It's hard to find good models these days...

So what's a lady to do when she doesn't have access to kid models for a "photoshoot" so that she could add more items to the Paper Dolls Etsy shop? Model them herself?

EH! Wrong answer! Can you say fivehead? My forehead can give Tyra Banks's forehead a run for her money. It might honestly distract you from the cuteness of these fabric yo yo headbands and barrettes.

(My mom made these... can you believe how crafty she is?)

Another option would be to bribe her god daughter with obscene amounts of candy ask her god daughter who was staying over to model them for her... no pressure.

She said, "Yes!", people! Halleluyer. She was a very cute model, if I had to say so myself.

What's funny is that my nephews wanted to get in on this photo party... no bribery... nothing!

Thanks for your help you guys! I'll only be using the lil lady's shots, but I loved your enthusiasm, boys!

It's true that no children have come out of my womb... yet! But I consider these guys like my own. When I have kids one day, I hope that they turn out just like these little cupcakes.

B.I.Y. is the new D.I.Y.

Are you on the bandwagon? Come on, you know you want to. What does B.I.Y. mean, you might ask? It means: buy-it-yourself. Do you all remember that old Rice Krispies commercial where the housewife made a plate of Rice Krispy Treats for her adoring family? She bars herself in the kitchen for an hour, throws flour around everywhere, messes up her hair; the works. Then she calmly mixes up the super-easy recipe on the box and sits down and does her nails, or takes a bubble bath or something. I might not be remembering it exactly right but you get the point.

Well, my friends, that woman can be you. All you have to do is buy some lovely hand-made, one-of-a–kind piece of art or craft item (I know of a great Etsy shop I can recommend), pay for it and have it sent to you in the comfort of your home.

When it arrives, safe and sound with heartfelt thanks from the artist(s), sprinkle a couple buttons around, a few pieces of string or twine, and maybe some glue for good measure and then present it to your special someone. Everyone will be so impressed and all the work is done for you. Great idea, right? It’ll be our little secret.

Monday - Not just for The Real Housewives anymore!

I am, actually, watching the Real Housewives of New York - not the same since Bethany moved on, I must say. However, this Monday's blog is going to be about finding the comfort in moving slowly. I know, its a tuffy!

Hello, loyal supporters, friends, and "lurkers"! Paper Dolls just celebrated its third sale on Etsy this weekend...cue the confetti. Honestly, we are genuinely excited and truly appreciate the support. I can't imagine a time when every sale that comes in doesn't result in a squeal of excitement and a round of text messages chock-full of exclamation points. However, there are other women in our Etsy group that have sold 750, 1000 and even multiple thousands of their crafts. I'd be lying if I said we weren't even the slightest bit jealous.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that while we have been crafting our whole lives, we just posted our first item on Etsy a couple of months ago. Furthermore, we just purchased our first showcase a little over a week ago. It seems to be working and we are going to keep trying different things: adding new items regularly, reposting items so they show up in searches, and continuing to blog, Pinterest and Facebook the heck out of our work.

At any time of day, I am bound to have at least one of the following phrases running through my head:

1. Take your time and do it right.
2. Just because something works for one person doesn't mean its the right way for us.
3. No one said it was going to be easy. Or quick!
4. Stay focused and work towards your dreams.
5. The moment you commit to something, the universe conspires to assist you. (Believe me, Universe, we're committed! Bring on the assisting.)

I know one day soon we will look back on this time and wish we could go back to the days when times were simpler and we were able to catch our breaths and had lives outside of Paper Dolls. If that is one year from now, or two, or even three - it will be a great day. In the mean time, I am relishing this period of learning and growth and exploration. Its our time right now. Everything for a reason and everything for good.

Have a great week!

Favorite Things FRIDAY!

1. Making Lists :)

I love, love, love making lists and checking off items that I accomplished that day. Yesterday was SUPER busy, but I got everything done... it helps that I'm summer vacation!

2. Crafting with paper scraps.

If I focus on keeping my scraps bucket empty by making crafts using scraps, I save moolah, and you know that I am cheap LOVE saving money! I used the paper scraps from the exploding boxes that we've been making to make journaling strips for cards like these:

10 Reasons I <3 U card

3. Etsy.

I'm getting more and more comfortable navigating through our Etsy site. We've even made our first TWO sales this week! My post office has never seen a happier girl to send these 2 packages through the mail:

SOLD! (Happy Birthday coffee sleeve album)

SOLD! (Hand Sewn Zebra)

4. Listening to the Warblers CD while making pretty things!

Anyone else a big GLEEK, like me?! I can't get enough of Darren Criss's voice. All the songs are great on this CD, but my favorites are "Teenage Dream" and "Silly Love Songs". These songs make 5 hour craft sessions go by quickly when I leave it on repeat and treat it like a filipino karaoke party! ha

What's on YOUR to-do list? What have YOU made using paper scraps lately? Who's your favorite GLEE character? What's on YOUR crafting playlist? :)

Happy Friday to you!

