And easy chair (wingback design) and a matching footstool, sometimes called an ottoman. |
About This Web Journal
- Home
- About Us
- Come Let Us Play
- Little Mothers
- The Doll Coloring Book Index
- Name Your Doll
- Bookshelf
- Little Songs and Poems
- Doll Lapbooks
- Over 300 Doll Links!
- Listening and Imitating
- Dollhouse Decorating
- Doll Furniture, Accessories and Toy Crafts
- Learn To Sew for Dolls
- New Arrivals
- Internet Doll Guide
- Paper Doll Workshop
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Paper Furniture for A Paper Dollhouse
One-Color Effects For Dollhouse Decor
Designing dollhouse rooms with monochromatic color choices is just one method to ensure that items like carpets and rugs, wallpaper and paint, and upholstery and pillows all coordinate in good taste. Below, paintings by Charles Webb demonstrate the same den/family room space in five distinct singular colors: yellow, green, red, blue and brown.
Left, green is the color of choice. Right, yellow is the main color used for the same space. |
Left, if the same den was made over in red; this may be how it could look. Center, here the one-color selected is blue. Right, how does the room look with everything in brown? |
Did you know that people have been attaching meanings to color forever it seems? Below are some of the customary feelings attached to colors in rooms, although I don't believe that these attributes are always legitimate. There are many more experiences unique to people's lives that can affect the way they feel about color. It is best in the long run to make selections based upon what you have and what pleases you. At the end of the day, a dollhouse is a personal space and every dollhouse should reflect the person designing it.
- Red - means stimulation to some - irritation to others
- Yellow - means irradiating cheer and vivacity - yet your neighbor's complexton may not harmonize!
- Blue - the color of purity and peace - yet some claim it depresses.
- Green - is for tranquility, as in the cool shade of foliage and field
- Brown - suggests a cozy comfort in the living-room. Which color do you like best?
Monday, March 11, 2024
How to make a faux leather club chair...
Left, finished faux leather club chair for a Barbie or any other 10 to 12 inch doll. Right, the blocks and underside of the chair have been painted black and sealed with Mod Podge. |
Supply List:
- leather look paper (2 large sheets)
- white school glue
- two wooden blocks
- corrugated cardboard
- masking tape
- recycle Styrofoam sheet
- Mod Podge
- black acrylic paint
- Cut 4''x4'' pieces of corrugated cardboard for the arms and bottom sides of the club chair. Triple these cut layers from cardboard to make them sturdy.
- Glue the pieces together to shape a "U" Shape.
- Cover the surfaces using masking tape.
- Make the backside of the chair by cutting the cardboard into a "T" shape.
- Glue three of these "T" cut pieces of corrugated together to make the back sturdy and cover with masking tape as well.
- Cut and shape the faux leather paper around the parts of the club chair using a decoupage technique. (See photos below)
- Apply glue to the edges of the back piece of the chair and fit it between the side and bottom shaped "U" piece. Use a rubber band to hold these together while the glue dries. (see photos)
- Craft a thick cushion using either Styrofoam and cardboard or layers of cardboard or a stuffed fabric cushion. Any one of these alternatives will suffice!
- Glue the wooden base to the bottom of the chair.
- Paint the base and bottom of the club chair to finish with black paint.
- Layer on a finishing coat of Mod Podge to all the chair's surfaces to give it protection from wear and a professional look.
