Did you miss us?

Wow, its been a long time! I can't believe we haven't blogged since October - I bet you all thought we died at the Great Craft Festival. Well, we didn't die but it was definitely an experience! One we thought we were prepared for but as it turns out, we weren't. 3 days is a loooooooooonnnngggg time.


Overall, it was a great experience and we learned a lot. Especially about displaying our work, communicating with potential customers, etc. The other vendors told us that they loved our work and they felt bad for us because it was the worst year they had ever seen for customer flow and sales. Its also a huge upfront cost for the booth. We were on pins and needles the whole time until we broke even, which wasn't until the last day! So, we made enough money to pay off all of our supplies, display (Thanks again Jeff!), the booth fee, and just enough extra to keep us from bursting in to tears. But, if you consider labor for 3 people for 3 days - there is no way. Not even if we're talking about labor costs in China!


So, we've decided the new strategy is to do smaller craft fairs with smaller booth fees and try to save enough for our business license. In the mean time, there's always Etsy! We've added a bunch of Valentine's stuff so check it out and tell us what you think. We'll keep chugging away at Paper Dolls - its one of our collective dreams and something we love. If patience truly is a virtue, these three girls are the most virtuous trio on the planet! Talk to you soon and thanks for reading!

The GREAT Craft Festival!!!!

Hello faithful readers,

So, did anyone other than me read the title of this blog and instantly think of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin? Its fitting for the season that's for sure! Not to mention a classic.

The Great Craft Festival is being held at Cashman Center, November 4th - 6th and Paper Dolls is going to be there! We are super excited for our first large craft fair but also exceedingly nervous! The booth fee was not a meager amount for our little business and we are all having nightmares of no one showing up, not being able to process credit cards due to a freak internet connection mishap, selling nothing, and any number of other mini craft disasters you can imagine!

We have been working away creating all kinds of crafty art with a conscience - the sweatshop is back in business. Also, we have enlisted the help of family and friends for making us an awesome display fixture, assisting with set-up, and just begging them to attend and pass the word on. We've ordered bags, tissue paper (because that makes everything pretty) and new business cards. I tell you, there has never been a time where I've felt more official or more broke!

So, please plan on coming to the Great Craft Festival in a couple of weeks and tell all of your friends! Here are the details, we hope to see you there:

Great Craft Festival
Cashman Center Exhibit Hall
November 4th (10-6), 5th (10-6) and 6th (10-5)
850 Las Vegas Blvd N
Cost: $8 for adults (but we have a $2 off coupon - see below!!!!)

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.

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!

Favorite Things FRIDAY!

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things"...

1. Crafting with my mom. Mama Baula is one, very crafty lady, but way too humble to admit it! Today, she helped me prepare mini books that are made out of paper lunch bags.

My dining table has been an extension of my sweatshop craft room these days...

Lunch paper sacks just begging to be embellished! :)

A baby girl brag book...

2. Dim Sum lunch breaks. I took my dad out for an early Father's Day lunch at one of our favorite dim sum restaurants in Las Vegas...

3. Saving moolah! After lunch I wanted to use a couple of coupons that expire tomorrow at a local craft store. People that know me know that I am cheap, frugal, broke obsessed with coupons. All of you out there that craft know that making pretty things can cost a pretty penny, and I like to keep as many of those pretty pennies in my pretty little pocket! Today, I took advantage of Joann's paper sale (5 for $1... score) and bought a bunch of card stock for future projects. I also bought a few fabric remnants and a scoring blade for my dad. (Yes, my dad! He wants to get in on this craftiness, too, and who am I to stop him?!) With the sale and my coupons I spent $53.45 and saved $105.16! Isn't that crazy? If you haven't jumped on the coupon train yet, I highly suggest that you do. Chugga chugga, Choo choo!

Happy Friday to you!

Reduce, Reuse, UPcycle...

It's true, today was the last day of school with kids, so you know what that means?! 3 whole months of creating in my sweatshop craft room! Well, after my National Boards Exam, that is... (It's on Monday morning, so pleeeease send good vibes, thanks!)

Lately, I've been obsessed with upcycling. What the h is upcycling, you may ask? It's simply the process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life. Since I'm a coffee addict, it's been easy collecting Starbucks coffee sleeves to make pretty little mini albums:

Here are a few photos from a birthday mini album that I'm planning on adding to our Etsy site really soon:

And this is an album that I made for my bf, Andrew:

They took me about an hour or so to make each mini album, and it's easy to add journaling tags and notes in the pockets. Aren't they fun? You should try to make one!

