Nostalgia, Paper Dolls, Plastic, and Toilet Paper

What kind of title is that?! Toilet paper???? 

This is a convoluted story and it will all make sense by the end. I promise. 

I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately. Everything feels much more difficult than it should. I'm having a lot of imposter syndrome where I just don't feel like I'm good at anything anymore, especially drawing. And that's ok. Feelings like this come and go. Things around here have been rather hectic. Taking a break is perfectly fine. So I decided to take a paper doll off of my shelf and play with it.

These are TOYS, after all!

This is the Star Originals Designer Set published in 1991 by Western Publishing. There are other ones in this series, including a bride. I had this one as a kid, forgot about it, and then saw it at the Philadelphia party in 2023. (I never wrote about that party for some reason....2023 was a VERY slim year for writing on the ol' blog. I'm not sure why!) My reaction to seeing this was pure "core memory unlocked" as my dear teens would say. One minute, I had no clue that this was a thing and then next, BOOM, I'm 11 again playing with it. 

The kit consists of a large doll - about 13 inches from head to shoes - stickers, tissue paper, a full sheet of color clothing, a clear crayon, and an instructions sheet with templates and clothing to color. 

Take a close look at those images - the fashions are amazing late 80s/early 90s concoctions! Really wild stuff...

So today I thought it would be fun to craft some clothing for my doll without using the things in the kit. I want to leave most of the kit as-is, and really, all I need is the doll. 

And paper. Toilet paper.

Here's the next part of my silly story....

I've been trying to reduce my plastic use. This isn't something totally new. I've tried for years to move away from single-use items but plastic specifically. I'm not here to preach about plastic usage - it's something that's bothering me and I'm making small changes where I can. The first room on my hit list is the bathroom. I'm testing out shampoo and conditioner in aluminum bottles. I've made the switch to soap bars instead of body wash and face scrubs. And we're experimenting with bamboo toothbrushes. I'm trying to be mindful and more aware, not perfect. The kids think I'm nuts but they're on board with the understanding that everything is a discussion not an edict.

That's where the toilet paper comes in. 

I'm trying out a brand that comes wrapped in awesome printed papers.  (Disclaimer bits: I'm not paid to share this. This is definitely not an ad! They don't know that I even exist!! This is just something I'm trying out on my own.) The paper has such a rad 80s vibe to it that I started saving it so that I could use it with my equally rad plastic paper doll.

See? Full circle story! 

I used the doll as a stencil on some light card stock. The kit has instructions for making clothing but I wanted something more "paper doll" and not glued or taped directly to the doll. Because the toilet paper wrapper is thin, I glued it to the light card stock.

I gave myself about an hour to do this. It was so much fun that I kept going! I really had to pull myself away and have lunch! 

I ended up with two dresses, a pair of shorts, and two tops. I dipped into my paper stash to round out the collection.

This dress took me the longest. I combined three papers and some sparkly washi tape that matches the shoes. I struggled with folding the paper ore than I'd like to admit!

A bit of shiny gold paper left over from a previous project. It's boring but also a good base.
 

And then two tops - one accented with more washi tape and the other has some sticker gemstones. 

Is this the best project I've ever worked on? NOPE! Was it super fun? YUP! It's great to actually work with my hands because so much of what I do is digital. The best way to learn how to create a paper doll is with paper and scissors. Really get in there and PLAY. 

Maybe I'll bring this set out from time to time and just play! 

If anyone out there is playing with their paper dolls, I'd love to see it!