Paper Doll Collaboration 2019 - Royalty

Another summer has come & gone! This summer felt both excessively long and exceedingly short, somehow.  There were days that I thought my boys would NEVER get along....and there were days that were far too much fun to be so short. My grandmother was sick at both the start and finish of the summer so that also presented some challenges....

Now that everyone is back in school (and, surprisingly happy about it!!), I should be able to get back into creating more. Today is the next installment of the 2019 Paper Doll Collaboration. You can see Miss Missy and Paper Thin Personas for more.

The theme this month is royalty. I'm not much of a royal watcher. Just never appealed to me. Princess Di was a big deal when I was a kid and I'm about the same age as her sons.  Aside from that, I don't have any real feelings on the matter. I do, however, love historical dramas.  Somehow I convinced my husband to watch The Crown, Poldark, and Victoria. And he loves all of those as much as I do! So for the royalty page, I chose a couple of costumes from Victoria.  One is a military outfit and the other a gown from an episode where she's holding court.  Both feature a sash and royal insignia.  I don't remember which episode either of these were from.... Definitely watch it, though. It's great! 

I'm off to see what Miss Missy and Paper Thin Personas drew for this month! You should too!

Paper Doll Collaboration 2019 - Beachwear and Dance

I missed the June collaboration post.... I felt awful about it and thought about rushing to post something, but then decided to wait.  Summer is tough for me.  The boys are home and I want to spend time with them AND work on my projects but sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day for everything.

So today I'm posting the June and July pages! Rachel & Melissa got there June posts up so you should absolutely check those out.

First up is beachwear for June.  I LOVE patterns but I found the black & white format of this dolls a bit tough for patterns.  Instead of going super elaborate, I went simple with a little strip accent on all the sets.  I'm a big fan of rash guard/shorts as a bathing suit. I spend my summers chasing two boys so practicality is high on my list of needs for a bathing suit!

The theme for July is "dance/ballet".  I love belly dancer costumes (I might make an entire book of them!!) so I wanted to have that.  I figured I'd add ballet in, too. I don't feel strongly about ballet.  In fact, I'm not much of a theater person in general. And most classical music is just not for me. But I took a crack at it anyway.  The tutus are meant to be worn over the bodysuit and the little top layers over it, too.

I will endeavor to (1) write here more and (2) post August on time! As I said, summer is just not a good time for me to work.  The boys are only little once and I want to enjoy it.  Anyway....Check out the other paper dolls in the series!!

100 Days of Paper Dolls - Sets 9 and 10

I have two more sheets in the 100 day day project.  They're my last (for now....) I had to stop at 50. There's been A LOT going on lately! I do plan on going back to it and when I do, I'll start from day 51 & continue. 

One of the things I've been up to is working with the team at Paperdoll Review magazine.  I've been helping with miscellaneous bits & pieces and I'm hoping to continue.  If you aren't getting this magazine already, take a look at my brief (and rough! ugh!) flip-through.  It's available at Paperdoll Review. I'm not really into vintage paper dolls all that much but I love this magazine anyway! Well worth it!! And I always learn something.

The other thing I want to mention is that the old blog here is SEVEN!! I think of the blog as one of my babies because it came about at around the same time.

Look at those faces! My oldest (who is now 9 and a half) is nearly as tall as I am.  My youngest (who is 7) is the main reason why I started the blog in the first place.  Motherhood was fine with one kiddo, but a tough pregnancy, a medication with depression as the first side effect, AND a round of post-partum depression left me in a bad place in 2012 with kiddo number two.  Sometimes I wish I had shared that then, but I wasn't ready.  This little blog and my internet friends helped keep me sane and active creatively when that was exactly what I needed even if I couldn't say it then. So thank you to all of you from the early days and all of you who put up with my more sporadic posting these days! 

And a lot has changed in 7 years! Sure, I post a bit less but that's because I'm doing more out in the real world.  I've had a book published, help out with a magazine, attended a terrific paper doll regional gathering, and joined a local paper doll group. And in my "real" life, I'm still raising two kiddos with my awesome husband and my grandmother moved in with us a couple of years ago.  At almost 89 with vision and hearing loss, she needs more help than she used to, so I handle that, too.  My hours get pretty full pretty quickly!

