December Paper Doll - Set 5

BOOM! It's done!

I wasn't sure I'd manage it, but I did! This is the last page of the December paper doll and the last page of the year-long paper doll project.

In January, I plan on writing a proper wrap-up of 2018.  It was a busy year & I have a lot to share.  But for today, enjoy this last page in the series.  There are 63 sheets in this year-long set - so PLENTY of fun to be had!!

The final set of themes are here! First up "peace" - I went with an angel.  "Log" is leggings that match the fireside top from a previous sheet.  "Snow" is a fur trimmed, snowflake patterned dress. "Swan" is a simple sweater. "Deer" is a patterned skirt and boots. "Coat" is a fur coat with satin bow.  And finally, "ring" is a large, bright diamond ring and a red silky top.

So that's it. Did you love the project? Did you hate it?! I fall a little bit in both categories! I enjoyed making all of these but it was a much bigger project than I should have tackled. I don't think I'll ever take on such a big project again.  Next year will be a bit more compact here on the ol' blog.

Happy New Year to all of you - I'll be back in January with more!

December Paper Doll - Set 4

There is ONE more sheet to go after today and I am really, really hoping to get it posted on the 31st and be done with this project! It's been fun and I have learned a TON but I'm ready to move on.

I didn't get this posted in time for Christmas.  Our December is always incredibly hectic (as it is for most people, I imagine) but it's done now! The first theme is "wreath" and I went with a sort of Victorian inspired blouse & skirt with a wreath brooch. For "lights" I created a festive Hanukkah sweater - even though I know it's long since happened.  "Winter" is a blue leather and fur jacket with matching hat.  "Cookie" is a top that matches the gingerbread leggings from a previous sheet.  "Stocking" is a bright skirt.  And finally, "Santa" is a hat & fur trimmed top.

Enjoy - now it's back to drawing the last sheet!!

Paper Doll Collaboration - Holiday Sweaters

2018 is wrapping up and today is the last of the 2018 Paper Doll Collaboration project.  It's been a lot of fun - Rachel and Melissa always come up with such fun ideas! Don't fret, though - we're looking to do more next year! If you've created outfits for the 2018 doll, feel free to share it! We all LOVE seeing other paper dolls just as much as we enjoy making them!

The final theme for this year was ugly sweaters.  I love crazy holiday sweaters (bought my husband a Deadpool one this year!!) and I have a hard time thinking of them as "ugly". So this final sheet is a sweater mix-and-match set.

Since this is the last set, I have a PDF ready to download of the whole collection. It's always nice to see how the whole thing has come together! To round out your collection, visit Rachel and Melissa!

December Paper Doll - Set 3

Happy Christmas Eve! I'll keep this short - we, like so many, still have lots to do! I'm still shooting to wrap up the doodle-a-day project by the end of the year.  We'll see!!

This set has loads of holiday themes! "Fireside" is a cozy sweater with a yule log necklace. "Gingerbread" is some fun patterned leggings. "Tree" is a patterned dress with a wide tie. "Ornament" is an ornament patterned skirt.  "Frame" is an ugly sweater.  And "nutcracker" is a jacket, hat, and leggings set. The leggings could probably mix & match with other things.

I won't be posting again for a few days.  Have a merry Christmas to all those that celebrate! Look for the last two doodle-a-day sheets after Christmas!

December Paper Doll - Set 2

There's a point in December where there's a little bit of a lull.... After the chaos of Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, and an early December birthday, things calm down a bit before ramping back up for Christmas.  I'm trying to fill this lull with the December paper doll!

The first theme this week is "letter" and I made a graphic tee.  "Giving" is a festive red top with a little present. "Bake" is a holiday shirt, apron, and a tray full of cookies. "Gold" was tough - it's a short party dress that works really well in color but less so in black & white. "Rabbit" is a short shirt with rabbit leggings - it might match the April rabbit top but I didn't test it out.  Finally, "sparkle" is another party dress. There's also a denim jacket and a pair of pants to mix and match.

