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Florals & Stripes & Ruffles: More Paper Doll Fashion in Color!

logo-floral-colorYesterday, I posted this paper doll in black and white. Today, she’s going up in color. I’m not sure if I like doing this whole… one day black and white next day color thing. It sort of defeats the point of being able to reduce workload. I might start spacing them out a week, depending on how things seems to work out as I get into the crazier time of the year for me.

I went back and forth and back and forth about so much with this paper dolls color scheme. As I often do with questions of paper doll fashion, I think I spent more time on it than was totally rational. I wanted her to be stylish, but not overtly girly. I couldn’t decide between pinks and blues and then I originally conceived of the blouse as being burnt orange with teal flowers. Yeah… that wasn’t my greatest idea ever.

In the end, I settled on a color scheme that was cheerful (which I think we need on these grey days of winter) and mix and matched pretty well, though not as perfectly as some of my other paper dolls have done. There’s really only nine outfit options here, and I think I’d like to do more, but the dolls are fairly large and that limits how much clothing I can fit on a page with them. I have been thinking about doing some sets that are “clothing only” as I have always liked clothes more than dolls, but I don’t want to disappoint people who feel otherwise.

Paper doll outfits or dolls? That’s always the most complicated of questions, isn’t it?

A stylish black paper doll with a ten piece mix and match fashion wardrobe. Free from paperthinpersonas.com {Download a PDF of this paper doll to Color} {View a 150 dpi PNG of this Paper Doll to Color} {More Bodacious and Buxom Printable Paper Dolls}

 

Ruffles & Florals & Stripes & Afro-Puffs & Paper Doll to Color & Print

logo-floral-bwFor my second Bodacious and Buxom paper doll to color and print, I wanted to do something modern. Most of my readers know my love of fashion magazines and I wanted to create a mix and match set that felt contemporary and contained things I could imagine a stylish girl wearing when she walked down the street. I try to be diverse in my paper doll production, both in theme and in ethnicity and in style, so today’s paper doll is a stylish black girl with some mad-happening afro-puffs.

So many “modern” paper doll sets are very very frumpy and I try very hard to avoid frumpy when I make my paper dolls. Frumpy is not something I want my paper dolls to be. Plus, since the Bodacious and Buxom paper doll represent curvy girls, I really don’t want to go frumpy. Just because you have some curves does not translate in to wearing a sack.

Anyway, people have probably already noticed I have a thing for afro puffs. I just think they are SO cute, though I have been told recently by someone whose far more familiar with black hairstyles than I am that they are not currently an IN thing to do with your hair. She assured me, however, that I could still draw them if I wanted. (Not that I was seeking permission.)

I do try, however, since I am not black myself, to be respectful and aware of trends while I am drawing. I think you have to approach such things from a place of learning and willingness to be corrected as needed.

A curvy black paper doll to color and print with a ten piece mix and match wardrobe. Free from paperthinpersonas.com. {Download a PDF of this paper doll to Color} {View a 150 dpi PNG of this Paper Doll to Color} {More Bodacious and Buxom Printable Paper Dolls}
When creating a paper doll to color and print, I try to think about shapes and also pattern. After all, it is only so much fun to color things when there’s some neat things to color. I was never a big coloring kid, but I know a lot of my readers are (or have kids who are.)

Before I forget, I would like to wish a Happy Yule to any of my readers who are celebrating tonight. (Someday, I may tell the story of me and badly chosen shoes and a lot of snow and the search for a suitable Yule log. It was um… an interesting high school adventure which did not involve booze, but probably should have.)

Also, while I was wandering around the web, I came across a blog I’d never seen before called Paper Doll World. It’s a fun blog devoted to one of my favorite topics (paper dolls) and the dolls are very cute. They remind me of some of the dolls I drew as a child, which is fun.

Puck Magnetic Paper Dolls for the Boys

puck-magnetic-outfit-optionsI have a lot of readers who love my magnetic paper dolls (which is understandable, I love them too) and I often get asked about a boy paper doll for the boys out there who might want to play some dress up too.

