Alice in Wonderland by Lisa Mitchell

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

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!

5 comments:

  1. Dearest friend,

    THIS was a wonderful post. I love how you touched on the different magical wonders of how paper transports us away. Brilliant usage dearest, just brilliant! And these images are oh so enchanting and I TOO enjoy working with paper. Yesterday I had a homemade bookmaking party at my house with two dear friends. It was SO WONDERFUL to play with the paper and watch your own book come to life. These are outstanding and that cutting tool, A MUST-HAVE!!! Oh dearest, you enchanted me tonight!

    BIG HUGS TO YOU! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  2. OH! ANd did you ever see the silhouettes I have been playing with this summer? Email me and I will show you! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are having some kind of fun there! LOL! I can see you are really loving these. What a beautiful hobby.
    hugs,
    Caroline

    ReplyDelete
  4. YOU'RE BACK!!!!!! It really is so good to see you on my comments page dearest....I HAVE MISSED YOUR POSTS!!!!! Oh how lovely is your garden...Anita

    ReplyDelete
  5. Paper dolls were my favorite pastime when I was a wee one. It taught me so many things. I think that I was not afraid to cut fabric for dress patterns and such when I was a teen and taking sewing in High School. What a wonderful creative world it opened up for me.

    The dolls on your post are absolutely delicious! I've got to check out that site! Thanks!!

    Big hugs, Sherry

    ReplyDelete

Beautiful

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