Printable Paper Dolls from Paper Thin Personas

A Curvy Fire Slinging Sorceress & The First Dress of a New Project

April 18, 2017April 18, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Fire & Ancient Greek Fashion

You know what every paper doll needs? Sorceress outfits!

As some of you may recall, I posted the first part of my creatively named Sorceress’ Gowns Project on April 10th. You can read that post here.

My first four gowns (three of which are done) are all based on the elements- fire, water, air and earth. I have fire, water and air all finished. Earth is… well, giving me some trouble.

I have faith I will finish it eventually.

Each gown has two accessories- a staff to channel magical power and a pair of boots.

Today’s fire gown was inspired by ancient Greek dress. I start most of my paper doll creations with a thumbnail doodle and I did the same here. Then I expanded the doodle into a full on paper doll dress.

I share my doodles mostly on Patreon, but once in a while one appears on Facebook, usually after I’ve shared with it my Patron’s first.

Think about becoming a patron or following the facebook page if you want to show the blog some love. And who doesn’t want to do that?

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

Hazel’s Runway Ball Gown for Glamorous Printable Paper Doll Events

December 6, 2020April 17, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Evening Gowns and Boots’ Paper Doll Series Catwalk Couture

I think one of the great benefits of the internet is that it has created a world where people are willing to share their work. I try to visit all the active paper doll blogs I am aware of and comment on them as much as I can.

I love seeing what other artists are working on like Julie’s amazing bunny project from last week and Miss. Missy’s super cute Easter paper doll.

Boots has been working on a Catwalk Couture paper doll fashion series where she has been drawing the designs of some of the great contemporary designers. I was inspired by her work to create an evening gown that could have come off the runway.

I was heavily influenced by the designs of Marchesa one of my favorite evening gown designers.

Hazel’s hair is based on this beautiful natural hair up-dos like this one and this one. I’m worried it looks less like a natural up-do and more like a turban, but maybe I’m just being hyper critical.

Since I am not black, I always feel a little self-conscious when I draw things like natural hair styles.

As always, if you love the blog and want to help it stick around, think about becoming a Patron, following or liking it on Facebook, telling a friend about it or leave a comment.

Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends Get A Walking Dress from 1880

April 14, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me

I am not from the south and while I use y’all, because I have picked it up after five years in below the Mason-Dixon line, I am not a local by any means. Still, there is a saying down here I’ve adopted which goes, “Can’t Never Could.”

In sort, if you say you can’t do something then you won’t try and you are dooming yourself to failure.

One of my long standing “can’t” do things has been drawing 1880s bustle skirts.

I’ve told myself I can’t draw a bustle skirt so many times, that I’ve convinced myself this is true. But I decided I was going to face my fear of 1880s bustle skirts by actually drawing one.

Step 1 was finding a fashion plate at the same angle as the paper doll to practice with. After a bit of hunting, I found this plate from 1880.

Next step was doing a draft on cheap lined paper and then doing a final on my nice sketchbook paper.

I’m actually very pleased how it came out. I might even try another one or two, but I have to find another fashion plate at just the right angle.

Not having to rotate something in my head really makes drawing it easier.

I have been thinking about trying the dress on the left of this plate, but rotating the plate before I print it so it is facing the right direction for Marisole Monday lady paper dolls. I prefer to draw from printed images rather than digital ones.

So, how did I do? Should I work on more 1880s stuff? Or is this a period that you’re not to keen on? Let me know in a comment.

Want to see sketchbook drafts of this dress? There’s up on Patreon. Join to check it out! And, you know, help keep the blog on the interwebs.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Paper Doll Skinny Jeans for Gents and Ladies (Also, T-Shirts)

April 13, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Stuff I see College Students Wearing

As some of you may know, I work in an academic library, so I spent a fair bit of time observing the fashion choices of college age students. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that colored skinny jeans remain popular and that even jeans for gents have gotten much more fitted.

I actually really enjoy taking break from fantasy, historical, steampunk or scifi paper doll creations to just draw some jeans. We all wear jeans, so I think embracing that idea is well worth it.

I’ve been seeing a lot more guys wearing skinny jeans, so I ended up trying to draw a pair of skinny jeans for a the Sprites’s Gents.

For the lady, I made her skinny jeans lavender. I’ve seen a lot of colored jeans this next summer season.

I created t-shirts for them both. T-shirts are easy to draw, but hard to create new ideas are tough.

For accessories, we have a pale pink purse and a statement necklace designed to match the jeans.

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

The Poppets Dress up as Gretel of Hansel and Gretel

April 12, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Gretel of Hansel and Gretel

The new addition to the Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes Poppet paper doll series is a Gretel costume from the tale of Hansel and Gretel.

Recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812, Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister captured by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house made of candy and gingerbread. The two children save their lives by outwitting the witch and their own cruel parents.

