Kawaii Kids #30 - Happy New Year!

Here's the last of the Kawaii Kids dolls.  It's a set of evening attire to celebrate the New Year!

I have to say that this has been a tough project!  It's been much harder to keep up with than I had expected.  Having said that, I love these dolls!  I want to compile them into a full color book at some point, and possibly expand them into other sets, not just winter holidays.  I'll be taking a bit of a short break before I get back into lessons.  I have some lessons I'm eager to share but I want to get them right!

And finally, here's the pdf of the entire doll set.  It's a very large file!  Enjoy and happy new year!!

Kawaii Kids #29 - Hogmanay (Scottish New Year)

This was supposed to go up yesterday but didn't! I'll post it today and there will be one more doll tomorrow (for a total of 30) as well as a PDF of the whole set to download.

Anyway, this doll celebrates Hogmanay - the Scottish New Year celebration.  My family is Scottish, but we're sort of American mutts who long ago forgot our ancestral ways!  Our family left Scotland in the 1790s and bought parcels of land in northern Vermont as a group.  It's a fascinating story, but I won't bore all of you with it :)

So here's a Scottish paper doll set to help start the New Year's festivities!

Kawaii Kids #28 - Polish Folk Costume

In recent years, I have become fascinated with Eastern European costume.  My husband's family is Polish and Russian, and I want to learn more as much for my curiosity as it is for my sons.  Today's doll has little to do with any holiday, but I just love Polish fol costumes.  So here it is!  I love this, and I hope you do, too.

Just a few more days left to the year....!!

Kawaii Kids #27 - National Fruitcake Day!

All of the "big" winter holidays are done, so now for some fun ones!  Today is National Fruitcake Day of all things.  I've never actually had a fruitcake -- they just never looked all that appealing.  But these dolls sure do!  Here's a fruit inspired paper doll set for you to help celebrate the day!

Kawaii Kids #26 - Happy Kwanzaa

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa.  Here's my attempt at a Pan-African doll for the occasion.  I'm still hoping to round out the year with a few more dolls....

Have a happy holiday!

Kawaii Kids #25 - Holy Family

Merry Christmas!  Yesterday I posted Santa & Mrs Claus, so make sure you grab that one.  Today is a bit more solemn.  I was raised Catholic and, although I haven't been to church in years, this is the time of year that I think about it.  I always loved having something I could relate to in Church.  As a young girl, it was easy to imagine a young mother and her son.

I don't want to dwell on religion - I believe what I believe and everyone else believes what they want.  Ultimately, though, today is a religious holiday and that's why I'm sharing this.

Have a happy and fun Christmas!

Kawaii Kids #24 - Santa and Mrs Claus

For those of you with kids (or who are kids) today is a big day!  If you're anything like my sons, it's an exciting day.  To help get through the excitement, here are Santa and Mrs Claus to color.  Enjoy!

Kawaii Kids #23 - Skiing

Not much to say about this one.  I just thought skiing would be another fun theme to add to the list!

Kawaii Kids #22 - Tropical Holidays

When I think of Christmas, I think of winter.  And until a couple of days ago, we had a foot or more of snow in the yard so I was rather happy.  But the last day or so has been unusually warm and most of my snow is gone.  For some people, though, Christmas is a summer holiday.  Today's doll is for those of you in those wonderful warm regions.  Enjoy!

Kawaii Kids #20 & 21

Today is another double post.  I was traveling yesterday and couldn't post.  We went to see my father's parents in one of the far corners of Vermont.  We don't get up there often enough & it was nice to see them.

And the trip inspired today's dolls.  The first is a country themed doll.  I'm an '80s kid and my mom was totally into Little House on the Prairie & all of the faux country/prairie trends of the '70s and '80s.  So the first doll is influenced by that.

The second is a cowboy doll.  As a kid, we listened to John Denver's Christmas album til we broke it!  We owned it on record, tape, and CD as a result.  So these dolls come from that.

I've got a few more dolls I'll be posting.  This 30 doll project was much harder than I anticipated, but I'm going to see it through! Enjoy today's dolls....!

Also - please don't laugh too loudly at my cowboy hats!  I know how silly they look :)

Kawaii Kids #19 - Chinese Solstice

I've made a few attempts at multiculturalism on this blog.  I like to think I am respectful & thoughtful about the cultures I represent, but there's always a hesitation that I just won't "get" it.  Today is one of those dolls.

