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Here's a great blog for any of you wanting to make a cardboard dollhouse... She even installed a "real" working fireplace :) It's called The Cardboard Crafter. She also does other things so you might have to hunt through the posts to find the dollhouse ones.
Using decorator fabric to make dollhouse bed covers and spreads
Often window covering places or interior decorators have old fabric sample books that they throw out when new ones come. If you can get some of these, they have great dollhouse-sized swatches. In these pictures 3 different fabric swatches were used to make bedspreads for wooden dollhouse beds. Simply cut out the swatches and fray check the edges. Since these particular ones were very stiff fabric, I chose to glue the ends down to the bed (can you see the rubber bands used to keep it in place until it dried?).
How to make your own grass mat for a doll house...
If you have access to some old window covering books, usually there is one book devoted to "natural" type window blinds. They contain samples using things like woven grass and bamboo. Find one that suits the color and style you are after, and put gobs (LOTS) of glue down each of the far ends of the sample. After about a day when it is dry, cut along the middle of that glue line and, presto, you have a "grass mat", "bamboo rug", or whatever else you want to call them :) Here's a picture of a "jungle themed" room with a woven grass and bamboo throw carpet.
How to put a small bit of wallpaper in your dollhouse...
In an earlier post I told how I put full walls of wall paper in a wooden doll house. This post will tell how I do smaller bits of wallpaper... for example, a painted top and wallpapered bottom. This method also works for installing borders. Remember things look better in "thirds" rather than "halves". (for example, paint 2/3 of the wall and wallpaper 1/3... or wallpaper 2/3 and paint 1/3...)
1. Measure and cut your wallpaper
2. Always have your wallpaper go continuously around a corner... don't have it stop at a corner or a dark "gap" will show when you're all done. To make this easier, crease/fold the wallpaper piece where the corner will end up.
3. Use an old magazine and lay a piece(s) of your wallpaper upside down on it.
4. Smear tacky glue all over the back of it, paying special attention to the edges.
5. Quickly go wash and dry your hands, or keep a wet rag handy to wipe the glue off your fingers before pressing the wallpaper into place.
6. Turn the magazine page, and you have another fresh surface for gluing the next piece!
1. Measure and cut your wallpaper
2. Always have your wallpaper go continuously around a corner... don't have it stop at a corner or a dark "gap" will show when you're all done. To make this easier, crease/fold the wallpaper piece where the corner will end up.
3. Use an old magazine and lay a piece(s) of your wallpaper upside down on it.
4. Smear tacky glue all over the back of it, paying special attention to the edges.
5. Quickly go wash and dry your hands, or keep a wet rag handy to wipe the glue off your fingers before pressing the wallpaper into place.
6. Turn the magazine page, and you have another fresh surface for gluing the next piece!
A quick, cheap doll house waste basket...
Use an old cap (from toothpaste, hairspray, etc.) for a quick dollhouse garbage pail!
A completed playable lighted wooden doll house...
We received a request for a playable lighted wooden dollhouse decorated in earth tones, orange, gold and black... Here are some pictures for you to get ideas from... in case those are the color tones your child (or you!) likes too!
How to make a quick dollhouse picture frame using a tissue box pattern...
If you have ever seen this pattern on a box of tissues, it works great for some quick doll house picture frames! Just trim out a square and cut a picture to fit in the center, glue, and you're done!
How to make your own dollhouse mantel clock...
1. Find a piece of trim that has a profile you like.
2. Cut off a small chunk about 1/2 inch deep.
3. Do an image search to find the type of clock face you want and print it. I took this picture myself, so you are free to use it (personal use only, no resale).
4. Paint or stain your clock and let dry.
5. Glue on the clock face.
6. You can stop here, or for a more playable dollhouse mantel clock, spray it with clear acrylic sealer.
For instructions on how to make a grandfather clock for your dollhouse, please see our earlier post.
Making a mini rose garden tutorial by Cassy V.
Thank you to Cassy V. for the following tutorial!
