fairy

Flower Fairies: Yumiko as a Flower Fairy

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Flower Fairies, Cicely Mary Barker, and the Book, Fairie-ality

A cute little flower fairy paper doll free to print in color or black and white.

A few weeks ago, I posted my flower fairy outfits for the Sprite paper dolls inspired by nasturtiums. At the time, my two Sprite fairy paper dolls weren’t done yet, but now they are. So, today Yumiko of the Sprites paper doll family today is showing off her fairy side. Tomorrow, her male partner in crime Xavier will make his fairy debut.

Even with this new format, I do plan to post Sprites as sets. I like having a lady and a gent of the same theme posting two days in a row. I think it is fun.

And it is my blog, so I get to decide what is fun here.

All of my flower fairy designs owe something to Cicely Mary Barker who illustrated what are now “classic” flower fairy illustrations starting in the 1920s. Here are some of her fairy illustrations.

There is something so innocent about Cicely Mary Barker’s art. I still really love her books and I loved them when I was a child. My favorite was the Willow Fairy. Of course, the book Fairie-ality was also a big influence. Highly recommended.

I went back and forth and back and forth about the color scheme for this one. I tried out blue skin and green skin, but I really like how the purple turned out. If you think she needs a different color, then there’s always the black and white version.

So, here’s my question for my readers today, was I the only Cicely Mary Barker flower fairy fan as a child? Let me know in a comment!

And if you like the blog, and want to see what goes on the behind the scenes, then join us on Patreon. A dollar a month gets you access to the Behind the Scenes blog and five dollars gets you the Vivian Paper Doll Project. Right now, my patrons are voting on a name for a new Marisole Monday and Friends paper doll.

Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Sprites: Flower Fairies Can Be Boys!

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Flower Fairies, Nasturtiums and the Book, Fairie-ality

Fairy paper doll clothing for both boy and girl paper dolls. Free to print form paperthinpersonas.com.

So, when I was doodling this fairy paper doll clothing, I said to a friend, “Can flower fairies be boys?”

And she was like, “Of course, don’t be sexist.”

And I was like, “Well, in that case…”

Here today we have flower fairy clothing for both boy and girl paper dolls. I also have fairy versions of two Sprites dolls in the works, but they aren’t ready for prime time yet, unlike my flower fairy outfits.

So, I own a lot of serious costume history books and I own a lot of books of fairy tales and folklore. I own only one book that combines the two. That is Fairie-Ality, an amazing collection of fairy outfits made from natural materials and beautifully photographed. It is a book I use when I am looking for fairy inspiration.

Other than that, this set of fairy paper doll clothing was inspired by Nasturtiums. I love Nasturtiums, because they taste spicy and they grow best in poor soil. Anyway, they are most often yellow, orange or red flowers, hence the yellow, orange and red color scheme.

If you want to support the blog, than consider becoming a Patron, it’s fun and mostly painless, I promise.

So, my question for all my readers today is, what is your favorite flower? I confess nasturtiums are some of my favorites. Let me know in a comment!

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

A Woodland Mage Printable Paper Doll

woodland-mage-logoIt’s Monday! And that means a new printable paper doll!

I previewed this set last Wednesday. As I said before, this paper doll was inspired by the idea of woodlands, fauns and spirits of the forest. I wanted to create something that felt layered and collected, rather than planned or purchased.

When I designed these pieces, I was thinking of autumn. Of course, it’s not autumn here. Summer is officially here in Alabama, which means it was in the 90s today and horrible humid. I have been hot and miserable every-time I go outside. I don’t know who invented air conditioning, but I am so grateful to them.

Today’s woodland paper doll is being modeled by Margot. There’s sixteen pieces with today’s paper doll set which is a lot of mix and match options.

A woodland mage or perhaps a woodland fairy paper doll with a mix and match wardrobe.

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I went back and forth and back and forth about color options here. I wanted to do a autumn scheme at first with all oranges and browns and yellows, but that looked kinda dull. So, green got tossed in to the mix to add some zest and brightness.

The light browns were based on colors of deer, which I always think as being a big part of the forest. I’ve always loved deer, both as beautiful animals and as tasty chili. (Seriously, venison chili is amazing.)

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Many of my paper dolls are really characters I invent in my head who come from well formed worlds. Today’s is less so. I was thinking maybe a fairy of some type or a druid or perhaps a mage who focuses on woodland magics.