I'll keep working on the next set.  I'm also starting to think about next year.  Any projects you'd all like to see?  Let me know!!

December Paper Doll - Set 1

Halfway through December and I'm just getting to the December paper doll set! I'm going to finish this - in between holidays, parent-teacher conferences, half days, doctors appointments, two birthdays.... It's going to happen!!

How cute are these kids though?! They're the best!

So here are the themes for December. If you'd like to follow along, I'm using the drawing suggestions from @ellolovey on Instagram and she's on Facebook, too. This is the last set of the year and it'll fit the April doll.

I wanted to make sure I had some flexible color choices for both winter and Christmas.  I was inspired by retro Christmas cards to use bright green, red, pink, blue, and a bold yellow.

The first theme is "tiger" and that was tough! I went with shiny tiger print pants. "Peppermint" is a sparkly striped skirt. "Warm drink" is a cozy sweater and a cup of coffee. "Bed" is a super comfy robe over pajamas. "Holly" is a skirt with matching hat. And finally, "bell" is a bell trimmed, Santa inspired jacket.

Not all of the pieces on this page mix and match as well as I'd like, but more pages will create more options.  Look for more- I WILL finish this!

November Paper Doll - Set 5

FINALLY! The November set is finished.  I feel like I've been behind on this project since it began.... It was a much bigger project than I anticipated but I WILL finish it!

To that end, here's the last set.

First up is "layered" and I went with a tee shirt, flannel, and vest. "Something new" is a retro mini dress that looks like a present. "Scarf" is a vest and scarf.  "Row" is a theme that has come up a few times - this time, I went with a striped sweater. "Sign" is another repeat - I tried to make a ski patrol/rescue type jacket. It's a stretch..... And finally, "cozy place" is a sweater with leggings & booties.

I have five pages to post for December and they will all get posted as soon as I actually draw them!

November Paper Doll - Set 4

As promised, I'll posting the remainder of the November doodle-a-day wardrobe sheets this week. Today I have set 4!

I ended up rounding out this sheet with a few mix & match pieces.  And the themes were difficult for me this time around. Maybe it was the themes, maybe it was the rush to get these done.  I'm not sure.

First, "family" is a skirt with a little bird family. "Pie" is a sweater with a pie graphic. "Turkey" and "thankful" are a shirt & skirt with the same motif.  "Mountains" is a dismal attempt at an all-over graphic dress. And "shop" is a comfy, casual sweatshirt for all of the Black Friday shopping frenzy!

One more set to go!! Should be up Friday.

And if you're looking to order my book in time for Christmas, go grab it here or here!

November Paper Doll - Set 3

Yes, it's December.  But I NEED to finish the November paper doll set! So this week, I'll crank out the last of the wardrobe sheets and then move on to the December set.

And then take a break in January!

For "brush" I used a brush script font. "Jewel" is a jeweled neckline on a fuzzy sweater. "Recipe" is an apron. For "product" I went with math (as in, the "product" in multiplication).  "Big and Small" is a retro dress with a large and a small pattern.  And "luggage" is a vintage inspired coat & suitcase.

Look for more this week - I'm diligently working to finish these up!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Military

I have not forgotten the blog!!! I need to get that out of the way. I'm still working on the November paper doll but things came up.  Specifically, commissions that I'm working on.  So it's not a *bad* thing that I've been busy.  It's just the blog that suffers!! I plan on finishing out the entire year of the doodle-a-day outfits and if it spills into January, so be it I guess.

Anyway....Today I'm posting the November collaboration.  We decided with November to go with a military theme.  And I thought, since it's the 100th anniversary of World War I, I'd create uniforms from that era.

On the left is the US Navy Reserves Women's Yeoman uniform.  I found two images: one is from the Met and the other is from a Navy history site.  The article on the Met site is really interesting & I recommend reading it.  Apparently, the Navy didn't have gender exclusionary language so women started enlisting! And a Yeoman was a secretary type position.

On the right is the uniform for the US Motor Corps.  For this, I found another image at the Met website.  The Motor Corps was a way for women to participate in the war efforts and, again, it's a pretty fascinating subject.