Anyway...

Here's a couple of paper doll sheets!

I'll definitely get back to this with a companion doll as soon as I can. And I plan on continuing with the blog even if it's a bit random at the moment. Thanks, as always, for sticking with me!

Paper Doll Collaboration - MerMAY

The end of May sure did sneak up on me!! I've had the worst cold - it came with a fever and 12 hours of sleep a night for the past few days. Pretty sure I've been pushing myself to hard.  It's the end of the school year and I'm in the thick of field trips, fun days, soccer, and end-of-the-year shows. Honestly, I love it but it does get a bit chaotic. And I love having the boys home for the summer....at least in June. Ask me again in August!!

Today's doll came together quickly.  Like, an hour and a half! I'm fairly quick but not generally THAT quick...

The swimsuit can be worn alone or under the tail.  The dress is meant to be seaweed and can be worn alone or with a tail.  It's not the finest sheet I've ever made.  There's a phrase I see occasionally that I sort of love/hate: finished not perfect.  I love the idea of taking something to completion and then letting it go - it's easy to fuss over something forever.  But I don't like the implication that you can complete something without giving it your best effort and calling it done just to be done. If I didn't feel this wasn't good enough, I wouldn't post it. I try to push myself to do more and try more. I encourage everyone to do the same!!

For more in the series, see Paper Thin Personas, Miss Missy's Paper Dolls, and Pop Culture and Paper Dolls!

100 Days of Paper Dolls - Set 8

If this sheet has a slightly 1940s vibe and not a more Neo-Victorian vibe, I blame it on Morgantown! I drew this sheet in my hotel room one morning and I think I absorbed a bit of the theme.

In non-paper doll news, today is the day I met my husband 13 years ago.  It's been a pretty happy run so far! He's far and away my biggest fan and strongest advocate.  And tomorrow is my birthday. Another trip around the sun and it's been a good one :)

I've decided to break this project up at the 50 day mark.  Days 51-100 will feature a new, complimentary doll.  That's on my agenda!!

To follow along, check out my Instagram....or join in the fun with #100daysofpaperdolls!

100 Days of Paper Dolls - Set 7

Although it's May, New England has not exactly felt very spring-like.  We've had a ton of rain! I know we aren't the only ones across the country dealing with crazy weather.  It's been dark and dreary and depressing for a couple of months.

So I channeled that into a winter-ish set for the 100 Days paper doll!

I have an embroidered jacket with a fur-ish trim (it's like a faux sheepskin kind of texture) and I LOVE it! This set is inspired a bit by that.  There are things I'd like to re-work about this sheet when I get to the coloring stage. But that's another project for another day!

Follow along daily with my Instagram....or join in the fun with #100daysofpaperdolls!

100 Days of Paper Dolls - Set 6

Last weekend, I went to the Morgantown PA paper doll party. It was AMAZING!!!! I got to meet Jenny Taliadoros, the publisher of Paper Doll Studio Magazine and Paperdoll Review (and my book, of course).  She's just the best.  In fact, everyone I met was great.  It felt more like a family reunion than a first-time meeting!

I didn't take many pictures while I was there - I was too busy having a great time! There were lots of fantastic artists and collectors. I was also the big winner during the raffle! This is all of the raffle prizes I won along with souvenirs from the convention and the Barbie paper dolls books from my childhood that I just had to have!

I highly recommend attending a local or regional paper doll party. It's really a lot of fun with a lot of really cool people.

Ok, ok, I have a paper doll sheet to share!

I'm a bit behind on posting these. I have three more sheets ready to post after this one. To follow along, check out my Instagram....or join in the fun with #100daysofpaperdolls!
 

And if you subscribe to Paper Studio Press magazine, check out my submission for the Green theme.  I'm really happy with it!! (You can order issues or subscribe here.  Totally worth it!!)