Announcements

Back in January, I worked with The Reverie Collective to design me a new logo and color scheme for the blog. I have been reluctant to make the changes though for a few reasons. Mostly silly ones, because I don’t like change and what if everyone hates it?

(Please don’t hate it. )

I wasn’t originally looking for a new logo. I was specifically looking for a color scheme that was actually compliant with the ADA web accessibility guidelines for contrast, which my color scheme is not very compliant for (like at all). I went back and forth about doing this myself, but finally decided I needed some professional help.

Mostly, because I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to get there.

I reached out to Mandy, sent her a rather complicated long rambling email explaining what I needed, and she really did a fantastic job putting together a cleaner logo with more emphasis on my actual name – Rachel Cohen.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that a lot of people don’t realize that “Rachel Cohen” is “Paper Thin Personas.” So, I am trying to make that clearer without losing the name recognition that Paper Thin Personas has.

It’s going to be a little bit of a slow transition- I have to rebrand the Etsy Site, Patreon, and this site, so don’t hold your breath or anything, but also don’t be surprised if things start looking a bit different around here soon.

I’ll be sad to say good bye to my long standing colors( especially my beloved #990033), but very excited about the new ones I get to play with now.

Plus, let’s be honest, it’s been over a decade and so it’s not like a little repainting and carpet replacement isn’t long over due.

All right, friends. Let me start with saying that I appreciate all your support over the last few months

As I’ve been playing with Procreate, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the future of Patreon and I’ve realized I really need to ask all of you what you want.

Because I don’t think I can make informed choices without your input. I have lots of ideas in my head and I want you to be part of the decision making process of the future of Patreon.

So, here’s a poll!

You support makes me so happy!

And I thank you, once again, for it. You are all amazing.

First off: Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day to those in the USA who are celebrating.

Random Fact: I started PTP in 2008 and I was 23. So, 14 years (nearly 15) later, I think it might be time for some changes.

The internet doesn’t look like it looked back in 2008 nor does my life.

So, as an experiment, I am going to move my focus to my newsletter this year (or until I decide I’ve made a terrible mistake, whichever happens first).

Sign up here or at the end of this post, if you’re not already a subscriber.

But what does that mean, you may reasonably be wondering. Well, keep reading.

Here’s the plan:

There will be on January newsletter next Friday, just to make sure everyone is on the same page and aware of all these changes. I may have newsletter folks who aren’t blog readers. No idea. Just trying to spread the word far and wide.

Anyway, the plan…

• The Newsletter will come out on Wednesday’s starting in February and will be weekly.
• Each issue will contain a paper doll, an outfit for that paper doll, and anything else I feel like tossing in.
• On the last Friday of the month, you can download the months worth of paper doll content formates for easy printing from the blog.
• In the first newsletter of the month, there will be a paper doll coloring page using the Newsletter doll I started last year, because I really do like drawing for that paper doll.
• Patrons will continue to get a Vivian paper doll each month, posted to the blog & some other fun stuff- more info to come for them.

You might be wondering: Which paper dolls will be featured in the newsletter?

Right now, I have been on obsessed with drawing for the 365 Day Paper Dolls as series I did way back in 2020 for Patreon and which has never graced the blog (though you can grab that whole project from Etsy here in black and white or in color or if you’re a Patron, grab them here).

So, February will be that series. It’s very cute. I can’t wait to share it. There’s a sneak peek above.

After that… I honestly have no idea. I have a Jewels and Gemstones Fairy set I sort of like that I’ve been dabbling in and I also have some Regency stuff and maybe… The point is I don’t know yet. That scares me a little (I tend to over plan), but I am trying to also let go and embrace a little more of the “not knowing” part of the process. I think my art has started to feel stagnant to me and that’s not a fun feeling. It’s time to stretch a little.

The last time I started a project like this with this little planning it was… well, I think it was this blog actually. And that worked out okay, so in the end- it’s ephemeral paper toys for children. The stakes are low, as Julie Matthews reminded me recently when I was panicked about something.

I’ve embedding a newsletter sign up form here for you, in case you aren’t already signed up!

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Let me know!