I don’t have a lot of male paper dolls on this blog (because I don’t find them as interesting as girl paper dolls) and I’ve only done about fifteen Puck paper dolls over the years. The result is that I don’t have a lot of “stock” to pull from when creating a magnetic version. After some debate about what to include, I decided for my first Puck magnetic set (posted early enough for people to print them for the holidays), I would include three boys and some contemporary clothing choices.

The magnetic paper dolls have three sets of shoes, five tops, five bottoms and a few different accessories. All of the pieces can be used interchangeably amongst the three boys, meaning that there’s a lot of fun mix and match outfit options (about 75 different outfits to be exact).

It’s not as exciting as some of my other sets, I confess, but I think they’re very versatile. Since I haven’t done that many Puck paper dolls, it was a little challenging to put together a set for magnetic printing, but I hope this serves some of the readers I have with boys.

 

Puck Magnetic Paper Dolls Set Number One

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print}

 

Meet the Poppets! New Printable Paper Dolls & Happy Hanukkah

logo-petunia-in-purple Way back in January, I ran my annual “What would people like to see New on the Blog” poll and the winner, to my own shock, was a paper doll of a child.

Now, I don’t like drawing children. I think I’m bad at it and also I find it a little bit boring, but I started thinking about how much I love dolls and how many of my favorite paper dolls from my childhood were paper dolls of dolls. So, I knew I couldn’t draw a “child paper doll”, but I could draw a paper doll of a child doll.

After um… nearly 10 months, the Poppet Dolls are now here.

Never let it be said that I don’t eventually get things done. 🙂

A few quick facts about the Poppets, they are smaller than most of my other paper doll sets, printing out at about half the size of my usual 8 by 10 inch format. When I was little, I loved small paper dolls that I could tuck into an envelope or carry with me. Plus the smaller size makes it possible for me to include larger accessories like… maybe… a horse or something.

(No promises. I mean, it might not happen… but I do have plans for one.)

By the way, I would also like to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah. It’s starts tonight at sunset. 🙂

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{Download a PDF in Color} {View a 150 dpi PNG in Color}{Download a PDF of to Color} {View a 150 dpi PNG to Color} {Other Poppet Printable Paper Dolls}

Hearts, Denim and Bows: Paper Doll in Color

marisole-hearts-denim-bows-paper-doll{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

So, I thought I hated this color scheme. I really did.

Except when I opened the file late last night to check on it and make sure it would go up today, I discovered (to my own shock) that I actually rather liked the paper doll set all of a sudden. I’d planned to write a whiny post about how muddy it all looked…

And now I feel like she has a sort of funky 1970s vibe to her. (That might just be the little afro talking…)

Speaking of afros, there was this woman at the local Target yesterday who had the most amazing afro and I wanted to ask her to stand still so I could draw it, but I decided that would just be creepily stalker-ish, so I simply admired it from a distance.

One of the things people sometimes ask is where I get my color ideas. I’d love to say I create them all from scratch, but the truth is that I create a lot of them from scratch, but I also use Color Lovers. I mention this, because I just discovered a wonderful new site for color pallettes called Design Seeds. I haven’t used Design Seeds much yet, but I think I will soon.

Hearts, Denims & Bows: Paper Doll Coloring Page

Over the years, I have created a lot of these little dolls made of paper. I have made paper dolls with all sorts of hair, but I was recently asked to make some natural hair dolls. Now, let me make a confession- I know very little about the nuances of black hair politics (except that I have been told by several people that there totally are black hair politics.)

So, today we have a rare attempt at an afro. I had a very kind email requesting more natural hairstyles for Marisole, specifically. Now, I don’t know much about black hair fashions, but I got a magazine and after reading up a little, I decided to try the afro. I don’t think it came out quite right… but hopefully that will be forgiven. I think there is something off about her hairline… anyway, I think my next challenge might be dreadlocks or more work on afros.

After a request for natural hair on my paper dolls, I created this paper doll sporting an afro. She's free to print and color. Over 2 mix and match pieces. {Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

So, I probably could have called this Hearts, Denims and Florals without being wrong on the titling front… but I hate coming up with titles. Sometimes, I think it would be easier just to number everything.

