Purchase your supplies in advance
I know you just found this article, and you want to do the party
now. Some of the supplies you may already have. I'll talk about what to buy ahead, and what to do if you are missing some supplies.
The Basics
1.
Get your printer ready:
You will be printing many pages so have some ink on hand.Using an inkjet printer, have an extra black and a new color cartridge.
Lots of places have one-day or same day shipping. If you live in the boonies like I do you can get good deals from the manufacturer plus one-day shipping.
Having enough ink means you should be good to print 100 pages. You might only have 1 or 2 at your party so as long as you have enough to print full densely printed pages you should be good.
Before you place your ink order, check to see which supplies below you have on hand.
2.
The six basics you must have
- White card-stock
- Sharp scissors
- Permanent glue stick
- Double-sided scrapbook paper.
- Mini brads I prefer antique copper
- Hole punch 1/8”
3.
Optional: Nice to have
- transparent contact paper
- ribbons
- string
- cords
- Your embellishing preferences stickers, chipboard, cut-outs, etc.
- A heavy book to flatten items while the glue is drying
A cover for the table. Can be an old sheet or a plastic tablecloth
4.
Printable paper dolls,printable scrapbook papers, and printable embellishments.
I will write more about this in another post. Etsy and Creative Market are my favorite places to get my printable digital needs but there are so many. Bookmark or gather the items you like in your shopping cart a week ahead and start printing them in advance. if this is an impromptu party, Print out a small group project like a banner or bunting to get the girls started while you print out the dolls and papers.
5.
Additional Notes:
- Make sure your glue sticks are moist!
- I like to print out extra arms legs, accessories, and small pieces.
- A file folder for each girl is good and helps organization
- The ability to do reprints duplicates and other unforeseen discoveries is priceless
The bonus round:
Music:
Music is good to a spark mood. If this is to calm restless boredom, you can choose meditation for children or creative meditation music. There is plenty on youtube or check your favorite source for music. Sometimes sounds like a quiet rain, or a waterfall or a thunderstorm in the background can be inspiring.
A storybook on tape read in the background can also strike a quiet mood or invite interesting conversations.
I need to do my party now!
Quick ideas to point you in a direction. start with the basics, or your basics.
The basics: shortlist:
- White cardstock
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Hole punch
- Ribbons or string
More tips:
- Glue the paper dolls together or tie them with string.
- See post for the cutting challenged for ideas to use paper dolls.
- Print your own scrapbook paper for doll clothes.
- Print out just a few dolls and reprint them and use buttons bottle caps string fabric scraps stickers leaves or cotton balls.
The impromptu party is an excellent time for unstructured play.
Have you had a paper doll party? Anything you would like to share? Please leave a comment below. I will select 3 people for a
free paper-doll download.