For more military themed outfits, see Miss Missy and Paper Thin Personas!

November Paper Doll - Set 2

The holiday craziness has already begun.... I'm really hoping to get another page posted next week. Not a great time to fall behind! I'm writing this just ahead of our first snow storm of the year so I'm not sure if the kids are going to school or not. I'm hoping they do!!

My layout is all over the place and doesn't actually follow the list in order.  First is "glow" which I turned into a sort of glowing, bright ball gown.  "Book" goes well with the "handwriting" jacket from March.  For "gadget" and "shoes" I went with a little bit of a steampunk feel -- what says "gadget" more than steampunk?! "Veteran" is a Marine Corps woman's uniform - my grandfather was a Marine, so that was the branch I wanted to illustrate. This uniform is based on an illustration on Wikipedia from the 1980s so I'm not sure it's current.  But I liked it and I followed the illustration faithfully!! Finally, "begins with M" is a maxi dress with a pretty pumpkin print.

I'll get to work on the next set -- stay safe & warm if you, too, are dealing with snow!

November Paper Doll - Set 1

Happy November! The end-of-the-year spiral has begun.... November & December are always crazy months around here. Holidays, birthdays, school activities....It's nutty but fun.

November also means that the doodle-a-day paper doll project is starting to wind down.  There's this doll and December and that's it.  I plan on finishing strong!!

Here are the November themes. If you'd like to follow along, I'm using the drawing suggestions from @ellolovey on Instagram and she's on Facebook, too.

First up, the theme is "sky" and I made a shirt with a sunset color and cloud motif with a sweater vest.  "Theatre" is a dramatic pantsuit perfect for a night out. "Camp" was tough - I went with a buffalo checkered jacket (I have a vintage one that I love) that made me think of hunting camp.  "Market" is a repeat theme and this time I made a mustard colored cozy sweater and canvas bag.  "Breakfast" is another cozy sweater with a t-shirt that has a tea graphic. And finally, "inspiration" is a graphic long sleeved shirt with "New England" on it because I draw a lot on inspiration from my very beautiful part of the country!


I tried to make the background on this one a little lighter than October.  I've been posting these on Pinterest & it's really cool to see them all together!

October Paper Doll - Set 5

The time has come to end October. Boo..... I love October, I love this set of themes, and I really love this paper doll! It's tough to end this month's set but there's still November and December to look forward to!

This last set of outfits has ALL the Halloween! For "monster" I went with a Frankenstein's monster jacket & makeup that pairs well with jeans or the orange pants from a previous October sheet. Next, "cat" is a headband and matching cat face top.  "Costume" was tough only because October has had a lot of costumes. I went with a Day of the Dead inspired top, skirt, and face makeup.  "Moon" is a star covered dress with a moon necklace. It's a repeat theme and I have several star or moon outfits already.  "Spooky" is a skeleton top.  And "jack-o-lantern" is a retro circle skirt.

I haven't seen the themes for November yet but I can tell you that it'll be the March paper doll.  Two months left!!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Halloween

The last Friday of October is here.  Unbelievable..... My sons are attending the annual Halloween party at their school tonight so that'll be fun. And Halloween looks chilly so we plan on bundling up for that.

And since it's so close to Halloween, that's out theme this month!

I have two outfits.  First, a big witch ballgown.  It's not perfect but that's alright. I didn't have any time period or anything in mind. Just "big" and "fancy"!  There's a hat to go with that or with the other outfit - a starry top and jeans with a trick or treat bucket full of candy!

Check out Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy for more spooky costumes for our doll!

October Paper Doll - Set 4

October is flying by!! We're all getting excited for Halloween.  My oldest is dressing up as a video game character (Genji from Overwatch for anyone who knows what that is!) and my youngest wanted to be a scary pumpkin. We found a mask & a robe and we're DIYing it.

Very scary if you ask me!

Speaking of scary... I am loving the spooky themes this month!

