Make an Indoor Garden Room for Barbie

DIY a garden room for your Barbies or Fashionista dolls.

A trifold cardboard display cut in half
to make two room displays
 for Barbie dolls.

       Begin to craft this garden room for 12 inch Barbies/Fashionista dolls by cutting a cardboard tripod in half. My tripod came from Walmart on sale for 79 cents. 

       After cutting it in half, cut a sliding door for the center of the trifold. This particular door does not literally open but still looks very realistic. Cut trim from scrap cardboard and also a garden view photograph from an old recycled magazine. You will need a very large photo for a doll-size sliding door; if you can not find one of these in a magazine, try looking for a larger size in a wall mounted calendar. 

        I papered the rest of the interior with a rose bud print paper and cut cardboard to trim around the top of the ceiling and floorboards. This was then covered with the same faux wooden print paper used for the sliding door trim. 

       The rustic white-washed wood paired with a all-over rosebud print reminds me of the popular Laura Ashley interiors of the 1980s. I think these rooms are becoming popular again? But with Barbie, they have never really been unpopular. 

       Below I will link to some revisionist 80s rooms for your to view at YouTube.

• Rustic Wilderness: SS26 Colleciton by Laura Ashely
• Wallpaper Direct discuss Laura Ashley 100 Years
• English Cottage Decor by Dantier and Balogh Designs

Left, Directions for the handcrafted daffodils is here. 
Right, Instructions for crafting the creeping phlox is here. 

Read how to assemble a fern inside of a plant stand here.

       I recycled bottle caps, sawdust, brown paint, hot glue, masking tape, plastic plant picks, white glue, decorative paper and twine to make potted plants for this doll diorama. 

Step-by-Step Instructions for Crafting Potted Plants:

1. Clean recycled caps using warm soap and water. Let dry.
2. Clip down the parts of limbs and leaves from a purchased pick that you wish to use in this potted plant craft.
3. Using masking tape, wrap and twist the plastic plants inside of a tape 'ball' that you will press into the inner parts of each cap. Leave about 1/4 inch of space open from the top of the cap.
4. Flood this shallow area with white glue.
5. Sprinkle in sawdust over the glue and let this harden overnight.
6. Paint the sawdust a brown dirt color. Let dry.
7. Mask the parts of the outside cap that you wish to cover with decorative paper scraps or hot glue twine around to give each potted plant a different aesthetic look.

See how to make permanent windows for dollhouses here. Left, local parks and recreation 
publish a magazine that not only has lovely photography but also focuses on public 
education and information for those who live in my home state.

       I made this movable window in very much the same way that you would a hanging painting. Cut a paned window frame from cardboard and then double up the three sides of it excluding the top with two layers of cut cardboard strips and white glue. Let this construction dry and then cut a backing from cardboard scrap and carefully glue this on the backside of the cardboard window panes. This creates a slotted opening at the top of your window panes where you can slide in views of landscapes, cities, backyards etc... whenever you wish. This window may be moved and used by hanging it from wire in any of your doll trifold dioramas. 

See how to make a larger potting bench for American Girl Dolls here.

       This potting bench or workbench for a Barbie, standard sized doll, was purchased from a second-hand shop. I had to reinforce it on the back with large tongue depressors and also lift it slightly to make it the right height for our dolls to use. So I glued on beads and extra cardboard to accomplish this.

See how to refinish doll-sized wicker furniture for conservatories here.

 

      This little metal bench turned out to be a perfect addition to our growing 12 inch doll furniture collection. I spent only five dollars on it and use it in many dioramas for photography and play.

Left, step-by-step directions tutorial for the zebra plant is here. Center, is the sliding door surrounded
by plants. Right, is the movable paned window with a landscape inserted behind the panes. The 
outside panes have also been covered with wooden faux paper to make these look more realistic.