Paper Dolls...and Other Crafty Things

My co-worker (who shall remain nameless) has the funniest saying...anything that is crafty at all is called "paper dolls". And paper dolls scare her. I just have to laugh at that! Apparently it all stems from her childhood (doesn't everything!) and her lack of skills with a pair of scissors...anyway, I am attempting to change her mind...paper dolls are fun.

So I found this cute plastic basket in the dollar bin at Target about a month ago...and well, since it was only a dollar and came in bright obnoxious lime green...I had to buy two of them. So far I have been using them to tote around stuff...scrapbook stuff...sewing and knitting stuff...generally just stuff...

I went back to Target last week and bought another one, this time in pink, to use as a table-top catch-all for un-wanted scrapbook embellishments when I get together with my girlfriends to scrap. I thought I would embellish it, well, because I can...and I think it came out pretty cute.










Now back to the paper dolls...I brought the basket to work earlier this week to take a picture so I could post it here on the blog, and when Ms. Paper Dolls saw it...low and behold...she wanted to make one herself for her granddaughter...see it just goes to show, crafting isn't so scary after all (with a little help from your friends)! So for Ms. Paper Dolls, and anyone else interested, here are the instructions:

I think any small basket will work, as long as it has some small openings on the side:



Using fabric scraps (but of course I would never deny anyone the opportunity to go to the fabric store and buy yards and yards of new fabric, just for the fun of it), tear strips that are about 1/2" to 1 1/4" wide. To do this, simple make a small snip through the selvage of the fabric and tear...the fabric should tear along the warp and be pretty straight...but exactness and straightness won't be a factor here...

Then cut the torn strips into smaller lengths...for this basket the strips were cut to about 3-4 inches. Again, exactness...not a factor!

Finally, and super simple here, just tie them through the openings of the basket...and there you have it! Paper dolls!



I like mine so much, I think I will whip up a few for my little nieces for their birthdays and fill them with all sorts of girly-girl stuff...like bubble bath and Bonnie Bell lip gloss!