fair skin

Talia Tuesday is Having Adventures

Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll coloring set has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.
Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

Last week was a lot of “housekeeping” sorts of posts- announcing changes to Patreon, letting people know about the new 1960s paper doll set– and I don’t mind those posts. They have to happen. Plus, I am proud of what I put on Etsy and I like getting to share it with you all.

But my Etsy products are always a a little higher stakes for me. Does everything fit? Do all the instruction make sense? Will someone who doesn’t know me really love the printable paper dolls as much as I hope they will?

I figure you are all my fans and will likely forgive me a foible for two.

So, I’m excited to return to a week of just sharing some printable paper dolls. It’s nice to get back to basic. Starting off with this fantasy set for Talia Tuesday feels right to me. Sometimes I do fantasy paper doll sets and I 100% know the narrative, but it’s not very common. It’s much more common for me to chose an element (in this case the scalloped sleeve detail) and think- how do I apply this across several things. You’ll see it in the sleeves of the gowns, but also repeated in the tunic trims.

I drew this paper doll at the same time as I drew my Tanya Elegant Empress paper doll. My original plan was to do a set that was all gowns and a set that was all pants. However, once I got down to the nitty-gritty of layout, I had too many gowns and not enough pants. Oops. I decided to call this printable paper doll “Having Adventures,” because the combination of nice gowns and more casual tunics made sense for someone who goes out and has an adventure. So, there’s a bow and arrows, but also an elegant gown. At least, that’s my justification after the fact.

Don’t forget to cut between the doll’s shoulders and her hair for best results when trying to dress her up.

Opal is a Mermaid!

A mermaid paper doll coloring page with many different fun mix and match pieces.
A mermaid paper doll to print with two tails and several other pieces of clothing.

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Whenever I draw mermaids, I end up thinking of Liana of Liana’s Paper Dolls. This sadly defunct site is an amazing ode to all the things you can do with mermaids and paper dolls. (Seriously, if you haven’t ever spent anytime in her archives, it is well worth a gander.) I don’t think my mermaids even get close to hers. Liana had a fascinating entire world around her mermaids and I just don’t think that way. Creating stories around my paper dolls is not my natural tendency, though I am in awe of folks who can do that.

Today’s mermaid set is part of a larger mermaid project. The set got created, because I was somehow inspired to draw mermaids. My long term plan is that collection of drawings will become into something for Etsy. In the meantime, I’m sharing some parts of the set here as smaller creations.

When I design mermaids, I like it when the tails go up over the doll’s bust, so it feels more like an entire outfit, because I can not figure-out why mermaids would wear clothing (seems totally impractical in you’re underwater). Also, I don’t know if they would need to nurse young. Are mermaids mammals? Fish certainly aren’t.

Generally, I don’t base my mermaids on actual fish (questions about mermaid’s mammal status aside). However, clownfish inspired the tail on the left.

Fun Fact: Mermaid tails are one of the only things that usually get a full sized first draft. I need to make sure the curve of the tail makes sense. The tail usually ends up taking several tries on separate paper before I transfer them into my sketchbook for final penciling and inking. This maybe why I don’t do mermaids that often. Years ago, Julie Matthews did a centaur paper doll and I am still in awe over it. I can not even imagine trying to draw that.

Unrelated, Julie’s Nora and Nellie paper dolls from Paper Doll Review are not mermaids, but are delightful.

Any how, if you want some more mermaid tails for Opal here, there’s been other mermaid paper dolls. Might I direct you to this one with Amethyst and this patron only one with Citrine. Stay tuned, because someday I will get that Etsy set done and there are some really neat mermaid tails in there that I am very proud of. I’ll let you all know when that happens, promise.

Happy 4th of July with Paper Dolls

A 4th of July paper doll coloring page and her vintage styles with a nine piece wardrobe. Fun kid's activity for the 4th of July holiday.
A 4th of July paper doll and her vintage styles with a nine piece wardrobe. Fun kid's activity for the 4th of July holiday. Blue hair and stars abound here.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Dolls Du Jour Paper Dolls

Creating a 4th of July paper doll was hard this year, but I have been wanting to try to get a paper doll done for all the major holidays I can. The thing about these holiday paper dolls is that they are super handy to have around (like instant social media content) and easy to draw (theme’s kind of done for you). However, I confess that I’ve been pretty angry and depressed about the current state of affairs in the United States. So, it was harder to build up enthusiasm to draw Americana then usual.

Still, I have so many fond memories of the 4th of July. It’s a big holiday in my hometown. There’s two parades, fireworks at midnight on the 3rd (the sun doesn’t go down until 10pm) and huge bonfire organized by our family friends. I do mean huge- it’s like several stories high and designed by architects and engineers made from pallets. There’s usually a theme for the bonfire- it’s been a T-rex, the throne of swords from Game of Thrones, and many other structures.

We make our own fun up here in the Northland.

Anyway, today’s paper doll is a riff on my Valentine’s Day vintage themed paper doll. She originally had different hair, but it did not look good. I didn’t have time to redraw it, so I borrowed the hair from the Valentine’s doll. Of course, I made a few little changes in photoshop, but it’s basically the same . I’m still trying to hit my 10 DDJ paper dolls in 2022 goal and this gets me a little closer!

By the way, there are some changes coming to Patreon (more on that later). So, just an early heads up for folks. You might start seeing posts on the site like these which are blocked unless you’re a Patron. Basically, I’m slowly adding old Patreon content to the blog in the months when it appeared on Patreon. Just so no one is super confused as to what is happening.

