Wow… it’s already June. This year has just zipped by. However, since it’s nearly halfway over, I suppose it is time to consider how I am doing on my various blog goals for 2014. When I started this post, I set out to find if I had ever actually posted my goals for 2014 and found, much to my own embarrassment, that I hadn’t. Opps.
However, I do have some goals and they were saved in my Red Binder.
When I looked at the list it was a little upsetting, because I hadn’t succeeded at any of my goals. So, I decided that I would try to make my goals more concrete with specific things I would try to achieve.
The Goals for 2014
Original Goal: More male paper dolls.
I look at Boots wonderful men and I feel such guilt over my lack of male paper dolls. I gotta get better at drawing dudes, so that has been one of my big goals which I have to admit I haven’t succeeded on very well this year. I’ve barely attempted it. You can see my male attempts for the past few years.
The Concrete Goal: In the next six months, I will create at least ten male paper dolls.
Original Goal: Create monthly featured artist pages.
I’ve missed two months. However, I am climbing back on the wagon. I have emailed two paper doll artists to see if they would be willing to be featured on my blog. It’s a slow process, but I am doing my best. 
The Concrete Goal: I actually think I have a pretty concrete goal here… I’d like to have at least six of these a year, maybe more if I can do it.
Original Goal: Create a paper doll tutorial.
Wow, this has been hard. I’ve got the first part written, but I need to illustrate it. I thought this would be easy and I was SO WRONG.
The Concrete Goal: Have the first part of the tutorial finished by the end of July.
Original Goal: Encourage more paper doll artists online.
So, one of the things I have been trying to be better about is going to other people’s paper doll blogs and posting comments on them. When I started PTP, before the big crash of 2009, I went nearly a year without any comments. I still remember my first comment and it was from Liana and I was proud that Liana (whose blog had inspired mine) had seen my work and she had said something nice about it. It made my day. I remember that feeling and I want to support other paper doll artists who are beginning their blogging journey.
The Concrete Goal: Visit other blogs weekly and, if there is new content, comment on it.
Original Goal: Provide more “behind the scenes” looks at my process and work.
I am so not doing well at this one either. I am trying and I like writing those posts, but they always seem to take more time than they should.
The Concrete Goal: Post one “behind the scenes” blog a month.
Original Goal: Create more historical paper dolls from periods prior to 1700.
Okay, so it took Gwendolyn’s 10th century anglo-saxon paper doll to kick me in the butt, but I loved working on that paper doll. I learned so much about the period and I had so much fun doing it. I want to do more of historical dolls. Right now, I am researching the 1300s and German costumes from the 1500s. I really want to do something Tudor, but the complexity of the fabric patterns make me whimper in fear.
The Concrete Goal: Create three paper dolls from before 1700 this year.
Original Goal: Build stronger ties to others in the paper doll community.
Honestly, I wrote this down, but I’ll be darned if I know how to do it. I have to think about this and I did and so I came up with some specific things.
The Concrete Goals: 1. Do some more collaborative paper dolls with other artists. 2. Send some art into the OPDAG magazine. 3. Contact someone to be a featured artist whose work I admire, but who I can’t imagine would say yes to being on my tiny little blog.
So, these are my goals. Now, that I have them written down publicly, I guess I better actually achieve them.