First off: Happy Labor Day! I hope those in the United States are having a wonderful holiday, I know I will.

Secondly, I’ve added a new section to the blog for instructions. Some of this information is repeated from the FAQ and some of it has shown up before, around the site, but I thought it would be nice to have it all in one place. Any advice or questions about it would be great, since I’m still trying to figure out what I need to tell people.

New Clothes for the Magnetic Marisole

So, this isn’t a very big update, but I did get some more clothes for the Magnetic Marisole series formatted and resized for the magnetic dolls. All contemporary stuff. I brought some magnetic paper dolls to one of my hosts over my travels and she remarked that she really thought her magnetic paper dolls needed more clothing. Needless to say, I am working on that. 🙂

{ Directions for Making Printable Magnetic Paper Dolls }

{ The Rest of the Magnetic Marisole Series }

 

Some New Contemporary Clothes

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Download PDFDownload PDFDownload PDF

Happy 4th of July… Printable Paper Doll

Happy Independence Day!

So, in celebration of the 4th of July, here in the United States, I offer a paper doll, as usual. I mean, I don’t know how else I was going to celebrate. I’ve done some 4th of July paper dolls in the past… like these Marisole Monday rocking some 18th century attire which I had a lot of fun drawing.

4th-of-july-paper-doll-mini-maiden

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the Rest of the Series}

 

At home, in Alaska, they have fireworks at midnight on the 3rd of July, because it doesn’t get dark until about 10 pm. In Alabama, where I live currently, I have no idea what they do, but I can hear the fireworks from my apartment. I had a quiet 4th which, after two weeks of constant travel and stress, was just what I wanted.

This is a new member of the Mini-Maiden Family. I am thinking of naming her something that begins with H, but I am having trouble coming up with an idea. There aren’t a lot of good H names out there… So, at the moment I am divided between Helen or Hannah… neither of which I’m too smitten with. Suggestions from the audience?

Astronaut Paper Dolls… Color & Black and White

Disclaimer: I know NOTHING about astronauts.

However, I got an email from a young reader named Emily who wrote:

…would you please consider to draw astronaut paper dolls because when I get to grow up I’m going to be an astronaut scientist.

In the words of one of the college students I work with, “You go girl!”

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{Click Here for a PDF of Emily in Color} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Emily in Color}{Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

I have named the paper doll Emily for reader who requested her. Emily comes complete with a graphing calculator, space suit, lab coat, safety goggles and a rocket t-shirt. Who doesn’t need that? Emily has short hair so that her space helmet fits properly. I realized after I drew it that the boots should probably not be separate, but it was already colored by the time this occurred to me. I didn’t put a flag on her space suit, because I know I have a lot of international readers, but feel free to add your own.

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{Click Here for a PDF of Emily in Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Emily in Black and White} {Click Here for More Pixie & Puck Paper Dolls}

Personally, I rather like the flag of Yap an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. Now, I’ve never been to Yap, but it’s fun to say and they speak a language called Yapese, which sounds pretty cool to me. (Okay, most of them speak English, but Yapese sounds a lot cooler than English…)

Happy Slightly Belated Birthday, Emily and Enjoy the paper dolls!

Now, I just need to do the cowgirl set people keep asking for… I wish I knew how to draw a cowboy hat… or that I didn’t find horses kinda creepy…

Thoughts? Questions? Ideas about Space? Drop me a comment.

Marisole Monday: Phoenix & Smoke in Color

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

This is one of those sets where the yellow looks a lot more yellow than I had planned for it to look. Oh well…

I spent most of this weekend trying to come up with something witty and funny to do for April Fools day, but… honestly… I got nothing. Therefore, we’re just going to keep puttering along here in paper doll land. Sorry guys, I’m just not that good at that sort of thing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter or is still having a wonderful Passover, depending. I had a quiet day spent working on blog stuff and cleaning my apartment. I rather enjoyed myself, I confess.

I’m also not totally pleased with his face. I don’t think he looks as African-American as I had planned him to look, but I am trying my best. I think he’s okay, but I’m not totally pleased.