In truth, I don’t really know who this Margot paper doll is, but perhaps you have an idea you’d like to share in the comments?

A Fairy Paper Doll Costume for Halloween

poppets-logo-fairyFor the next two Friday’s I’ll be giving the Poppet’s some Halloween costumes. Today, we have a fairy and next week, there will be a pirate for these printable paper dolls.

So, when I draw things like fairy paper dolls they fall into one of two categories- “Real Fairies” or “Fairy Costumes.” Sometimes I am creating a printable paper doll of a fantasy creature like a mermaid or a fairy and that is a different idea than creating a Halloween costume of that creature.

So when I created this fairy costume, I was thinking strictly of it as a costume sort of experience, rather than an actual creature. I hope that makes sense.

Despite this the wings are intended to be glued to the back of the paper doll or you could use double sided tape. I realize this means they are non-removable, but over the years I have come to conclude that this is the best way to attach wings. I have tried other methods, but they don’t seem to really work very well. Plus there is nothing stopping you from printing several of the Poppets and having “winged” and “normal” versions. After all, that’s part of the power of printable paper dolls. They can always be re-printed.

poppet-halloween-paper-doll-fairy poppet-halloween-paper-doll-fairy-bw

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Modeling the fairy costume is Petal, one of the Poppet paper dolls. Of course, any of the Poppet dolls can wear the costume.

Halloween is my most consistent paper doll holiday. I’ve done Halloween paper dolls every year starting in 2010. In no real order, they have been a vampire, a costume set, a ghost, another vampire, and a collab between me, Boots, Liana and Toria.

Tomorrow at midnight EST our Paper Doll Round Robin closes. The guidelines are all explained here. Please join us! We’ve had some great contributions so far and we hope for more.

Fabulous Fairy Printable Paper Doll in Color! (Mostly green)

fairy-black-colorI was inspired by the colors of red and pink snapdragons when I decided on the color scheme for this paper doll set. I ended up relying more on the greens than on the pinks, but I do love the colors of a garden in bloom. I used this stuttershock photo as my color inspiration.

I have sick for the last few days and will be sick for a few more. I’m not in danger, just groggy and easily tired. I fortunately had this paper doll done already or there wouldn’t have been a monday update. What I hate about being sick is that things which aren’t normally exhausting become entirely exhausting.

Going to the grocery store yesterday was an act of heroic difficulty, but I managed and I’m glad I did it. I was getting very stir crazy. (No worries about infecting my fellow shoppers. I’m not contagious.)

A fairy paper doll with wings and four gowns. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com
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Anyway, enough about my health. 🙂

I hope everyone enjoys today’s paper doll. I hope to have another Marcus set done for next Monday and then I’ll see where we are with things. I promised someone a majorette paper doll and I want to do my 8 days of paper dolls for Hanukkah, so I need to start building up the backlog for that.

If you haven’t see it, here’s the black and white version of today’s paper doll.

Fabulous Fairy Paper Doll Coloring Page

fairy-black-white-logoIt used to be that when I didn’t know what to name a printable paper doll set, I would fall back on using colors as name inspiration. This doesn’t work when the paper doll page doesn’t have any color.

In short, this is how I ended up entitling today’s set “Fabulous Fairy” which is a pretty dumb name.

Anyway, it might not be my most inspired paper doll naming moment, but I do really like the set. It’s also one of the sets that I consider being an “other friend” set to the Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper dolls. I wanted to give her a more angular face and so I altered the jaw to be narrow and sharp and her nose a bit, as well as her lips. I wanted her to seem more angular and more alien.

A fairy paper doll coloring page with a doll and four dresses. She also has wings and shoes. From paperthinpersonas.com.
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I drew this set at the same time as when I drew my Monica elven set. I’ve done another fairy set of Mia as a fairy. I don’t think these two fairies associate much. I think this fairy was much more elegant than the my Mia fairy. Just like with that paper doll, the wings can be pasted to the back of the doll using the white strip in the middle. As long as you just glue down the white strip, all the clothes tabs should still work.

At least, I hope they do, though I confess I have not tested them.

Happy Monday and enjoy the fairy paper doll. 🙂 She’ll be in color next week.

Marisole Monday: Mia as a Garden Fairy In Color

logo-paper-doll-flower-fairy-mia-2013-colorIt’s raining so hard tonight that I find I don’t want to do anything, but curl up on my couch in my sweats and listen to it. Winter has come to Alabama and with it a lot of rain.

