Craft Doll Sized Hot Rollers

       This play, doll sized set of hot rollers would make a charming addition to any child's salon toy! You could also include it in an American Girl Doll bathroom or place it on top of a vanity in a doll's bedroom. 

       I made this hot roller set for our 18inch dolls, but you could make a smaller one using straws for the rollers for a barbie or fashionista if you'd like. 

       It looks harder to craft than it is, however, I'd say that a fifth grader or older would have the greatest success at finishing it to look like it appears in my photos below. 

Finished set of hot rollers for an American Girl Doll beauty salon or bathroom.

 Supply List:

• corrugated cardboard
• white school glue
• masking tape
• decorative paper
• black and lavender acrylic paint (choose your own colors)
• black craft foam
• coated wire, thick and thin
• tiny plastic spools
• wooden tooth picks
• wooden skewers
• nail & hammer
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• Mod Podge
• craft knife

Top, stack and glue all of the corrugated cardboard
pieces together to form the shape of the hot roller
appliance. You can see also where I poked the nail
through the layers, in order to create a cavity for the
cord. Bottom, the tray glued together prior to finish-
ing the sides with paper and the interior with paint.

Step-by-Step Directions:

1.  Line up your spools or similar recyclable tube-like items to see how these will be configured on the tray part of the hot roller appliance. Then outline the shape of these in a group with a pencil on top of a scrap of cardboard.
2. Draw the edge of the tray shape around this outline, approximately 1/8" around. I decided to give my hot roller tray rounded corners. But, you can make your tray with square corners if you prefer.
3. Cut out the outlined shape and glue what remains to another piece of cardboard so that the spools (rollers) will fit as a set on top of your appliance without sliding around.
4. Now cut five layers of corrugated cardboard in the same shape, stacking them back to back and gluing these all together with the white school glue.
5. Put all of the spools back inside the tray, line them up and take a marker or pin of some kind to fit down inside their holes on top and make a mark to show how to position the hot rods on the try.
6. Use a nail and hammer to widen the holes large enough to fit skewer pieces inside and glue in place with a bit of hot glue. I also wrapped my hot roller rods with masking tape but this isn't really necessary. The rods should be long enough to hold the spools in place.
7. Cut the threads from the small spools before using them for play.
8. I then cut two larger pieces of corrugated cardboard and glued these to the bottom of my tray. These need to be slightly longer than all of the others so that a small narrow shape will be left on the end of the tray once the walls have been wrapped around the entire cardboard shape. I put wire hooks inside this opening for the hot rollers.
9. The walls of your appliance should measure approximately 1/4inch taller than the tray.
10. Cover all of the outside hot roller tray with masking tape and then paint the inside of the hot roller tray one solid color. I used lavender to match the decorative paper that I applied with Mod Podge on the outside of may appliance. 
11. I also cut and wrapped the bottom portion of this tray with black craft foam sheeting. You will need to use hot glue to attach these two pieces, one for the side and the second for the bottom of the tray.
12. I used a long nail to push through the tray and create a cavity for my black wire.
13. Then I hot glued two prongs from toothpicks together, painted these black and hot glued the end of the wire between the toothpicks. 
14. Next I used the hot glue to wrap a narrow piece of black craft foam around the wire and toothpicks to finish the plug attachment for the wire.
15. I then cut the side walls of a lid to fit down inside the hot tray exactly, using masking tape to hold the shape in place, while tracing around these measured walls for the lid on top of another piece of cardboard to create the top part of the lid.
16. After gluing these pieces together and letting them dry completely, I then glued a few tiny pieces of cardboard together for a handle and attached it to the top of the lid.
17. Cover the lid with a nice contrasting paper and Mod Podge.
18. Wrap a thin wire, I used recycled Christmas hooks, around one of the spools, leaving the ends a bit long before clipping these off. You will need as many of these as you have hot rollers. Store them in the side compartment of your newly crafted hot roller appliance.
    

Left, and center, I am stacking and arranging the spools of thread to see how the hot roller appliance will be made.
Right, the tray includes a piece of cardboard with cut out shape for the rollers to fit inside. I have also marked
the placement of the skewers with a long pin. Next I will hammer a nail through these markings to create holes
for the cut skewer pieces. (hot roller rods)

Left, is the finished, lower part of my hot roller tray. Center, you can see how I shaped my wire claps for the doll's hair.
Far right, the lid is finished with white typing paper and Mod Podge. This craft is simpler than it looks. I recommend it
for fifth grade and up. It is a charming addition to a salon play set.

See how other crafters on the web make and play with doll salons:

• Froggy makes a salon for Barbie
• Lena from UCreate makes a salon for miniature dolls
• Baby Doll Hairdresser Salon Toys for American Girl Dolls