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!

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!

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!

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!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Favorite Decade

Every month I'm amazed at how quickly the month has gone by! And this is the last day as well as the last Friday.

Today's installment of the paper doll collaboration project is about our favorite decade.  That was a tough one to narrow down! I genuinely loved the '90s but that didn't feel quite right.  And right now, I'm been heavily influenced by the '50s but that wasn't it either. And I knew I wanted the 20th century.

So I went with the 1970s.  Makes total sense, really. Most of the music I listen to is from the 70s.  Much of the clothing I wore in high school was either inspired by or from the 70s. 

I went in two directions here.  First up is a Gunne Sax inspired dress with feathered, flipped up hair.  Next, a long collared shirt and wide leg pants with a helmet-like hairstyle - my mom had hair like that in '78!! In my mind, those pants are corduroy and probably orange.

For more in the series, check out Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Colonial Patriot

Repeat after me: this blog is not dead yet....

I had a commission that I just finished (yay!!) and I'll share that soon.  It's part of a presentation and I'd like the presentation to take place before I share the project.  It's a good one!

I am ALSO working on another project, a bit bigger in scope, and I'll let you all know when that one is ready.  I'm like 3/4 of the way finished with that and then I'll go back to the monthly project.  I'll probably end up posting most of July and August in the month of August.  Oh well.

Did anyone attend the paper doll convention in Seattle? I heard it was a good time and I was lucky enough to be included in the souvenir packets. David Wolfe has his summary of the convention here (and there's a little sneak peek of one of my contributions at the end!)  Sounds like it was a  good time.  Maybe next year!

Ok, ok, on to the project.

Grab the doll here

This month's theme was patriotic/colonial.  I chose to create two colonial costumes.  One is a sort of everyday outfit with a subtle star pattern and stripes on the skirt.  The second is based on a riding habit and has a tricorn hat.  I also included a quote from Abigail Adams that is just as relevant today as it was then.

For more in the series, pop over to Miss Missy's Paper Dolls and Paper Thin Personas!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Wedding Dresses

Time for another paper doll collaboration set! I managed to squeak this one out just before bedtime on Thursday.  Pretty happy with how it came out, too.

The theme this month was weddings.  I went with two modern-ish dresses.  I decided on a mermaid skirted gown because it's a style I rarely draw. And the short skirt was a fun retro style.

You can grab the doll here

For more wedding themed sheets, check out Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy's Paper dolls.

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Animals

It's that time again! I honestly cannot believe how fast this year is going by... I feel like I have an endless list of things that need to get done & they all need to get done yesterday!! Summer vacation is looming, projects need to be completed.... It's good to be busy!

Today's collaboration doll theme was animals or pets. I'm not a pet owner or, honestly, much of an animal lover. Just not my thing.  So for today's theme, I went with a retro inspired animal print set.

I confess, the hands on this are not perfect. They're ok and I'm sure I'm being unduly harsh!

For more of this month's theme, visit Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy's Paper Dolls!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Flowers

Here's the fourth installment of the 2018 paper doll collaboration project! The idea was to create something featuring our favorite flowers.  I don't really have a favorite flower but I came across some amazing Victorian trading cards featuring flowers! It's kinda weird that they were used to advertise a meat extract but hey, they're cool anyway!

I chose the rose and aster cards as inspiration for this set.  All of the flower cards are really beautiful and it was hard to pick just two!

For more flower inspired fashions, make sure to visit Paper Thin Personas and Miss Missy's Paper Dolls!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Then and Now

It's time for another round of the collaboration project! This month's theme was re-interpreting  an old fashion as a new fashion.  I wasn't really sure where to go with this, but I follow an author on Instagram - Lydia Edwards - who wrote a book called How to Read a Dress. I haven't picked up the book yet.  Based on her fantastic Instagram feed, I probably should! Sometimes she compares old and new clothing styles and that's where I started this project.

On the left, I have an Elizabethan gown, complete with ruffs at the neck and hands, circa 1575.  On the right, a Giambattista Valli gown from 2017.

This portrait was the inspiration for my Elizabethan gown. I wasn't super fussy about including all of the details.

And the contemporary gown.  Again, I wasn't super fussy with pattern, details, etc. I really wanted the overall similarities to stand out.

For more in the ongoing collaboration project series, go check out Rachel's contribution and Melissa's contribution!

Also, happy spring holidays to everyone celebrating! We're having Easter with my family and very much looking forward to it & getting rid of all the snow!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Date Night

Welcome to the next installment of the Paper Doll Collaboration Project! This month really hit me by surprise! I've been beyond busy -- my grandmother (who moved in with us in October) is coming home from rehab today.  She broker her pelvis & has been recuperating. I've been visiting her twice a day every day for a month.  It's also school vacation week which comes with its own brand of crazy!

So "date night" is almost a laughable theme for me right now! Though, truthfully, my husband and I were able to go out and catch Black Panther (on opening night!!) because my parents had the kids. The costuming and effects, etc, are amazing.  I enjoyed it very much.  My husband felt is lack something in the plot and pacing.  We often disagree about movies!

Today's sheet features two date night outfits -- a comfy movie going outfit (complete with popcorn) and something a bit more fancy.

Right-click to download and print

I'm finding with this base doll that two outfits fit very easily on a sheet.  And I'm experimenting with text in a shape - I like how it looks!

For more in the series, see Miss Missy and Paper Thin Personas! 

Paper Doll Collaboration 2018 - Fairy Tales

First, I will finish up the January paper doll series next week....and get started on February! I'm loving this little project! It's more drawing than I've done in a long time but that was kind of the point.

Second, who's ready for the next collaboration series?!

This year's collaboration paper doll was designed by Melissa at Miss Missy's Paper Dolls. Last year I had the privilege of designing the collaboration doll & it's fun to be on the other side of that.  All of the artists gave my doll their own little adjustments and so I did that this time.

Right-click to download and print

Melissa's style is more based on anime than mine is, so it was interesting to work with that style. I drew a new face (much like everyone did last year).  The doll was slim enough that I fit her and the first outfit on one page.

The January theme is fairy tale and although Alice in Wonderland isn't *technically* a fairy tale, it felt right for this doll.  I included a quote, too, to help with the composition. Those curls were a fun challenge!

For more in this series, visit Miss Missy and Paper Thin Personas!