Paper Thin Personas • Page 70 of 152 • Rachel Cohen's Paper Doll Creations

2017 First Quarter Blog Income Report For Paper Thin Personas

April 24, 2017

I am interrupting the regular paper doll content to share some numbers in the first ever Paper Thin Personas Blog Income Report. Paper dolls will resume tomorrow.

I went back and forth and back and forth about today’s post. I was raised in a family where you do not talk about money, so talking about money and business openly is pretty counter intuitive for me. However, when I first started blogging I saw some really distorted income reports and I wanted to share one that wasn’t from someone who was trying to quit their day job. (Seriously, I adore my day job, why would I want to quit it?)

Let’s start with expenses.

Expenses for Paper Thin Personas

The PTP’s expenses I keep in three categories- fees, advertising and blog expenses.

Fees are the costs Etsy and Patreon both charge for processing payment. Fees cost me about 72 dollars this month.

I chose to try out Pinterest advertising for the first time this quarter. It was most a bust with a click-through rate (how many people who saw it and then clicked) of less then 1%. I also promote the Etsy Store and that costs a little too.

Total expenses for advertising were 43 dollars.

Blog expenses include the server hosting costs, paying for social media management tools, security and backups. My hosting is super cheap and very bare bones, but I really should switch companies and/or upgrade. Once I do that, my hosting costs will jump from about 12.00 per month up to the 30 to 40 dollar range.

I also pay about 21 dollars a month for a security company to monitor the blog (it was hacked last year), provide a firewall, cacheing and daily backups. All things I really need.

Blog expenses cost me about 144 dollars this last quarter and this will increase if I change hosts.

You will note I don’t have supplies in this pie-chart. I am horrible at tracking my supplies, but my resolution for next quarter is to get better at it.

Income For Paper Thin Personas

My income was a little odd this quarter. I got my last payout from a licensing deal with HP Printers, which was for 497 dollars. I also got a deposit for a commission which I’ll be finishing up this April. That was 100 dollars.

The Etsy store debuted and actually did better than I expected. I made 12 sales and a total of about 88 dollars.

The most important income piece is Patreon. Patrons donated 290.00 dollars this quarter. They paid for the blog to stay on the internet and there was a little left over to do some ads. In short, I am very grateful to all of them. You guys rock!

If you want to join… here’s the link to do that.

To sum up all the numbers, it cost me 258 to run the site. I made about 948. The net income is 690.

However, this includes 497 dollars from HP which will not happen again, plus commission funds, if you take out the one-time payments, the net income becomes 93 dollars.

A slightly less impressive number for sure.

Paper Thin Personas Sales Data

The most popular clothing sets have been the black and white Steampunk clothing set, the black and white Medieval Princess Gowns set, the color Medieval Gowns Set (red & blue color scheme), all having sold three copies.

The most popular dolls have been the redhead with the orange base and the blond with the orange base. None of the black and white dolls have sold more than one copy. I think it is interesting that the clothing sells in black and white, but the dolls don’t seem to move much.

As you can see from the chart above, clothing sales far out pace doll sales.

Paper Thin Personas Site Stats

I am averaged 36,000 views per month, 5368 users per month and 9,000 sessions per month. These numbers aren’t bad, per say, but they haven’t changed a great deal in the last few years. Last year, for example, I averaged 5,018 users per month and in 2015, I averaged 4750 users per month.

Not bad numbers, per say, just not great numbers. If I want to grow PTP, I need to get more eyes on the blog.

I have 3462 Pinterest followers which is steadily growing and remains my highest social media referral site. The Facebook page had 46 likes at the start of April. The twitter feed is… well, it remains pretty unpopular, but I am trying to not totally give up on it.

Where to Go from Here?

I’ll admit the math has made me do some thinking. I swore long ago that I wouldn’t put advertising on the site and I still don’t want to do that. I stand by my belief that keeping the site ad free is important, but it massively reduces sources of income.

Affiliate programs are another option for income streams, but I need to discuss that with a lawyer. The blog is in a strange position as far as the Child’s Online Privacy Protection Act is concerned. I need to make sure I am not running afoul of that law.

It is my belief that the only way to really increase my income is to get more eyes on the blog and that means gritting my teeth and paying something for advertising, even though I hate doing it. I just need to decide what the best form that would take.

Pinterest remains my top referrer with Facebook coming in close behind. The possibility of a Facebook ad has occurred to me, but I’m not sure if I want to spend the money. I have heard mixed things about Facebook ads.