The story is, like a lot of fairy tales, a bit dark.

When I was working up my list of fairy tales, I had not intention to originally include Hansel and Gretel. It’s just not a fairy tale that I really love.

However, it is a fairy tale with a child protagonist and a pretty strong female character, as it is Gretel who pushes the cannibalistic Witch into the oven.

So, it seemed like a fitting on to do.

I wanted to use the colors of ginger bread in this Gretel costume, so I stuck with brown, cream and red. The edge of her skirt is decorated with gingerbread men and peppermint candies, mostly because I knew I could draw them.

The shape of the jumper is based on braces used with lederhosen. I don’t know a lot about Bavarian clothing, ain’t gonna lie, but I’ve always liked the suspenders/braces that go with lederhosen.

Please think about donating through Patreon, it really does help. Plus you get access to the behind the scenes blog, here’s two I’ve opened to the public- sketchbook photos and Some Stuff about my Process.

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

A Paper Doll Coloring Page of A Walking Dress From 1824

April 11, 2017April 11, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Fashion plate From 1824, published in Ladies Pocket Magazine in January and boots like this and this.

Today’s printable paper doll outfit is and 1820s dress, specifically a winter walking costume from about 1824. I don’t know why, exactly. It’s a fascinating decade and the fashions change very quickly. I think I sometimes find it a little too “frou-frou” which is odd given my love of the 1870s. If there ever was a “frou-frou” era, that would be it.

This 1820s dress is based on this fashion plate. The original featured a muff the size of a small pony, but I decided to omit the muff because I couldn’t figure out how it would stay on the paper doll.

I have been trying to practice my bonnet drawing skills. I am slowly getting better at them. They are surprisingly challenging to draw, but are such a critical part of 1820s dress.

Along with the walking costume and matching bonnet, I drew a quick pair of simple boots from the period, examples similar to these are here from the Met and here from the V&A.

You can see more examples of early 1800s dress on my Regency Pinterest Board.

Oddly enough, I haven’t done any other Regency/Empire historical clothing for the Mini-Maiden paper dolls. So, that might be something worth working on in the future.

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

A Sorceress Paper Doll & Her Gown in Muted Colors, Plus the Beginning of a New Project

April 13, 2017April 10, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Sorceresses, really. Just Sorceresses.

So, a few months ago I posted this outfit which I had originally drawn to be part of the Greta’s Trousseau project and I realized how much I missed doing longer term themed projects.

I polled my Patrons asking what they would like to see and while I secretly hoped the Space Princess idea would win, the Sorceress ended up winning. I’ve opened the post up, so you can see the options that I offered.

Frankly, all the ideas would have been fun.

Anyway, I didn’t draw this first, I started with some dresses based on elements- fire, water, air, earth. But I really wanted to post a doll to go with the dresses and I thought she should go up first.

She is the Sorceress doll. She has two books for recording her magical experiments, a hair style to keep it out of her face and a layered gown.

The colors of the gown were inspired by moss and wild flowers. Muted colors and soft shades, I settled on.

I was playing around with my camera when I sketched this doll’s face, so you can watch me draw it in time-lapse (though not great timelapse, let’s be clear). I posted it on the blog’s Facebook page back in February.

I hope to do more of these time-lapse things, but I need to get a better set up and use my tripod. Otherwise, the camera will shake as it does in the facebook version.

By the way, what do people think? Do you like the idea of a series of sorceress gowns? Is there something I should draw after I finish the four elements? Other theme ideas?

Let me know in a comment. I love hearing from you all.

And if you love the blog, think about becoming a patron. The support helps a great deal.

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

A Mini-Maiden Fantasy Outfit & Some Words on the Design Process

May 19, 2020April 7, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A pair of cosplayers, a red tunic and this fantasy gown

For someone who is as opposed to leggings as I am in the real world, I sure do enjoy drawing them as part of a good looking paper doll fantasy outfit.

When I am working on fantasy things, I often start by going through my Pinterest boards. I collect inspiring images there and it’s a great way to track what I have seen. So, as hard as it maybe to believe, this fantasy outfit as inspired by this pair of cosplayers, this red tunic and this fantasy gown.

Then I think a little about silhouette. Silhouette is the shape of a design and it’s critical when identifying different fashion eras. It is also a great way to design a consistent set of pieces.

The silhouette I settled on for this set was a high waisted tunics defined by a belt and leggings. This means all three pieces feel like they “go together” even if they are original fantasy designs.

I’d recommend thinking about silhouette when trying to design fantasy pieces. It makes things feel more consistent and therefore more realistic.

And, as always, if you like the blog, consider donating through Patreon. It helps keep the blog on the interwebs.

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

The Poppet’s Springtime 1920s Dress

April 25, 2017April 6, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1920s Children’s Clothing

This is the second dress of a bunch of 1920s stuff I have drawn for the Poppets paper dolls, so much so that I actually think I should really start a special series for it.

