How to make a doll's turntable for your 80s and 90s doll fans

I was thrilled to come across this product while surfing ebay.
 A set of coasters that look just like old-fashioned records that
came on a realistic looking turn table! Wow, a perfect faux,
music themed item; so easy to convert it into a photo prop for
our doll themed blog. Remember, the manufacturer says this
is not a toy and the parts are not intended for play. A teenager
or adult could include this craft inside of their doll collections
but a small child should not be led to believe that it is safely
assembled for general play. If the small parts broke, these 
could be choked on.

       Sometimes I stumble across items not intended for play that would make perfect photo props and this is a prime example of one of these. An 18'' doll-size turn table; manufactured and marketed to be used as coasters beneath a glass. 

       Ironically, the records meant to be coasters have a hole in the middle so liquid can seep through and damage a table anyway? Well, I'm not going to use these for their original purpose so, it won't ultimately matter to me. If you order this set through the mail you will get the black plastic turntable only with six faux records. The records are very heavy and durable. The tonearm looks very real and swings easily over the top of the records.

       If you lived during the 1980s or 90s you would probably play your music at home using a turntable just like this one.

       I chose to make a set of speakers to go with the turntable out of wooden blocks, but small boxes or stacked cardboard cuts may be fashioned into a set of these just as easily. 

       Speakers during the 80s and 1990s came in all different sizes. So crafters could elect to make much larger ones than those pictured here if they prefer.

       I chose to use the plastic woven sheeting purchased from a garden center to mimic the speaker grill cloth stretched over the audio components; I have a roll of it left over from other projects. There are other materials like this one that are common and easy to recycle. The plastic woven bags used to package veggies in the grocery store may be upcycled into crafts like this one. The nicest packaging is often used to protect and redistribute garlic cloves. Crafters can use this alternative to save money if they do not have what I used for my doll speakers. This plastic, woven bag may be painted in advance of use with acrylic paints so that it matches the color you need, but you must stretch it first and then lay it on top of a piece of wax paper to dry.

Supply List:

• scrap cardboard
• 2 identical blocks (mine are approx. 3'' x 1 1/2'' x 1 1/2'') or substitute 2 identical boxes for the dolly speakers
• woodgrain scrapbook paper
• masking tape
• white school glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• plastic weave (purchased from garden center)
• one package of vinyl coasters (found on ebay or somewhere else)
• black acrylic paint

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Measure the turntable and then cut several pieces of heavy cardboard approximately 1/2'' larger for a platform. The turntable may be glued then directly onto the cardboard platform using hot glue. 
2. Decoupage the platform using white school glue and woodgrain paper.
3. I decoupaged this same woodgrain paper to two identical wooden blocks to make my dolly speakers. 
4. Then I cut a frame for each speaker from cardboard and attached the plastic weave to the backside of the frames using masking tape.
5. Paint these frame black to match the plastic weave and attach them to the front of each ''speaker'' using  

Left, see speakers in progress. Center, the vinyl coasters ordered from ebay. Right, the coasters
look exactly like real records only much smaller, perfect for an 18'' doll craft.

More About Music Sound Systems:

• Some old technologies make wonderful toys!
• Retro Radios from the 1950s
• A Jukebox for your dolly's diner!