Bar Coaster Mini Album

Mike "Esquire" turned 31 two days ago and so of course a Friday night Happy Hour was imminent! Gracie took some photos at McMullan's, our favorite pub - its our Cheers. Not everyone nows our name, but most do! Lauren happened to find a couple of stowaway beer coasters in her purse this morning, so today I made him a little album out of them.

It's super easy - I think it actually looks better when you let as much of the coaster show through as possible so - you don't need a lot of paper. Just punch 2 holes along the sides of as many coasters as you want to join together, I used 5. Then attach them with ribbon or string.

Add all your photos, stickers, embellishments, etc. and you're good to go.

This is a great project for all those embarrassing or out of focus pictures you can't use in more traditional projects. Have fun kids!

Thinking Inside the Box... KABOOM!

Greetings from the Paper Dolls Sweatshop! One project that I've been cranking out this week are "Exploding Boxes". It was such a treat to receive one for my birthday this year, and I just had to learn how to make one myself! The first time was a little daunting... measuring, scoring, folding, cutting, measuring, cutting on the WRONG lines (whoops), starting over, scoring, folding, cutting... and 4 hours later -(not kidding)... I was pleased with the prototype! Now that I understand the assembly process, and have a father who is retired and willing to do all the scoring, folding, and cutting, it only takes me 2 hours to embellish and fold up the box! ha!

This one is my favorite of the 7 boxes I made this week:

"Love" Exploding Box

(the lid)

BOOM! the inside of the box :)

(a view of one side with pockets for notes, pictures, keepsakes...)

(another side)

(another side)

(the last side)

Can you picture a special person who would love this as gift? Especially with all the weddings this summer? I can, too! :) Here is a simple tutorial if you'd like to try one on your own. I promise that if you give this as a gift, you'll get an "explosive" reaction. Happy crafting!

To Etsy Or Not To Etsy... That Is The Question.

Hello and Happy Tuesday to all of our faithful readers! We hope you enjoyed your long 4th of July weekends!

Ruth, Gracie and I have been doing quite a bit of soul searching lately, regarding our Etsy Shop - asking ourselves: Why haven't we sold anything yet?, Are our prices too high?, Does anyone know we exist?, etc. We see other Etsy sellers posting amazing, exciting statistics about their shops - even one who has reached her 1,000th sale. While we are so happy for her and think its great, we know we could reach 1 million sales! So, what to do?

Well, I did some research today and I will share a few of the Etsy tips that I discovered and that Paper Dolls will be implementing - these are things that came up many times from multiple sources. We hope they are helpful! If you have any other tips for how to make money on Etsy, please share!

1. Be different - Make your products a reflection of yourself, find a niche and don't try to cater to everyone.
2. Your Photos Can Make or Break Your Shop - The photographs of your items should be professional and editorial - they should look artsy and show your personality.
   
3. The Art Of Listing - Your Item titles are very important - make them short and sweet but descriptive. Use all of your tags when you can. 50 - 100 items at a time is ideal on your shop - most people will only browse through 2 - 3 pages (and see 40 - 60 of your products). Relist, relist, relist - Etsy's search function shows most recently listed items first.
4. Get Involved - Become a part of the Etsy community by reading the Etsy blog and being active on the comment threads and forums - you get your questions answered and gain exposure with your peers - BONUS!
5. Use your tools! Read Etsy's Seller Handbook, Your Shop 101 and again, use the forum - almost all of your questions can be answered there.

I hope that is helpful - I just added about 20 new items to our shop this evening - take a look and leave us a comment. You have no idea how excited we get when a new comment pops up - we text each other IMMEDIATELY!

SEW what's new?

(Singer Promise)

Well, I broke down and bought a sewing machine that went on sale at Tarjay (Target pronounced fancy). We have a love/hate relationship going on right now. I have a stack of books of cute things that I'm dying to make, but the only thing that's standing in my way of making all kinds of cuteness is one, very tiny, insignificant detail... I DON'T know how to sew! :/

All I have to say, is thank goodness for Youtube videos like this one, and for other Paper Dolls named Lauren, and Ruth! Quick tip: if you are thinking of buying a beginner's sewing machine, my advice is to buy one with a drop-in bobbin rather than a front loading bobbin. Trust me, as a beginner, the front loading bobbin is a pain in the tooshie.

Last Saturday, we were determined to get the sewing machine up and running. After a couple of hours of fighting with a bobbin, Lauren got it working!

We practiced sewing paper :)... don't judge, we have to start somewhere, right?! ha!

As soon as I have a sewing project that's presentable to share, I'll post it. For now, I'm sticking to good old trusty paper, and glue! This is what I finished today: a birthday gift for my mom. It's a brag book like this one, but of her yummy little grand babies.

Go ahead Jared, and Jace... be cuter! I dare you.

Have a happy and safe weekend, everyone!