I mean, I already have two 1920s paper doll outfits and a doll finished to go up and I have another batch of it penciled. Basically, I think it is time to accept one simple fact, “I am completely obsessed with 1920s children’s clothing.”

So, I have created a new on-going Poppet’s series called the 1920s Children’s Wardrobe Collection.

I know, it’s not a very creative name.

And I failed to carefully note where I got the images for the batch of 1920s children’s clothing I have finished, but I am going to get better at citation in the future.

Also, because I am me.

Anyway, I’d love to hear what people think of a flood of 1920s children’s clothing, so let me know in a comment.

Today’s 1920s paper doll dress was based on one from I think a Sears catalog. I really loved the floral detail on the bodice and I chose bright fun spring colors. I probably should have made the shoes brown or black, but once I start coloring sometimes it gets away from me.

If you’d like to support the blog, then donate a little each month and become a Patron. It really helps.

Plus, if you haven’t checked it out yet there is also a new blog facebook page where I am sharing stuff from the Archives, as well as announcing new posts when they are posted.

I think that’s all my general announcements for the moment. 🙂

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

Bodacious & Buxom Paper Dolls Get to be a Northern Warrior Maiden

April 5, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Vikings… Kinda, But Not Really That Much

I am not a big Viking fan-girl. There are people out there who are just obsessed with Vikings and, mostly, I respect that. I’ve done my fair share of Viking research and drawn Viking women’s garments based on that research (read that here). You can check out those historical Viking paper doll outfits over here.

And I am here to say that this paper doll ain’t that. Vikings inspired today’s warrior paper doll outfit to have the same accuracy as a Wagner opera about vikings. In other words, not a whole lot of that.

Rather than accuracy, I wanted to draw fur and fantasy armor. Not practical fantasy armor, but absurd fantasy armor. Made more absurd, because this armor wouldn’t keep you warm in the cold northern climate anyway.

There is fur there, but it is pretty decorative rather than actually practical. Still, I had a bunch of fun drawing it. It was a hoot to create.

I am happy to create things that are just fun and not really realistic or practical.

Want to see more Viking paper doll stuff? There’s a whole category called, “Viking inspired.”

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

An Elegant Fantasy Paper Doll Gown in White & Gold

December 6, 2020April 4, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This gown from a movie entitled, Sissi

So, when you donate on Patreon to support the blog there are different tiers- 1 dollar, 5 dollars, and 10 dollars. This year I offered a custom doll and outfit to my ten dollar paper doll donors.

Yesterday, I posted the doll I created for Elizabeth and today I am sharing the paper doll ball gown I created.

Here is part of Elizabeth’s request, “Very difficult decision to decide on what to ask for but I finally picked out for dress inspiration this white and gold dress from the 1950s Empress Sissi movie series starring Romy Schneider. I really like the white and gold color scheme though a crimson and gold color scheme could be fun too.”

She also sent me photo links of this gown from a movie entitled, Sissi. It is an Austrian film from 1955 based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. While the film was made in 1955, Empress Elisabeth of Austria was married in the mid-1850s.

To go with her paper doll ball gown, I designed some boots in part inspired by button-up boots of the Victorian era. Her neckline is a low off the shoulder heart line. White and gold is, of course, the color scheme Elizabeth asked for. I had a lot of fun making it in white and gold, but I think a pink and green color scheme would be beautiful as well.

Feel free to color the black and white version of this paper doll gown anyway you would like.

Want to get your own custom paper doll? Support the blog through Patreon at the 10 dollar a month level, or lower if that works better for your budget.

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

A Custom Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll for Elizabeth

April 3, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A 10$ Patron Custom Paper Doll

Today’s paper doll is a brunette paper doll with long wavy hair. She was designed as a custom paper doll for one of my Patrons, Elizabeth.

This year, for my Patrons who support the blog at the 10 dollar amount per month, I decided to offer them the opportunity to request a custom doll and outfit.

The first custom paper doll one is debuting today! Elizabeth requested a brunette paper doll from the Ms. Mannequin series with brown eyes and fair skin.

I named the brunette paper doll Lisette, a French diminutive of Elizabeth.

Today’s Ms. Mannequin has the same skin-tone as my other fair skinned Ms. Mannequins- Natalie, Cerise, Violetta. So, she has six more pairs of shoes that she can try out.

Tomorrow, she’ll get a dress.

Meanwhile, she’s got plenty of clothing options among the Ms. Mannequin clothing choices. I personally have always been a fan of this evening gown, but that’s just me.

Want to support the blog? Then think about becoming a Patron. There’s lots of neat perks, like a behind the scenes blog, the Vivian project and, at the 10 dollar a month level, a custom paper doll once a year.

Need some clothing for today’s Ms Mannequin paper doll? Pick Out Some Ms. Mannequin Clothing Here

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