How To Make Paper Art Dolls Tutorial

Welcome to Kimberly Crick's instruction page for making paper art dolls. I have created a doll template that is sized to work with most of my doll themed rubber stamp sheets, or with most face stamps that measure 0.75" wide to 1" wide.

Rules: Yes, you may use these templates to create finished (colored/decorated) art dolls for publication and sale. If you make a doll for publication in a craft magazine, credit to www.Kimcrick.com is appreciated. The template itself (the outlines, as shown here, undecorated) may not be sold, published or redistributed on any other website. These are meant to be *free* gifts from me to anyone interested in paper doll making. Please do not re-post the images below onto other websites.

If you use my templates in a project and would like to share your images with me for this web page, please feel free to email me at: EnchantedGallery@gmail.com with the doll pictures. Include your name and any website link you would like displayed with your photo. Thank you :)

Click an image above to open a new window with the larger template design ready for printing or saving to your computer for size editing. This sheet makes a
roughly 9" tall doll as currently sized.

Need the doll in a different size? Most browsers and printers have options to scale your image to print at a certain %. Since this dolls head is about 1" wide, scale to about 75% should get you pretty close to 0.75" wide instead (if you are interested in printing this doll at a smaller size.)

Options vary depending on software, I used Firefox browser and I found this by clicking "file" then "print preview". The "scale" option on the printing page allows you to customize your %, I found that "shrink to fit" was actual size without clipping the side of the page (the margin added automatically for 100% sometimes clips the image.) You can also feel free to adjust the actual file size, crop out just the pieces you need etc. in your own graphics editing program.

Decide which parts you'd like to use for your doll. Above I have stamped wings and faces onto paper from Wing-116 and Feys-117, colored with pencils and cut them out. You can also use parts from magazines, scrapbooking paper or anything you can imagine in your dolls. The combinations are limitless!

Shown above with the straight arms option (template also has jointed arm pair option if more movement is desired.) The dressed version shown above includes poem text and a face stamp from Doll-112, a corset and wings from Alph-115, a crown and faces border from Colg-113.

Print your template on any color of cardstock (pale blue was used here.) Stamp over it with your choice of stamps (flowers & butterflies from Roma-119 set) color, cut and embellish. I used color pencils and added the vine details by hand to fill in the spaces between stamped images. I may add eyelets to her hands for hanging. After I cut her out I decorated with flower/leaf paper punches and stickles glitter glue. The "Time Flies" fairy to the right used stamps from the Colg-113 and Wing-116 sets.

There are a couple ways you can use the template. Option #1 is to print it directly onto the paper you are using for your doll. In the example above i started with the print out on tan cardstock paper (light peach or pink might look better as a skin base, but you could use any color you want.)

I then loosely cut out the shapes and worked over scrap paper to rubber stamp them. I used Color Box chalk inks for this. On a separate sheet of matching paper I used my pair of wings rubber stamps, inked everything and then precisely cut the edges. Line up the dots on the doll and place your accessories (such as wings, crowns, hair pieces etc.) where ever you prefer. I used metal brads to hold the joints of the doll together and keep her move-able. You could also use a hole punch and place metal scrapbooking eyelets there instead. If you don't care about the movement of the doll you could use glue and place stickers or buttons over the dots.

Option #2 is to use your template to trace the body onto other papers. This is nice for a few reasons: you only have to print the template once onto thick card stock/ index card weight paper. Then you can use the shapes to transfer the design onto fancy or handmade papers you don't want to run through your printer, and you can trace the outline onto other materials such as polymer clay.

Examples courtesy of mixed media artist Kim Sherrod (Check out her great crafty blog here.) She uses my template and rubber stamps in addition to other company's scrapbooking papers and stamps. You can also check out her flickr photo stream to see many more paper dolls, sewing and craft projects that are sure to kick start your imagination! Using a glass bell jar, sea shells and embellishments, Kim has created a unique and enchanting table centerpiece!

The following paper dolls were created by Jessica Yambao and you can see what she currently has for sale in her etsy shop here.

Note: this page contains affiliate links. All product opinions are my own. I am committed to honest reviews showcasing both the pros and cons of each product. I have not received payment from any brand for a review. I earn a commission from sales made through this web page's clickable banners or links to Amazon, Arteza, Scrapbook, Jackson's or Blick Art Materials websites.