PaperArtsy: Paper Doll Tags with LPC {by Jenny Marples}

Monday, 26 January 2026

Paper Doll Tags with LPC {by Jenny Marples}

Hi everyone, Jenny here,

Let's dive into the world of 'paper collage' to create paper dolls on tags. It's a super way to use up those scraps and leftovers from other projects!

You will see from here that I haven't included the dress colours - this is because you can choose any colours you want depending on the other supplies you have available.

I always start with choosing colours and was inspired by the Art Nouveau period for this one. Plans can change though as you'll see. Also bear in mind that whilst I swatched all the colours from three 'paint families' in practice you don't need them all to complete the tags.

To begin paint your tags with 'Blah Mange' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint. Then take your time to apply the new 'Postcards' Printed Tissue over the top with Fresco Finish Matte Glaze. I find it easier to work in small sections when doing this.

Remove any excess Printed Tissue by sanding the edges. This also gives a lovely 'worn' look to the tags. Finally splatter a little diluted 'Sorbet' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint across the backgrounds to create the illusion of age spots on the paper.

Now it's time to start on the paper dolls.

Start by stamping the three ladies from the new Lynne Perrella stamp set LPC080 onto your finished tags. Add colour to their faces and arms as you choose. I found mixing 'Toffee', 'Vintage Lace' and a hint of 'Chocolate Pudding' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints worked well for this purpose.

To add colour to their dresses stamp the images onto painted paper and 'fussy cut' the different dress sections. They are easier to cut around when the paper is thinner (think copy paper weight). For a more professional finish use a black pen around the edges of the cut-outs before gluing them onto the tags.

If you are planning to machine or hand sew around the edge of the tags now would be a good time to do it. Try two layers of stitching, deliberately wonky, to hide genuine imperfections.

And now it's time to embellish those beautiful dresses.

You saw earlier how I swatched all the colours from each 'paint family' - it creates a reference point to help me select appropriate scraps of paper and trims from my stash.

If you are missing some colours you can make your own papers. Try mixing a couple of drops of Fresco Finish Drying Retarder to a tiny amount of the opaque paints to create matte glazes which work perfectly over book paper. In this case you can see how 'Pine Grove' and 'Calypso' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints magically became translucent with this method.

Make your own patterned paper and ribbons by repeat stamping small sections of the dresses, the leaf branches and the ribbon hair image from the same stamp set. Scrunch up your papers when stamped to give them the look of fabric too.

Cut your papers, ribbons and laces into uneven lengths and begin to attach them to the bottom of the dress. Layer the different shades and textures to create the illusion of movement. Allow the glue to dry between layers to ensure the finished skirt remains in place.

To finish stamp the roses from each lady onto card painted with 'Toffee Apple' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint. Fussy cut around these roses and add them to the tag. Make sure to cut out and layer on extra roses to cover the overlap between the dress and the trims at the bottom. You may also choose to add extra roses to the other tags (as I did to the top of the purple dress).

I found using thicker card for the roses worked well because they could be shaped more effectively to create a seamless blend between the 3D layers at the bottom and the 2D dress on the tag.

And so the paper dolls are complete, though you could add other embellishments if you want.

Here are some close ups to show you more of the stamped layers. As I mentioned at the beginning when sharing the supplies list, I deliberately omitted adding paint colours for the dresses as those can easily be changed by you. You could even try a multi-coloured option!