Printable Lino Check Floor for Your Dollhouse

       This black and ivory linoleum printable may be used for a 1" scale or even a Playscale sized dollhouses. You may shrink it to fit smaller dollhouse floors by shrinking it in a software application or scaling it down using a home printer. I think it would look nice in a front hall, in the dining room, bathroom or kitchen.

       Printables at our blog are not to be redistributed from any other online collection or sold for profit. They are the property of kathy grimm and are for personal home use only.

Paint a Miniature Black Cat Planter for A Doll's Garden

       Make your doll's garden festive this year with a black, Halloween feline planter. I purchased the faux flowers for this craft at a dollar store. The terracotta pots come in sets from both dollar stores and Targets, but you can also find these at local hobby shops everywhere.

A black cat pot with large blue eyes and fuzzy tail.

Supply List:

• miniature terracotta pot(s)
• acrylic paints: black, blue, pink, white
• black yarn
• one cotton ball
• black construction paper
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• artificial flowers from 
• aluminum foil
• green felt

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. First paint the outside of your miniature terracotta pot with black acrylic paint. Let it dry.
2. Crush aluminum foil to fill the inside of the miniature pot. Poke holes into this foil in order to support the faux, flowers.
3. Remove the flowers after determining where these will go.
4. Next, cut up small pieces of green felt to cover the foil showing at the top of the pot. Hot glue this felt around the holes made for the flowers.
5. Cut two, small black triangles from the black construction paper. Glue these onto the pot for cat's ears. (see picture above)
6. Paint a smaller white furry triangle inside the black ears to mimic a cat's ear.
7. Paint a cat's face onto your Halloween planter using white, blue and pink acrylic paints. (see photo)
8. Hot glue a piece of black yarn directly onto the surface of the pot and curl it around the side to look like a tail.
9. I wrapped a small piece of cotton on the end of my cat's tail with a bit of glue.
10. Now poke the artificial flowers back inside the pot's holes at the top of the planter. Now you can display a cut Halloween cat in your doll's garden!

The Ghost of a Flower.

"You're what?" asked the common or garden spook

Of a stranger at midnight's hour.

And the shade replied with a graceful glide,

"Why, I'm the ghost of a flower."

"The ghost of a flower?" said the old-time spook;

"That's a brand-new one on me;

I never supposed a flower had a ghost,

Though I've seen the shade of a tree."

Craft a Watering Can For Your Doll's Garden

A finished sample of a paper mache watering can for our
American Girl Dolls to add to their garden supplies.

    You can craft your own watering can from recycled materials found at home. This one, however, is just for show, not for actual use!

 Supply List:

• green spray paint or green acrylic paint
• decorative floral or veggie themed paper (optional)
• Mod Podge
• frozen juice can 
• plastic funnel shape
• paper toilet role tube
• masking tape
• paper wrapped wire from coffee bean bag
• permanent black ink pen or black acrylic paint
• cardboard from a discarded cereal box 
• hot glue gun and hot glue

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Cut a frozen juice can down to 2 1/2 inches. Cover it with masking tape.
2. Cut from a piece of cardboard cereal box the top opening of your watering can and attach it to the recycled juice container with masking tape. While you do this, you might wish to bend this flimsy material in a slight arc. Many watering cans com with this dome shape. (see photos below)
3. Now cut the toilet paper tube in half lengthwise and tape it into a funnel form. Cut and clip it down to the approximate size you would like for the watering can's spout. Mine measures three inches. 
4. Attach the spout with masking tape.
5. Use hot to attach the plastic funnel to the tip of the spout.
6. Cut out a piece of circular cardboard to close the spout's end. Attach this with hot glue.
7. Use you glue gun again to attach the handle to the backside of the watering can. I used a covered wire found ordinarily on coffee bean bags. These make sturdy handles for doll mache projects.
8. Cover your doll's watering can with masking tape. See below.
9. I then chose to spray paint the watering can. You could paint this using whatever paint you have on hand.
10. Then I cut out some decorative scrap paper to decoupage on top of the painted can.
11. I also used the tip end of a toothpick to add tiny black dots to my watering can's spout. 
12. Make sure to use Mod Podge or similar clear drying glue to then seal all the surfaces of your doll's new garden tool.

The watering can is assembled from recycled pieces of plastic caps and paper tubes.

DIY a Potted Privet Tree For A Doll's Patio

Left, Tape the hollow paper tube inside the pot. Right, the finished potted privet tree for our doll's patio garden.

       In order to craft this potted privet tree for a doll you will need to collect the following materials: a small pot of some kind, newsprint, Mod Podge, a fork, a hollow paper tube, decorative gravel/rocks, masking tape, brown and tan acrylic paints, white school glue, paper mache pulp and a plastic plant globe from your local hobby supply shop.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Tape the hollow paper tube inside the pot. Be generous with the tape.
2. Crush newspapers or newsprint around the tube to stabilize it. 
3. Use masking tape to cover both the paper tube and the crushed paper around the tube.
4. Pour a generous amount of white glue on top of the ground cover around the trunk of the tree.
5. Push a single layer of tiny rock into the glue to cover the masking tape.
6. After the glue dries, and this will take several days, pour more glue on top of the rocks and let them dry again.
7. Mix your paper mache pulp according to the instructions on the package. 
8. Layer the pulp onto the paper tube and then drag a fork through the pulp from top to bottom of the tube. This will give the tree trunk a realistic texture. Let this dry. It will take quite a while if you don't set the project in the warm sunshine.
9. After the paper pulp has hardened, paint it a solid dark brown color.
10. When this paint is dry, take your brush and lightly cover the raised areas of 'tree bark' with a lighter shade of brown or tan. Repeat this step a third time with an even lighter color.
11. Seal the trunk with Mod Podge.
12. Now you can fit the plastic plant globe over the tube to make a convincing tree for your doll's patio garden. When you want to store the tree, remove the plant globe and keep it in a clean plastic bag.

