Welcome to a place where we can share ideas about grandparenting, especially ways to pass spiritual values and family stories to the next generation.

Mary is the co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart.
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Co-author of The Grandparent Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

Friday, July 2, 2010

Paper Dolls and More


Friday's Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

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Nor too long ago, while Pops and I babysat for some of our grandchildren, a granddaughter sang an original, one-of-a-kind song to her special baby doll. We both had to force ourselves not to laugh as her tune changed from a lullaby into "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer."

I’m so grateful for all of our grands. Their individual personalities and creativity continue to amaze me. Our youngest  grandson is now “coming of age,” and we are getting a peek into the neat little guy that he is.

Psalm 139 tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. As a reminder of this, today we're going to see how to "create" wonderfully made giant paper dolls or paper twins.

When our family went on a weekend getaway together last year, a daughter-in-love asked the children to lie down on large sheets of white paper. She traced each child's body and then cut out the shapes. The kids had a great time coloring their paper twins. (We used a roll of white paper, but you could use bulletin board paper from a teacher supply store, brown shipping paper, or even newspaper.)

A similar idea is making giant paper dolls . If you want to get really creative, you could detach the paper arms and legs and reattach with brads. You could also use strands of yarn for hair.

In the February 2009 issue of the magazine Family Fun, Stephanie Pham shared how she traced her child’s body on a large piece of cardboard to make a life-size paper doll. Then she helped her daughter make life-size paper doll clothes. Sounds like fun to me! (For a really special touch, clothes could also be cut out of cloth and attached with Velcro.)

Have you made cut-out shapes or giant paper dolls with your children or grandchildren? Whether we make a life-size paper doll or a paper twin with a grandchild, the resulting creation is sure to be one of a kind—just like our legacy.

Have a great weekend!
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/
Grand Connection blog


Photo and article © 2010 by Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.
Photo © Mary May Larmoyeux.

6 comments:

Karen Jordan said...

The giant paper dolls can be such a fun project for kids. We have a big roll of paper in the garage that I haven't retrieved in awhile. I guess it's time to find it again for our younger grandkids. Thanks for the reminder!

Mary May Larmoyeux said...

Karen, that's a great idea to keep a giant roll of paper in the garage for some "grand" artwork!

Anonymous said...

I am forwarding the life sized paper doll idea to my granddaughter for her two little ones. How I wish I had done that with my own. What fun. This is something anyone can do with little expense.

Also, I had to chuckle when you told of the song that your granddaughter improvised for her doll. While driving through Colorado on vacation, our 6-year-old grandchild was singing “America” in high soprano. She would ask me to tell the four older “aunts and uncles” not to laugh. We were holding back as best we could but I had to tell the kids “not to laugh.” They all remember. Blessings, Rita

Mary May Larmoyeux said...

Hi, Rita. It's great to hear from you. Love the story about your granddaughter singing "America."

Unknown said...

How fun!!! I would have loved that when I was a young girl. Of course, we didn't have giant paper dolls back then, but I sure had fun playing with regular paper dolls.

Mary May Larmoyeux said...

Hi, Sharon! It seems like kids don't play with paper dolls much today. Like you, I loved them! - Mary