Make long and low Shelving for doll playsets...

My basic, long narrow bookcase for our doll playsets. It is used to define parameters of a doll
room during play. 

       A long shelf measuring 19'' x 5'' x 2 3/4'' stretches the length of two playsets, a bowling alley and a daycare center. It marks the parameters of the doll play space when either of these two sets is assembled for visitors in our home. It is a practical piece, although not too terribly exciting to look at. The faux wooden paper blends in with other furnishings that I have built for our 18'' doll collections. The white papered interior ''spotlights'' objects selected for play and also makes these items easy to display for photography.

       Cut out the length of a larger cardboard box from one of it's sides, keeping the back and end pieces for a simple bookshelf like the one pictured above. Cut extra lengths of cardboard from that same box to add two shelves. When gluing the shelves into the bookcase, space them out evenly and make sure the lowest shelf is slightly suspended from the floor to give the illusion of table legs. Decoupage all the surfaces using white school glue or Mod Podge. This will help keep the cardboard furniture clean and durable over time.

       Later, I will upload photos of how this piece looks when used in different thematic rooms below.

• How to craft a sturdy paper mache doll table...

Toys For A Doll's Preschool

        I have found these clever little toys in dollar bins or less than five dollar bins of stores like Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Walmart. They are perfect for dressing up a dolly daycare center.

Toy ark includes: lion, elephant, hippo, giraffe, penguin and a crocodile. There should be two of 
every animal but there isn't in this set. Penny shows the size comparisons.

       The toy above is a Noah's Ark, painted wood with cheerful animal characters. The is a long tradition of toys made in this country based upon this Biblical theme. Long ago, people referred to them as ''Sunday Toys.'' These toys were only played with quietly on Sunday and were somehow related to Bible stories for children to be taught and remembered.

Miniature building blocks com in red, green, blue, yellow and purple colors. Penny for size 
comparison.

This is a teething toy for a real-life baby.

       Above are adorable examples of connecting building ''blocks.'' Small plastic shapes that fit together, not very block-like, but still a wonderful toy to make all kinds of displays for dolls to admire.

       Just right, is a teething toy meant to be given a real life baby in a carriage or play-pen to both amuse and entertain them. This kind of nursery toy may be used as a play floor-mat inside of a doll's preschool.

• See cute way to display toys in a collections here
• Toys on a shelf display . . . 
• See also our sunny ball pit craft for tiny dolls.
• Road sign printable for tiny nursery school road rugs, block sets, highways etc...

Craft a Rainbow Yarn Rug for A Dollhouse

A spiral patterned rug made with rainbow colored variegated yarn, close-ups of color and finished edge.

The clean side of the finished rug that was protected by the
sticky side of the masking tape.

        Here is a simple way to make a rug for a doll house. It requires no weaving or braiding. The design made from this process reminds me of natural patterns found in agate stones.

Supply List:

• masking tape
• cardboard
• variegated yarn
• white school glue
• embroidery floss and needle
• felt for backing

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. First you will need to decide how big you want your doll's rug to be. Then make a cardboard template in the shape of the rug to use as a guide. I traced around a large circular plate on top of my cardboard to make my own template.
2. Next, you will need to cover the top surface of the cardboard with masking tape, sticky side up. This can be a little tricky at first. Lay the tacky part of the masking tape face up and wrap it around the edges of the cardboard using a small bit of tape to secure it on the backside of the cardboard template.
3. Now start laying your yarn down on top of the surface template at it's center point, butting the yarn up next to it's sides as you create a swirl pattern. The masking tape will hold the yarn strands in place while you press the yarn into a simple rug design. It is very important that you leave no gaps between the application of the yarn rows. Every yarn strand needs to have it's sides touching a yarn strand. (see photo)
4. When you have reached the edges of your cardboard template, the rug design is finished! 
5. Smooth a generous amount of white glue on top of your rug design with your finger tips and let the yarn rug dry overnight.
6. Carefully pull the dried yarn rug from the sticky cardboard. Hopefully it can be removed in one piece. However, you may need to apply a bit more glue to the back side of the rug again, in order to get the entire rug to stick together.
7. I backed my rug with additional glue and a piece of felt cut to the same size as my rug. But this step is optional.
8. Then you can finish the edge of your rug with a blanket stitch using a variegated embroidery floss.
9. I also reinforced my finished rug with additional stitching across the design.

Left, cover the top surface of the cardboard with masking tape, sticky side up.
Center, lay your yarn down on top of the surface template at it's center point.
Right,  Smooth a generous amount of white glue on top of your rug design with
your finger tips and let the yarn rug dry overnight.

More Yarn Crafts:

• Create a Butterfly Yarn Picture
• A Yarn Wrapped Vase
• Weave a Ojo De Dios
• Wrap a Rainbow Colored Wreath for Your Tree 

Craft a Car Shaped Ball Pit for Your Dolls

A tiny baby doll plays in his car shaped ball pit. Soon it will become a part of his bedroom in our dollhouse.