Oh and before I forget- my patrons will get the first Vivian dress of 2023 (it’s super cute) this week! I promise I haven’t forgotten y’all and next week there will be the big 2022 Jewels and Gemstones round up, because I did reach my 100 Jewels and Gemstones sets goal and I want to show off.

Wishing you all the joy, peace, and love that this time of year can bring. Happy holidays!

I’m planning to take, as I often do, a little break going into January. How long?

Probably until the 15th or so.

And what will happen when I come back?

Probably my usual year end round up posts and then I’m not 100% sure. I have signed up for a digital art class and I am super excited to see what will happen and how that might impact the ways I make my paper dolls. So, I guess I want to leave open lots of space for experimentation and growth.

Meanwhile, have a wonderful holiday/wintertime with those you love!

I am super excited to announce that I finally fin-ished (pun intended) my big mermaid paper doll project that you might recall me mentioning way back in July and previewing as a WIP in August. You can pick it up on Etsy right now!

Sometimes, these projects take a lot longer than I think they will when they start, she said, side-eyeing the 1950s Jewels and Gemstones set that still isn’t done.

Anyway, at long last I am happy to announce that the Mermaids are up on Etsy and you can go grab them if you wish. There’s four dolls and over 60 mix and match pieces, including 11 different mermaid tails.

Anyway, it’s a big 7 page set (plus one page of stands and directions) and I couldn’t be happier with how it all came together. I’m particularly pleased with a few of the tails that were too big to easily fit on a horizontal layout page, but which look great with the vertical layout. Layout is not my strongest suit, but I feel like I’m getting better and learning a lot from examining Julie’s work for paper doll review with care.

In case you’re wondering- a lot of this content as not appeared on the blog before. One of the dolls is totally new! She’s actually maybe my favorite and it was really hard to resist showing her off before now.

Anyway, if you’d like to add the mermaids to your collection, go get them on Etsy.

Right now the set is only available as coloring pages, as I find that’s what sells best on Etsy. No idea why, but paper dolls in color just don’t seem to sell. If you’d like to see them in color, let me know! I’m curious.

As some of you may remember from when I did my Ladies of the 1940s set, I’ve been trying to learn to work smarter, not harder. I’ve never felt comfortable releasing the exculsive patron sets for free on the blog, but I also felt like it wasn’t fair that folks couldn’t enjoy them who weren’t patrons.

So, I’ve decided to round up some of them and some of my blog content and reformat all of it and now I’m offering it for sale on Etsy in a new format (though the same sizing) for people who want to see and play with the full collection. This is the whole of the 1960s ladies wear I drew last year.

So, if you want to hop over to Etsy, this listing is Ladies of the 1960s.

It’s about 50% unseen content and 50% recycled content with three dolls and about 32 clothing pieces. There’s everything from beach clothing to evening gowns. While mod fashions of the 1960s might be most identified with the era, there’s actually a lot of ladylike 1950s styles that shine in this period. I’ve arranged the clothing roughly chronologically, but everything is dated if you want a more precise look at the looks!

For my patrons, there’s an exclusive discount code you can use. Find that code here.

For everyone else, I hope you enjoy this little foray into the styles of the 1960s. And yes, I’m planning to adding the 1930s and 1970s to these collections, but I’ll need to do more drawing before the 1950s can join in the fun and I’m not sure if my forays into the 1980s are cohesive enough… I’ll need to think on that one.

First off, I want to start by thanking everyone whose ever supported me on Patreon, past and present. You’re all the best! Because those funds to make a big difference in this site (nothing is free to maintain) and I can’t express how much I appreciate your support.

Here’s how it will work for anyone who signs up to Patreon going forward:

You get to pay whatever you feel is fair with a suggested donation of 5 dollars per month. If you want to pay more than 5 dollars, you 100% can. If you want to pay less, you can do that too. It’s totally up to you what you feel comfortable with.

You may have noticed there are now a few posts on this site that are Patreon only. There are going to be more of those. I have a secret goal per month, but I am not sharing it, because this is all about reducing pressure on me and once I say something out loud it becomes a THING.

And now to answer questions you might have:

What is Patreon? Patreon is a service that helps people support creators, like me. Basically, you pay what you’re comfortable with every month and you get some more paper dolls (and my thanks). Plus, you get to know your pledge keeps Paper Thin Personas available for everyone. (Patreon FAQ has a lot more information about the details for you.)

