Toddler Fashion Friday - Tamsin

Ever have one of "those" weeks?  The kind you talk about over Thanksgiving dinner and laugh about over and over again?  We just had one of those weeks...

We went to the Lego Discovery Center last Monday.  And then my youngest son was hit with a stomach bug that night.  (I'm not blaming the Lego Discovery Center -- that's just the order of events).  Ok, no big deal.  We've had sick kids before.  Tuesday was rough but Wednesday was fine.  And then Thursday came.  My oldest son and I were both sick that night and my husband had to go to work on Friday -- there was no way around it.  I don't think any of us had an actual meal in seven days!  It's fine when the kids get sick -- I expect that -- but it's tough when I get sick, too.  Thankfully, my husband never really got it and my mom was able to come over Friday morning.

Seriously, we'll laugh about this eventually!

So now that we've got that out of the way, here's a new toddler, based on Tess.  It's a bit of a sophisticated color scheme for a toddler.  I went with it anyway!

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Tamsin pdf here

Fantasy Paper Doll: Winter Dress

Happy Memorial Day to those of you in the US.  This is in no way a Memorial Day paper doll! I wish I had thought to make one.  I didn't.  I'll put lady soldier on my long list of paper dolls to create!

Today I have a fantasy paper doll outfit.  I learned recently that windy days on the playground are not the best environment to use my carbon paper transfer method to create paper dolls.  Instead, I printed out some templates on a very light cyan and drew directly on top of them.  If I wanted perfectly clean line art, this probably wouldn't be the best method, but it worked well for this project.  Once I draw my images, I scan them and delete the blue in Photoshop. Since these are black & white, it's as simple as changing the cyan color to white in the black & white adjustment option.

Hopefully this means I'll be able to create more fantasy paper dolls!

Today's fantasy outfit is based on an outfit I saw (via Pinterest) on Armstreet's website. Really, I'd love to do an entire paper doll just based on their clothing! It's unbelievable!

The idea with this dress is to have the decorative areas cut away to see the dress underneath.  It would be a bit more obvious if this was a colored image.

The doll for this outfit can be found here. Enjoy!

Toddler Fashion Friday - Amara

Some months seem to fly by me.  May has been one of them!  With Mother's Day, my birthday, and a bunch of other events/family activities this month, it's just been a blur.

We'll see if things slow down over the summer.  I'm doubtful!

Anyway, I have a super sparkly toddler paper doll based on Ava.  I'll have another toddler paper doll next Friday.  And then, I'm thinking about doing a mini series in June.  I'm thinking about making fashion dolls with a Japanese inspired wardrobe....

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Amara pdf here

Paper Doll Commission

I had every intention of creating a special edition paper doll for my birthday.  It didn't happen.  My birthday is Monday and I like to create a project just for me! I had a request for a Japanese fashion doll (which I am TOTALLY going to do....) but time wasn't on my side.

The truth is, this birthday is big one and I feel like I have a lot to accomplish.  I'm happily married, with a lovely suburban home, two amazing sons, and a close relationship with my extended family.  I have a lot to be happy about -- which I am -- but there are still days where I wish I had more artistic accomplishments behind me instead of ahead of me. I'm working diligently on a super secret paper doll that *fingers crossed* I'll send to an actual publisher.  It's been taking up a lot of my time but I'm convinced that this is going to be my year!

One thing that I am immensely grateful for is the time I spend working on paper dolls.  I've been lucky enough to stay home with my sons, which has given me an opportunity to take on the personal and professional projects I want to tackle.  And I've had a handful of paper doll commissions over the years.  Today I'm sharing a recent one.

Before I explain the project, I want to say a couple of things about this image.  First, it's a lower resolution and, second, it has a watermark.  I'm not a big fan of watermarks, etc, but I want to make sure that this image is clearly marked as mine.  Images have a way of floating around the Internet...

Earlier this year, I was contacted by a lovely shop owner in Dubai.  She was interested in creating promotional material for her children's clothing boutique and thought my paper dolls would be a good fit.  The clothing is utterly adorable and I was thrilled to work with her!

We decided on a sticker paper doll with two outfits based on actually dresses in the boutique.  The finished dimensions are roughly 5 inches square. I created custom brushes & patterns in Illustrator specifically for this project. I love everything about this project!  I'm so happy I got the opportunity to create it. And my client loved it, too.

I probably won't post anything on Monday.  I tried to draw at the playground yesterday but that didn't go very well... We're celebrating my birthday by taking the kids to the Lego Discovery Center in Boston (I'm a big Lego fan!!).  I'll put something together for Friday! 

Toddler Fashion Friday - Penny

Sometimes, a doll just comes together.  Today is one of those times! This week, the toddler paper doll is based on Paige, from 2012.  I loved the colors and argyle pattern then, and I love it just as much now!

There isn't much to say about this one, really, other than how much I love the color scheme.  For anyone keeping track, this is toddler doll #16 (plus the Easter set).  Not bad!

And to all of the moms out there - have a lovely mother's day.  If you aren't a mother, call your mother :)

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Penny pdf here

Fantasy Paper Doll: A Lady in Armor

Here's the second installment in my fantasy paper doll series.  I've always been interested in women's armor.  For a previous issue of Paper Doll Studio, there was a Queen Elizabeth dress-a-doll feature.  What did I send? A suit of armor, of course!

Today I have a suite of armor for our lady.  The boots are a total mess! I'm trying to draw & post these without a tone of Photoshop or other editing.  These are supposed to be low-pressure sketches.  Not because I don't think they deserve attention, but more because I need to allow myself a measure of imperfection.

And this one is imperfect! There are things I love anyway.  I've always loved drawing Elizabethan style ruffs and there's one in here.  And the draped fabric is as much to add femininity as to cover flaws in my drawing!

Anyway, enjoy! The first outfit and doll can be found here.

Toddler Fashion Friday - Caleb

I've mentioned many times before that I have two sons.  They are amazing little people and I love them to pieces! They are not, however, what I was expecting when we decided to have kids.  I was having girls.  And that was that.  Clearly things don't always go according to plan!

Why is this relevant?  Because today we have the first toddler fashion BOY - Caleb! Boys just don't have very interesting wardrobe selections (in my opinion).  Shopping for my boys has always consisted of shorts or pants, with a shirt -- long sleeved or short.  And that's about it.  Not to say boys aren't adorable -- they are (especially mine, naturally!) -- but creating a cute paper doll wardrobe is a bit more challenging with a boy.

Despite this, I think Caleb came out great.  I'll probably re-use a lot of these items on other toddler boy dolls.  Polo, t-shirt, sweater, and variations of pants are the majority of a boy's wardrobe.  Even still, he's a cutie & I hope you all enjoy him, too.

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Caleb pdf here