How to Craft a Mouse Size Pot-Bellied Stove

Craft a pot-belly stove with a working tea light. Slip it out from the open back to turn it on and off
or to replace the batteries when these run down.

       There is nothing like the warmth and soft glowing light radiating from a pot-belly stove. This keeps our tiny country mouse kitchen cozy during the chilly spring and frigid winter months. And an acorn kettle brews coffee or tea on the stove top burner day and night. Our mice dollies can here it whistle away...

       To make the pot-bellied stove for your dollhouse or mouse house you will need the following supplies: black acrylic paint, black braid, egg carton, masking tape, white tacky glue, flickering orange tea light, hot glue and a cardboard toilet tube.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Cut away to egg cup parts from the egg carton and a 3 1/2 inch by 1 inch strip of cardboard to curl between the two cups. 
2. Cut a grill window from the center of the cardboard strip for the 'flame' to peek through from the battery operated tea light.
3. Make sure that the tea light can be seen through the grill and that it will fit snug inside the stove. 
4. Cut also down the length of a recycled, paper toilet roll and curl this tightly into a stove pipe for the top of the egg carton wood burner. Shape shown below. 
5. Insert the stove pipe at the top, off to the back side, using both glue and tape to hold it in place.
6. Leave enough surface on top to also have one burner for the stove.
7. Cover the surfaces with masking tape to hold the little pot belly stove together.
8. Paint all the surfaces both inside and out with a flat black acrylic paint.
9. Hot glue the ornate black and copper braid around the outside of the top of the stove.

Above you can see the parts of the egg carton and toilet paper tube are glued and masked 
together. Make sure the tea light fits inside through the back of the stove. Next you will need
to paint all of the parts black.

       To make an acorn tea kettle too you will need to collect a tall acorn without a cap, a loose cap, some masking tape, the top of a large snap, cotton batting and white school glue. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. To craft the tiny silver kettle, hot glue the cap in place on the stove top.
2. Then glue in the acorn, narrow side up.
3. Glue on the top of a silver snape to act as the kettle lid.
4. Shape the handle and the spout of the kettle from masking tape.
5. Glue a bit of cotton inside the kettle's spout for steam.
6. Carefully, using a tiny brush, layer silver acrylic paint onto all surfaces.

Left the acorn kettle before painting. Right, the acorn kettle finished with bright silver surface and
fake cotton steam!

• Back through the mousehole . . .