Topaz & Her Workout Clothing

Athleisure has grown as a fashion phenomena in the last few years and so today’s paper doll is a celebration of all things athleisure. If I’m going to draw some paper fashion dolls, I figure they deserve the latest fashion looks. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been really needing to make sure I exercise these days. Winter and the pandemic have made me very much in need of breaking into a sweat pretty regularly.

Paper fashion doll coloring page with workout clothing. She has a fantastic 12 piece wardrobe of cute gym mix and match clothing.

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Of course, my workout clothing isn’t nearly this cute. Maybe I should invest in something much cuter to exercise in. If I am going to draw paper fashion dolls, it seems like at minimum they should get cute work out clothing.

Super cute paper doll and she has a fantastic 12 piece wardrobe of cute gym mix and match clothing.

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This version of Topaz was first created way back in 2019. I am recycling her here, but all the clothing is totally new. I still super love her hair. It’s like a 1930s glamour look, but for the gym. Hmm…. maybe not the most practical option.

By the way, have you seen Lane Bryant’s workout line? I haven’t gotten any yet, but their leggings are super cute. I love this floral one and this color blocked option. Living in Alaska means I pretty much 100% shop online, unless I’m in the lower 48 and then I can actually buy things at real stores.

As the year begins to wrap up, I am nearly done with my 366 Day paper doll Project over on Patreon! Now would be a great time to jump in and see the last few weeks of paper doll creations. Then I am taking off January (no charges for anyone on Patreon) for a little vacation and to get my Newsletter up and running smoothly (I hope.)

By the way, you can sign up for the Newsletter here and there will be more information about it in coming weeks.

The Make Believe Issue of Paper Doll Studio Magazine

  • Paper Doll Studio Issue 128 Cover by JM Tolman
  • My Fairy paper doll underneath art by Melissa Pepe

I got the most wonderful surprise in my mailbox last week- Issue 128 of Paper Doll Studio Magazine. The magazine, for those of you who don’t know, is merging with Paper Doll Review. I’ll talk more about this later in the post, promise.

The featured artist was JM Tolman. I was slightly familiar with her work from stumbling across her from her Etsy store and I always enjoy reading the interviews with the featured artists in the magazine. Her art style is super unique and unlike anyone else in the paper doll world right now.

The theme of the issue was Make Believe. Personally, I can’t think of a theme that I wanted to read more than this one. I mean, princesses, sci-fi, all things nerdy, this is was so what I love that I don’t even have words. I used some content from my Patreon project and reformatted it into this cute little fairy.

And seriously, every page of this issue had paper dolls on it that I wanted to photograph. Every page.

A few of my other favorite pieces from the issue were a Dungeons and Dragons paper doll by Dorta Meeiling Nielsen, because I have totally drawn paper dolls of my rpg characters. There was also a great article about cosplay by Tracy Williams with some of her beautiful paper dolls featured. Sylvia Kleindinst did a dress up cat with art inspired costumes. I’m biased, because the cat does look a bit my own furbaby Dewey.

  • Sylvia Kleindinst’s Cat Paper Dolls
  • Dorta Meeiling Nielsen’s DnD Paper Dolls

There has been some sadness over the merger between Paper Doll Review and Paper Doll Studio Magazine. Personally, I super excited with this new chapter for the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild and our magazine. The world of paper doll lovers and artists is a small one and given the current climate for print publishing, having a magazine at all is amazing. I wish Jenny nothing but the absolute best as she continues into this new chapter for her paper doll publishing world.

By the way, if you have a subscription to Paper Doll Studio, you should get the merged magazine in 2021. If you don’t have a subscription, go grab one!

Speaking of new projects, there will be a whole new chapter for PTP in 2021. You might notice some small changes (like my new logos) around here as that happens, but there will be more changes in future. I’ll keep you all posted and if you’re a Patron, you’ll get even more info and some input. Join us!

Fantasy Pretty Paper Doll Dresses for Printing and Playing

Sometimes, I just want to draw pretty paper doll dresses.

Okay. I pretty much always want to draw pretty dresses for paper dolls. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing variety (like this fisherman set), but I think anyone whose a regular here knows my first loves are the fantasy and historical stuff. And the fantasy stuff is easier than the historical stuff, because there’s no research involved.

