My three-year-old son brings artwork home from nursery school by the armful -- if you consider a couple of paint drops on construction paper to be art, that is. Every so often, however, he creates something that actually resembles a person, place, or thing, and I want to save it forever. The coolest way I've discovered to immortalize a child's doodle is to turn it into a custom doll.
We've covered quite a few impressive artists who make custom dolls from drawings that kids make and now there's one more. Enter Yaela, a designer and mother of two. She runs an online studio called Dolls 'n' All that transforms children's paintings, drawings, or chicken scratch into custom dolls.
Simply upload an image of the artwork, fill out a short form, and Yaela will create a handmade, one-of-a-kind plush friend that's as beautifully asymmetrical and scraggly as your child imagined it on paper.
Yaela's handiwork is not just limited to children's artwork, though; she'll turn anybody's drawing into a custom doll. How sweet would it be for an artistic mom or dad to design a soft, cuddly toy for their kid to snuggle with?
Dolls 'n' All custom dolls start at (updated) $69 (which is pretty great) and they go up in price depending the level of detail in the design. So this isn't something you'd do with every one of your child's "masterpieces", but I could see my son and I sifting through his artwork together at the end of the school year, trying to pick out his favorite drawing to turn into a doll. Though I have a feeling that every piece of art is his favorite.
Visit Dolls 'n' All to order a personalized doll toy made from your child's artwork, and check out our archives for more custom dolls.
