Paper Art Dolls and the fun of Thinking Outside of the Box with Rubber Stamps.

As you've probably figured out by this point; I have a fascination with paper dolls, and I one day intend to have a whole wall in my house covered in framed paper art dolls. Ya, I'm sure my hubby will be thrilled to find this out.

(My very first blog post was about antique articulated paper dolls and how they inspired me to create my own version of art dolls.  At the end of that post I showed a few examples of those creations; and now I want to share more about those creations and how they came about.)

One of my favorite projects is to create Art Dolls using rubber stamps and in many cases, using rubber stamps in slightly unusual ways to accomplish this.  (That's what makes it fun.)

Large Articulated Art Dolls using Scrolls Work Rubber Stamps.

Each doll stands about 10 inches tall.

 These art dolls were created using a doll body template I created and scanned into my computer so I could make dolls in whatever size I need based on the stamps I'll be using. I did the same with a few hairstyles so my dolls would work together if I displayed them as a group.  The rest of the dolls including their faces, clothing and accessories were all accomplished by finding a new use for stamps in my collection.

I was using some rather large stamp images for this project, so the dolls themselves are close to 10 inches tall.  Large dolls make great wall art, especially if you are lucky enough to find some unique old frames to mount them in.   I love checking out the local thrift stores, which is where I discovered this great brass frame from the 1920's.  Sometimes you're lucky and can find a pair alas this time I only found the one; however,  it made a great backdrop to scan these two lovely ladies with.

Blue Fairy Art Doll

I created the doll from and hair on the computer.

The rest is done using the following Scrolls Work Stamps.

 

4041 – Small Face
3080 – Tattered Fairy Wings (Bodice and hair ornament were made from parts of the wings)
4513 – Shrub (was stamped multiple times to make the lower portion of the skirt)

• The Tattered Fairy Wings image was stamped multiple times onto a decorative blue and teal paper.  One set of wings was but and assembled as the wings on the doll the remaining sets of wings were cut and assembled to form the bodice, over-skirt and hair ornament or fairy crown.

• The Shrub image was stamped 7 times on the same decorative paper. Each was cut out and arranged to form the lower portion of the fairy skirt.

 These are the Scrolls Work stamp images I used to create the Blue Fairy.

Pink Princess Art Doll

I created the doll from and hair on the computer.

The rest is done using the following Scrolls Work Stamps.

4041 – Small Face 

3022 – Fan (Dolls skirt and bodice was also made using portions of the fan stamp)
3046 – Chess Crown

• The Fan was stamped twice on decorative pink paper.  One fan was trimmed to create the bodice while the second fan was used to create the skirt for this doll.   

These are the Scrolls Work stamp images I used to create the Pink Princess.

This is one fun project where you can give your imagination free reign to see how far you can think outside of the box. Just spread your stamp collection in front of you and look at each stamp with an open mind to see the art doll possibilities that await you.  Shrubs, Flower Petals, Wings, Fans, Buildings and Architectural elements all have the potential to create original clothing pieces for an art doll.  The idea is to just play and have a good time for the grins and giggles of it. 

I hope this inspires you to create some fun paper art dolls of your own.

 Here's a fun piece of envelope art I did, showing some of my favorite

images available from Scrolls Work.

Grins and Giggles, 

 Evelyn