Don’t get me wrong, I love research, but sometimes it’s fun to let that go and just play.

Printable coloring page of cute and pretty paper doll dresses for kids of all ages. Three dresses, one doll and two pairs of shoes.

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These pretty paper doll dresses were vaguely inspired by the empire silhouette of the early 19th century and the off the shoulder dresses of the 1980s. Basically. there’s nothing here that’s historically accurate, except that these are dresses. That’s about it. There’s a dress.

That’s where it ends.

Some super cute and pretty paper doll dresses for kids of all ages to print and play with. Three dresses, one doll and two pairs of shoes, plus accessories.

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I had drawn a specific version of Sapphire for this set, but I wasn’t in love with her hair and after trying to fix it like 17 times, I gave up and recycled an older Sapphire design from last year.

By the way, if you love paper dolls and want more of my paper dolls, we have a great community over on Patreon. Join us there for more paper dolls!

Rose and Ivy Paper Doll Book Review

  • Rose and Ivy by Julie Allen Matthews
  • The dolls- Ivy and Rose- from the back of the book.

Julie Allen Matthew‘s new book Rose and Ivy paper dolls published by Paper Doll Review press is what I am writing about today. I know both Julie and Jenny (who runs Paper Doll Review), but this isn’t sponsored or anything. I bought it with my own 13 dollars and thought I would share what I liked and didn’t like about the book, because I do like writing up my thoughts on various paper doll books.

So, let me start by giving the basic info. The book is a 8.5 by 11 inches staple bound. It has a light weight satin cardstock cover and the most beautiful interior paper. I didn’t cut into mine, but the feel of the paper is lovely. I think cutting up this book would be a dream.

The book has two dolls on the back, Ivy and Rose, who are each about 9 inches tall. There are 8 plates, so 16 pages. I counted 47 mix and match clothing pieces and 16 wigs, though I am not good at counting. So, I might be off. All in all, a pretty extensive wardrobe for these two girls.

The style is a neo-Victorian fantasy with lots of ruffles, floral patterns and cute hats. One thing Julie has done really well in this book is that the mix and match pieces color coordinate and the wigs often have flowers or other things, adding interest. I would have had so much fun with wigs as a kid.

  • Some of the lovely patterns.
  • A few of my favorite wigs.

Some of you may recall Julie’s 100 Day Project back in 2019. Three of us started, but (much like the Thunderdome) only one of us was left standing. That was Julie and her beautiful black and white creation. Julie is really good (much better than I am) at taking things she does for one thing and then refining them into something else for sale. So, this book is colored versions of those black and white illustrations.

Now, no paper doll book is perfect and this one is no exception. There are no stands or instructions for making stands with the book, nor is there any bio information about Julie or the concepts behind the paper dolls. It’s a small thing, but I think it would have been nice to include some of those details.

Also, there’s no identification on the clothing indicating which items are for which doll. A letter on the tabs would probably save some headache in that regard. Usually, I could tell by layout, but a few times I had to really think about it. I imagine if the pieces were cut out, it would be even more useful to indicate whose was whose.

All in all though, Rose and Ivy is a beautiful book in warm vivid color. The dolls are lovely, the clothing is fun and I think, in these Covid-19 times especially, it would make a wonderful afternoon toy for a child who likes paper dolls with pretty dresses. I would have adored this set as a child and drawn many more outfits for Rose and Ivy myself. I just know it.

You can pick up your own copy direct from Paper Doll Review.

Flowers and Showers: A Colorful Paper Doll Fashionista

Spring showers bring summer flowers, or something like that. It might be snowing out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like my summery floral fashionista paper doll options. Jade has a glorious garden inspired wardrobe of both older pieces and a few new ones for added fun. The dress is new, for example and I am super in love with it.

A fashionista paper doll coloring page featuring a curvy black doll and her wardrobe of floral inspired fashions.

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I first created this version of Jade to go with a formal gown, but I decided to separate her from her evening gown and pair her with a more casual wardrobe for a bit of mix and match fun. I am super happy with how her hair came out. There’s nine pieces here with make over 20 different combinations which isn’t bad for one paper doll.

A fashionista paper doll featuring a curvy black doll and her wardrobe of floral inspired fashions.

