I have a dear friend who absolutely loves matryoshka dolls, or more commonly known as Russian or nesting dolls. So for Vivia's birthday, I knew I wanted to give her something that centered around these whimsical figurines. After toying with the usual ideas of an Russian doll iPhone case or necklace, it quickly became clear that nothing would be better than a set of mini Vivias in her very own outfits.

I ordered a set of blank wooden dolls for a mere US$10 on eBay and began the awkwardly creepy but necessary process of observing what Vivia wore, committing to memory potential outfits to paint and feverishly sketching them out in a notebook before I forgot any of the details.

I have seen my share of traditional Matryoshka dolls but was amazed at all the modern and contemporary interpretations out there. People are so creative.

Paintbrush in hand, I dressed each doll with my favorite outfits that represented Vivia's youthful indie-hipster style. And just like that, with some acrylic paint, black and red pens for the eyes and lips and a touch of M.A.C. blush for rosy cheeks, each little doll beautifully came to life. They turned out SO cute!