So, Marisole has gotten to be green and blue, but Mia never has, so I thought it was high time she got the chance to show a little more variety in her colors.

I’ve been watching the show Cranford from Hulu and have been enjoying it very much. The show is awfully fun and full of beautiful historical costumes. I think it’s supposed to be set in the 1840s, though it’s hard to tell. Some of the dresses have distinctly 1840s silhouettes and other’s are older. Though the town is small and in the country, so it would be a little behind the times. I confess that the 1830s and 1840s are not one of my favorite time periods for ladies dress.

The show often shows beautiful English gardens and I wanted to capture those colors in today’s printable paper doll.


A fairy inspired by English country gardens with blue hair and an extensive wardrobe. From paperthinpersonas.com

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Marisole Monday & Friends: Mia as a Fairy in the Garden

logo-paper-doll-flower-fairy-mia-2013-bwFirst things first… I forgot to write on the wings that they’re meant to be pasted to the back of the doll. My bad… Sorry.

Secondly, Happy Veteran’s Day. One of these days, I will remember this holiday far enough in advance to do something thematic. Still, I think Veteran’s day is one of the more important US holidays, so I want to thank any of members or former members of our armed services today.

Meanwhile, I’ve had several requests for fairies over the years. I’ve never done one, except for a Halloween set where I did a fairy costume, but other than that I haven’t done many fairy paper dolls.

It’s a rather out of season. I seem to think of flowers and gardens in the summer when they bloom, but I live in Alabama now where the flowers cling on long after the normal times that flowers are supposed to bloom.

(Pansies in January are freakish. That’s all I have to say on that subject.)

Oh, there are some pixie paper dolls which fairy themes, now that I think of it. I did Fleur, Belladonna and Flora. Of course, I suppose having done 3.5 of them is not a bad statistic over the years.


A paper doll coloring page featuring a fairy and her extensive wardrobe. From paperthinpersonas.com

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Anyway, feel free to comment on the printable paper doll if you wish. I’m pretty pleased at how she came out.

Bone Fairy…. and Hiatus

A fairy paper doll with bone and spiderweb wings and three outfits. From paperthinpersonas.com.{PDF of the Bone Fairy Paper Doll} {150 DPI PNG of this Paper Doll Set}

I think everyone goes through a “drawing creepy things in college” phase.

This paper doll was part of my “drawing creepy things in college” phase. I was obsessed at the time with the Duino Elegies by Rilke. The First Elegy contains what remains my favorite Rilke quote, “Because beauty’s nothing but the start of terror we can hardly bear, and we adore it because of the serene scorn it could kill us with. Every angel’s terrifying.” I memorized the entire first elegy out of the A. Poulin Jr. translation I bought for a dollar at a thrift store in college.

Anyway, this paper doll was inspired by angels (the terrifying kind) and fairies (also the terrifying kind) and so she’s a little dark. She’s up in the Printable Paper Doll Index along with the rest of the random non-series paper dolls I’ve ever posted.

Since it’s the last day in May, this also begins my month long hiatus. I will still be checking in on the blog, and checking my email, but I have conferences and work obligations that are going to make this coming month nearly impossible for my usual update schedule.

I hope that when I return on the first of July, I’ll have had time to make some changes to the site, built up a big of a backlog and be able to continue out the year strong. We’ve had 55 posts over the last five months and I’m quite proud of that. See you all in a month. 🙂

Fleur: A Fairy Paper Doll

I think fairies should be a little strange and a little other worldly and even a little scary. The Victorian conception of the sweet flower fairy stands in stark contrast to the traditional stories filled with figures like Banshees and the Washer Women and Jenny Greenteeth, or even Baba Yaga.

A flower fairy paper doll with a ten piece wardrobe. From paperthinpersonas.com.

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So, today I went to a Greek food festival with some people and ate much tasty Greek food. It was fun and edible. There was music and children dancing dances which reminded me of nothing so much as Jewish Camp, which I went to in the summers and where we’d learn to dance traditional folk dances. I had a good time and it was nice to get out of my apartment for a while and be social with people. I don’t do that often enough.

By the way, if you decide Fleur needs friends, she can hang out Belladonna and Flora , my other two fairy Pixie paper dolls. My favorite fairy paper doll of them all is Flora Fauna of the retired Curves series, I think she’s more creepy than cute.