Left, Crush newspapers or newsprint around the tube to stabilize it.
Right, Use masking tape to cover both the paper tube and the crushed paper around the tube.

Left, Layer the pulp onto the paper tube and then drag a fork through the pulp from top to bottom of the tube.
This will give the tree trunk a realistic texture. Right, Pour a generous amount of white
 glue on top of the ground cover around the trunk of the tree.

Left, After the paper pulp has hardened, paint it a solid dark brown color. Center and Right,
When this paint is dry, take your brush and lightly cover the raised areas of 'tree bark'
 with a lighter shade of brown or tan. Repeat this step a third time with an even lighter color.

Assembling A Plant Stand

Three different views of the same tiny plant stand.

       Our doll house needs some faux plants to brighten up the corners! I will show you how to cut your own plants from paper in the future, but for now, you can make a few select things with artificial plant picks. Plant picks are sold in hobby stores, flower shops and craft outlets in the United States. You can also find them at dollar stores. Try to select the smallest plants so that the arrangements you craft are to scale.

Supply List:

• fern pick
• votive candle holder
• small decorative rocks
• white school glue
• paper mache pulp
• brown acrylic paint

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Clean the votive candle holder with warm water and soap. Be sure to remove all wax residue before continuing.
2. Fill the bottom of the glass votive holder with small decorative rocks and then pour a layer of white school glue on top of these. Let this layer dry for several days.
3. Mix a small amount of paper mache pulp according to the directions on the label of the package. Add a bit of brown acrylic paint to the pulp to color it to look like dirt.
4. Layer this brown pulp on top of the decorative rocks.
5. Take the fern pick and separate the leaves so that you have multiple fronds, each with their own wire, to stick into this sticky pulp "dirt."
6. Arrange the wired fronds into a pleasing plant formation inside the votive candle holder.
7. This plant arrangement will take about a week to dry. Put it in the sunshine if possible.

Left, votive candle holder and glass insert. Center, the artificial fern fronds separated from the pick.
Right, the decorative rock bits help to hold the wire fronds in place and also look attractive.

• DIY paper and aluminum foil houseplants for miniature dollhouse
• Assemble plants for a dollhouse or a miniature farm stand

Refinish Wicker Doll Furnishings

The finished result after a couple hours of spray painting.

       In the 1970s and 1980s, it was popular to furnish doll houses with small wicker furniture; the alternative to plastic inflatables. Because wicker is not very strong, much of it did not survive the playtime I suppose.

       I picked the stool, side table and one chair on the first day and then I returned the following day to retrieve the second chair. When visiting resale in the city, I always return the day after I have purchased something in order to see if it is a part of a larger set. Doll furniture in specific, was and still is sold in sets from high end toy stores. By the time these little furnishings are donated by former owners, many pieces may be lost or shifted into multiple bags or boxes.

       I have also discovered that employees in my local resale shops, do not always put sets of doll furniture out on display all at once and they don't always bag these items together. So it is best to keep a close watch for matching items once you have discovered one piece that you want.

Old wicker doll furniture tossed out as trash. These items
will look great once they are repaired and repainted.

Supply List:

• old wicker doll furniture for upcycling
• your choice of spray paint 
• terry cloth towel
• dark green acrylic paint (for metal leaf design)
• fabric print to compliment the paint color
• two buttons
• needle and thread
• hot glue gun and hot glue (repair work)
• cotton or polyester stuffing

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Wipe down the old wicker with a clean terry cloth towel; try to remove as much dust and dirt as you can before painting these.
2. You may need to use a bit of hot glue to reweave some of the old wicker back around the arms or chair legs and tack it into place.
3. Prepare to spray paint this furniture in an outdoor space. I use large old cardboard boxes to spray paint items in. The clean up of these is easier; all I need to do is toss the used cardboard into recycling after the painting is done. The sides of the cardboard box help prevent the paint from coming into contact with anything beyond the object I am spray painting.
4. When spray painting wicker, it is best to do so very slowly, all the while turning the doll furniture from side to side, upside down and right side up as the wicker dries. It take many light coats of paint and spraying between the gaps takes time. But the results are like new!
5. After coating the wicker entirely and letting the paint dry, I then used a small paint brush to apply some darker green acrylic paint to the decorative metal leaves at the foot of the stool. This step highlighted the raised areas in the stamped metal.
6. To make the two tiny pillows, simply draw a circle pattern for the seats and trace it out onto a fabric four times. Make a seam allowance of 1/4 inch around all four circles before cutting the fabric. 
7. Cut and sew a straight stitch around the circles with their right sides facing in. Leave an opening for each pillow of about 1 inch wide.
8. Now clip around each pillow's edge to help turn them inside out properly. Be careful not to clip through the straight seam!
9. Turn the fabric pillows inside out and stuff them with a little bit of cotton or polyester stuffing.
10. Use a whip stitch to sew shut the opening.
11. Thread the needle again with a matching thread and sew a button each into the middle of both pillows.

Left, I use large old cardboard boxes to spray paint items in. The clean up of these is easier;
all I need to do is toss the used cardboard into recycling after the painting is done.
Center, It take many light coats of paint and spraying between the gaps takes time.
Right, the results are like new!

Left, I used a small paint brush to apply some darker green acrylic paint to the decorative metal
 leaves at the foot of the stool. This step highlighted the raised areas in the stamped metal.
Center, I chose to sew tiny pillows for each chair as well. Right, Each pillow has a decorative
 button sewn in the middle.