Paper dolls

"What one loves in childhood...

stays in the heart forever." -Mary Jo Putney.

Oh, don't mind me.
I am just having a little bit of child's play.

When I was little (ok...little-er than I am now),
oh how I loved to play with paper dolls.

I loved how fiddly they were to play with.

Those tiny paper tags that clung to the figures

were always only just strong enough to hang on

...but you couldn't be rough with this plaything.

You had to look after each piece or it would quickly be ruined.

Sometimes incredibly

frustrating and infuriating 

when things just wouldn't sit right

...you had to have perserverance and patience.

I learned a lot through playing with paper dolls....

Patience.

Self control.

Fine motor skills.

Attention to detail.

Love of beauty.

Imagination.

...and a LOVE for all things paper.

 

(above: A Steampunk Tinkerbell and Captain Hook)

Paper can transport you to many new worlds.

Whether you are reading it (storybooks),

or folding it (origami)

cutting it (silhouettes & paper dolls)

gluing it (papier maché)

 drawing on it (artwork)

or writing on it (poems and stories)

...even the smell of paper is delightful to me.

(above: Steampunk characters from Alice's Wonderland)

A true 'Wonderland of Creativity'.

That is what paper is.

(makes me wonder how the world ever managed without it??)

All of these lovely paper dolls are courtesy

of wonderful website, called

Mary Davis (Dover Publications).

Once you have subscribed to this site (for free!)

then they will send you a regular email 

informing you of new books that are available.

These new books always have samples (also for free!)

that you can save and use.

I personally love the samples of childrens books.

My grandies have enjoyed colouring in sample pages

 from colouring-in books, that I printed out.

The books are always well priced, so one day, I will probably purchase some.

But for now, I am very happy to enjoy the freebies!

above: some sheets that I have printed out.

Forget scissors when you are thinking about cutting paper.

You really MUST buy yourself a pair of these cutting thingys from Fiskars.

I purchased these from Spotlight.

So much more enjoyable to use!

(thanks Jill, for putting me onto them!)

Just maybe I have enticed the little child within you

to pick up some sharp cutty device

and return to cutting up paper.

It really is so fun...and very therapeutic!