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.

Download the Paper Doll PDF | Download the Paper Doll Clothing PDF | More Cuties Paper Dolls & Clothing

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.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Ensemble Eclectica Series

If you’ve been following Paper Thin Personas for a while, you might remember a fantasy gown I drew back in 2018 inspired by kaftans. That design has lived in the back of my mind ever since. Today’s Sunset Enchantress is me finally picking it back up and doing something it. This new Ensemble Eclectica fantasy paper doll printable comes with two complete fantasy outfit options. They are both rooted in that folklore-and-fantasy aesthetic I love so much.

The color palette, with the deep purples, warm oranges, teal, and magenta, was inspired by a much older set: the Elven Empress from 2015, yet another fantasy paper doll printable. Something about those particular jewel tones feels magical to me. So, I wanted to revisit them with fresh eyes and try something different. I think color schemes are a fun place to play around.

If you’ve printed the Straps and Lace steampunk doll, you’ll notice this doll shares her skin tone. So, they can share shoes and, of course, all the Ensemble Eclectica paper dolls can share clothing. I have considered limiting my skintone’s more dramatically, but just this last winter I was asked by a long time reader to recolor a set with two different skintones to that they would match her nieces. I just think it’s important to have many many shades of beige and brown, so all people can find a skin-tone match.

As always, today’s Sunset Enchantress fantasy paper doll printable comes with a black-and-white coloring version too. If you’ve been wanting to put your own colors to this doll, the linework is all yours to play with. The patterns are intricate enough to be a genuinely satisfying coloring project for adults and sole very patient older kids. I would not have been one those, but I know they exist.

After all, every time I do these sorts of super patterned designs I tell myself “never again”. Then I inevitably fall into the trap to doing them again. They are just so time consuming to color, but I do love how they turn out.

Now, this paper doll is the “partner in crime” to another paper doll I designed, but she’s not ready to be shared yet. I can’t wait to show her off though, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, leave a comment and let me know what you think of the Sunset Enchantress!

The post Sunset Enchantress: A Fantasy Paper Doll Printable from the Ensemble Eclectica Series appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.

Download the Paper Doll PDF | Download the Paper Doll Clothing PDF | More Cuties Paper Dolls & Clothing

Like all my brith flower floral designs for the Cuties, this May birth flower coloring page for kids (and kids at heart) began as part of my quest to draw paper dolls during last year’s 100 Day Project. (I’m attempting it again right now on Patreon, though I confess I’m probably going to fall far short of 100 designs.) This set is inspired by May’s birth flower, the Lily of the Valley.

With these designs, I wanted to explore fantasy clothing inspired by Asian dress, featuring wide obi-like belts and long kimono-style sleeves. In the Victorian language of flowers, Lily of the Valley symbolizes the “return of happiness,” and it’s one of the earliest flowers to bloom each year. Also, apparently, their berries are poisonous? I truly had no idea they even made berries.

The biggest design challenge was figuring out how to turn such a delicate flower into a floral crown. In the end, I used the leaves to create a sort of backdrop for the blossoms. I also wanted to keep the design simple enough that it wouldn’t be too difficult to color or cut out.

Only afterward did it occur to me that the paper doll’s hair, with those big curled pigtails, might make fitting the crown a little tricky. I think it will still work, though it may need to sit over the pigtails.

May has been a blur this year. I traveled down to visit my sister and spend time with my niece and nephew for Mother’s Day, along with several family birthdays. It was lovely, though the drive is long from interior Alaska to Southeast Alaska. The border crossings into and out of Canada went smoothly, and the scenery along the way was beautiful. We saw swans, moose, rabbits, caribou, owls, mountain goats, porcupines, and, at one memorable moment, an owl eating a rabbit. Poor rabbit.

I finally seem to have recovered from a long, drawn-out illness that left me barely functional for much of March and all of April. One thing I always find fascinating about being sick for that long is that I never fully realize how exhausted I was until I start feeling better. Then suddenly it’s, “Oh, this is what my normal energy level feels like. This is so nice.”

If you enjoyed today’s May 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 May Paper Dolls: The Lily of the Valley with the Cuties appeared first on Paper Thin Personas.