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It might be snowing outside, but I could use some summery thoughts. So, the color scheme for this paper doll embraces all the colors the world isn’t currently experiencing up here in Alaska. No snowy shades for our fashionista paper doll.

The problem with where I live is not that it snows. It is that is snows and then never melts until like March. That’s the problem.

A few of this paper dolls pieces were Patron pieces last year. Joins us over there for even more fun paper doll content each week.

A Lady Knight and her Fantastic Armor to Print

Many years ago, I met a 3 year old girl who was super into knights. Ever since then, I’ve thought a lot about the importance of lady knight paper dolls. Don’t get me wrong- I will never abandon princesses, but knights are important, too! Two different sets combined here, along with additional armor pieces have been added. The first was Diamond and her Armor from April and the other was this set of armor from May.

I also drew several new pieces to complete this knight paper toy set. Paper toys is my non-gendered way of describing paper dolls, because somehow people don’t look at me so weird when I say I am into paper toys rather than paper dolls.

(I actually have a whole theory about this involving gendered toys, but I’ll spare you all.)

A lovely paper doll knight and her paper wardrobe to color and print.

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I confess that when I design armor I do spend a bit of time on my Pinterest Fantasy Armor board, but I also grant that I am not super knowledgeable about full-plate armor designs/functionality. It’s just not a topic that has ever really been enchanting to me the way historical clothing is. (Sorry historical armor fans.)

So, mostly I try to just design things that look like they could be realistic and not worry too much about actual practicality/functionality.

A paper knight and her paper wardrobe to print and play with. Scree free paper toy for kids of all ages.

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Color schemes for armor are a little challenging. Mostly, I am making things grey or goldish. However, I do like to pick a few accent colors to make things a little more interesting. In the case of this set, I was thinking about winter (which is pretty much here in Alaska) so I chose a soft blue and soft purple. Neon yellow just doesn’t feel knight like to me.

Don’t forget there’s even more paper doll content over on Patreon, starting with extra Friday content. Who doesn’t want a little Friday pick me up?

A link to the exclusive Friday paper doll content on Patreon

A Pair of Halloween Paper Dolls! One Bee & One Fairy

I’m not super into scary Halloween stuff. I like the occasional well written ghost story and will watch horror movies if my best friend watches them first, provides me a summary, and warns me if I can handle it. Then I watch them at noon with the lights on and quickly watch something like the Great British Baking Show afterwards to keep myself from feeling to scared.

Yes, I am pathetic in this regard.

A pair of Halloween paper dolls on this fun coloring page! Super cute bumble bee costume and a fairy for these fun printable paper dolls.

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So, to do with the Ghost and Frankenstein’s monster of last week I wanted to end October with another set of Halloween inspired paper dolls. Sometimes, when I draw Halloween paper dolls they are clearly a person with costumes and other times they are meant to be the actual creatures.

This set I think falls somewhere in the middle. Ruby could be fairy or she could be a person in a wig with an ear prosthetic. Sapphire is probably not a bee (clearly), but she could be somehow. I’ll need to think more on that one. I paid the bee with the fair, because I knew I could draw one set of wings for them to share.

A pair of Halloween paper dolls! A bumble bee costume and a fairy costume for these fun printable paper dolls.

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For this set, I stuck with a pretty narrow color scheme, as I wanted the wings and other pieces to be somewhat interchangeable between the two dolls. I’ve always felt like paper dolls are best when they have more options.

I hope everyone has an amazing Halloween, but, most of all a safe one.

If you want even more paper dolls with costumes, I just finished doing a bunch of Masquerade dresses for my 5 dollar patrons. Join us over on Patreon to see those and get more paper dolls each week.

Happy Halloween: Ghost and Frankenstein’s Monster Paper Dolls

Like I did last year, this year I wanted to celebrate Halloween with some super cute paper dolls. I created these two paper dolls last year, so you can grab them in the new size and the new format. So, settle in for a nice evening with this super cute Halloween paper dolls printable. Also, I am never sure if the word “printable” should be a noun or an adjective. The questions pondered by English majors.

Pearl is a ghost whose gown is based on the chemise a la reine of the 18th century. Diamond is Frankenstein’s monster with a lab-coat mini-dress.

