Tween Fashion Friday - Gianna

This is the fifth tween paper doll! I'm having a great time creating these! I wanted to create a set of basic clothing to mix and match with the previous four sets, so today's paper doll is mainly jeans & some neutral shoes.  There's a little color, too, just because I couldn't help myself.

Download Tween Fashion Friday - Gianna pdf here

I like to learn new skills when I can, and this week I came across a mandala tutorial for Illustrator.  It took some time & I learned some new techniques along the way.  I created the mandala in Gianna's wardrobe using the tutorial.  It wasn't perfectly symmetrical but a "hand-drawn" texture brush in Illustrator helped a great deal.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to use my little mandala!

Also, Nia and Gianna have the same skin tone, so they can mix & match shoes.  I'm trying to be a bit more sparing in the skin tones I use.  My fashion dolls have somewhere around 15 skin tone variations and that's a bit much....!

Tween Fashion Friday - Bronwynn

A funny thing has been happening to me lately.... I lose track of days.  My son is out of school for the summer & my husband now has a work-from-home job, so all four of us are home together without a "real" schedule.  Friday doesn't feel much different than Monday, etc.

And so I sometimes lose track of days.  And forget to post a paper doll.

This week I have a new paper doll!

Download Tween Fashion Friday - Bronwynn pdf here

With these new tween paper dolls, I've been trying to include fun patterns & colors.  I'm really loving the colors here! The fox is something I made ages ago and thought would be really cute in light colors.  Foxes seem to be pretty popular with the kids these days....

I'm thinking that the next paper doll should be a bunch of neutrals to mix & match with ALL of the four tween dolls. Til next week, you can check out the Etsy shop!

Tween Fashion Friday - Rosalind

Sometimes, I have a very clear vision of what I want to make.  This was definitely one of those weeks! With this new series, I wanted to get as much diversity as I could as quickly as I could.  I had a pale blonde, then dark skin with braids, and today I have medium skin and medium hair.  She could really be from anywhere.

I also wanted a Bohemian/hipster vibe as well as glasses.  I don't make nearly enough paper dolls with glasses.  The color scheme and pattern were something I was certain of, too.  I buy a lot of graphic resources for other projects, and these two patterns were from the amazing Lisa Glanz (here's her website...she's an amazing illustrator!).  I tweaked the color scheme a bit and I'm really happy with it.

Download Tween Fashion Friday - Rosalind pdf here

This week was crazy and I honestly didn't think I'd get this posted.  I'm really, really happy I did!

Let me know what you think of the new series -- I'm loving it!
 

Tween Fashion Friday - Nia

Today I have another tween paper doll.  I don't think it'll mix and match well with the first one, but there are more on the way!

Download Tween Fashion Paper Doll - Nia pdf here

I went with another summery color scheme here.  One thing I've been experimenting with is taking hand-painted images and creating a vector out of them.  It's harder than I thought! The chevron pattern here is the result of one of those experiments.  It's a big PDF file -- the PNG in this post is high resolution and prints well, too.

Her name -- Nia -- is Swahili for "resolve".  It also has European roots, particularly Welsh.  I liked the African roots because I knew before I started that I wanted this to be a dark skinned doll.  I also decided to try making braids, which I think worked out ok.  She's just so bright & cheery!

Let me know if you like the new series.  I'm enjoying the challenge of something new :)

Tween Fashion Friday - Kourtney

Every June, I reflect on this whole blog thing. (I know it's the first of July.) If I'm still enjoying it, I keep at it.  When the day comes that I'm not enjoying it, I'll move on.  It's been 4 years of paper dolling and writing -- both of which I still love.

So today is not the day that I move on.

Instead, it's the day I introduce a new paper doll!

Here's a rough sketch of the new tween body type.  I'm not enthusiastic about the term "tween" but I'll use it anyway.  This is supposed to be a girl older than the toddlers and younger than the teen/adult body type.  I'm thinking maybe 12 years old or so. And I named this first one in the series after my son's best friend's sister.  Because why not?!

Download Tween Fashion Friday - Kourtney pdf here

In the final iteration, I tried to make her a little less curvy than the initial sketch.  I also went with a more athletic set of undergarments -- maybe it's a bathing suit, maybe it's a sports bra.  Doesn't matter.  I just wanted something that felt age-appropriate.

Shoes might be a challenge.  I like to have items that are as mix-and-match as possible that fit with every doll of every skin tone.  I'm not sure I'll be able to pull that off with this new body type.  We'll see as it evolves.

Let me know what you think of the new tween doll! I'm excited to work on something new!

Toddler Fashion Friday - Emma

Last week's toddler graduation paper doll was so much fun, I made a companion paper doll! Here's Emma with a graduation cap & gown and school theme patterned wardrobe.

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Emma pdf here

For an extended, 3 page version of this paper doll, visit my *new* Etsy shop!

There's some news I need to share! First, the good news: I re-opened my Etsy shop.  There's a mini shop in the sidebar of this blog if you'd like to take a look at it.  I'm focusing on instant downloads.  Right now, I'm creating extended sets of previous dolls, but I plan on making some Etsy-only sets as well as maybe revisiting the Jane doll templates.  I may also have the occasional one-off paper doll.

Secondly, I've had a death in the family.  My grandfather lived a long, happy life and although he'll be missed, he had a hereditary & crippling condition and is at peace now.  As we as a family move forward, I'm going to need some time to deal with his passing and the changes associated with it.  I'm going to try to continue blogging without any gaps but that just might not happen.

I hope everyone has a happy start to their summer/graduation season! We're so proud of our kindergarten student!

Toddler Fashion Friday - Noah

I have entered into a phase that I've heard of, but never experienced before: end of school year chaos.  My oldest is finishing up kindergarten next week and somehow I have no time any more.  It'll be nice to have him home all summer.  I've missed having him home -- even though he LOVES school!   I just need to get myself a little better organized so that I can 1) entertain two active boys 2) work on first grade and preschool schools with those boys and 3) find time for my own stuff.

There might be a few missed weeks here & there, but I swear I'm not abandoning this blog!

To celebrate my son's kindergarten graduation, I made a paper doll!

Download Toddler Fashion Friday - Noah pdf here

I went with a blue graduation gown because his school colors are blue & white.  His school mascot is a tiger, so that's where the orange comes from. And I wanted a school themed pattern, so I whipped up the image on the t-shirt & turned it into a pattern.  The cap & gown will fit any of the toddler paper dolls so feel free to use it for any & all of them!