The Joy of Magnetic Paper Dolls...

My friend's daughter had her sweet little birthday party today. So what does one get for a 4-year-old child that surely has every princess accessory and Barbie doll under the sun? You make them something handmade, that's what! In addition to a cute little kitty cat purse, I decided to make her some paper dolls! This was lots of fun for me, let me just tell you it brought back great memories of playing with them as a child. Remember when the tabs would get all worn and tear? The clothes would never seem to stay on very long. Well, I came up with a great solution. Magnetic sheeting!

First of all, I must say what inspired me to do the paper dolls was an adorable digital collection by Pretty Little Studio. Have you ever heard of them? They have the most fanstastic vintage imagery of children, clowns, bunnies, etc. If you love vintage like I do, then you will definitely want to check them out at http://www.prettylittlestudio.com/.

The set I chose to work from is the "Mary" Nursery Rhyme Collection. The size of the doll and the cut-outs print out at approximately 4 - 5" each. The perfect size to fit into a tin Maya Road lunchbox! (I had this in my stash of old packaging that used to house Maya Road chipboard.)  These are perfect for sweet little gifts like this as there is even a little clear window on one side to "peek" in. Since the box is made out of tin, the magnets stick to it perfectly. The back of the case is the ideal platform for creating/dressing Mary in all her fancy outfits.

If you are interested in making some of these for a little girl, or even for yourself I will share with you a brief tutorial on how I created this one-of-a-kind gift.

1. Order the digital images at http://www.prettylittlestudio.com/. The set is only $3, that is what I call a deal. Or if you prefer, you can order the actual paper dolls and work from them. As most of you know, I am more of a traditional crafter; but sometimes in a time crunch, digital is definitely a great way to go.
2. Print out all the images on high quality photo paper.

3. Place all the images on magnetic sticky backed sheeting and fussy cut around the doll, each dress and hat. No need to include the tabs since it is magnetic. Where the lines are dashed, you will use an x-acto knife to cut the openings...this is typically where Mary's head slides through for the hats.

4. To add additional texture to each of the dresses, I added vintage lace, silver/red ricrac & pom poms.  For the hats I added a blue gem, a pink feather, red velvet ribbon and gold flowers from Jolee's Boutique.
5. Take the tin lunchbox and clean/take off all stickers. Next cover the back of the box with a gingham red paper. I used some from GCD Studios Artsy Urban Collection.
6. Included in the digital images is a cover page that has the title, and the illustrator details. I used this as part of my packaging. I took some kraft paper and cut a strip that would wrap completely around the box. I then cut angles & glued the title to the kraft strip.

7. For the inside of the box, I added kraft krinkle stuffing at the bottom. I then tied all the dresses and the hats together using baker's twine.
8. To finish it, just stick Mary to the back of the box. I added the "Pretty Little Studio" as a magnet so that it can be removed when the little one is playing with the paper dolls. Next wrap the label around the box and you're done!

I hope that little Lucy will enjoy this gift. I am a mother of 2 boys so I don't get to do too much of this girlie stuff. It is so refreshing to be a little girl again every once in awhile! I hope you enjoy the tutorial, and I wish you all a wonderful evening! Amy