The easiest way to craft a doll's tent!

Our American Girl doll enjoys the soaks in the sun while waiting to camp tonight in her handmade
 pup tent. The screen over the window lets her enjoy the stars at night! 

        Making this easy pup tent craft is the perfect way for young kids to start off a summer full of camp fun for their dolls. It is very easy to craft these tents and these are also made of very ordinary inexpensive materials.
       Tents and other doll camp accessories may be conveniently stored under the bed in a plastic storage container when not in use. Give a set to your child as a special gift for "playing camp" on rainy days when there is nothing to do. Or, set up a doll camp during the summer months when kids are on summer break from school. Either way, this very important addition to your doll summer camp routine should not be neglected!

• How to craft a paper campfire
• How to make a campfire using twigs and chenille stems
• Make super sweet sleeping bags for dolls to put inside of their tents . . . 

Supply List:

• cardboard (corrugated is best but you could use cereal boxes)
• masking tape
• 3/4 a yard of fabric (I chose a nostalgic novelty print featuring "Scooby-Doo" from Warner Bros. Entertainment. Any print would be good; choose something your child would enjoy.)
• felt (I chose yellow)
• one cut of sturdy fabric measuring 24 inches by 3 inches for the 'hinge' of the tent at the top
• Mod Podge
• white school glue
• buttons for the tent window flap
• plastic screen found easily at a Home Depot or Lowes 
• twine or string of some kind that may be looped around the button enclosure
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• white or brown butcher paper
• decorative papers for quilt motif (optional application)
• hexagon template (This is optional, just make the bottom insert in any color, if you prefer.)

Step-by-Step Instructions for An 18 inch Doll-size Pup Tent:

1. For the floor of the tent cut cardboard 8 inches by 24 inches and decoupage it with a 'quilt' pattern. The example here is of a fancy hexagon quilt pattern. I had a template for this. However, this design may prove to be a bit fussy for many young crafters. So, alternatively, I think a nice fabric or paper print of a cozy plaid would suffice instead... Apply glue and decorate as you like.
2. For both the right and left sides of the pup tent cut two identical pieces of cardboard 11 inches by 24 inches in size.
3. Cut one window in one of the side pieces, centered, 2 inches from the top of the tent.
4. Cut of sturdy fabric measuring 24 inches by 3 inches for the 'hinge' of the tent at the top. Center it and use masking tape to secure it at it's center and apply this down the top center of the tent sides. The fabric will act as the hinge fold between the two sides of the tent. When the tent is not in use it may be stored flat by opening the sides all the way or by folding the sides on top of each other.
5. Cut the screen for the window of the tent from plastic screening; make this cut approximately 1/2 inch larger all around the circumference of the screening so that it may be taped firmly to the inside wall of one side of the tent. So it will be 7 1/2 inches by 12 inches in size to back a 6 inch by 11 inch window opening.
6. Use your chosen fabric for the outside of the two tent walls and white school glue to cover the outside tent walls now. You may cut the two pieces slightly larger to fold it around the edges and tape it down. At the top you will need to fold the fabric and paste it down without going over the seam. Some of you may simply wrap your fabric over the seam of the hinge to simplify your design but this actually makes the tent warp in the end. So I covered the sides separately to prevent some of this warping of the cardboard. Let the tent dry completely and weight it down with heavy books over a temporary sheet of plastic wrap. Do not use excessive amounts of white glue for this decoupage process. Just a small amount goes a long way.
7. Glue and layer on butcher paper to cover the inside of the tent walls next. Let dry. 
8. At this point use more heavy books to firmly apply weight to the cardboard tent over night. 
9. In the meantime, cut out the flap for the window from fabric and back it with felt. Turn under the excess fabric all around the window flap to give it a clean looking edge. 
10. Sew on buttons, evenly spaced across the top of the flap. I used three. Set aside the flap.
11. Once the tent structure is dry and flat, Hot glue on to the top only three loops of thick twine evenly spaced across the top of the open window. 
12. Then hot glue on top of theses loops the fabric cover.
13. Next, hot glue the cover felt side facing underneath, across the top of the window, sandwiching the twine loops between both layers.
14. Now you should be able to roll up the window fabric flap whenever the dolls need light inside of their pup tent. 
15. During the day, set up indoors on top of carpet will hold the tents in place well enough. But if this doesn't suffice you could always tape the tent together with the floor cardboard piece to keep it from coming apart during playtime.
    
16. If you are working with children on this project, you could eliminate the window all together in order to simplify the craft. However, the windows really make the tent stand out in my opinion.

Our cardboard tent is opened all the way to show that it may be stored flat like this or stored flat
folded. Left, is the top side of the tent to face outwards. Right, the finished interior is decoupaged
with white butcher's paper. All of the wrapped edges are trapped between the paper and cardboard
 with a light layer of white school glue and then further sealed with a coating of Mod Podge in the
 end. As these layers dry over time and are almost tacky to the touch weight them down with
plastic wrap first and then heavy books on top.

Left, the faux quilt details are hexagonal. Center, this design is decoupaged paper, not fabric.
 It is supposed to mimic an old quilt spread out on the tent floor for comfort sake. Right, the tent
 may be folded up and stored flat under the bed or against the walls of a closet to save space.

Left, hanging twine loops are fitted around the buttons once the flap is rolled up. Center, see the
flap rolled up revealing the screened window to keep bugs out and let light in.
Right the button details.

See the window flap is down, and center, see the loops of twine between the window's screen
and flap? These are hot glued between. Right, the window lets
 in a lot of light inside of the tent.

Left, the window flap down on standing tent. Right, the window flap up on standing tent.

The tent may be set-up indoors on carpet easily. See also the fabric hinge at peek of tent is barely
 noticeable but, because it is made using a fabric insert, it will outlast a paper one.

 Fun Camp Links for Kids:

• "Scooby-Doo Camp Scare!" - see first 10 minutes at WB Kids
• "The Scariest Campfire Story You've Ever Heard" - a read aloud by Toadstools and Fairy Dust
• "Curious George Goes Camping" from the official Curious George Channel at YouTube
• "The Berenstain Bears Bust a Ghost!" - from the official channel 

More Links To Doll Tents:

• CAP makes a simple cardboard box tent here.
• Wanderers Crafts make very easy paper tents with kids...
• A tent large enough for either an American Girl Doll or a Build-a-Bear Doll