The themes for this set are so fun! First up is a "bat" skirt. "Treat" is a candy corn patterned apron for baking.  "Band" is a sparkly skeleton band on a t-shirt. "Spirit" is a Victorian ghost costume with matching white hair. Because I love to mix-and-match, the parts of the costume would work with other wardrobe pieces, too. "Brew" is a cauldron of witches' brew. And "light" is a moon and star themed tunic.  There's a black top and leggings to mix and match.

One more set to go for October. And only two more months to go! There's also going to be a collaboration set so look for that, too.

October Paper Doll - Set 3

Sometimes the stars align! Today (the 19th) is the last day of prompts on my paper doll page today.  Yay!! That rarely happens...

I really like the themes for October.  Some are a little random, but most are pretty great.

First up is "dream" and I made a set of retro pajamas with the fall leaf motif on it from set 1. "Gate" I made a graphic tee with a cemetery gate on it. "Spider" is sparkly spider web leggings with spider web accented shoes. "Owl" is a Halloween owl applique on a sweater. "Pasta" is another graphic shirt.  "Vehicle" is a goth's dream - a tee with a hearse on it.  And there's a hairstyle with spider web earrings, a pair of orange jeans, and a black skirt for mix-and-match options.

Next Friday is another collaboration sheet but I'm hoping to get another October sheet up before then!

October Paper Doll - Set 2

Things are getting chilly in New England! Both of my boys are playing soccer this season and it has been chilly.  We're also gearing up for Halloween - we have three parties and trick or treating. On different days, thankfully!

Today's set has a lot of fun seasonal themes!

For "basket", I made a flannel shirt and basket of apples. "Cool" is a warm sweater for cool days.  "Under the bed" is a monster printed top.  "Begins with W" had to be a witch!! "Farm" is a set of overalls. And finally, "game" was tough so I made harlequin patterned leggings, maybe like a playing card joker.

I'm still not thrilled with the lack of contrast - I'm going to leave it for now but I may adjust the background in the future. Set 3 is coming soon!

October Paper Doll - Set 1

Finally got the first doodle-a-day sheet for October completed! I am not participating in Inktober - not enough free time.  Maybe next year! In the meantime, I'm cranking through my October prompts.

These are the October themes. If you'd like to follow along, I'm using the drawing suggestions from @ellolovey on Instagram and she's on Facebook, too.

These are pretty great themes! I picked really autumn-ish colors, too, and I love them!  My youngest son (who is 6) has informed me this year that it is AUTUMN not FALL and we must call it thus.  Cracks me up!

The only thing I'm not really happy about & I couldn't really find a good solution for it is the lack of contrast between the outfits and the background. There just wasn't a good way to create a background that matched the rest of the series, used these colors, and managed to provide contrast.  The text isn't popping either, but I went with it anyway.

The themes and outfits, however, I LOVE!! First up is "apples" with a retro apple pattern. In fact, it's the same apple pattern I used in the Kitchen Kitsch book! Then there's "leaves" and I went with a leaf pattern on a scarf. "Crow" is an applique on a long sleeed top.  "Pumpkins" is a skirt that matches the crow top nicely.  "Spice" is a sweater dress with a pumpkin and cinnamon motif.  That's another thing my youngest is all into this year - pumpkin spice everything! "Carnival" was tough - I went with a striped jacket and straw hat. Finally, "in your closet" is leggings and boots based on leggings and boots in my own wardrobe.  The only difference between those boots and my boots are mine are flats.

I gotta say, if I had to pick a favorite, the February doll is it! This is the last month for her.... I'm diligently working on the next set of prompts so look for those soon!

September Paper Doll - Set 5

This was supposed to go online yesterday.  However, instead of finishing this, I took a mental health day.  Much needed, too!! I have a lot going on and I rarely take a break.  Yesterday, I set aside all of my caregiving duties and all of my art projects in order to have coffee with a friend.

I regret nothing!

So today I have the last page of the September set.  I'm diligently working on October & that'll be up soon.

