by Linda | Apr 28, 2010 | DIY printables
Looking for a free printable paper dolls? Check out my template here that is free to download and print. A great DIY crafty activity to do with the kids.
Today I decided to revisit my old paper doll template because I wanted to change up the proportions and create variations. Let me share a new printable paper dolls template with you.
I recently read a post on Violette’s blog about leveraging a drawing, reusing it multiple times or perhaps creating variations by making multiple copies to work with. I don’t know why, but previously I always thought I had to create everything from scratch.
It’s the romantic assumption that original must be better?! I realized that it’s just crazy to limit myself like that. Why I am creating rules to box myself in, right? When you draw something, if you keep working on it, them you can experiment even more.
I suppose the idea of copying – even if it’s yourself – seemed wrong. My thoughts suddenly drifted to discussions and debates about how nothing is original and we all build our work on top of those before us. And that’s a whole other discussion….
Suffice to say, I sort of had an epiphany and have freed myself to do whatever I want. I can reuse my own drawings and I don’t have to work from scratch each and every time at all.
It’s funny how sometimes we get so deep into our work that we lose sight of the big picture. I totally lost perspective regarding the freedom of creation and the fact that there are no rules.
Glad to get that out! So, all this led me to revisit my printable paper dolls template, creating two different body proportions to play with.
Feel free to download the free printable PDF below. Use to your heart’s content and I hope you have fun with it! The first page is meant to be cut out and put together to make a moveable printable paper doll and the second page is just the outline to draw directly onto if you want the full piece.
Download Printable Paper Dolls PDF
I used the printable paper dolls to play around with body positions. You can place the parts in a certain way with temporary glue or tacky glue and trace over to experiment with drawing different positions.
It can serve as a nice guide for drawing the body form… or you can just make yourself some pretty paper dolls. That is definitely fun as well, especially with your kids!
I started to work in my art journal and on one page I drew a granny and a scary girl doll then made a photocopy. Now I can always have the original to experiment with and I can cut out the copy for collage.
Hope you are inspired to go make some paper dolls and copy your own Art! Sounds funny, but sort of daring too, huh?
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by Linda | Apr 2, 2010 | my creative journal
Hi folks! To kick off national letterwriting month and I consider it also send your cards month, here’s a super simple Mother’s Day card you can make. I am really big on using digital elements because of the ease of being able to download them immediately and also because I can create my own matching designs if I’m missing something. However, I also love the real paper, textures and touchy-feeling elements of handmade cards. So the best of both worlds in my opinion would be hybrid cards! Combining both sides of cardmaking I think really maximizes the potential for all of us to create. To start this lovely month of stationery and card goodness here on BackToPaper.com, here’s a super easy peasy way to use digital elements. The idea is to make a simple card by combining elements digitally for printout, but then adding a real-life embellishment to bring out the handmade feel.
To make the card above I used the free Sketch Tulips digital element from Hero Arts, my own designing in Photoshop and simple embellishments I had lying around already.
- I wanted a distressed style, so I created the faded music paper background in Photoshop and put that behind the Sketch Tulip element in Photoshop.
- Then I added a simple sentiment to the bottom with the basic text tool and added a drop shadow in white – so really it’s a glow to make the words pop a bit more.
- I planned to add embellishments in the middle, so that’s why I left the space there, so now my is ready.
- I printed out onto white cardstock in the size I wanted for my card.
- I cut out the graphic a bit smaller than my white card base and added some dimension by inking and distressing the edges.
- Then I added my real-life embellishment of string with a bright button around the center with a simple bow.
- I glued that whole finished panel onto my white card base and tah-dah! All done!
Really easy, right? You can download the faded music paper background I created below, just click for high-resolution JPG. Feel free to use for your personal projects or paper crafting projects. I know sometimes it can be intimidating to use Photoshop or related programs, but this same card could have been done by simply printing all elements out and cutting them out individually to combine by hand as well. I really like simple hybrid cards like this, especially if you need to make 50 thank you cards, for example. You can quickly print out 50 copies of your design. I hope this will inspire you to use those digital elements out there and make a hybrid card. Enjoy and stay tuned for more hybrid projects like this one 🙂
by Linda | Apr 1, 2010 | my creative journal
Did you know it is the month for letterwriting?! I think a heartfelt handwritten sentiment goes a long way any time of the year, but having a whole month dedicated to the art gives us pretty good motivation as well. If you are cardmaker like I am, it’s a good time to send them out to friends and family. RedLetterDayZine has a great post all about this April month of National Letterwriting. There are great links for more information at the end of the post as well.
I can’t believe April has already started because I feel a bit behind in my letterwriting already! I have my dip pen and wax letter sealing kit ready…but want to create some new stationery for the occasion. Watch out for some more lovely printable stationery here – I will be posting my designs! Also, stayed tuned for some hybrid cardmaking print-outs or kits, because sending a card counts as well. Let me know if you have any themes of topics in mind…until then!
by Linda | Feb 3, 2010 | DIY printables
Hi folks! Happy Wednesday to you. It’s hump day…middle of the week, you know? I wanted to share a little illustration with you…it’s an illustration I created for the Cool Mom Picks contest, but didn’t get picked in the end. I figured someone could use it for valentines, it’s meant to be printed and colored in by your kids. Hope you enjoy it! I’m off now to prepare some Valentine designs…the days are counting down!
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by Linda | Jan 27, 2010 | DIY printables
I know it’s considered pretty geeky to watch and subsequently become obsessed with anime series. Stories range from classic romance to funny, whimsical characters and even quirky or downright weird at times. I’ve certainly gone through my fair share of passionate obsessions. I have a 200GB drive filled with subbed anime from my college years! Although it’s impossible to follow all the series, the bright side is that there’ll always be something new to watch.
One of the more popular stories that made it’s way to the USA audience is titled Trigun and you might have heard of it already. I learned a great phrase from that series…“love and peace,” says Vash, the main character (I’m pretty sure this is not the first time I am mentioning him on the blog). It might sound childish and simple-minded, but hey, it makes me happy and I have no issues learning life lessons from cartoons. I totally love watching the newer generation of animated movies like Shrek and Wall-E that aren’t so classical fairy tale like.
The image you see above is a desktop wallpaper I designed for myself. I thought it would be nice to share it with you as well, perhaps you can print it out as a card or even wall art.
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I got the idea of offering free art from illustrator Stephanie Fizer (an artist I totally admire) and she offers occasional free downloads and pick-us-all-up messages, too. I really like her free art for the IndieFixx Feed Your Soul Project – you can see the print here. Enjoy!
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