Guest Post - Chris Capista's Paper Doll Journal Project

Chris Capista has been a Joggles customer for a long time – a very long time in fact – her account with us was created in 2005! Though we did not have a reason to email or be in contact for most of those years, in December she emailed me about the most recent issue of Somerset Studio (Jan/Feb 2016), noting that I had chosen a page that featured her project to scan as an additional photo for the magazine’s description. My choice was quite deliberate; I knew she was a customer and the project was fabulous and I thought it would be fun to give her a little extra exposure. That article was titled The Further Adventures Of The Bird Girls and though we have sold out of that issue, the project continues to impress.

As we went back and forth on email it dawned on me that Chris would be a marvelous choice as a guest poster here on the blog, so we ironed out the details and off she went creating the Paper Doll Journal Project. The results of her work are what you see here and I suspect you’ll find this project as wonderful as I do. Even better is that it’s not difficult and we both have confidence that you too can create one!

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Chris. Not only is she a talented artist, she’s gracious and super easy to work with.

There are plans for further guest posts featuring a variety of artists and art. These will be in addition to the work produced by the Joggles Design Team, so stay tuned for lots of inspiration in the coming weeks and months.

The remainder of this post is Chris’ work; both writing and photos.

Joggles supplies used:

Dina Wakley Gel Medium

Joggles Accordian Book 6 x 9 x 10 panels

Prima 6 x 6 Paper Pad ‘Royal Menagerie’ (Barb’s note: any 6″ x 6″ paper pad will work, so don’t get hung up on that specific one. Use what you have or what you like)

Joggles Collage Sheets: Leonardo’s Ladies (401078) and Faces in the Round (JG4-01017)

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads: Victorian Velvet, Picked Raspberry, and Tea Dye

Gelly Roll Pens

Part 1: The Paper Dolls

Cut out paper faces.

The ‘dresses’ are cut from the Prima papers in the Royal Menagerie paper pad.

You can cut a simple rectangular shape for the dress.

Or use a shape with a bit of flare at the hem.

You want the neck edge of the dress to be close to the width of the neck of the doll head.

Decorate with trims such as colored paper doilies, contrasting paper strips,

Lace, or whatever you can think of. Add some rubber stamping or stenciled designs for texture.

And outline the edges so the images stand out from the backgrounds.

The legs and arms are cut from a collection of rubber stamped designs, or they could be drawn on after the doll images are adhered to the journal pages.

Assorted dolls ready for the journal…

Tips when creating the dolls:

I used the Dina Wakely Gel Medium to adhere all doll parts. Mix up the sizes of the body parts for a quirky effect. Use colored pencils to color details such as sleeves and shoes. Additional details were added to the dresses with Gelly Roll Pens.

Part 2: The Journal

Additional Supplies:

Dylusions Paint in Postbox Red, Bubblegum Pink, Lemon Zest, and Fresh Lime

Golden Paints (Titanium White, Titan Buff, Payne’s Gray )

Dylusions Ink Sprays: Bubblegum Pink & Pomegranate Seed

StazOn Ink Pad – Jet Black and various rubber stamps

Stencils

Distress Paint Dabbers: Worn Lipstick, Tattered Rose, Ripe Persimmon, Mustard Seed

Distress Stain – Peeled Paint

Distress Markers: Mowed Lawn, Festive Berries, Mustard Seed

Golden Matte Medium

The journal was painted with various layers and colors. I first applied a layer of Bubblegum Pink.

And then added a few dabs of titanium white.

I sprayed this with diluted Dylusions Ink Spray (Bubblegum Pink) using a Mini Mister. Brushed on more white paint, with a very wet brush. Dabbed most off with a wadded paper towel. Rubber stamped to add some texture and interest.

Using ordinary bubble wrap, I painted the surface of the bubble wrap with some white paint and applied this to get some background circles.

Again, dabbed some off with a paper towel.

Using a Tim Holtz Stencil (Burlap), spayed with a diluted mixture of Dylusions Bubblegum Pink and Pomegranate Seed.

I applied more white paint over that.

Altered the top edge of the journal by cutting it free-hand in an undulating pattern.

The entire journal surface is done in various shades ranging from pink to red to purple and peach by varying the amount of white, using Postbox Red instead of Bubblegum Pink as a base color, applying more of the Pomegranate Seed spray on one page instead of another, mixing some Titan Buff into the base color (instead of the Titanium White). I also mixed some of the base colors with a small amount of Golden Acrylic in Payne’s Gray to darken it. The result is a range of page colors from pink to red to purple and peach. The reverse side side has some yellow and green pages.

Play with it and have fun! If you are not happy with the page add more layers until you end up with something you like. I seldom like the page after the first and even the second layer. I just add more layers until I get an interesting surface.

On one side I rubber stamped along the entire top edge with this stamp.

And over that layer I stenciled (using Punchinella) with oil pastels in a range of colors from pink to red and peach, orange, and purple.

The reverse side I stenciled along the top edge with a stencil in a floral pattern, using the same range of oil pastel colors.

I then used the Distress Paint Dabbers to apply circles on each page, varying the placement and the colors.

This is subtle, but all of those subtle layers make the page more interesting.

I applied a text rubber stamp with the Staz on ink.

Along the bottom edge, and over that used the Distress Stain (Peeled Paint) to ground the bottom edge. I rubbed off some of the Distress Stain to get the look I was after.

I reapplied this layer several times to get the look I was after. This again is subtle, but makes for added interest.

I glued down the paper dolls using Golden Heavy Gel Medium and added the lettering, naming the dolls. The letters I use come from catalogue text which I save before I recyle the catalogues. I edged the lettering and parts of the dolls with Distress Markers, smudging the ink with my fingers.