I know that the solstices are important to most cultures around the world in some way and, although today isn't yet the solstice, I thought that would be a good theme.  I chose China and created some Chinese winter outfits.  The Chinese celebrate the Dongzhi Festival, which focuses on balance and harmony -- two things I'm always attempting to attain! 

I'm pretty happy with them and might try to do another solstice doll or two in the coming days.

Enjoy!

Kawaii Kids #18 - Santa's Elves

Today I've got a couple of elves to download.  Not much to say about them, really.  I think they're cute and will go well with #24 when we get to that (hint, hint!!) :)

In other news, Rachel over at Paper Thin Personas has some big new and you should all go check it out.  I love her work and seeing her recognized is thrilling.

 

Kawaii Kids #17 - Saint Lucy and the Star Boy

Today is not St. Lucy's Day.  But I love the idea of St. Lucy and wanted to include it.  St. Lucy's Day is a Scandinavian tradition and my kids are, at least in some tiny part, Swedish, so I thought it would be fun to include it.

Girls dress as the saint and boys as her accompanying star boys, and so I've featured both here.

Enjoy the doll, and for those of you in the northern US (like me!!), enjoy more snow!

Kawaii Kids #15 and #16

Sorry I missed the post yesterday!  It was my son's birthday this weekend and we had a great party with family. My husband's is this month, too, so it's a crazy month!

In honor of their birthdays, I created a a December birthday doll.

So here's the December birthday doll.

Also, because I missed yesterday, here's another doll.  I made a Victorian doll, too.  I love this doll! And I hope all of you do, too.

Kawaii Kids #14 - Prince & Princess

I'm not sure if this counts as a winter or holiday doll, but I love it anyway! This is my attempt at a fairytale prince & princess. Have fun coloring it!

Kawaii Kids #13 - Ice Skating

As a kid, I moved a couple of times.  We moved from Vermont, to Connecticut, to New Hampshire.  I always think of New Hampshire and the town I went to high school in as my "hometown".  I grew up in one of the most amazing little Main Street towns.  Idyllic doesn't begin to describe it.  Anyway, every winter the town would flood the public tennis courts for ice skating.  There was a little house where you could rent skates, grab a hot chocolate, and gossip with friends.  And the best of '90s music blasted over the loudspeakers.

It was the place to be in the winter.  And we went every night!  My sister & I would rush home to do our homework, have a quick dinner, and then it was off to skate til 9.  I loved it.  I'm still looking for a rink like that near me so that my kids can learn to skate!

So this doll is inspired by that.  The skates aren't all that convincing, but I think they work well enough!

Kawaii Kids #12 - Angels

Still working on some dolls for December.  Today's features angels.  For anyone who doesn't know, there are several reasons why I like making vector illustrations.  First is the absolutely amazing crispness of the images.  I've always wanted that level of perfection and this is the best way for me to get it.  Second, vector images scale infinitely.  If I want a post card sized image or a billboard sized image, I can do that with no loss of resolution.  And third, I love to reuse elements that that came out great in a different image.  This is one of those projects.  The large feathers I used in the angel wings is something I made for an entirely different project.  I love not having to reinvent the wheel every time I want to create an image.  I think using a template or reusing elements actually helps me to be more creative.  If I already have a template, or a perfect element, or whatever, I can spend my energy solving other creative problems.

And that's why I'm so happy with these little angels.  I focused more on make a beautiful doll than on fussing over details!  So if you see me reusing stuff, don't think of it as "cheating" -- think of it as a shortcut to creativity!

Kawaii Kids #11 - Poinsettia

Is it just me or are there some words that are just impossible to spell correctly? Poinsettia.  Seriously, I never get it right.  I'm thankful for spellcheck every day!

What I DID get right is this doll.  The poinsettia dolls are easily my favorite in the Kawaii Kids sets.  I love this doll so much!   This will probably be the first doll I color in.  I love it and I hope you do, too!

PS: the is my 200th post!  I never thought that would happen.  This all started as something to keep me creative during naptime and it has grown to so much more!! I make paper dolls (and other art) because I love to, and it means everything to me that other people enjoy my work, too.

Kawaii Kids #10 - Footie PJs

I still have several ideas I want to get to this December, but this is a fun one and today seemed like as good a day as any to post it!

