2 New Ways To Play With Paper Dolls

I have fun memories of playing with paper dolls.  There are so many neat ones out there, and I wanted to share them with my children.  Instead of happy hours playing with their dolls, they came to me every 2 minutes asking me to put the clothes back on.  They just couldn't get those little tabs to stay put.  They would become frustrated and in 10 minutes walk away.

There had to be an easier way.
 I found some really neat paper dolls at a blog called Practical Pages.  She has made some wonderful historical paper dolls.  I printed them off....I couldn't resist.  But, I was back in the same boat.  Paper Dolls that my children would become frustrated with.

But, I had an idea.  I colored all the paper dolls and cut them out, removing all those little tabs.  Then I laminated them for stability, and so that they wouldn't tear.

They turned out beautiful.  Colorful and durable.  So, now we had a pile of really nice looking dolls.  Now what?

I had gotten a roll of end paper from our local newspaper office.  I think it cost around $5.00, and it has proven to have unlimited possibilities.  I laid the paper down the length of the table and just tacked it down with masking tape.  I spread everyone out to give them room to draw, and gave them each a container of crayons.

I passed out the paper dolls, and they were able to draw whatever they wanted to go along with their dolls.  They really enjoyed this.  They were able to layer the clothes on the dolls, and move them around easily.  Annie used hers to tell a few Bible stories, and Sam played knights.  Autumn and Liberty just made it up as they went along, which is fine with me :)

The second way I have used paper dolls is by adding a magnetic back to them.  You can buy sheets of magnet paper at the store.  I cut out the dolls and used rubber cement to glue them to the magnet sheets. I think cut those out.  An easier way is to just print the dolls onto the magnetic paper.

I grabbed a few dollar cookie sheets and they had an instant, portable paper doll set.  For some more great ideas visit here and here.

I have seen many pins for an "Oil Drip Pan Magnet Board" on Pinterest.  I chose this one to show you because the post gives you a lot of resources to use with the board beyond paper dolls.  Not that it takes a rocket scientist to know what to do with a magnetic surface, but sometimes I get brain freeze and need a little inspiration.

Find it here at COBO a family blog.

I think that you can buy the drip pan at Walmart for about $12.00.  The magnetic sheets can be found at any craft store, and paper dolls can be found anywhere. 

I hope this has gotten your creative wheels spinning.  Leave me a comment and let me know your ideas, or let me know what you have already created.  Happy crafting!

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