Handcraft a sailor's valentine for your dollhouse...

       This craft is very old and seldom seen in antique shops today. Collections of sea shells were mounted inside shallow display boxes or frames with glue. Often the shallow frames were constructed in hexagon or octagon shapes. Sometimes two identical frames were hinged together so that a top and bottom could be made to close into a box with a lock.

Two versions of Sailor's Valentines for our dollhouse mantles.

       It is said that these Sailor's Valentines were made at sea during the long lonely hours by men on board ships for their loved ones. These love tokens of the sea have long since been connected to Saint Valentines Day for this reason.

Above are hundreds of strung, tiny sea shells.

Supplies Needed:

• white school glue
• scrap cardboard
• decorative papers: solid pink or blue, wood grain printed paper
• tiny sea shells
• hexagon or octagon templates
  

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. In order to construct a small "frame" for your Sailor's Valentine students will need to draft a hexagon or octagon template. Trace around one of these two shapes on top of a scrap piece of cardboard.
2. Then glue a length of cardboard approximately 1/2 inch wide around the outside edges of your cardboard shape.
3. Decoupage the interior of the small frame using pink or white solid colored paper. The inside of such frames in real life were most frequently painted pink or blue by their ''sailor'' crafters.
4. Cover the sides and back of your frame with wood grain paper.
5. Now flood the inside of your display box or frame with white school glue and layer in tiny sea shells in a pattern or scene. Let dry over night before displaying your Sailor's Valentine inside of the dollhouse. Hang your creation(s) on the wall or display them on a fireplace mantel if your prefer.
   

Left, I made two hexagon shaped, shallow frames for my version of the craft. Right see here the
papers decoupaged to the outside and inside according to the directions. I began each patterned
display by gluing a single shell to the center of my design, but you may glue your shells inside the
frame as you wish! See here yet another version of this same craft at Thrifty Scissors. It is made
using paper shell printables.

Craft video by USS Constitution Museum Staff.

Maui Souvenirs and Snacks Shack

           As we recreate our own version of a Hawaiian family market, we will post pictures, instructions and links to product crafts and furnishings included in our Maui Souvenirs and Snacks Shack here.

Hawaii General Store and Souvenirs:

• DIY your own leis for dolls - Nothing says ''Aloha'' like a lovely leis!
• Craft burlap rice bags for a dolly marketplace - Rice is one of several food staples on the Hawaiian Islands.
• Paper money printables for 18 inch dolls - tourists need a way to pay for gifts and snacks
• Learn how to make produce crates - practical storage stacked inside the gift shop
• DIY a doll size, freestanding water cooler... - to quench the thirst of tired tourists...
• How to craft pineapples using pinecones - a clever way to use pinecones
• Craft Fashionable Doll Flip-Flops! - styled to compliment a variety of beach fashions  practical protection from hot sandy beaches
• Make fun, easy beach balls - for fun in the Summer sun!
• DIY Boogie Boards and Surfboards for Dolls - made for 14 - 18'' dolls

Tropical themed, window seat display

 

       To make this window display, acquire a box measuring approximately 19'' x 13'' x5'' deep. Cut a grid from additional light weight cardboard for the window and paste it to the back of the box. Cut also a from a thicker cardboard, a ''seat'' to glue inside the box 4 1/2'' from the base of the open box. I then cut additional pieces of cardboard to support the seat from underneath and make a short wall. 

       Then decoupage the inside grid ''window'' using an outdoors scene. A decorative paper of clouds or a view from a magazine (page) are easy to find and paste carefully between the mullions or panes of a window to make it look like a real window. Also decorate the interior walls of the window display using tropically themed wrapping papers and faux wooden papers on the exterior. Press on tiny hooks where you think it best to hang merchandise.

• See printable of diamond shaped mullions you can print out for a shop or dollhouse
• See similar ways to craft windows for a dollhouse or shop
  

This grocery counter is made from a recycled desk supply catty and box ''stand'' beneath.

        Above and below are detailed photos of another display counter included in this doll shop playset. I decoupaged the large front shelf using a cheerful printed lemon paper, the exterior sides of the box stand using a textured woven canvas and finally the interior of the stand using a Shabby Chic wooden paper print. This is where our dolls display tropical fruits to sale inside the snack shack.

The top opens up for more storage and the bottom box ''stand'' can be easily removed.

The spinning eyeglass display case on and off stand.

       To craft this ''spinning'' display stand for sunglasses, you will need a tall spool (thread cone) with a stand combined. Plus a toilet paper cardboard roll and an additional large, recycled cap off of a juice carton. Cut sunglasses or sunshades from fashion magazines and also purchase tiny, white head stick-pins to fit beneath the nose piece under each pair of eyeglasses on the carousel display.

       It is important to make the carousel display one uniform color at the top and bottom. You could paint these components if you can not find them in the same color. Mine were already originally green. The toilet paper tube may be any color. I needed to cut the tube lengthwise in order to fit it snugly up inside the cap at the top. I then secured it with tape and additional glue.

       Glue the sunglasses or eyeglasses directly onto the tube, equally spaced. Stick the tiny pins at the nose piece for each pair of eye-wear to look like these are balanced on ''hooks.''

       The top tube piece is not permanently attached to the serger spool so that when it is put over the cone it may be easily to spin the display by the attached cap. Now your dolls can pretend to purchase twelve different  styles of eye-wear if they choose.

''fresh'' silk flowers, you-pick from old crayon catty

Dollar store wash clothes make easy beach towels.

''Aloha'' dollar store sign

Bolts of Hawaiian print fabrics wrapped around cardboard
cut-outs, 6 1/2'' x2 1/2 inches. These were made to fit into
a merchandise cabinet display.

More Related Content:

• Craft a farmer's market for your dolls
• Hunt for more grocery crafts on this blog