Supplies:
* Popsicle sticks
* white paint (optional)
* moss (you can buy it at craft stores)
* ribbon (any color)
* posterboard
1. Cut the rounded end off approximately 30 popsicle sticks.
2. If you're going to paint them, paint them now.
3. Cut 6 of them in half, and put another 12 aside.
4. Cut a square of posterboard so it's the length of one full popsicle stick and the width of one half.
5. Lay 6 full ones in a row, so that their long sides are touching and glue them so they form a little wall.
6. Do the same with another 6 full ones. Then do again with 6 halves. Then do one last time with the last 6 halves.
7. Now you have 4 little walls for your box. Set them up standing around the poster board square and glue them there.
8. Take the remaining popsicle sticks and glue them together the way the lattice work behind the roses in this picture is set up. (You may want to cut the ends of these sticks at a diagonal for a cleaner look)
9. Glue the diagonal design so it becomes the back "wall" of your garden box.
10. Fill the box with moss and weave some of the moss up your diagonal wall.
11. Use this: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Silk,-Satin-or-Ribbon-Roses tutorial to use your ribbon to make the roses.
12. Glue the roses onto the moss in the box and climbing up the wall.
You're done! This would make a nice movable outdoor dollhouse decoration, or done on an even smaller scale, a window-box.
* Popsicle sticks
* white paint (optional)
* moss (you can buy it at craft stores)
* ribbon (any color)
* posterboard
1. Cut the rounded end off approximately 30 popsicle sticks.
2. If you're going to paint them, paint them now.
3. Cut 6 of them in half, and put another 12 aside.
4. Cut a square of posterboard so it's the length of one full popsicle stick and the width of one half.
5. Lay 6 full ones in a row, so that their long sides are touching and glue them so they form a little wall.
6. Do the same with another 6 full ones. Then do again with 6 halves. Then do one last time with the last 6 halves.
7. Now you have 4 little walls for your box. Set them up standing around the poster board square and glue them there.
8. Take the remaining popsicle sticks and glue them together the way the lattice work behind the roses in this picture is set up. (You may want to cut the ends of these sticks at a diagonal for a cleaner look)
9. Glue the diagonal design so it becomes the back "wall" of your garden box.
10. Fill the box with moss and weave some of the moss up your diagonal wall.
11. Use this: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Silk,-Satin-or-Ribbon-Roses tutorial to use your ribbon to make the roses.
12. Glue the roses onto the moss in the box and climbing up the wall.
You're done! This would make a nice movable outdoor dollhouse decoration, or done on an even smaller scale, a window-box.
How to make your own doll house floor lamp
Making your own dollhouse floor lamp is quick and easy:
1. Cut a small diameter rod to the height you want your lamp to be.
2. Cut 2 small disks from a large wooden dowel or rod
3. Punch a hole in the center of each of these disks the same diameter as your small rod. (A drill press works best, but you can do it however works for you.)
4. Insert the long narrow dowel into the holes, secure in place with glue
5. Paint it!
6. Glue a small bit of ribbon trim around one end.
7. Add any embellishments to "dress up" your light.
That's it! Have fun!
How to make your own dollhouse pie
Making your own doll house pies is a lot easier than you might think. You need a bottle cap, some craft foam and a small hole punch (or tiny beads or used air soft rifle pellets), glue and water, a scrap of thin brown paper.
Here are step by step instructions with pictures:
1. Take an old bottle cap (you can also buy them at a craft store for a few cents), fill it with tiny beads or small punches of craft foam to see how much filling you need:
2. Dump the loose pie filling into a small container, add glue and stir.
Here are step by step instructions with pictures:
1. Take an old bottle cap (you can also buy them at a craft store for a few cents), fill it with tiny beads or small punches of craft foam to see how much filling you need:
2. Dump the loose pie filling into a small container, add glue and stir.
3. Dump the pie filling into the bottle cap(s) and wait for it to dry. Here's a before and after picture of the wet / dry pie filling:
4. Next, make the crust... turn a pie upside down on thin brown paper and trace around it. Cut out the circle.
5. Cut the brown paper circle into thin strips.
6. Mix a little water and glue together - make it fairly runny, like the consistency of milk. Put the strips in the glue mixture and stir them around, being sure they get coated on all sides.
7. Lay the strips across the top of the pies in a criss-cross lattice pattern. (Note: I use a toothpick or end of a paint brush to help get the strips in place. Otherwise they start sticking to both hands and you end up really frustrated.)
8. Wait for the pies to "bake" (dry!) and you're done!
Free printable dollhouse wallpaper
Here is some more "print your own" free doll house wallpaper... same pattern, just different colors. As always, personal use only please, thanks!
A couple of small "studio" dollhouses for you to look at...
I made these a couple of months ago... Strawberry Shortcake and her friends, the Calico Critters, Littlest PetShop animals, etc. like living in these small doll houses! They are a fun "quick" project and are small enough to pack away when not in use.
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