Paper Dolls are an International Language...

Just the other day I had the opportunity to help a mother and her little girl. When I pulled into the parking lot, they were having car problems. Their car would not start. When I asked if they needed help, the mother told me that it would be awhile before her family could arrive and she had an appointment at the clinic. Also, the transit bus would not be going straight to the clinic.

I offered to take them and as we got into my car, the little girl started crying. As I moved a box of paper doll booklets to the back seat, I handed one of the paper doll booklets to the mother. The little girl stopped crying as her mother proceeded to tell her that she would be able to color the little paper boy and girl and their clothes and then cut them out with scissors.

For the rest of the trip, the little girl sat beside her mother quietly asking questions about the paper dolls. In between questions, the mother told me that she was going to the doctor to have her heart checked after spending several days in the hospital.

When we reached the clinic, the little girl bounced out of the car with her paper doll booklet tucked under her arm. The smile on their faces made the out of the way mileage melt away.
Published in "PJ's Paper Doll Newsletter ~ March 2006" issue.

Paper Doll Memories from PJ's Paper Doll Factory...

I love to do word studies and the word that caught my attention this time was "factory". According to the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary that sits on my desk, a factory is "An establishment for the manufacture or assembly of goods." Manufacture signifies "to produce (poetry, art, etc.) mechanically." Literally, [manus hand + factura a making].

For the past three years, my mother and I have been doing just that..."hand-making" our paper dolls from scratch. From the drawing board to the website, we have filed away many happy memories while creating our paper dolls.

One of those memories is the look on my mother's face when she saw her art on the screen of my laptop computer for the very first time. With a sparkle in her eye, she sat back down on the other side of the table, to discuss what clothes and "art sparks" were needed to complete our very first paper doll book!

Another memory plays out every time we work on a new paper doll. It is of my 70 year old mom enjoying her paper dolls. She has a pair of tension relieving scissors from "Fiskars" that takes the tediousness out of cutting. As she cuts, we will discuss current events or our next product idea. We have clocked thousands of hours, spanning the age old "communication gap". Published in "PJ's Paper Doll Newsletter ~ February 2006" issue.

Rachel Presents: Ayanna's Paper Doll Memories...

When four-year-old Ayanna discovered the paperdoll book her great-grandmother had put in her Christmas stocking, she could hardly contain the excitement that grew inside her. Cheryl was busy with a gift that was laid in her lap until she heard a commotion and the prettiest little squeal coming from her fair, blonde haired, little great-granddaughter.

Little Ayanna was jumping up and down trying to get into her mother's lap. Misty and little Ayanna sat together looking through the paperdoll clothes and "art sparks" that came with the doll, as Misty explained the gift to her excited little daughter. This paperdoll book from PJ's Corner opened up the exciting world of paperdolls to Little Ayanna! Published in "PJ's Paper Doll Newsletter ~ January 2006" issue.