This was a tough one! First up was "comic" and I went with a retro minidress with a halftone effect on it that reminded me of comic books.  It's a stretch, I know! "Frame", too, is a stretch. Instead of a picture frame like I did for "frame" in February, I chose to go with "frame" as in "structure" so I made a suite jacket with a corset top and matching pants.  "Neighbor" is a graphic tee (my fallback!!) that matches the "storefront" skirt.  "Wild is a slinky animal print dress.  Finally, "pattern" is a skirt that I neglected to actually give a pattern to in the black and white sheet.  And there's a bonus skirt.

September was a tough set of themes! I'm pretty excited about October so look for those soon!

September Paper Doll - Set 4

Happy October! I was SO happy to be caught up...and now I'm not.  That's fine. There's one more sheet after today and I should be able to get that done this week.

The themes for this set are:"nails" where I made a hammer & nail pattern legging (would look great with the "craft" apron from a previous set), "furniture" is a layered graphic tee of a rocking chair, "fairy" is a duplicate - this time I went with a hippie style dress and fairy necklace, "elephant" is an embroidered top, "autumn" is a leaf patterned top, and, finally "glass" is a shimmery crystal gown and hair piece.

Since it's October, a lot of people are doing Inktober projects. I am not.  Not enough time!! If you are looking for some fun ones, Paper Thin Personas is posting on Instagram.  There's another paper doll series at Miss Missy's Paper Dolls, too. The ladies at Girls Drawin' Girls (which I follow on Facebook) are doing a witch themed Inktober and you can see that here. I wish I had time for that one!!

I'll wrap up September and get on to October. It's one of my favorite months and I'm eager to get started!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Sports

September is (for a lot of folks) back to school season and back to sports! My kiddos started just before Labor Day. In theory, that means they get out a little earlier in June. In actuality, we've been getting a lot of snow days in the last few years so that's not likely.

My boys are in soccer for both fall and spring.  My youngest is not really feeling it, but he's only 6 and I'm not sure I trust his opinion.  My oldest, however, is almost 9 and is LOVING soccer! He's had some difficulties the last couple of years so this is great. I've never seen him latch onto something quite like this before.  Seeing him grow into his own person is just amazing.

So this is because of him. 


This month's theme is sports and I have  a mix and match set of soccer clothing. This doll is a bit tricky when it comes to mix and match sets (which is kinda my thing!!).

For more sports themed sets, check out Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy's Paper Dolls!

September Paper Doll - Set 3

Finally! I have another sheet ready! I really need to stop saying "I've caught up!" because then I fall behind....

Let's start at the beginning! The first theme was "fortune" so I made a fortune teller/Bohemian style set. "Tourist" is based on the leaf peepers I saw when I lived in Northern New England. "Close-up" is supposed to be a close up magnification of maple leaves but it didn't quite work out. "Pathway" is a tunic with a map - again - because I had no ideas for that! "Pottery" is a top based on motifs from ancient Greek black figure vases.  And, finally, "mythical creature" is a centaur partly because I knew the colors would work!

Tomorrow is the collaboration set - look for that!

Kitchen Kitsch Paper Doll Book

I don't have a paper doll to share today.  That's the bad news.  I'll have a page ready in a day or two.

The good news is the book is ready!!!!



Woo hoo!!!! You can grab a copy on Amazon or straight from Paper Studio Press! 

It was really a joy working on this book. The box of proofs showed up on my doorstep yesterday and it might as well have been Christmas!

They really printed beautifully.  It's larger than letter size which is great. Most of my prints and self-published books are letter sized. Working on something bigger was nice!

My pictures aren't perfect but the colors are SO bright and amazing! I can't believe this is mine, honestly. And, appropriately, I took these photos on my kitchen table.

Also, my oldest son insisted I take a picture of them with the book. I brought it to the school to show a friend and he said we HAD to get a picture. He's very proud of his mom right now :)

So make my kiddos happy and grab a copy! I can't say enough great things are working with Paper Studio Press. It's a small, super friendly publisher and I'm hoping this is just one of many books!

(More September outfits are coming.....!)