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Royal and Resourceful is the title of my latest printable princess paper doll for you to download. She’s a redesigned version of my Practical Princess paper doll, originally created in 2011, with a new wardrobe inspired by the original designs. Like all my paper dolls, she can share clothing with the rest of the Ensemble Eclectica series. For best results, print her on heavy cardstock, or glue the printed doll to heavy cardstock.

(And yes I am saying all this up front, because I’ve been reading articles on AI search engine optimization. The future is now and all that.)

Anyhow, I decided my paper doll for September would be a break from the flowers of the month, and instead I would dive into something else. Read further down if you’re curious why. So, I’ve been dabbling with drawing new paper dolls inspired by my own older paper doll designs. One of my favorite paper dolls from the Marisole Monday series was this Practical Princess paper doll. I remember being so proud of her at the time.

Back in 2011, when I drew her, I imagined she was a princess from a harsh, cold, rocky place. That could still be true. Who can say? Anyone can decide any background for any of my paper dolls. I am not going to know!

Anyhow, I redesigned most of her clothing. My favorite design from the older set was the gray overdress with the corset top, and I used that to inspire two other designs. I copied the color scheme from the original set. Apparently, at the time, I wasn’t super happy with the skin tone, but I think I was overly harsh at the time. I do remember wanting her to feel Filipina at the time. I don’t remember why. My hunch is that it might have been a request from a friend, but I don’t really recall. It was over a decade ago.

Funny story… I genuinely thought that Peony was the flower of the month for September and written up the entire post and done all the layout for the paper doll and was all ready to go. And then I double-checked and I discovered: Nope! Peony is the flower for November.

So, October might get two Flower of the Month paper dolls. I hope any September birthdays that were hoping for one will forgive me. I actually have a September paper doll drawn, but I do not have time to add tabs and do layout.

Last but not least, if you like my work consider supporting my paper dolls on Patreon (there’s a super fun sorceress paper doll for my paying patrons this month with two color schemes) and even if you join as a free member, I post work in progress, general thoughts and other behind the scenes paper doll madness over there.

The post Royal and Resourceful: A Printable Princess Paper Doll appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.

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Today’s paper doll is a design inspired by the Poppy, the birth flower of the month, for August. Of all the monthly flower paper dolls I drew in 2025 which I am sharing this 2026 in their finished form, this poppy inspired paper doll set might be my favorite.

Just like all my birth flower floral designs for the Cuties, this August coloring page began life during last year’s 100 Day Project, when I set out to create a series of paper dolls that were especially kid friendly and did a dress for every flower of the month. (Once you have to draw 100 things, it’s amazing how you look for series.) This Cuties set is inspired by August’s birth flower, the Poppy and I think it’s a fun design for kids or anyone wants a poppy coloring page printable that is a little more simple than some of my other designs.

I love poppies. My mother grew them when I was kid, both blue and red ones. Blue poppies are rare, I’ve been told, but since I’ve spent a lot of my life living in cold places, I didn’t know they were unusual until I left Alaska.

I’m always proud of the paper dolls I share here, or I wouldn’t be sharing them here. Seriously, the stuff I truly, truly dislike never actually gets onto the website. But every so often I finish one and think, “Wow, that really was fun, and that was really what I imagined it was going to be, and look, it came out the way I hoped.” This poppy paper doll set is one of those.

The outfit with pants is the one I love most. The ruffle around the collar delights me, and I love how the poppy leaves cover the sleeves and the pants. Poppies have beautiful leaves I’d never really thought about, except that to draw them, you have to notice them. The dress design is also fun. It’s based on Tudor era gowns like this one. I even like how the doll’s I paired with this set came out.

One of the really wonderful things about drawing is that it becomes an act of careful attention. Noticing the details is how they get reproduced.

Things move so quickly in day-to-day life, mine included. I’m so wrapped up in the things I have to do, the drive to work, feeding my cat, all that stuff, that I often don’t take time to pause and really look at something. Drawing makes me really look at things.

Lately I haven’t been pausing much to just notice, but as I was finishing up this set, I really looked at it. That was when I realized: I really like those leaves and I really hope other people like them too.

Anyway, I hope you color these poppies and it brings you some joy. After all, who doesn’t need a poppy coloring page printable?

The post August Flower of the Month: Poppy! appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.

If I wanted to take that seriously, I needed to make some room in my schedule. I knew I probably wouldn’t be producing paper dolls at quite the same pace I had in previous years, so I thought giving myself flexibility would let me keep creating here while also making time for my other passion.

This was great in theory, but “I’ll post as much as I can” turned out to be its own kind of trap.

I thought that if I created even one new paper doll set in 2026, I would have met my goal. No pressure, no number hanging over my head, no chance of failing.

Except that’s not how it felt.

Instead, I was constantly wondering if I had the balance right. Was I spending too much time drawing and not enough time writing? Was I creating enough for the wonderful people who have supported Paper Thin Personas for so many years? Was I giving this project the attention it deserved while still allowing myself room to grow?

It turns out that “as much as I can” wasn’t actually the right goal for me. There was no way to fail, but there also wasn’t really a way to succeed. It never felt like enough.

So, for the rest of 2026, I’m taking a different approach.

My goal is:

• One new paper doll set on the Paper Thin Personas website each month.
• One new paper doll set for paying Patrons each month.

In between, I’ll continue sharing behind-the-scenes content on Patreon, including works in progress, creative updates, and the little pieces of the process that don’t always make it onto the website.

I expect there will be months where I create more than this, but I want to set a goal that feels sustainable and lets me focus on making each release something I’m proud to share.

Because that’s really the larger shift happening here at Paper Thin Personas.

