I confess that I am rather a fan of Julie Nutting and her delightful art style. I already owned her first book Collage Couture (click the title to see my review) so had no hesitation in buying Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls when it came out.
Title – Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls
Author – Julie Nutting
Publisher – North Light Books
ISBN – 9781440329012
The Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls
The core of the book is five paper dolls and their clothing. You can photocopy (or scan and print) the dolls to use over and over. Each has a biography and comes from a different country.
They appear to be drawn on to vintage paper with writing on. The dolls are as follows:
- Emilee – from New York City, red-brunetter with blue eyes and “gypsy colour” clothing
- Charley – from London, black hair with curls, violet eyes and “mod” (1960s style) clothes
- Belle – from Paris, black bob and violet eyes, classic French style clothing
- Francesca – from Italy, golden brown bob with brown eyes, denims and tapestry clothes
- Kyoko – from Tokyo, flipped black bob and violet eyes, bright multicoloured clothes
There are also blank templates of the girls’ clothes so you can make your own for them. Many of the clothing will fit more than one girl by the way. Plus there are blank templates of two further dolls (one with jointed arms) and more clothing.
The Paper Doll Settings
The third chapeter contains 5 mixed media projects that are designed to be “settings” for the different dolls. They are flat pieces, canvases, on which you could mount the dolls. Here Julie Nutting gives detailed, illustrated tutorials on how she created the different settings. They use a variety of mixed media techniques including sponging, layering, stenciling and stamping.
The settings are:
- Emily Goes to the Beach – a palm tree on the beach, with a stripey sea behind
- The House on Cherry Tree Lane – an “English” house made from lots of different papers
- The City of Light – the Eiffel Tower against a Paris themed background
- Pagoda in the Park – a paper pagoda on a stencilled background
- Paper Couture Shop – a dress shop with a bright, patchwork canopy
Flea Market Finds
The next chapter features five mixed media projects of a more three dimensional nature. They are designed to hold a doll and her clothes. Again there are detailed step-by-step instructions.
They are boxed and bags, some using blank bases. Again there is a variety of mixed media techniques involved so may offer some new ideas for many readers.
Let’s Play Dress Up
The next section shows ways to embellish and change the dolls to create very new looks. This includes ideas such as adding 3d embellishments, overlaying big skirts and customising your dolls.
Extra projects and more
Chaper 6 has 4 more projects of a slightly more advanced nature. These are a shadow box, a beautiful banner, a canvas and some oversized tags.
Finally there are templates for many of the projects.
Versatile and fun
I have had this book for four years (since July 2014) and have used it for many projects. So far I have used the dolls on greetings cards, canvases, tags and scenes. I have also printed them at reduced sizes to use on Artist Trading Cards, tags and other smaller projects.
This is a very pleasant book to browse through and I enjoy flicking through. Whilst I have never replicated any of the actual projects included, they have certainly given me inspiration to create my own. I have also tried many of the mixed media techniques in the book.
If you would like to see a project I have done using one of these dolls, check out my tutorial for a Mixed Media Year Book – February Pages 2015. Pictured below.
Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls is one of my favourite craft books (and I own a LOT). If you like Julie Nutting’s paper doll rubber stamps, you will love this. Even if you are not really in to paper dolls, the mixed media projects include lots that can be used in many other ways.
There are lots of little tips and comments to enjoy, and the stories of the girls and their adventures are delightlful too.
If you prefer to draw your own dolls, check out my review of Mixed Media Girls with Suzi Blu, here on the Tin Teddy Blog.
Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls by Julie Nutting on Amazon
Here are links to Collage Couture Studio Paper Dolls on Amazon.com (left) and Amazon.co.uk (right). If you purchase from these links I would get a small commission from Amazon for sending custom their way. At no extra cost to yourself. Thank you.