A black and white halloween paper dolls printable to color and play with featuring a ghost and a frankenstein's monster.

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I am still super proud of how Pearl’s hair came out! I really wanted that whole “blowing in a wind that isn’t there thing.”

Diamond’s hair still kinda reminds me of a skunk, but hopefully in a good way. 🙂

A halloween paper dolls printable to play with for indoor halloween fun featuring a ghost and a frankenstein's monster. Super cute, not at all scary!

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Honestly, I have no idea how halloween is going to go this year. Normally, we get a lot of kids. My plan is (if lockdown isn’t happening) is to pass out candy wearing a mask and with kitchen tongs so I don’t touch the candy packaging. But who knows? Things are so strange.

Even if we get no kids, we’ve decorated our porch with lights and a pumpkin and a skeleton on the door. My big rule for Halloween decor is nothing too scary. I was an easily scared kid and I don’t want to ever scare anyone.

Meanwhile, there will another Halloween paper dolls printable later this month with totally new designs- a fairy and a bumble bee. Additionally, if you want even more paper dolls, check out Patreon. My 5 dollar folks have been getting masquerade gowns based on ocean creatures for the last few days.

Pretty Party Dresses for Ruby

Today’s paper doll set would be a great rainy day activity for kids. These formal gown sets are particularly popular for children, because my readers have told me they are. I don’t have children and my niece and nephew are a little young for paper dolls.

The dress to the far right used to be green for example and of course, this version of Ruby was the first version I ever posted. You can see that one, too. SO very long ago, that feels. (It wasn’t that long ago.) The two short dresses were a Patron only piece from last year. I don’t plan reuse all my patron pieces, but some of them will show up in some of these sets I construct from Jewels and Gemstones 1.0.

A beautiful black and white paper doll with four evening gowns and three shoes. She's curvy and lovely and super fun to print if you want a fun rainy day activity for kids.

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I love drawing formal gowns for paper dolls. Probably for the simplicity of drawing from reference photos and the fun of locating those reference photos.

However, I do listen to what my readers tell me.

Fun curvy printable paper doll with four evening gowns. Super fun rainy day activity for kids.

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I went with a soft of soft smoky color scheme for this set. Briefly, I considered not making Ruby a redhead again, but I love red hair so much. I always wanted red hair. My hair is sometimes called “dishwater blond” and while I think other terms like “honey blond” sound a lot nicer, I’ve never forgotten having my hair called “dishwater” as a child. Not really the best way for people to make a child like their hair color!

Anyway, I love my hair today. For a long period, I wished for red hair. So, I share it a lot. My grandmother was a redhead before her hair went white and I often wish I had gotten those genes. Anyway, every time I make a redhead paper doll, I think of it as a nod to her.

Want brand new content? Consider joining Patreon. There’s new stuff every week!

As Winter Comes, Here’s a Viking Fantasy Paper Doll

Occasionally, I create a paper doll outfit and I know I want to continue for another outfit in another style. For this paper doll set, I wanted to take this Viking Woman Warrior inspired outfit from last January and create a whole Viking fantasy paper doll collection around it. The original design was inspired by this drawing, but I didn’t look at it until I was finished with these new designs.

Today’s paper doll outfits were based on Viking clothing, such as apron-dresses, but I also just had fun with the motifs on the first tunic inspiring motifs on the other pieces.

A printable black and white paper doll coloring page of a Viking fantasy woman with outfits, weapons and accessories.

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The paper doll’s hair was pretty much inspired by stereotypes of Viking hair. I wanted it to feel fantasy, but not be overly elaborate. Actual Vikings were very into personal grooming and took care of their appearance. We know this from the number of combs, tweezers and other tools found in the graves of Vikings. This is Viking fantasy, but I object to the whole idea that they were scruffy.

Printable Viking fantasy paper doll page with a mix and match wardrobe and some fun accessories.

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I did a lot of research on Vikings a few years ago back in 2015 and wrote up a quick over view if you want to read about actual Viking dress. I really enjoyed learning when I did that research. Though I openly confess that I don’t really go with historical Vikings very often. I know enough to know I don’t know enough.

But since I love playing around with different historical periods and creating fantasy paper dolls based on them, I don’t feel too worried about the historical accuracy here.

