Make a set of magnetic paper dolls for your fashionable girl on the go

I love that my daughter loves her magnetic dolls...the modern, smarter version of the paper dolls I loved so much as a little girl. Last year she received this Melissa & Doug magnetic doll set as a gift from her grandmother. She loves playing with it and has (on more than one occasion) talked me into letting her take it in the car to play with during lengthy car rides. And after the 8th disastrous car ride (What can I say? I'm easily broken) spent with a sobbing toddler devastated over spilling teeny wooden dress-up pieces and not being able to reach them for her car seat prison, demanding mommy get them NOW so her ballerina can have matching slippers, I'd had enough. Nina the Ballerina no longer is allowed in our car.

Now, I'm not saying this tutorial for making magnetic paper dolls will be the answer to our problem. However, it's smaller tin case might make it easier for on-the-go than the bulky wooden Melissa & Doug box. Alli of One Pearl Button put together one sweet DIY complete with clear photos, directions, links and she's even included her tin box label for you to download. She suggests using the Betsy McCall paper dolls, which are retro-y awesome. I love this idea and will be making October 1960 for my daughter first. At a minimal cost the project yields one killer tin of dolls ready to be tucked into mama's purse for long car, plane and train rides or for when mama needs some serious back-up (did someone say waiting rooms waits?).

(via One Pretty Thing)