What if I am already a Patron and I want to keep my current support? You don’t need to do anything! I appreciate it. Thank you! This will keep your access to all the content on the Patreon site you currently have access to and get you access to everything on the blog as it gets added.

What if I am a Patron and I want to stop supporting you? I 100% understand and wish you the best. So, you will need to cancel your pledge. Instructions on how to make that happen here. Thank you for all the support up to now. If you want to just reduce your amount of support, you’ll need to cancel and resubscribe, I believe.

What about current Patreon projects? These will continue! For those who don’t know, I have two- Vivian, whose a beautiful paper doll slowly getting a steampunk/Victorian inspired trousseau. My other current project is sets of paper dolls based on antique dolls called Dolly and Her Dresses. So, those will continue and there maybe more Patreon projects.

What about past Patreon projects? Well, some of these will eventually migrate to the blog, but it might be a long time and it may not be all of them.

What other Patreon content will there be? Polls, behind the scenes posts and requests will be open to Patrons as they have in the past. I’m actually super excited about these. Additionally, there will also be posts for the Jewels and Gemstones, Talia Tuesday and DDJ that’ll be Patron only.

What if I want to support you and not become a patron? Consider my Etsy store! A lot of my Patreon projects end up on Etsy later as a single purchase.

What if you didn’t answer my question? Please ask! Comments are open!

If you want to start supporting PTP, hop over to Patreon and sign up. If you don’t want to, you can totally ignore this post and continue on your merry way.

Or, if you want to support PTP with less commitment, consider grabbing something from my Etsy store.

I’m taking a vacation in June from the blog. I hope everyone has an amazing June!

I had thought I would have time to load up a bunch of preplanned content before I left town to get married and you know what? I didn’t, because planning a wedding is super complicated even when you have amazing support. But there will be newsletters! Those I got done.

So be sure to sign up for the newsletter below and you can still get some fun new paper doll coloring pages during the month of June.

I’ll see you all in July!

When it comes to creativity, I’m a sprinter, not a long distance runner. When people talk about doing one thing very day for ten minutes for a year or two years or ten years, I get twitchy. I don’t work that way. I like to work intensely for short periods and recoup with something else for a while. As I said, it’s a sprinter sort of mentality.

The downside is that I sometimes have ideas and I work on them intensely and then I stop when I lose interest, get distracted, have other things to do, or whatever. One thing I’ve been planning for years has been to do a better job of repackaging my Patreon content for Etsy. I want people to get to engage with the stuff I’ve made there, but also not have to sign up to be a patron if that doesn’t seem appealing. It’s not for everyone and that’s 100% cool with me.

Back when I drew my 1940s, 1930s, and 1960s sets, I intentionally drew more clothing than I knew would fit in my usual paper doll format with plans to use that extra content for some Etsy sets. (Okay, the first time I did it, it was 100% an accident, but like after that it seemed like a good idea.)

Lately, I’ve been having a big of a creative lull. I don’t really feel like drawing and I thought I’d turn to these older pieces and see what I could do with them. After all, sometimes working something that isn’t creative in the same way that drawing is creative helps me get through minor blocks. So, I thought- I’ll focus on layout and some older things I’m proud of and give my brain a little break. Never under estimate the value of brain breaks.

Long story short- there’s a new Etsy coloring page set of 4 pages of 1940s clothing! It’s 50% exclusive and new content and 50% recycled content from the site which has been reformatted. Some of the new and exclusive pieces include an additional doll, overalls, dresses, hats, and a very 1940s evening gown.

(If you’re a Patron, there’s a big discount coupon over here, if you want to nab it for the new stuff.)

Anyway, if you nab one, leave a review, because that always helps. If you don’t want to nab one, 100% cool- enjoy all the free 1940s paper doll content on this blog (there’s a fair bit). If you’d like to join Patreon then you can do that here, there’s a lot of more paper doll stuff over there waiting for a second lease on life.

The other good news is that this did help with my creative lull and I am now working away on a big mermaid collection (probably also destined for Etsy and Patreon) and a dog paper doll for the next issue of Paper Doll Review. Yes, a dog paper doll. No, I’m not 100% certain it was a good idea, but I’m too far along to turn back now!