Adorable Folding ATC Dolls

This summer, I joined Stencil Girl's monthly Stencil Club, and have been receiving a monthly shipment of three exclusive designs (small, medium and large) from some of their top designers. They have a Facebook page for club members where we can post our ideas and share photos and tips.

Each month they have a "party call" for members. The September Party Call was to create and exchange ATCs to celebrate the release of StencilGirl's new line designed just for 2.5" x 3.5" ATCs. We could use any StencilGirl designs for our ATCs. That theme was right up my alley, so, I got to work making my favorite kind of ATC--folding ATC paper dolls.

The bodies were made from some stenciled watercolor paper scraps that were leftover from a mermaid paper doll project I did earlier in the summer.

Scraps leftover from the mermaid tails were used for the folding ATC dolls.

I cut the scraps to 2.5" x 3.5"  and added some extra stenciling with a VersaMark stamp pad and Emerald Creek embossing powder.

Next, I used a paper doll template from Retro Cafe Arts and cut scraps of stenciled paper to create the arms and legs.

The outlines and features for the faces are also from a Stencil Club stencil. I added color and detail with water-soluble colored pencil, Derwent Blocks, and Tombow brush tipped markers.

Hair, necks and face color were added to the stenciled face outlines, which were then trimmed to become the doll faces.

Finally, I assembled the dolls by poking a hole through the ATC base and the limbs, then attaching them with a mini brad. The brads allow them to swivel and fold up to fit the required ATC size of 2.5" x 3.5". When the pieces are rotated into position, the ATC dolls are about 4" x 9".

Here's some worktable progress shots of the dolls:

Heads were stenciled and details added with watercolor pencils. The butterfly (for wings) was created by stamping VersaMark through a Gwen Lafluer butterfly stencil onto black paper, then sprinkling on gold embossing powder and heating to melt the powder.

A gold paper Dresden crown was aged with paint and Radiant Rust embossing powder for this doll.

Doll parts were placed in position before attaching with mini brads.

 Here's the final dolls, open and closed:

Interested in learning how to make your own ATC dolls? Later this year I will be teaching a Folding ATC Doll class at The Ink Pad NYC! I'm super excited to share this fun project. Look for announcements from me and The Ink Pad NYC about the date and time.