These Are A Great Gift For Any Little One
Cut-out paper dolls have always been a big attraction for many toy collectors. But how did this phenomenon of making these amazing figures come to be? This article will explain what made cut-out paper dolls became so popular in the past. They were first introduced in the 1970s. At this point, children were using their imagination and creativity and were using this to create many fun projects. They used these ideas to create their very own dolls, and even their very own paper. The paper used for this project was very fine and was colored with paint to give it the appearance of wood or a real animal. The main character that was cut out was usually a cat or a dog, and then various accessories such as the house, the car, and the lawnmower were added. This gave the doll owner a complete, realistic look of being an actual living creature. The popularity of this type of doll did not last too long, however. Some children found the cutout paper very difficult to cut out and therefore could not enjoy their favorite cut outs.
Comic Cutouts
Of course, many children’s comics also contain cutout pages. For girls’ comics, it was often a picture of a girl plus fashion outfits with tabs that could be cut out and fitted to the doll figure. Teachers found these figures useful for pupils to stick into an exercise book for labelling to help with spelling, or foreign language vocabulary. For best play value, as stand-alone cutouts, these pages really needed to be stuck to a piece of cardboard before being cut out, to strengthen and stiffen the figures, even if only the doll figure. Empty cereal packets came in very handy here. Even today, many young children’s comics contain cut out pages. Nowadays the cutouts can be of anything, toy crowns, swords or shields for little children, paper cars, masks for coloring, etc.
Creativity
This created an interest in the art of making cut out dolls. These children learned how to make cutouts from a very young age and this develops fine motor skills for using (safety) scissors. If they had no more cutout figures or clothes, they then designed their own, remembering to add tabs, so the clothes would stay on the doll figure, The cutouts and the designing required some skill. And children naturally enjoyed this type of craft. However, these paper cut outs did not come cheap. Children had to spend quite a bit of money on buying these toys. But they did not realize that they were the ultimate in playtime and creativity at the same time. It was quite a game changer for them when they could make their very own cut out paper dolls. With the invention of a technology called the computer, the cut-out paper dolls were transformed into a virtual toy. These virtual paper cut outs had everything that a real cut out figure would have, including the ability to move around and make sounds and speak. Cutting paper dolls no longer had to be a time consuming project. Now, any child can make their very own cut out paper dolls online for very little money, though that removed the need for using scissors and developing the fine motor skills this involved.
Cutouts in the Modern Day
Cutouts these days, are not just for children’s playtimes, important though that is, they can be used for many things. For instance, they have been used as place markers for seating wedding guests, in baby showers, for playing round robin games as party games and kids can even run their own puppet type shows or tell old stories, using cutouts, which improves their creativity as well as fine motor skills. Some kids are only concerned about the size of the cutout. Some children care about the color and quality of the paper and would prefer to pay a few dollars more for that. Some children want to cut out one animal and do not mind if they cut off the head or some other part of the body. Some paper cutouts can be used by themselves or as a gift for someone special in the family. This is a much cheaper gift than buying a real animal and having to buy food and toys for a whole family. It is also a great gift for someone who has special needs, because it does not have to be expensive. If you know anyone who is fond of animals, but cannot get them a real pet, cut out paper can be just what they need. It is not only a perfect gift for the animal lover but is also very cute and fun. They can put it in their mailbox and know that it will soon be sitting proudly on a shelf with the rest of their favorite cutout dolls. Cutouts can also be downloaded instantly these days, so a child can be happily playing with a new, inexpensive toy only a few minutes after finding the one they would like.
This is a great way to get your child’s creative juices flowing. It is a lot of fun for children as well. Kids love creating the cutouts, and they really enjoy the feeling that they are playing with something that is actually there. Cut out paper dolls are one of the best ways to teach children a very basic level of creativity. They can also learn about coloring, cutting, and making things in an imaginative way.