So, I think that’s everything. Regular paper dolls with resume tomorrow. 🙂

Thoughts? Questions? Let me know in a comment. This is my first ever year to track all this stuff. I don’t know if I’ll do a report like this every quarter, but it was a really healthy exercise I think.

Ms. Mannequin Printable Paper Dolls Get 1970s Dresses

April 21, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: The dresses of 1974 like Simplicity 6605 and McCall’s 3936

Let me be frank, I don’t really love the fashions of the 1970s, but they are starting to grow on me a little. There’s something about the bold colors and the big collars that I kinda have a fondness for.

So, I might never been a die hard “1970s YAY” kinda girl, I am at least learning to enjoy some of the looks of the era.

Last year I drew my first 1970s stuff and this year I wanted to continue dabbling in the era. While I think the Ms. Mannequin dolls look kinda odd as Vikings (their pose just doesn’t work), they make much better swinging cats of the 1970s.

Both of these dresses are based on pattern cover designs. I love using vintage pattern covers to design paper doll dresses. They are usually pretty easy to draw from too, which I am grateful for.

The dress on the left is from Simplicity 6605 and McCall’s 3936 and McCall’s 3936 which was apparently a “carefree pattern” which I think meant it was supposed to be easy to make. The dress on the right is from Simplicity 6605 which was a “how to sew” pattern. It would teach you, apparently, how to make set in gathered sleeves.

These days, I use online videos when I don’t know how to sew something, but I suppose that wasn’t exactly an option in 1974.

Also, I don’t sew people clothing. I am strictly a doll clothing sewing kinda girl.

Well, what do you all think of today’s 1970s dresses? Is this a decade of fashion you really love? Do the Ms. Mannequin dolls need maybe a jumpsuit or something to do with their dresses?

Let me know in a comment.

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

Marisole Monday & Friends: A Tudor Inspired Printable Paper Doll Dress

April 20, 2017

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

Yesterday I posted fantasy garments based on some traditional Asian attire. Today I am hopping back to Europe to post a riff on 15th and 16th century dress.

Today’s Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper doll dress crosses Italian clothing in the late 1400s with English costume in the mid-1500s. There’s a definite Spanish Farthingale thing going on in that skirt shape. Spanish Farthngales were hoop skirts of their era and gave dresses a distinct cone shape. It was all the rage in England towards the end of the 1500s. Here’s an example of what I talking about.

The sleeves of today’s paper doll gown are pretty Italian. The style in Italy at the very end of the 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s. It was considered fashionable to have the shift sticking out through the spaces the sleeves- my paper dolls are nothing if not fashionable. Here is an example of the sleeves I mean and here is another one.

When it came time to color today’s paper doll, I fell back on the colors I tend to like when it comes to Tudor feeling things. I settled on copper and black for the color scheme. While I experimented with brighter options, I loved the sophistication these colors created.

As with many of my fantasy paper dolls, I added shoes and stockings to round out the outfit. After all, I do love to draw shoes. These shoes are neither English nor Italian, but more a pair of modern ones. So, that continues the cross-cultural experience here.

So, what do people think of my English-Italian Renaissance love child of a paper doll dress? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon.

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

Asian Inspired Fantasy Outfits for the Sprites Printable Paper Dolls

April 19, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Kimono, Qiapo and Stuff

It has been a while since I dabbled in Asian dress inspired fantasy attire for the paper dolls. Sometimes, I feel a little strange borrowing from Asian traditional attire, because I don’t feel like I have the right. I pointed this out of a friend and they asked if I didn’t have the right to borrow from Japan, why did I have the right to borrow from Europe?

I really didn’t have a good answer to that one. I am certainly not now, nor have ever been, European. I was born in Alaska, after all.

Cultural appropriation is one of those areas that I never quite know how I feel. Still, being aware is important and trying to be culturally aware matters. Respecting other cultures and trying to depict them respectfully is important.

So, today’s fantasy foray crosses qiapo and kimonos in a way that doesn’t make much logical sense, but does look neat. And looking neat is an important critera for my fantasy paper doll creations. (Hence why I once drew this and got to call it armor.)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the colors in today’s pair of Sprite paper doll pieces came from this kimono. I love kimonos and their color combinations are often surprising to me. Probably, because I lack the cultural context to understand the color choices, but I always seem to enjoy the surprise.

According to this chart I saw on the internet, and we all know how trustworthy that is, orange and purple are common colors for May kimonos. In the world of kimonos, colors signify season, status, gender, age, and all sorts of other things. It is actually a fascinating area of study, if you know, you happen to be into dress.

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

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.