I challenge you to begin looking at used/useless items and transforming them into something better, prettier, and charming!Click here for a tutorial that you can follow. Happy crafting!

Free at last, Free at last....

... Well, at least one of us is. And only partially. So, maybe that was not the most appropriate title after all. Hmmm.... will strive to improve my blog titling skills.

What was I referring to? Gracie's last day of school is tomorrow! She is free of fourth graders for 3 whole months. But, she still has to study for her National Boards exam so cross your fingers for her. Good luck Gracie - have a great last day tomorrow!

For the other two Paper Dolls, its business as usual. No 3 months off for us, suckers. But, there is still something about summer in Vegas that makes you feel free. And hot! So, its that time again -lets ramp up the sweat shop. The Harvest Festival is coming up in September and we would really like to participate. There is a lot of work involved in even registering - you have to have a photo or sketch of your display, descriptions of your product, photos of you making your crafts, oh, and a $500 fee. Sheesh! But, we're going to make it happen. We'd love to hear from any other crafters who have participated in the Harvest Festival - let us know how it went, any tips you might have, dos and donts, etc? If you don't make crafts yourself but have attended the event before, tell us what you love the most about it and what your favorite crafts to shop for are. Are you buying gifts for fall holidays or Christmas or are you just out shopping for things you love with your favorite friend?

Finally, a big thank you to all of our new followers! We appreciate you baring with us while we figure out the technical side of blogging. Have a great Thursday tomorrow, we know Gracie will. Keep crafting

Minding Our Business

Hi, soon to be loyal blog-reader-friends, I'm going to introduce you to another regular segment on our blog. It's going to deal with the steps we're taking and progress we're making in opening our own brick-and-mortar scrapbook supplies etc. shop. This highly anticipated event will hopefully take place a year from now and be appropriately and charmingly, if we do say so ourselves, called: Paper Dolls. This week, the progress we've made is in our blog. Now this is still definitely a work in progress; we're planning lots of changes and improvements. I don't think we'll continue to have Spanish captions for example, fine language though it is. So keep checking back with us and live vicariously through the many successes and failures we're bound to experience along the way to realizing one of our dreams. You are hereby given an invitation to share in our journey and a save-the-date card to our Grand Opening on July 1st, 2012. Talk to you soon and see you there!

A beautiful and crafty friendship....

Ruth & Lauren in Germany

In the beginning... there was a Gracie and some twins...

Gracie Baula, Lauren Boitel & Ruth Boitel that is. The Paper Dolls! 

Gracie as a baby in The Philippines

Lauren & Ruth were pre-mature twins born a month early, in Germany, at an Army hospital in December of 1979. Yeah, it sounds cool but they don't remember much about it. Gracie was born a month later, in January of 1980, in Quezon City! She says we knew each other in heaven but Ruth & Lauren just couldn't wait and came out early. 

Our Alma Mater - Class of '98

They reunited 14 years later in 9th grade at Cheyenne High School - class of 1998, go Desert Shields! Gracie was the only other girl in Mrs. Borg's English I Honors class who's projects were as good as Lauren's. They even fought over drawing Henry VIII for a Renaissance magazine! Lauren introduced Gracie to Ruth and the three became quite close through-out high school, followed each other to UNLV and barista jobs at Starbucks, created a Fair Trade non-profit together, volunteered for Oxfam, and are now embarking on our latest venture - Paper Dolls. 

Gracie is a elementary school teacher for second through fourth grade. She loves scrap booking, couponing, cleaning, ice cream and family! Gracie is a lucky bug and tries to keep us all positive. She's also the glue and Switzerland - keeping balance between the sisters.

Ruth's is an Assistant Manager at a local card shop. She has a perennial admiration for Viggo Mortenson and the color blue. She finds inspiration in fashion, hair, and home decorating magazines. Her favorite books are the Fountain Head, Little Women and Jane Eyre. Ruth is a realist and keeps Paper Dolls grounded. She has a tactile jones but is not a technophobe, she just gets techno-frustrated very easily!

Lauren works for a clean energy non profit during the day. She goes crazy for red shoes, displays of passion and talent, good food and cheesy love songs. Lauren brings a little business savvy to the trio - emphasis on a little.

Paper Dolls is a labor of love, and a desire to bring our passion to like minded people who appreciate the craft in art and the art in craft. That's us in a nutshell - three weird, nerdy, funny, crafty girls. So, your turn. Whats your story, faithful follower? We're dying to meet you!

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