I loved footie pajamas as a kid and these kids have Christmas patterned pjs for the holiday.

I'll try to post a doll tomorrow.  I had a freelance gig come in again (yay!) and it's taking up some of my time.  I should be able to meet my 30 day theme challenge regardless! 

Kawaii Kids #9 - Sugar Plum Fairy and the Mouse King

Here's the second part of the Nutcracker paper doll set.  Today it's the Sugar Plum Fairy & the Mouse King.  Definitely the most complicated dolls I've made for this series but I love them! I hope you do, too!

Kawaii Kids #8 - Let it Snow!

As much as I wanted to get the second Nutcracker doll up today, it didn't happen. I'm hoping to get it up tomorrow.  Yesterday was a busy day for me - I took my oldest son to see Frozen.  It was tons of fun, but also exhausting!  Taking a not-quite-4 year old to a movie is an undertaking, especially for a boy who doesn't have a resting state!!  He was good, his cousins were happy to see him, and the movie was great.

So today's doll has a snow theme instead of the Nutcracker!  And go see Frozen.  Worth it.

Kawaii Kids #7 - The Nutcracker

Today's doll is the first of two Nutcracker themed dolls.  I don't know much about the Nutcracker, aside from the fact that it's incredibly popular in Boston around Christmas.  And since I live near Boston, it seemed like a good theme to try out.

This doll is the little girl (Clara) and the Nutcracker/Prince.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mouse King but we'll see if I get it up in time!

Kawaii Kids #6 - Winter Wedding

I think most of us have seen cards & posters and such that have little kids dressed up in oversized wedding clothing.  Every time I look at this doll, that's what I think of!

I also think of how beautiful a winter wedding would have been.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my foliage filled, White Mountain wedding.  But the idea of snow, fur, and poinsettias is appealing, too.  Although if my winter gets any busier, I might go out of my mind.....!

Anyway, here's a winter wedding doll.  And for those of you dealing with the ice storm sweeping across the US, be careful.  Winter is both beautiful and brutal!

Kawaii Kids # 5 - Happy Hanukkah

This is the last night of Hanukkah.  I thought it would be the perfect day to put up a Hanukkah themed doll.

I'm not sure how well the pattern will print, but both outfits have a snowflake & Star of David pattern.  I have to admit, I know WAY more about kosher than I do about any other part of Jewish faith and traditions.

Before I had children, I worked for the quality department at the R&D offices of Hood (yup, the ice cream company.  And yes, I had free ice cream, among other things.  A great company and a great job....).  My job dealt with the documents required to make sure our products complied with local and federal laws, as well as kosher laws.  Hood prides itself on having kosher products and works closely with local rabbis.  Because I dealt with documents, it was a big part of my job to maintain that compliance.  As a former Catholic from nowhere, VT, where Baptist was as close to diverse as we got,  it was very educational.

I hope this doll is inclusive & enjoyed.  And to those of you celebrating, “Hanukkah Sameach!”

Kawaii Kids #4 - Crazy Sweaters

Today's doll theme is crazy sweaters!  My mother loves themes like no one else I know.  She buys holiday shirts for her four grandkids for every holiday on the calendar!  This doll is for her. 

Kawaii Kids #3 - Snow Kids

Today's doll is snowmen! I want to do two snow themed dolls.  This is the first.  A snow family was a suggested theme & I wanted to make sure I got this up early!

Kawaii Kids Doll #2 - Gumdrops and Lollipops

Here's the next Kawaii Kid paper doll.  Today's doll has a candy theme.  It was a suggestion and what a great one! This doll was a lot of fun to make.

With all of these dolls, just click and download.  There will be a pdf at the end of the month.  Have fun coloring it!

Kawaii Kids Doll #1 - Gingerbread

Today I'm starting my month-long paper doll posts.  These dolls are based on the Japanese aesthetic of kawaii.  I have to admit I'm not quite done yet with all 30 sets.  I'm still puttering away, but I WILL complete the set!!

As with so many of my dolls, all outfits will fit all of the dolls.  There is a boy & a girl.  These pages are designed to be colored & cut out. Just click & download.  I'm not posting pdfs til the end.  All for the dolls will be combined into one large pdf at the end of the month If you color one in and you want to share, please feel free to send me an image!

Anyway, here's the first doll.  Gingerbread kids!