Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Digital Paper Dolls--They Do Exist: No Scissors and Paper Needed!


Dr. Oz Pick!  Jump Sport Fitness Trampoline Model 220


(Bunny Pancakes from iheartnaptime)


Hey, wait... don't click away...you're at the right place.  Love the cute bunny pancakes... they're a reward for my nine-year-old daughter, Celeste, for opening my eyes to the fun you can have with today's digital paper dolls.  (Even adults) 

Nevertheless, I haven't completely said goodbye to yesterday's dear friends from my 1970s childhood.  They remain tucked away in the fond memories of the little girl inside of me.



(1970s Malibu Francie - Etsy.com)

(1960s Paper Dolls)




I send you miracles and blessings from our cafe owner, Kiki Kearse... I'm Celia Webb ...host of today's iCafe Woman Moderne's text-webisode:  Digital Paper Dolls--They Do Exist.  No Paper or Scissors Needed.

I'll admit it, I'm as technologically advance as the next D.I.V.A. (Dynamic, Industrious, Victorious, Artistic)  I have the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad... anything that begins with "i"... I've got it.  My home and office are wireless.  My car has a built-in navigational system and I have a home monitoring system that lets me feed my dog from 3,000 miles away.  

But I wanted just one place technology didn't touch.  Was that too much to ask?  At least that's what I thought, until my daughter dared me to test out today's digital paper dolls. 





(Aga Ranges)

Are you still with me... or did I lose you at the bunny pancakes? You're not the only one.  I couldn't get to a store, to a box of Krusteaz Pancake mix and to my griddle fast enough.  




No worries, I know from the best authority that Kiki has a text-webisode devoted to pancakes on the horizon.  Just click on the Bunny Pancakes link for a quick access to the tutorial/recipe from iheartnaptime.net


BACK TO THE DIGITAL PAPER DOLLS QUEST

Let's pay homage first to the paper dolls that gave me plenty hours of fun.   All I needed was a batch of paper doll books, a good pair of scissors and plenty of floor or bed space. 

However, I didn't just cut out paper dolls and their fashions.  I also added pictures from magazines and department store catalogs.  Sears was my favorite.   It didn't take long for the world I knew to disappear.


(Sears 1972 Christmas Wish Book) 

A few hours later, my paper people transformed into Desiree, Joselyn and Nina and their exciting lives in Paris, New York and San Francisco as a foreign correspondent, model and flight attendant. 


 (Sears 1972 Wish Book)

Or they had families and were stay-at-home moms who wrote children's books or worked outside of the home and designed skyscrapers.  Either way, their lives were off-the-charts because I created them.  I was their happy scientist.

1973 MALIBU BARBIE PAPER DOLLS


(Malibu Francie - Etsy.com)

Barbie was my absolute favorite paper doll book.  I had this one... Malibu Francie, one of Barbie's best friends, circa 1973.





Sad, but true... our chaotic digital world had already claimed my beloved Francie.  I found these on Etsy.com.  Apparently, today's crafty divas, bloggers and artists alike... enjoy using them to create their artistic and literary masterpieces.  You don't get anymore modern vintage than that.

According to etsy.com

This high quality paper doll digital sheets (300dpi) are wonderful to cut. Scanned from the originals, they are quality digital ephemera. Malibu Francie paper doll has 4 coat outfits, 7 short/capri outfits, 5 short/mini dresses, 5 maxi/long dresses, 2 pants/stocking suits, a pair of boots and a handbag. 

Fashionable Francie perfect for your artful blog, creative digital work, or mixed media projects.. and scrapbooking of course!
These colorful paper doll images of are ready for digital download.


Here's Malibu Barbie...


(Etsy.com)

I also had the Brady Bunch paper doll books.

BRADY BUNCH PAPER DOLLS


(Etsy.com)


DIGITAL PAPER DOLLS NO SCISSORS NEEDED!

Here are four, I had difficulty clicking off.  Two are apps.

1. Toca Tailor Fairy Tales by Toca Boca.  It's a free app for iPhone and iPad.  Geek Wire recently named it App of the Week.  Not only can children play dress-up, it also appeal to adults by interacting with their photos.

You can create your doll's clothing using any photo you saved on your device.  Or you can take a photo in real time and use it as the fabric for the clothing.  You can turn your rattan coffee table into a sweater or a framed oil painting into pants.





After you've created your doll, you can take a photo of it and put it in whatever-real-world setting you like.  Press a button and the doll is superimposed into your device's camera.  Kids to designers can have a blast with these digital paper dolls.







2.  Girls Can Be Anything Paper Dolls App - designed by Mom, Aliza Shera and her four-year-old daughter Noa.  This age-appropriate paper doll app was inspired by the creator's four-year-old daughter and designed for the iPod, iPad and iPhone.   It's available through iTunes for .99.  It boasts family friendly images, outfits, fun sounds and pleasant music with hundreds of combinations.


 

3. Girls So Cool Digital Paper Dolls



It has dress-up, make-over games, adventure and cooking games.
The above is Beyonce's Beauty Secrets Game.

4. Paper Doll Heaven


This one was my favorite and very addicting.  There were photos of women and men of all skin colors, ages and walks of life.  I was blown away by the diversity.  




They all prove one thing:  you don't have to be a kid to enjoy playing dress-up, even if it's in front of a screen.