Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Upcycle A Box Into A Doll Bookcase

Left, shelves for books and a small vase and toy. Center, our
babysitter doll is taking good care of Barbie's son. He loves
 several bedtime stories before settling down for the night.
 Right, included on our bookshelf is a flat screen T.V.
       The simplest way to make a bookcase for a doll, is to upcycle a small box. If you choose to use a box without compartments, the work is a bit more detailed and I will include a project later with the instructions for that method.
       However, if you are lucky enough to find just the right box to use for a bookcase, you may not need to add the shelves on your own. Below is a prime example of a project such as this one. 
Adding cupboard doors to your bookcase is optional here. Simply cut rectangles from cardboard that
 fit neatly over the shelf openings. Cover them with decorative paper and hot glue on two beads for handles.
 Tape these in place with a durable duct tape and then cover the exposed areas with more decorative paper.
Supply List For The Bookcase:
  • cardboard box
  • cardboard box with compartments (optional)
  • Mod Podge
  • scissors
  • decorative papers
  • ruler
  • white school glue
  • a soft, clean paint brush for applying Mod Podge
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Clean off any dust or dirt that may have attached itself to the box.
  2. Carefully measure and cut out decorative shapes that fit neatly into the compartments of the box.
  3. Use a soft brush to cover each shelf with Mod Podge and then stick the papers down to the surfaces. 
  4. Be careful to rub the surfaces with your clean, dry fingertips. Smoothing out the air bubbles that get trapped beneath the paper.
  5. Then layer with the paint brush, another coat of Mod Podge on top of the new decorative papers.
  6. Repeat this process for the outside of the box as well. 
  7. I left the edges and some of the walls of my doll's bookcase their original color. You do not need to cover every surface of the bookcase if you don't want to change all of it. I found the original fuchsia appealing, so I chose a different set of papers to compliment some of the original color.
       You will probably need to fill your doll's bookcase with a few books and there are many ways to craft small volumes. I will demonstrate with photos below just one way to make miniature doll books for now...
Glue additional titles and decorations
to the outside of the doll book.

Supply List for Miniature Books:
  • corrugated cardboard
  • scrap magazine pages
  • glue stick
  • scissors
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Cut the cardboard into the size pieces you wish your books to be. You can estimate this by putting a few different sizes of cut cardboard squares into the hands of your dolls to determine the scale you want the books to be. Also make sure that the books are not too large for the doll's bookcase.
  2. For this particular method of making a miniature book, you will only need to collect scrap magazine paper to cover the volumes with. 
  3. Glue like sized cardboard squares side by side, leaving only a small gab so that the book will shut neatly on the shelf after it is finished. 
  4. Now cut around both cardboard shapes leaving approximately 1/4 inch of paper around all four sides. 
  5. Smear a bit of glue to each end and fold the magazine paper over the edges on top of the glue. Repeat this step around every side.
  6. Now cut paper having words printed on it and glue it to the inside covers of the miniature book. The dolls will be able to open these small volumes and pretend to read the text. 
  7. Glue additional titles and decorations to the outside of the doll book. Now you have a few books for the doll bookcase!
Left, glue like sized cardboard squares side by side, leaving only a small gab so that the book will shut
neatly on the shelf after it is finished. Center, Smear a bit of glue to each end and fold the magazine
 paper over the edges on top of the glue. Right, The dolls will be able to open these small volumes
and pretend to read the text.
More Ways To Make Tiny Books:

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