Doodlekins Tutorial Part I: Creating your Doodles!

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!
 

NOW is the time to place those orders.  Have you seen all the AMAZING new products Doodlekins is offering? Every time I check out the website- there is something new and exciting to add to my personal wishlist! Pitchers, glasses, pillows, t-shirts… all in addition to the great stationery products and labels they’ve always offered!

 

Speaking of the website, if you are a long-time Doodlekins fan, you’ve probably already noticed the website has undergone quite the facelift. The ordering process is new (and much easier- I promise!) I thought it might be helpful to set up a quick tutorial, guiding you through the design and ordering process. So… grab yourself a snack… and settle in.

First and foremost, head over to the website:

www.doodlekins.com

On the homepage, the picture in the center changes, showing off LOTS of the awesome-ness that Doodlekins offers. If you haven’t been following along on Facebook, I encourage you to take a few seconds and check out some of the newest and coolest products!

When you’re ready, scroll over the yellow bar on top of photo.

When you bring your mouse over the “Step 1: First, customize the fun cartoon doodles!” a drop-down menu will appear. Choose the category of your first Doodle. I'm going to put my dear family on a product (don't worry -you don't need to decide which one JUST yet!) I'm going to start with myself, so I chose "Female Youth-Adult." 

Now here comes the fun part....

 

You will be brought to a page with all the possible Doodle choices, features, etc. 

As you roll your mouse over each of the little Doodle's heads, it pops up with a larger preview, so you can more clearly see hairstyles and facial features. Find the Doodle that you think most closely resembles you- and click on it. A small, blue box should appear around your chosen Doodle: 

Next, you type in the name you want printed under your Doodle. Think about this one carefully. Depending on the product, your name selection may vary. If you're making address labels, you might just want to use your first name. If you are creating one of those cool pitcher and tumbler sets, you might want to use something more "family friendly" such as "mom." Heck, you might even be working on a lunch bag for your kid's teacher (a FANTASTIC teacher gift idea, by the way!) and Mrs. Salmon would be more appropriate. I'm going to play it safe, and just type in "mom." If I change my mind later, I am always given the opportunity to edit before placing my order... 

OK. Here's my absolute favorite part: personalizing your Doodle. This is your opportunity to make sure that your Doodle(s) best represent you and your family and friends. Take your time here! Play with it. Have fun trying on different features, etc. 

* First and foremost, you need to pick the size of your Doodle. Again, take time to think about the finished product. I know I plan to add my entire family to this project, and I also know I don't want to be represented as the LARGEST person in my family (we'll save that honor for my husband!) so I am going to select "Medium Adult" from the drop down menu. 

* Skin Color:  Doodlekins does an amazing job of including many, many skin tone choices. Pick the one that's closest to you! Again, your selection should appear with a blue box around it. 

* Hair Color: Here's your chance to be the blonde bombshell you always wanted! OK, maybe now is not the time... but again, lots of choices... including "none," a great option for those without any hair! 

* Head Accessory: Lots of fun choices here, too. Santa hats are a fun addition to Christmas projects. Headbands, hair bows, and flowers are a fun accessory to "dress" up a plain hairstyle. Please note, however, that hats do not fit hair styled in up-do's, pigtails, or ponytails. You CAN add bows, though! And again, a hair accessory is certainly not necessary. If you'd rather have a plain head, just select "none." **This might be a great time to point out that if/when you choose "none" for any of the accessory options, NO BLUE box appears around that choice. By NOT making a selection, it will default to "none." **

* Head Accessory Color: Any selected head accessory that reads "color me" when selected will need to be colored in. My favorite color is red, so I am choosing that for my headband. 

* Neck Accessory: Again, Doodlekins gives you lots of fun choices here. I'm going with a pearl necklace!

* Neck Accessory Color: Any selected neck accessory that reads "color me" when selected will need to be colored in. Even if I want to leave my pearls white, I still need to choose that as a "color." 

* Mouth Accessory: Big, full lips? Of course! Remember, if you want to change your "lip" color, you'll want to add the lips "accessory," even if your preview Doodle has lips on it. 

* Mouth Accessory Color: Here's your chance! Pick your lip color. Please be conscious  however, of the colors you have already chosen for your hair and/or neck accessory, especially if you are adding other family members or a background (that will come later!) The more colors you add, the "busier" your product will look. Try to limit the amount of colors, or at least chose colors that compliment one another. 

* Eye Accessories: Do you wear glasses? Here's your chance to add them! I LOVE that Doodlekins gives us several shapes of glasses to choose from!

* Special Requests: If you've ever ordered before, you know that Doodlekins strives for 110% customer satisfaction. They are hard workers, bustling around in the Doodlekins factory in their little orange jumpsuits, working very hard to make sure your order is EXACTLY what you want. If there's something you want to see represented on your Doodle that doesn't appear in the options listed above, here's your chance to make that request! 

* Once you've made all of your selections, click on "Add to Cart." It will bring you to a page that looks like this: 

If you are like me, you are a little sad that you don't get to see a preview of your newly created Doodle, but don't fret. That part is coming up! 

 

If you are using only this Doodle for project, you can go ahead and click on Step 2 at the top of the page. This will allow you to begin selecting products to add your Doodle to. If you need to create more Doodles, you will need to re-select "Step 1" at the top and choose the appropriate Doodle to add, following the steps outlined above. 

Just a few things to point out here:  
 

* While there is an option for baby/toddler Doodles, older children are created under the Female/Male Youth-Adult tab where we created the mom and dad Doodles. You can make them appear as "children" by selecting the appropriate size from the "Size" drop down menu. If you have several "small" children, there is also a "size" option in the baby/toddler Doodle option. 

* Don't forget your pets! Doodlekins has TONS of animal options to add your furry family members to your products,too!

*Check out the "Storymaker Icons" options. These are fun pictures that help tell your family's "story." Flags, sports equipment, new house, party supplies. Have an idea that's not listed? Use the "special requests" box and watch Doodlekins work their magic! 

When you are finished adding Doodles, your "cart" will look similar to the photo above, with details listed for each of your created Doodles. Although there still is not a "preview" of your created Doodles, this is a great time to look over the details, such as names, etc and check for spelling errors. Clicking on the "Edit Item Quantity and Details" link at the bottom of each summary will allow you to edit these details. 

Hopefully this answered and/or helped you through the Doodle "creation" process. In the next step (blog post- part 2!) I will help you add these amazing Doodles to the project of your choice! And remember, the staff at Doodlekins is AMAZING! They are more than willing to help- don't ever be afraid to ask them for help along the way! 

Live simply. Love generously.

Care deeply. Speak kindly.