Fun with Paper Dolls and Flannel Boards

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Friday's Grand Connection Funby Mary May Larmoyeux

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was play with paper dolls at my grandmother’s house. She would roll out big sheets of brown paper and encourage me to design a special house for the dolls.

My Nana would give me a Sears Catalog and a pair of scissors. I would cut out furniture and decorations for the paper house, and would glue the items in place on the brown paper. I remember this as being so much fun!

Today, you can buy paper dolls at specialty toy stores or print off online patterns. If you google “paper dolls” you’ll be amazed at all of the websites that have paperdoll patters. Here's just one:  http://familycrafts.about.com/od/paperdolls/tp/paperdolls.htm .

Even though they don’t print the huge Sears Catalog anymore, the Sunday papers are filled with furniture store inserts that could be transformed into a child’s imaginary house on large sheets of white or brown paper or cardboard.

You may want to make or purchase a felt kit for your grand. The variety of flannel kits today is endless: dollhouse flannel board scenes, flannel board dolls, and kits such as “Trucks, and Trains, and Planes." Mardel's has felt kits for Bible stories like "Jonah and the Whale":  http://www.mardel.com/Jonah-and-the-Whale-Precut-Felt-Set-778274.aspx .

If you have older grandchildren, help them show younger brothers and sisters (or younger neighbors, cousins, etc.) how to make a paper doll house or play with a felt kit.

Did you ever play with paper dolls or make them for your grandkids? Have you played with a grad using a flannel board kit?

He is able
Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
www.marymaywrites.com
www.grandconnection.org


© Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Giant Paper Dolls and Paper Twins

Friday's Grand Connection Fun

by Mary May Larmoyeux

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Friday's Fun

Last night, 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. Each of their individual personalities and creativity continue to amaze me. Our 18-month-old 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. And … today, I thought I'd share 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 the shape out. 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? We'd love for you to share about it by either posting a comment below or e-mailing mary@marymaywrites.com (I'll post the comment for you).

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.

Mary
Mary May Larmoyeux
co-author of The Grand Connection: 365 Ways to Connect With Your Grandchild's Heart

© 2009 Mary May Larmoyeux. All rights reserved.

Paper Dolls and More

Friday's Grand Connection Fun
by Mary May Larmoyeux

Subscribe to Grand Connection by Email

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.

Paper Dolls and Flannel Board Fun

Friday's Fun

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was play with paper dolls at my grandmother’s house. She would roll out big sheets of brown paper and encourage me to design a special house for the dolls.

My Nana would give me a Sears Catalog and a pair of scissors. I would cut out furniture and decorations for the paper house, and would glue the items in place on the brown paper. I remember this as being so much fun!

Today, you can buy paper dolls at specialty toy stores or print off online patterns. If you google “paper dolls” you’ll be amazed at all of the available links such as this one: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/paperdolls/tp/paperdolls.htm

Even though they don’t print the huge Sears Catalog anymore, the Sunday papers are filled with furniture store inserts that could be transformed into a child’s imaginary house on large sheets of white or brown paper or cardboard.

You may want to make or purchase a felt kit for your grand. You can find some wonderful ones at http://www.thefeltsource.com/ (dollhouse flannel board scenes, flannel board dolls, and kits such as “Trucks, and Trains, and Planes”).

If you have older grandchildren, help them show younger brothers and sisters (or younger neighbors, cousins, etc.) how to make a paper doll house or play with a felt kit.

Did you ever play with paper dolls or make them for your grandkids? Have you played with a grad using a flannel board kit?

He is able,
Mary
http://www.marymaywrites.com/