Retro...Me

I just joined a group within a group, Le Papier Dolls, part of Roses On My Table, where I already exchange ATCs and tag art. Who knew Le Papier Dolls would be so much fun? This month's theme was "Back to School" so I went back to my childhood and did some 'Little Linnie 1967' girls. I used a template available to the group, but added an A-line dress that I sketched from a vintage 1967 Simplicity pattern. I cut pieces of my own fabric designs (printed on paper) for the dresses. Of course, I was compelled to have textured stockings, because the key to my whole late 60s wardrobe was colored fishnets in every shade of the rainbow. The face is me at 10 (well, it was taken from a group shot of my family at a reunion in 1965, but close enough.) I printed the b/w pix, spritzed with fixative, and added a tiny bit of watercolor.

I had more fun (artistically) than I have had in years making my paper dolls (I did about 10), I think because it combined the freedom of collage with the pure joy of being a child again playing with paper dolls. It also brought me back to a simple time, before jobs, mortgages, child, husband, and before school work actually got hard.