Paper Dolls Make a Comeback

Among the dolls we showed were Debbie's Dolls from Joyful Heart Stamps. As the company name implies, these dolls are all made with the use of rubber stamps. There is a basic doll, a set of basic hair styles, and a number of sets of clothing. The dolls are similar to a gingerbread style doll, so depending on the hair and the clothing you select, the dolls can be either boys or girls (figure A). When stamped, colored, cut out and put together, these dolls are about as cute as you can get.

Also very cute and similar in appearance are Jill's Paper Doll World dolls from Accu-Cut. These also can go not only onto scrapbook pages but on party tables, gift packages, etc. It's even suggested to put them on napkin rings (figure B) and onto fabric (figure C). The difference here is that these dolls are all made using templates. There are 16 templates in all, each priced at $5.95. Here again, there is a template with the basic doll, basic hair styles and other templates with wardrobe items. One other thing that makes these different is that they are all coordinated with Accu-Cut dies that you can get at your craft store so that you can do everything using only the templates, or make some dolls using just the die cuts or make some using a combination of the two!

Still in the paper doll world are those from Hot Off The Press, but these are for those of you who love the look but are not into spending the time stamping or drawing and coloring and cutting. These dolls and the doll clothes are all printed in full color ready to be punched out (figure D). All you do is decide how to dress them. One little booklet contains many dolls and many many outfits, a number of which are not only cute and clever but very funny. Little girls who really DO play paper dolls could have a grand time changing outfits, especially if they use some of that stick-again kind of glue.

Not in the cute category, but included in the most interesting are the Dancing Dolls from Limited Edition Rubber Stamp Co. One stamp features all the body parts- -head and torso, arms and legs. It's up to you to put them together as you see fit. Each piece also has a small circle for punched holes so these can be stamped onto card stock and made into jointed dolls. Looking at the beautifully-gowned dolls as well as the mermaid (and some of the other creations--one with wings), it's easy to see that there is a lot of room left here for your own creativity to shine through and many possible applications outside of a scrapbook where these young ladies might be used.

Then for pure elegance and a trip back into the past, there are the dolls from Me and Carrie Lou. These end up looking like absolute works of art and every bit of each creation started with a rubber stamp. First are the ladies themselves, which are stamped, cut out and colored. Their dresses, from flapper styles to elegant ball gowns, are also stamped, embossed, colored and touched with a bit of glitter in just the right places (figure E). But it is their accessories that make them totally sensational, including a parasol, a handbag, a hat, etc. There is even a stamp to make a screen for them to dress behind or onto which the gowns can be hung, hanging them on the hangers that are also stamped (figure F)! The cards that can be made with these fashionable ladies are absolutely grand and certainly unique.

And that was it for the paper dolls for today. But there are more out there. Whatever your taste, from cute, to clever, to elegant, there is a paper doll stamp or template or die cut to satisfy.