How to craft a mop and bucket for your 18" dolls...

This pet dog above is watching his mistress mop up his muddy paw prints on the
kitchen tile floors!

 

       To make this mop and bucket set you will need the following supplies: cardboard tube, grey and  yellow paints, white school glue, scrap cardboard, natural looking yarn, green embroidery floss, a dowel rod, hot glue gun and glue stick.

• See the utility supplies in Barbie's utility cabinet here

Left, the yarn is wrapped around a 3" length of scrap cardboard until it is very thick. Center,
Use an embroidery needle and floss to sew the lengths together across the top of the card
before you ever remove the mop head from it. (I used a blanket stitch for this.) Right,
sew a second seam using a straight stitch across the yarn top approximately
 1/4 inch below the top seam.

Step-by-Step Instructions for The Mop:

1. Decide in advance how long you will need your doll's mop to be and cut this length from a dowel rod. 
2. The finished mop head will be approximately three additional inches in length. However, that means that these lengths are actually double that length because the mop head is wrapped around a piece of cardboard. (see photo above.)
3. Don't remove the yarn loops from the cardboard until these are sewn together across the top using an embroidery needle and floss. Then remove the card.
4. Sew a second seam in a straight stitch 1/4" below the top stitch if you wish. (optional step)
5. Take your scissors and cut the loops across the bottom.
6. Now you will need to apply hot glue to the end of the dowel and roll the mop head around it's tip. 
7. You may also need to squeeze extra hot glue into the interior of some of the mop head to secure it more to the stick. If your yarn is thick like mine, you won't even see this extra glue.
8. Paint the dowel yellow. (optional)
9. Braid an additional loop as a handle for holding and hot glue this to the top of the mop stick. 
10. Wrap and glue a thinner piece of embroidery floss around the loop's ends to finish the mop neatly.

The finished mop for an 18" doll measures 11 1/4 inches.

I recycled a tube and cap from  Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with Icing dough pack to make this large
 mop bucket for the dolls to use along with the mop. As you can see, I glued a faux water paper
inside the tube and the bottom as well. I also painted the outside of the bucket grey and twisted
a wire into each side of the bucket so that a doll could carry it.

Small Broom Handle Dolls

        Small brush or broom handle dolls were popular from approx. 1910 to 1920. These brushes were attached to half dolls, just as pincushions were often attached to half dolls. The half dolls served as 'handles' for the brushes used to remove lint, dust etc. from heavy wool clothing. Often these brushes would be kept along with perfume bottles, mirrors and fancy makeup containers on top of a lady's dressing table. Porcelain lady handles in specific were often attached to softer brushes by their owners, fabric dolls attached to heavier broom handles were most frequently produced by cottage craft industry.
       There seemed to be a renewed production of these dolls during the early 1970s through the mid 1980s but they were not as well made. My mother had one hanging on the wall of her kitchen in the 80s.

Left, the front side of my broom doll and Right is her backside. The ribbons have minor fading
 but everything else is in like new condition! This doll wears an apron made from lace and
fine netting with tiny felt flowers tacked on the side.

 

       This small broom handle doll was acquired in the 1970s from a dealer. I do not know it's actual age but I suspect that it is from Spain. The hair is angora, the facial features are painted on a silky mask. Her clothing is in excellent condition and so is her attached broom. I don't believe her to have ever been used.

Far left, you can see the broom beneath her short skirt. Center this doll's hands are wire with felt
 sewn over them. Right, her ribbon about the perfect straw hat is felt, unlike the silky ribbons
attached to her blouse and skirt.

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Chalkpaint a Carved Wooden Dust Pan

The finished dust pan painted to look like chalk work. 

       I purchase a small, carved, wooden dust pan from resale for a dollar. I thought, what a strange little thing?  Now that it's painted, it looks adorable in our child sized kitchen downstairs. 

       First I used a can of black chalk paint to give the dust pan it's first layer of paint. Then I used a white colored pencil to draw the label and outline the flowers. 

       Next I applied color to the carved flowers using a dry brush technique. Then I sealed the finished paint decoration with a transparent acrylic spray finish.

Adding labels wether permanent or temporary to items in a child's play kitchen helps them develop early reading skills.

More About Labels and Learning to Read:

• Words are everywhere! 4 Reasons why the print-rich classroom is best.
• Organizing for a print rich environment
• How most children learn to read
• See how to use chalkboard painting in the home

Before and After the dust pan is given a new look.

DIY Feather Dusters for Your Doll's House

Above are the doll's yellow and lavender feather dusters. These are stored
in the utility cabinet when they are not being used. See them hanging on
the cabinet's hooks here.

       These feather dusters sure come in handy after the dust settles in our doll's house! So much construction going on this month.

       Why not make a few for your collection today? They are easy to make and cost less than a penny to manufacture.

      Feather dusters can be made any size, miniature or playscale. It all depends on the length you make the toothpick.

Supply List:

• craft feathers
• toothpicks
• Sculpey, oven bake clay
• white school glue
• white twine

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Shape a simple little handle onto the end of a toothpick. Make sure that it encompasses at least 1/2 inch of the toothpick. This will make your feather duster durable.
2. Use the tip of a toothpick to poke a tiny hole into the end of the handle so that you can tie a small bit of twine on the end for hanging.
3. Bake these tiny handles in the oven at 270 degrees for 10 minutes. You do not need to remove the toothpicks from the sculpted handles. If these come out with ease, glue them back into the handles after the baking using school glue.
4. After the handles have cooled, attach feathers to the opposite end of the toothpicks with a little glue and twine. 
5. Using white school glue and twine, cover the remaining parts of the exposed wooden toothpicks. (see photo above)

Construct a papier-mâché utility cabinet

       Some of our dolls are very tidy indeed! They have their own cleaning supplies that need to be stored somewhere. So I have made a cabinet from a recycled cardboard to include inside of the laundry room for this purpose. You can make a storage unit any size or shape that you desire. This cabinet is made to color coordinate with the other furnishings in our laundry room.

Left, the box is cut and glued together in the shape of a utility closet. Center, the surfaces/walls are covered with paper.
Right, the cabinet is filled with cleaning supplies, appliances, and other housekeeping stuff.

Miniature things found in our utility cabinet include:

1. an iron with a cord
2. cleaning supplies for keeping a doll's house scrubbed and polished
3. an aluminum dust pan
4. a broom for sweeping the doll house floors
5. a mop for soaking up all of those unfortunate spills
6. feather dusters for clearing away dusty counters, windows, etc...
7. a bottle of bleach for scrubbing out the bathtub and sinks

Supply List:

•  a cardboard box 
• white school glue
• masking tape
• faux wood shelf paper
• yellow scrapbook paper
• tiny plastic hooks
• tiny brass bead for the door knob
• Mod Podge
• scissors and a box cutter perhaps 
• Velcro dots

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Using a very sharp pair of scissors or a box cutter, configure the utility cabinet to suit your doll's needs and taste. Add and subtract shelving units and doors as you go. Attach the doors with masking tape on one side. 
2. Cover the entire box with masking tape.
3. Use the Mod Podge for applying layers of shelf paper and scrapbook paper to the surfaces. Make sure that you work bubbles out of those applications by using plenty of Mod Podge and a firm even pressure.
4. Stick tiny Velcro dots to the backside of the cabinet doors to insure these will close.
5. The tiny plastic hooks, used to hang the dust pan and feather dusters were purchased from a family dollar store.

More Doll House Laundry Rooms:

• How to build a cabinet for a doll house laundry room - in French
• Small kitchen and laundry room counter tops for a doll's house
• Doll house printables - white goods and kitchens