When I started blogging back in 2008, regular posting was considered essential. Daily updates were the gold standard. The more often you published, the better your chances of building an audience.

And honestly, that made sense for the internet of 2008.

But the internet has changed.

The way people discover content has changed. The way people follow creators has changed. A constant stream of updates isn’t the only way to build a connection anymore.

What matters more to me now is creating things that are thoughtful, complete, and worth spending time with.

I’m still drawing. A lot.

Paper dolls are always going to be one of my great creative loves. I love researching a theme, designing the clothing, creating the characters, and watching an idea become a finished collection.

But my process has changed.

Since moving to digital art, I’ve found myself wanting to explore ideas more deeply. Instead of creating one page and moving on, I want to keep building—adding more outfits, more details, and more possibilities until I feel like I’ve truly explored the idea.

My Patrons have probably already noticed this shift. Recently, I’ve been creating more multi-page sets, and I think that direction feels like a natural fit for where Paper Thin Personas is going.

So, rather than focusing on producing as many individual releases as possible, I want to create more complete collections. Sets that allow me to explore a historical moment, a character, or a theme in greater depth. Collections that feel like a whole experience rather than just a single printable page.

For Patrons, this also means more opportunities to see the process behind these collections with early ideas and sketches to works in progress and the decisions that shape the final result. Those behind-the-scenes moments have always been one of my favorite parts of sharing this work.

This doesn’t mean every release will be a large collection. I still have plenty of one-page Ensemble Eclectica sets waiting to be colored, and I love those smaller projects too.

But I do think the future of Paper Thin Personas will involve fewer separate posts and more thoughtful, larger multi-page creations. I also hope this makes the site easier to explore for new visitors who can easily get lost in the jungle of thousands of printable paper dolls.

And if you enjoy Paper Thin Personas but don’t want to miss new releases, you can now sign up to have new posts delivered directly to your inbox. That way, you don’t have to remember to check the site or rely on social media algorithms to find new paper dolls. There’s a signup box at the bottom of this post.

If you think you signed up a long time ago, I recommend signing up again. This is a completely new system.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Paper Thin Personas over the years. Whether you’ve downloaded a paper doll, shared my work, followed along with the process, signed up for updates, or become a Patron. This project has continued because of the people who care about it.

I’m excited to keep building it with you and creating more paper dolls.

The post Trying out a New Creative Direction for Paper Thin Personas in 2026 appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.

July is one of those months that seems to arrive carrying the full force of summer behind it. Up here in Alaska, July is usually our warmest month too, although “warm” is a somewhat flexible concept. It can get up into the 90s here, but it is nothing compared to what I used to experience back in Alabama. We had a heavy snow winter this year which means the mosquitos are out in full force. You’d think a week of -40 would kill them off, but sadly, that is not the case when there’s enough snow to insulate the little annoyances.

While I am up for drawing things I didn’t think I “could” draw, do not expect a mosquito paper doll costume anytime soon. I do not like mosquitos that much.

Anyway, this month’s Cuties coloring page is inspired by July’s birth flower, the water lily. Like all of the floral monthly Cuties, this design started life during last year’s 100 Day Project. That was back in 2025 when I tried to create a new paper doll design every day for 100 days. It went pretty well, actually.

For this set, I borrowed details from both water lilies and lily pads. One outfit has layered sleeves and floral accents. The suit jacket I thought the collar would feel a little like the slits in the leaves? Okay, I admit openly that I am not sure that one worked too well. One trick I like to use when designing two fantasy outfits to go together is using two different time periods. So, while the suit is a Nehru suit-esque design and the dress is a regency-esque design, the water lily motifs connect them.

One thing I particularly enjoyed while drawing this set was experimenting with texture and layering. Paper doll costumes often involve figuring out how to translate real-world objects into clothing. Flowers are especially fun because they already come with so many dramatic shapes built in.

If you’ve been collecting the monthly floral Cuties, I hope you’ll enjoy adding this July design to your collection. Each month explores a different birth flower and a different approach to fantasy fashion. No two sets end up looking quite alike.

And if you’re staying cool during the summer heat, I hope you’ll find some time to sit down with your favorite coloring supplies and give this water lily-inspired doll a little color of her own.

The post Paper doll of the month: July Water Lily Paper Dolls appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.

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As with everyone of my birth flower floral designs for the Cuties, this June birth flower coloring page started life during last year’s 100 Day Project, when I set out to create a series of paper dolls. This set is inspired by June’s birth flower, the Rose and I think it’s a fun design for kids (and anyone who still likes to color like one).

For these rose inspired paper doll designs, I was feeling a little more elegant and romantic. For one outfit, I did a sort of take on a regency men’s suit with a cut away coat and visible vest. For the other outfit, I went with an elegant evening gown with flowers at the shoulder and a petal inspired layered skirt. I don’t usually talk a lot about the dolls, but I want to say that I am super proud of how the cornrows turned out. That is one hair style I’ve always struggled with, but I think improvement means trying it over and over again.

While I am not a huge fan of red roses, my grandfather grew the most beautiful roses in all different colors and changed how I feel about roses. I’m not much of a gardener and we’ve had such a cold spring up here where I live, I only just got my herbs into their pots on the porch.

If you enjoyed today’s June birth flower coloring page, be sure to explore the rest of the monthly floral Cuties collection. Each set is inspired by a different birth flower and a fantasy fashion theme, and who doesn’t want to see more of that? If you have a favorite flower you’d love to see turned into a paper doll design, leave a comment and let me know. I’m always looking for inspiration for future Cuties paper dolls.

The post June Birth Flower Coloring Page for the Cuties: Rose Inspired Paper Doll Designs appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.