thing I’ve noticed is that pants are starting to veer away from the skinny jean to more of a straight leg style which I think is great, because I much prefer it. Sort of sad to see tunics being less popular as I also tend to prefer those.

Oh well, can’t have everything.

Meanwhile, I wanted try to do something seasonal. Though it was -3 outside this morning and I had to plug my car in (I live just below the arctic circle), so the battery would survive my work day and all I could think was, “Why do I live here?”

Also, it’s only November, she whined.

Still, I love Alaska and 90% of the time, I don’t mind the cold so much.

So, two little things:

  1. If you’re a patron, there’s a poll on last Friday’s post about the future of Vivian. Please vote. Thanks!
  2. If you want to get in on some Newsletter paper doll goodness, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. Next issue comes out Friday! And I am super excited.

Regency Autumn Fantasy

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One of my favorite things is taking a historical silhouette and just playing with it. It’s pretty much just a chance to draw pretty dresses for paper dolls. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing variety (like this Cybergoth Set), but I think anyone whose a regular here knows my first loves are the fantasy and historical stuff.

The fantasy stuff is easier than the historical stuff, because there’s no research involved. I simply am unable to call something historical if I haven’t actually done some research to back up that claim. And sometimes, I just don’t wanna do research.

Despite the research free nature of these dresses, they are based on Regency Era styles. In my head, the dress on the left with the yellow skirt is a ballgown, because it is the lowest cut and fanciest. The dresses on the left are a dinner dress (the blue one) and day dress (the one with the vest).

If you want some actual regency dresses, rather than these regency fantasy dresses, I recommend my Regency tag and as I was working on this post, I realized I do have other regency fantasy dresses- enough that maybe I should make a tag for that too, so I did.

I now have a regency inspired tag for all my non-historical forays into this silhouette, including my regencycore modern stuff which I think I’m going to draw more of. I really enjoy drawing romantic dresses. And yes, I am eagerly waiting for season 3 of Bridgerton.

Meanwhile, this is Newsletter week, so if you haven’t, sign up and get an extra paper doll coloring page in your inbox every two weeks.

Sapphire as Gallant Lady

A black and white printable paper doll with curls and medieval fantasy dresses.
A black printable paper doll with fantasy dresses

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So, occasionally, I have a reason to dig into my own archives, which is always a kind of weird experience. Seeing art I made like 10 years ago feels… strange. Anyway, I was looking for something else and I came across Knights and Ladies for Marisole Monday from 2011. It was a paper doll printable that I made way back in the early days of site which, at the time, was only 2 years old.

Man, I was back in Library School then. Wow, it’s weird to think about that era of my life.

A medieval inspired printable paper doll from Paper Thin Personas.
The Original Knights and Ladies Paper Doll

Anyhow, this was a paper doll I have very distinct memories of. I drew her in the library while I was in grad school and I was stuck between classes and I didn’t want to leave campus. I based the sleeves on some 19th century fashion drawings I’d been skimming through.

I saw it and I thought, man… I could do so much better now.

There’s things about the original Knights and Ladies that I found super compelling. I liked the hair and I was interested in the belts.

So, I decided to would draw the paper doll printable design once more for the Jewels and Gemstones series. This time I tried to think about how the belts would actually “function” if they were made of leather. I added some new details to the dresses and I fixed the skirts- before they clung way to much to the doll’s legs and I wanted more pooling. Though I debated recoloring the dresses, I decided against it. I thought I’d stick with my original color scheme.

I did go with a lighter hair color, because I wanted to keep the doll’s hair brown and I wanted a nice contrast with the skin-tone. I also was pretty sure that the original crown wouldn’t work very well on the doll, so I redesigned it to have the doll’s hair integrated.

All in all, I am very happy with how the new version of the Knights and Ladies came out. I don’t know how often I’ll do this, but it was a fun diversion.

What do you think of this paper doll? Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from y’all.

More Fairy Color Options for my Patrons

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Coastal Grandmother with Ruby!

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My mother very rarely makes paper doll suggestions. So, I was super surprised when she brought up the coastal grandmother trend. And since she is my mom, I had to draw it. Being my mom gets you special paper doll privileges as it should.

Coastal grandmother is a trend that focuses on really nice basics in neutral colors that can be easily interchanged with each other. It’s linen pants and crisp white shirts. Think very neutral, classic staples in light shades and hats, though I didn’t include one. While the grandmother’s I know who live on the coast are more xtratuf boots than nice leather sandals, I think the basic idea holds- it’s a casual style that also emphasizes the value of really classic clothing.

In honor of the grandmother theme, I did a rare grey haired paper doll which I’ve had request for through Patreon. Being a Patron also gets you special request privileges.

Anyhow, here’s the paper doll! I hope you enjoy.

And, unless my math is wrong (and it 100% might be), I think this paper doll gets us to 99 Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 sets.

Sapphire is a Fairy in Blue

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Athleisure with Ruby for My Patrons

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