Paper Doll Hearts

 Welcome!

All kaleidoscopes by inkspired and KaleidaCam

Can you believe it? Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! What happened to January? What happened to 2025 for that matter! No matter if I am ready or not, time marches on. I better get with it, and share some Valentines with y’all.

These are the outside and inside of a card I made recently. The Cupid has been made with an Iris Folding technique. Just type that into the search engine and you should find many examples and directions on that technique in past blogs.

The bow/arrow was cut with my Cricut (pronounce it just like the little critter). The inside was cut using metal dies with my Spellbinders Platinum.

Today however I want to share some heart-felt paper dolls with you. I have chosen ones that can be printed on one page and sent/given to the Valentine of your choice. Many of them are vintage.

Children’s PLAY MATE magazine; 1929-1935

Unknown, most likely magazine

 There was a time when sending paper doll valentines was very popular. Electronic games and hand held devises had not been invented yet. Cutting out paper dolls, making props from things around the house and writing little scripts for puppet plays was a common pastime for both girls and boys.

Vintage Valentines

These paper doll valentines are very collectible now, especially if they are uncut. A brief look on eBay found uncut paper dolls Valentines for sale anywhere from $17 for one 1940’s pre-owned, to 2 uncut ones for $45.50. A 1978 Joan Walsh Anglund one page Valentine was listed for $20.

1993

Joan Walsh Anglund, 1987

I do admit, however, the ones from the 1940’s or so are my favorites!

Here are a couple more modern Valentine-themed paper doll pages:

While animal paper dolls remain a steady favorite, there doesn’t seem to be as many Valentine animal paper dolls as there are little girls. I did find this cute little bear however:

If you are wanting to draw your own paper dolls for a fun Valentine’s Day card, why not try a simple cat, dog or bear shape? The clothes would be much more forgiving to draw and color. Here’s a Dolly Dingle style dog, Fido, for inspiration-

Artist Grace Drayton

And a cute piggy-

Both of these sets have simple shapes with no hands you have to draw, or funny feet. Don’t forget to always add tabs to hold the costume in place.

The next 2 pages are by Lydia Fraser, a well-known Canadian illustrator and artist from the 1930’s. I believe these paper dolls were from Canadian Home Journal.

By Lydia Fraser

This next page is from the artist Hilda Miloche. This popular paper doll artist had the Cherub Valentine published in 1948 in 

The Story Parade Magazine for Boys and Girls.

The next paper doll is by popular artist and illustrator Mary Engelbreit.

Here is a Valentine you can print out and color yourself, or let your recipient color it. It is drawn by Melissa Pepe.

Missmissypaperdolls.com

Can’t have a paper doll blog without including the iconic Betsy McCall-

1957

Here are 2 more vintage paper doll cards-

The next black and white paperdoll is by Laura R. Brock. She drew for a Los Angeles newspaper and this one is from a series from 1933-1934.

Laura R. Brock, 1933-1934

About ready to go find your paper scissors, fire up the printer, and grab some white cardstock?

No cardstock? Then just print on regular copy paper. Glue the sheet onto the back of a box, like a cereal box. Now is the time to color, if it needs it. Draw in the clothing tabs and a paper doll stand if needed. Now cut out, and let your imagination fly!

Let’s close with another vintage paper doll Valentine, from around the 1940’s perhaps-

‘Til next time,

inkspired

A few sites I checked out while writing this blog:

Papergoodies.com

eBay 

Pinterest

worthpoint.com

 

Summer Swimwear Paper Dolls

 

Welcome!

Summer weather is here.

The kids are out of school, and there’s nothing to do.

Let’s print and play with paper dolls.

Not just any, but ones with fanciful swimsuits.

dilhermando de Assis, Pinterest

These sets are fairly modern.

Here’s one that is very simplistic:

Supercoloring.com, personal use only

Paper dolls remain a favorite of mine. I still remember the ones I had when I was 4 years old. Those early ones had punch out clothes so my hands didn’t have to deal with precise scissor cutting.

Trina Robbins, Pinterest

Black and white color-your-own paper dolls are great for kids to improve their fine motor skills. Choosing your own colors encourages creativity and self-expression also.

Next is a reproduction of a July 1918 paper doll drawn by R. Lane Herron.

Love the bloomers!

Katy Keene was a comic book character. 

Katy Keene by Bill Woggon 

She had her own newspaper strip, and even her own tv show at one time. Bill Woggon was the artist. He relied heavily on readers’ submissions for costume ideas.

And what a plethora of ideas!

Katy Keene has appeared in Archie Comics since 1945. The publisher markets her as a singer/model/actress. She has also been known as “America’s Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashion”.

One thing I love about the Katy Keene paper dolls are all the different poses Bill Woggon draws her in. She is not always the standard straight on, arms down doll.

Readers were encouraged to send in their sketches and ideas not only for Katy’s fashions but also for cars, homes, rockets, boats and much more!

I have tried to tweak the images to be the clearest and brightest possible. As these are comic book prints, the quality can leave much to be desired.

She is also 80 some years old!

As part of the Archie comic series there are companion paper dolls to Katy. Here is one named “Bertha”.

Occasionally there were special editions. This next one celebrates 50 years of Katy Keene in the form of a fantasy Swimsuit Illustrated paper doll edition.

As you can see, swimsuit styles have always been very popular!

Vintage photo

Aren’t we glad styles and fabrics have changed since then?!

To get the most playtime with print yourself paper dolls, first print the doll out onto card stock. Next print the clothes out onto glossy paper if you have it. If not, a heavier typing/copy paper will work.

After cutting out the doll decide what kind of stand you want. Then trace around the doll onto the back of a cereal box. The cardboard is perfect to back paper dolls! Before cutting out, draw in your stand, then cut out. Use extra cereal box pieces as needed. Glue the doll onto the cereal cardboard. Cut slots as needed in the stand.

Here is one more Katy Keene set:

This next one is drawn by Sandy Vanderpool. I found it on Pinterest.

By Sandy Vanderpool

I hope you have some fun printing, cutting and playing with these ‘hot’ paper dolls. Have you tried drawing your own outfits for them yet?

‘Til next time,

inkspired

Kaleidoscope by KaleidoCam and inkspired