       Ball pits don't need to be round, standard shaped enclosures. These playful additions may be shaped like almost anything when you use your imagination. Just think about what you would like in your own bedroom and turn it into a ball pit for fun! After all a doll's bedroom can become any kind of a fun space, if you are willing to craft it yourself.

This ball pit, photo by Fredriksson, is
life size and inside of a pretend ship in-
stead of a car! Read more about ball 
pits at Wikipedia.

Supply List:

• a front end of a toy car
• Styrofoam balls
• papier mache pulp
• paper egg cartoon
• black tape
• black, white and orange acrylic paint
• red glitter glue
• masking tape
• cardboard
• white school glue
• two identical buttons for tail lights
  

Step-by-Step Directions:

        First you will need to acquire the front end of a toy car at resale for this project or if you have a small boy living at home, one of these may be easy to find. A project like this one allows for a bit of imagination because the ball pit could be made out of any size or shape of a broken toy vehicle. I purchased my broken car on purpose at resale. As you may well imagine, I got many strange looks from the cashier.

      Next, comes the most difficult part, shaping the wagon attached to the backside of the car from cardboard. This shape is made up of basic elements: a square, three sided wagon, wheel wells, wheel shapes, (cut from an egg carton) and the lip of the wagon that attached with a small hook onto the inside of the broken car.

You will need just the right broken toy for this project, but your version will look different from mine,
 depending upon the toy car that you find.

       Cover the entire wagon attachment with masking tape before adding the paper mache pulp to it's outside walls. This protects the cardboard surface, strengthens it and makes it mostly water proof. Well you can't dump the toy in a tub, but, you will be able to wipe it down with a damp cloth if need be...
       I left the inside of the wagon and the bottom side of the wagon free of paper mache pulp and opted to cover these with a black duct tape instead.

 

Masking the cardboard wagon before applying paper mache pulp.

       Below, you can see that I hot glued a couple of buttons on the back bumper to act as tail lights. Later, I then squeezed some red glitter glue onto the button surfaces to make these even more convincing. 

       I also left a part of the back bumper free from paper pulp so that I could paint a flat, smooth surfaced license plate.

Covering the cardboard wagon with paper mache pulp.

       Next, I painted the paper mache surface with orange acrylic paint. Then the license plate with the text "BAL-PIT" I used a bit of white black and white paint to make my egg carton wheels look similar to those original wheels of the car itself.

       Spray paint the little paper mach wagon with a acrylic sealer and add the Styrofoam balls for your dolls to romp around in.

Above is the finished car ball-pit for my playscale fashion doll's children. This looks great in their bedroom!

Sew Bean Bag Chairs for Your Doll

Rachel and her twin sister, Rosie, are lounging
on their bedroom bean bag chairs.

       These bean bag chairs are sewn using fleece so that the material will not unravel while a young crafter is working with it. I used solid, bright colors that will blend into the colors of the twin's bedroom. However, these chairs can look very different depending upon the material you select for them. 

       In the past, I have seen people stuff them with perishable products like beans and rice. I would not recommend that you do this because these food stuffings will attract pets, mice or insects to your doll collections. If you do not have the pocket change to purchase plastic pellets, the best alternative is cotton batting.

• Read about the history behind the bean bag chair

Cut pieces for the bean bag chair are marquise shapes.

Supply List:

• matching threads and needle
• plastic pellets to stuff the bean bag chairs with
• felt or fleece scraps
• pattern (below)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Download and print the free pattern below.
2. Cut out the marquise shape and pin it directly to the fabric of your choice. Repeat this step 6 times.
3. If you are using a no-fray fabric like felt or fleece, you don't need to include a seam allowance.
4. Sew two sides together from tip top tip until you have sewn all of six marquise shapes together leaving an opening of inch so that the bean bag may be turned right-side-out.
5. Stuff the bean bag chair with plastic pellets and then sew shut the small opening with a invisible stitch.
6. Sew on the flower shapes using either a whip stitch or a blanket stitch on each end of the soft chairs.

Left, the twins are enjoying their new bean bag chairs. Center, the cat likes them too. Right, time for hide and seek!

Free pattern for a flower bean bag chair.

Collage a Baby Swimming Pool for Your Dolls

First, apply the stickers to the inside walls of
the transparent container.

       It's fun to make this simple craft with containers you can recycle from your own kitchen. Cover it with fishy stickers and just a bit of paint and your ready to have a splashing good time with your dolls.

Supply List:

• a recycled food dish (plastic)
• fish stickers
• blue paint
• Mod Podge
• decorative paper (mine had printed tiles)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Clean the discarded, transparent food container with warm soap and water. Let it dry.
2. Adhere stickers on the inside of the container.
3. Apply Mod Podge to the inside of the container over the stickers. Let the glue dry between several applications.
4. Paint the outside of the container with blue paint and let this dry.
5. Decoupage clippings from a decorative sheet of paper on the exterior of the container if you want even more detail on the baby doll pool.
6. Layer Mod Podge on top of the outside walls as well.

Both Above and Below, you can see our Mary Kate doll baby sitting and having fun with the baby doll pool.