Meanwhile, if you’re a fan of the blog, than consider joining us over on Patreon. There’s ever more paper doll content. And who doesn’t want more paper dolls?

1950s Dresses with Sapphire

If I had to pick one period of fashion that I think I would look pretty good in it would be the 1950s. In the real world, I might be a strictly hoodies and jeans sort of girl, but if I do dress up, the the 1950s tight waist, full skirt, is my go-to silhouette.

Also, historical paper dolls are what I mostly collect and were my favorites as a child. So, it is a win-win all around for me. I did this series last year for the larger scale Jewels and Gemstones. It was fun to put them together as a set. I have even more 1950s stuff, so there will be another set of these.

Let’s talk some sources. Her dresses are Vogue 8596, Simplicity 3572 and Simplicity 4966. Two of the hats are from the Montgomery Ward Spring Summer 1950.. All of the other Accessory inspirations are from the Met including- this purse, these shoes, this hat, and these shoes. Her underwear is this corset from the V&A. 

A 1950s black fashion paper doll to color with retro dresses and underwear. She has three dresses, three hats and two pairs of shoes.

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For Sapphire’s hair, I based her style off the hair styles worn by Dorothy Dandridge and Leana Horne two black stars from the 1950s. These photos of Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge (Here’s the same hair again on Dorothy Dandridge in 1954) were my inspiration.

They were also super interesting people. Dorothy Dandridge was an actress who was the first African-American woman to on the cover of Life magazine. She died quite young, sadly. Lena Horne was a wildly successful singer. She got blacklisted after being accused of being a communist.

A 1950s black fashion paper doll to print with vintage dresses and underwear. She has three dresses, three hats and two pairs of shoes.

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I tend to love the color red. However, for this set, I chose to try to avoid using it, even though I tend to always want to. Her only red is the lipstick. I love the idea of wearing hats, even though I don’t. So, the hats as universal as possible, so I matched them to shoes.

The show Lovecraft Country made me want to finish this set. The character Ruby has the most amazing outfits. I love seeing a curvy, black woman dressed up in the finest 1950s fashion. The actress Wunmi Mosaku does an amazing job with the character and I love the costuming choices like this dress and this dress. Seriously, I want her all clothes.

I don’t know if I’d universally recommend Lovecraft Country, because it is a horror show and there’s some pretty graphic violence. I like it, but I know it won’t be everyone’s taste. Plus, it is uneven- hits well when it hits, but when it doesn’t… (much like Lovecraft’s writing) it’s a little painful. There’s also some transphobic stuff which I found pretty troubling. I think the show has good and bad things about it.

I digress. Enjoy today’s paper doll and if you love the blog (and want more paper dolls) join us over on Patreon.

Retro-Beach Summer Paper Doll with Ruby

One of the interesting things about switching over to Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 has been getting to gather up related pieces from other sets and make them into new sets. I had fun collecting some of the summery clothing I’d drawn over the last year and transforming it into a new set for Ruby, though any of the dolls can wear the clothing. To my patrons, I’m sure these pieces look familiar, but I don’t think most of them have shown up on the blog before.

So, that’s kinda fun.

Paper doll coloring sheet with mix and match wardrobe from paperthinpersonas.com

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I went through several color schemes with this set. Before I finally settled on one that I reminded me of a retro 1960s surf movie poster color scheme. Of course, I didn’t actually look at any retro surf movies for inspiration, but that was my concept. Ruby basically has my hair color here, because I don’t see that color in paper dolls much.

Brunette printable fashion paper doll dress up page with 8 mix and match clothing options.

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In other fun news, I’ve got a published magazine paper doll. If you go grab the current issue of Doll Castle News, you’ll find my paper doll dedicated to “Doll-O-Ween” (shout out to my partner Adam for the title) in there. She was inspired by both BJDs and vintage Ginny dolls. Drawing dolls and not having them come out creepy is super hard. My respect for Diana Vining’s art grew immensely in that project. You can also see some pics on my Instagram.

Anyway, I keep meaning to do a longer post with photos of my sketches and such. However, in case that doesn’t happen (and who knows if it will) I wanted to share.

As always, if you love the blog, want to support it, and want more paper dolls every week- join us on Patreon. This is a one woman show, so any level of support is super helpful to keeping things rolling around here.