Dolly & Her Dresses For May 2022

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Talia Tuesday and Her Formal Gowns

Two printable paper doll coloring pages with a doll and her wardrobe of eight mix and match pieces.
A paper doll printable with a 11 piece wardrobe of evening gowns in fun spring colors. The doll has red hair and fair skin.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

So, there’s a not so fun side to any new paper doll series involving me figuring out how many pieces of clothing I need to draw to fill in a set. Too many and the clothing won’t fit. Too few and it looks weirdly sparse. I’m still sorting out with Talia Tuesday what I need for each set and evening gowns (because they are large pieces) are always a good way to test and get a feel for things.

Plus, I enjoy drawing evening gowns. Who doesn’t?

A few notes- for those of you who haven’t seen Talia here yet, all of her sets are two pages. I mention this because it’s one download, but there are two pages there. I had a question about that last week, so I wanted to clarify. This is the third Talia Tuesday doll, so if you need a friend (or clone, I suppose) there’s another Talia Tuesday with some retro ski clothing you can check out and a friend named Tashi with some fancy winterwear.

Eventually, this collection will expand to have other paper dolls with T names, but I am not there yet. Slow, but steady and all that. I have one other friend for Talia and Tashi ready and a foray into fantasy clothing I’ll want to share soon.

Meet Talia Tuesday & Her Retro Ski Winter Fashion

A black and white printable paper doll two page set with 16 piece mix and match wardrobe. Fun to color and cut out and play with.
Amazing screen free fun with a printable paper doll and her 16 piece winter retro wardrobe.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

I do not know where to start with this one, so let me start at the beginning I guess. Last year, I decided to just draw whatever I felt like for my 5 dollar patrons. One of the experiments that came out of that year was this paper doll pose. Inspired by a pose I’ve seen, but never tried to draw (and like it only looks correct because the amazing Julie Matthews saved me on foot placement- you’re the best Julie). I liked the doll, but the pose is totally new to me and is taking some getting used too. It’s making me stretch and I think that’s always a good thing.

So, I decided one of the things I wanted to do was a two page series, due to the paper doll’s pose and size. After I shared her for my Patrons last year, I reformatted her and did some adjustments to her face and came up with a name. Meet Talia Tuesday & Friends!

She’ll post not every Tuesday, because that would be bananas, but like some Tuesdays. This first Talia Tuesday is inspired by the retro ski trend that seems to be all over the place this winter with lots of 1980s and 1990s inspired ski wear. I don’t think any of this is really practical ski clothing, so I didn’t feel weird giving Talia a big silver earrings.

Don’t worry, Talia will have friends soon. If you love paper dolls and want more of them every month, I’ve got Patreon page where even more paper dolls happen (plus you get to see things like this in the early days) and a newsletter.

Ombre Stripes in Purples with Lapis

A printable paper doll in pwith a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe.
A blond printable paper doll in purples and teals with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe.

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So, according to the internet, source of all wisdom, lilac is a big color for Winter 2022. I wanted to really focus on two colors- purple and teal- for the this paper doll. The set was supposed to be a look at monochrome colors which isn’t something I do a lot in my paper doll coloring.

Recently, I got a question from a reader asking if I did anything with my finished paper dolls. At first, I didn’t understand the question. What did “do anything with” mean? I wondered. I told her about my messy files, my boxes of sketchbooks in my office closet, but that answer didn’t feel right. It’s been percolating in my brain for the last week.

What do I “do with” my finished work?

And then the answer occurred to me as I was working on scheduling this months paper doll posts and it was utterly obvious…. What I do with my finished paper dolls is this. PTP is what I do with my finished work. Completing things is deeply satisfying for me and how I complete my paper dolls is sharing them with all of you.

Once I thought about for a while, the answer was obvious. So, thank you for being a part of my process and a part of my little corner of the inter-webs. If you’d like to support my little corner of the internet further, I have a Patreon page, Etsy store, and a newsletter.

Cottagecore Fashions with Opal

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DDJ: Sweet Summer Scallops with Dusk

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While all of my paper dolls have themes, I think my contemporary fashion paper dolls have themes that are sometimes more subtle or more defined by color than anything else. After all, there’s only so many ways a person can draw a pair of blue jeans. This set was inspired by summer florals and a pair of polka-dot jeans my sister used to own. In my head, I was thinking feminine silhouettes (hence the flutter, tulip and puffed sleeves) and scallops. I included the long denim skirt, because I feel like 1990s fashions are having a revival and long denim skirts feel so 1990s to me.

I wanted to keep the colors soft and pastel without feeling too… childish. I think pastels can go nursery room really fast. For those keeping count at home, this is my 7th Dolls Du Jour paper doll and my second one with Dusk. The last one was this very fancy evening gown set.

There’s also a new paper doll set up on Etsy if you’d like to go check that one out. It’s a three doll set with five pages of fantasy clothing. I imagine it would be super fun to color.

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Want to support the blog and access to more paper dolls every month? Join us on Patreon!

Lapis in the mid-1940s

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A Valentine’s Day Paper Doll For 2021

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Valentine’s Day is a holiday I always try to make a paper doll for, because of my grandmother who often sent Valentine’s Day cards with paper dolls in them to me and my sister. This paper doll has a small colorful mix and match wardrobe with some retro dresses and slip on shoes. Don’t forget to cut between the dolls shoulders and her hair, so the tabs fit better.

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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.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

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.