Keren (Free Pretty Things for You) and I are bringing you a darling vintage Paper Doll image along with her clothes! I was lucky enough to score this paper doll and her clothes not too long ago. Keren changed up the clothes' colors, so we've got the original set plus the new set available for you. The paper doll's in great shape - the only thing is that some sweet little girl wrote her name on the front of her slip - but that just makes her all the better!
I'm always drawn to paper dolls because my mom loves them. One of her favorite things was playing with paper dolls. I made one of these projects specifically with Mom in mind.
First up, is the card featuring her oh, so sweet pink dress:
I fell in love with the kitty buttons and had to have them. (You can find them HERE.) Hard to tell in the photo, but her dress is attached to her by only the tabs on her back, so it looks like someone just slipped on her dress.
Now, this is for my mom:
She's just a little "sweet nothing" for mom to set on her desk to enjoy. I've got some tips for you if you'd like to make something similar:
Print paper doll at 5". Now, you want her to be VERY sturdy. You could print 3 more of her, cut them out and stack them. What I did was trace her onto scrap 110 lb cardstock. The base will also need to be sturdy. I used three 110 lb circles.
Glue two of her layers to her and save the third one. Make the stand from sturdy cardstock. The base isn't quite 1 1/4" across - it's the width of her feet. Glue her feet about 3/4" down on the stand.
Score the stand underneath her feet and cut to fit her legs. Glue the last layer on the back of the paper doll covering the stand.
Then make the slits as indicated above. The stand will slip into the slit base. Start with 1 1/4", you made need to make it a little longer. Tip: Angle the corners of the stand to easily slip into the slit. Glue the other two base circles covering the stand.
One last thing to make sure she stands steady on her base: Put a little bit of hot glue under the tips of her shoes and hold them in place until dry. Before you add the hot glue, make all the changes to the paper doll that you want to do. For example, tie the ribbon around her waist and add button, etc... That way you won't tear the hot glue from the paper while you work. (Yeah, I did that!) You could stop right here (see top picture) or you can go on to adding other embellishments and placing her on a block or large spool. (If you would like to do a rosette and don't know how - just go to YouTube, you'll find lots of videos.)
Okay, I'm trusting you to be gentle with me on this next one!
I hand lettered the sentiment! Yes, it has a couple of "oops!" places. but it was FUN! I watercolored the background and the hearts. (Inspired by Lori at Elvie Studio.)
Download Paper Doll with Original Clothes HERE.
Visit Free Pretty Things for You to download Paper Doll with New Clothes.
Have fun creating with this darling paper doll. So glad you stopped by and have a wonderful week!
