Personalized, handmade gifts are the best, don’t you think? Growing up I remember playing for hours with paper dolls made by hand by my sisters and me. Vintage Street Market and May Arts had just the right products to help me make the perfect gift for my niece: a paper doll set and coordinating box so that she too can enjoy the fun!

Let me show you how I made this easy and cute project!

Gather only a few supplies!

~3 inches each of the new May Arts pom pom trim, in black (419-10), cream (419-09), yellow (419-27) and green (419-16), ~15 inches May Arts Burlap String in black (SM08), and ~15 inches of May Arts 1.25 inch wide silk ribbon in yellow (SK30). I also used Vintage Street Market’s Family Fun Set Paper Kit and Numbers Tinted Tape, as well as a money box from the local discount store, glassine bags, a button and strong adhesive.

I first punched out the dolls from the Family Fun Set Paper Kit that I wanted to include in the gift and sanded the little nubs with a file. I then cut out all the corresponding clothes and accessories from the kit as well.

To keep the clothes and accessories in an orderly fashion and to avoid tearing, I decorated some glassine bags by trimming the top with various colors of May Arts pom pom trim and the bottom with Numbers Tinted Tape.

To decorate the plain money box, I cut a piece of patterned paper from the Family Fun Set Paper Kit to size, inked the edges to give it an aged feel and applied it with strong adhesive to the top of the box. I wanted a bit of extra personalization, so I decorated a tag with a piece of cardstock and rub-on letters. For easy application of the tag to the box, start by threading May Arts Blurlap String from the top of the tag to the bottom, wrap it around the box and thread the string from the bottom of the tag back through to the top. That way the loose ends both are on the top of the tag so that I could attach a button and tie a large bow very easily.

I felt that the box needed a bit extra decoration, so I went back and added some luxurious May Arts Silk Ribbon and tied it off in a big bow under the button. I finished the decoration with a cute fussy cut girl that resembles my niece.

I wanted the inside to be special as well, so I wrapped the bags with the paper doll contents with some aged tissue paper and taped it together with a length of and Numbers Tinted Tape.

I think my niece will enjoy the paper dolls and having her own special place to keep them. If she’s outgrown the dolls or misplaces them, she’ll have a pretty box to put other trinkets in.

There’s no doubt, May Arts and Vintage Street Market were a perfect pairing. There are so many ribbon options that have a vintage flair to them!

Blog post by: Karen Baker

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