3.04.2014

Adorable Custom Paper Dolls {Stash-Busting Giveaway}

My childhood was spent doing primarily three things:

  1. Reading.
  2. Playing with dolls.
  3. Reading while playing with dolls.

Yes, I was the girl who lovingly maintained every strand of hair, carefully folded each pint-sized outfit. I was the girl who spent her afternoons inventing and reinventing storylines and adventures. I was the girl who had to take away all dolls when her little sister came along because she made their hair look like a rat’s nest, causing me to just about keel over and die on the spot. Barbies, porcelain dolls, American Girl dolls, paper dolls…all near and dear to my heart. Proof:

american girl doll

I grew up to be the girl who owns the Everyday Paper Dolls and Paper Doll Dress-Up Cricut cartridges. The problem is, they’re collecting dust. However, I have enough scrapbook paper and cardstock to feed a small country, if said small country was prone to nourishing itself with paper products. So what’s a girl to do? Ooh I know! Offer to make other people some custom paper dolls.

Paper doll giveaway!

Side note: Are paper dolls even a thing anymore? Erm, I don’t know? I fully expect like one person to enter this giveaway. Good thing that’s all I need. :)

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I recently made this set for the daughter of one of my longtime friends and had so much fun mixing and matching different pieces and creating little accessories. (Yes, this is what I do on Saturday nights. I’m just that cool.) The two dolls are designed to be her and her not-yet-born little-sister. Do you like how I’ve decided what the baby will grow up to look like?

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Specifics:

  • To enter, use the Rafflecoptor widget below. (ps-the word “widget” is weird. Sounds like wedgie, only widget. Phew, I had to get that off my chest.)
  • One person will win two 5” cardstock paper dolls customized (hair style and color, skin tone, hobbies, favorite colors, etc.) to the two people of their choice. For example, you could choose to have dolls made that looks like your daughter and her friend, or your daughter and your other daughter, or your daughter and Joe Biden, etc. I can also make them without tabs if you wanted to frame them instead, like if you wanted them made to look like you and your husband, or you and a friend/sibling/parent/distant relative/complete stranger/creeper etc. (You can view all of the options for hairstyles and outfits here and here.) The dolls will each come with three outfits of your choice.
  • You’ll have to give me your address so I can mail the finished products to you. I promise I’m not a weirdo who will show up at your house and lurk outside your door in a Buick station wagon with tinted windows. (This is partly because I don’t think Buick station wagons can have tinted windows. It’s like a violation of some unwritten Cool code.)
  • This giveaway is open to US residents only.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even if you don’t enter the giveaway…what are your childhood doll memories? Were you the one who lovingly dressed them each day, or did you cut their hair and color all over them with markers? If you cut off your dolls’ hair, we can still be friends, but I have to go use my inhaler first because I hyperventilate just thinking about it.

23 comments :

  1. I had Kirsten too! (Though I didn't have any matching outfits--so jealous!) I also had a bunch of southern belle dresses that a babysitter hand made for Barbie dolls. I loved dressing them in those!

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    1. My mom made those outfits or found pieces in stores that looked similar enough! The "real" ones were too expensive. :)

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  2. Let's face it, our lives revolved around American Girls for many years...plays, birthday parties, parade floats...

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  3. I was a Barbie girl. I even had the little closet filled with tiny hangers for each outfit and matching shoes...too bad I didn't grow up to be that accessorized!

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  4. I recently sold my American Girl doll. I wasn't as attached to her because my mom told me she was a "nice" doll and I couldn't mess her up.

    I love how you styled your hair the same way as your doll in that one picture.

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  5. I LOVED paper dolls as a kid. I had this amazing balllerina set (clearly those dreams didn't pan out). I've got to get my girl totally hooked on these, too!

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  6. Erin.....you forgot to mention the most important doll of your childhood. I demand an edit to this post featuring Chloe...

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  7. These are adorable! I hope the winner chooses Joe Biden!
    I think you will have to take your little girl to the American Girl Doll store when she is older. (Have you been? It's over the top).

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  8. Can't enter the giveaway (boohoo) but ... my absolute favourite paper doll was "Pebbles" Flintstone out of the Jack & Jill magazine for eons ago. Just loved that set. Played with it for hours upon hours.

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  9. I LOVED paper dolls as a child and am passing on the love of them to my daughter. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  10. I loved paper dolls as a kid. I don't think it gets any nerdier than this: I had a set of American colonial paper dolls which I loved!

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  11. When I was growing up, paper dolls were my favorite thing to play with. I was meticulous about taking care of them. I can still picture 2 of my favorites. The Heavenly Blue Wedding set had a complete wedding party including parents, bride, groom, flower girl, ring bearer, junior bridesmaid, 3 bridesmaids, maid of honor, and best man. In addition to the wedding clothes, it also had clothes appropriate to wear on the honey moon and at the rehearsal dinner. The cardboard folder it came in stood up and served as the wedding chapel. My other favorite was the Lennon Sisters set (Yes, THE Lennon Sisters of Lawrence Welk fame. I'm that old). The sisters, Diane, Peggy, Kathy and Janet, had glamorous gowns to perform in as well as sportswear (including a tennis racket), and everyday dresses. The youngest of the sisters, Janet, was only about 4 years older than me, but light years away in sophistication and talent. I was convinced that if I were only born in California instead of a working class neighborhood in Queens, NY, I could have looked and sang like them too. Thanks for sparking a wonderful memory.

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    1. That wedding set sounds just like a set I had, only I think they were Barbie brand! I loved that, too. And I know who the Lennon sisters are...we went to Branson when I was a kid; we have a picture of me and my mom with two of the sisters. :)

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  12. i had kirsten too! I took that doll everywhere. Even sledding. True story.

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  13. I would have known those pictures were you no matter what context I'd seen them. So cute!

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  14. I was the kid who brushed my Barbie dolls' hair and dressed them, but had no imagination and nobody to play with, so I got bored after a while. My brother wasn't born until I was 11, so I never had to worry about a sibling messing with my stuff. I was never really into paper dolls, although when I started babysitting for families, I had a bag of stuff to do with my babysit-ees that included paper dolls. I thought I was pretty cool that I brought the kids new things to play with that they didn't use every day at home.

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  15. These are so cute. I was a big American Girl fan. I just actually came across my box of American girl dolls and books in the basement and instagrammed them. People went NUTS. Who would have thought we were all such doll fans?

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  16. Paper dolls were a favorite of mine but I'm too old to have had Barbies. Mother saved all year to give my sister and I Madame Alexander dolls for Christmas. She managed to secretly sew entire wardrobes for them too.
    Now my granddaughter and I play with our American Girl dolls. :)

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  17. Hi! A little late in the night to add this, but if you ever have any other giveaways this low, please let me know and I'll help you promote them on suchfuntogive.blogspot.com (I post any low entry giveaways I find...a little late in the night to post this one. )

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  18. Anonymous3/07/2014

    We should have been friends growing up. I was brave and took Kirsten to a sleepover once when I was 9 and regretted it (they had a pet dog and she got fur on her doll clothes). Never again.

    My stuff is still all organized in order of appearance in my mini doll closet at my parents' house. I don't think my husband fully recognizes all the the things I have stored in there... :-) Melanie

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  19. These better still be "a thing!" I'm totally counting on doing paper dolls with Mila. Can't wait!

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  20. Erin! We had the same American Girl Kirsten doll! I still have her somewhere, now I want to dig her back out! Ha! Those pictures made me laugh!

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  21. You're adorable. Then and now. :)

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