DIY a Bee Hive for Your Dolls

The doll sized Abbot combination hive reproduced. I made our doll's version to look antique.
I pasted small shavings of bark to the surface and dry brushes white acrylic on top of that.

Bee hive with roof

Supply List:

• cardboard boxes
• scrap cardboard
• masking tape
• wood printed paper (optional)
• white, green, grey and brown acrylic paint for painting surfaces
• wide wooden craft sticks
• Mod Podge. 

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

• Start your been hive craft by selecting a simple box. 
• To make legs similar to the ones we made, glue together three wooden craft sticks in the shape of triangular legs. Use the masking tape to hold these legs together while they dry. 
• Remove the tape and insert the legs at each corner of the box. This step is entirely decorative. If you want to leave it out of your craft, do so. Most bee keepers actually use wooden hives without legs!
• After securing the legs to the box, cover the inside of the box with masking tape and paint it white.
• Cut wooden sticks to line the two longest sides of the top of your box, minus 1/2inch from the top. This is where you will slide in the faux frames for the pretend bees to build their honeycomb. 
• Below, I've included a bee honeycomb pattern that you may print from your home computer. This may be decoupaged onto your faux frames.
• Each frame that you use should be cut from stiff cardboard and one end should have a wooden craft stick pasted to the same side lengths of all the cardboard frames. This stick should be slightly longer so that each end may be suspended between the wooden shelves on the interior of the box. (see photo below)
• I also added a roof to our doll's version of this bee hive. I did this by measuring around the box and creating a second box with a lip around it's outside to fit snuggly on top of the first box. 
• Cut a triangle shape for the lid on either end; this is where the roof top will rest.
• Then craft a roof by folding a third piece of cardboard in half to fit to the top of the box. Glue this on top. Use masking tape to aid in the positioning of cardboard pieces while these dry; it will make the process so much easier. Remove the tape after the glue has dried.
• If you wish to make your bee hive look much more modern just make the roof of your hive flat. In this way you can stack box hives on top of each other to make your hive look more realistic.
• I cut scalloped cardboard pieces for the roof of my bee hive and glued these on. 
• Paint your hive with acrylics and Modge Podge the surfaces to keep these strong and clean when you have finished.

Left the stacked, masked and constructed Abbot hive. Center, a side view of the roof tiles.
Far Right, one of our Wellie Wisher dolls presents a tiny tray of honey and bees.

Left, more detail photos of the roof. Right, the inside of the roof in progress.

Left, you can see that the legs are made from craft sticks, with three sides.
Right, the legs are pushed through the bottom of the box into the interior, 
then glued and masked in place. (see yellow dot highlight for connection.

Left, not the surfaces are covered with shredded brown paper bags and decoupage.
Right, see also the masking of trays and how these fit inside the hive shelves.

Left, are the hive trays covered in hive paper from below. I then glued tiny, sculpted bees
onto surfaces. Center, the finished decoupaged interior of the hive. Right, see how 
the tray dangles inside the box hive.

Close-up views of the weathered surfaces of wooden hive with bees.

Left the box shaped hive without a roof. Center, the detached roof.
Right the tray removed for display.

Beehive honeycomb print for students/kids to print on their home computers.
This should not be redistributed from alternative websites.

More Toy Beehives to Play With:

• Beekeeper Barbie Doll complete with beehive
• Our Generation Doll with beekeeper costume