Left, see an average size 11-12 inch doll seated and standing next to my club chair. Right, the finished faux leather club chair without Mod Podge layer. |
How the club chair is constructed from different angles. There are essentially two four pieces to the chair made of three to four layers of corrugated cardboard. |
Left, construct a "U" shaped cardboard piece and a "T" shaped cardboard piece that will make the back side of the chair once it it glued in place. |
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Four different fireplace surrounds for dollhouses
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
A Modern Farmhouse Living Room
Our 18" dollhouse living room is decorated with miniature accessories and furnishings crafted to look like the things you might find in a real modern farmhouse. |
Our American Girl dolls, Journey Girls, My Generation Dolls and 18" dolls by Madame Alexander all live and share playtime inside a giant, nine room dollhouse! Six rooms inside the doll's home measure 48" long, 24" wide and at least 29" from floor to ceiling. The upper story rooms have much higher ceilings. Little ones do not play inside these rooms because they are out of reach, obviously. However, these are decorated just as elaborately as the lower rooms and our dolls rest there whenever they are not entertaining little visitors below.
A modern clock above the T.V. |
The Modern Farmhouse Accessories and Furnishings:
- Quatrefoils alternated with stylized octagons in this patterned white and grey wall covering from a dollar store. The printed fabric was first made into pillow cases before I cut them apart for our eighteen inch dollhouse living room walls.
- A small silver-plate photo frame from resale; inside it is a picture of an American Girl Doll friend. (picture was cut from a catalogue.)
- An old-fashioned window with tracery, backed with a faux mirror. I used a shiny silver nail polish to enhance the antique 'mirror' effect. This was crafted for the modern farmhouse from a pattern with cardboard and paper.
- A doll sized terrarium, complete with a desert themed vignette: fox figurine, sand, polished pebbles and grey/green mosses. It was purchased from Goodwill store.
- A faux metal curtain rod and hand-sewn canvas duct curtains; these are handmade.
- A tap light, battery operated from the dollar store or Dollar General is used to light up the doll's living room at night.
- A window made from cardboard and a magazine photo. (see the project here)
- A recycled hanging wooden shelf, decoupaged and sanded to give it a rustic, farmhouse flavor. On this shelf at the top sits the word "Blessed," a laser cut sign from balsa wood. This came in a fall pack of six from the Dollar Store. Underneath the top shelf , sitting on the second shelf is a tin pail for displaying collections of things or storing blankets and pillows.
- A modern, industrial clock made from a recycled tape roll, faux wooden shelf paper, big numbers and a lid.
- A cardboard television screen made to display postcard sized pictures. We switch these out with the change of seasons or holidays.
- The T.V. stand made to coordinate with the sofa table, is crafted to look like distressed wood furniture. We also store doll sized board games and puzzles inside of it.
- A paper lamp with scrapbooking decoupage surfaces. (see the project here)
- An 18" doll sized card table. I made this using cardboard and unique, old textured papers. I then sponge painted it using: ivory, white, and pale green acrylic paints.
- The wood plank floors were decoupaged and drawn to resemble reclaimed wood flooring.
- Cozy knit pillows have button and ribbon trims. All three of these plus and afghan were sewn from old sweaters.
- A faux, pale grey, fur rug was cut from a scrap found among our fabric remnants.
- The decoupaged and white washed sofa table, T.V. stand and television were designed for our modern farmhouse living room. The craft instructions for all three are here.
- I made a fold-out doll sofa bed, upholstered with tweed wool scraps is the focal point of the room. It includes a tufted back pillow and folds out from the bottom to accommodate sleeping for three 18" dolls!
- A stone-faced fire place with a tiled hearth and removable wooden logs also has a generous wooden mantel. (see project here)
- And finally, the grey distressed wooden rocker. Decoupaged with knit patterned scrapbook paper can be seen under this additional post here.
The terrarium up-close. You can see that we have layered sand, pebbles, a small fox figurine and two different mosses to make the scene. We can change this to different scenes during the holidays. |
Left, the stone-front fireplace. Center, the modern industrial looking clock. Right, the tweed, fold-out couch directly in front of the window. |
The modern farmhouse living room is finished inside the 18" dollhouse. Only the shelf and rocker are purchased and altered, the rest of the furnishings are hand-built from scratch. |
More Links to Modern Farmhouse Interiors:
- See elements of Farmhouse style at YouTube by The Kinwoven Home
- Eight ways to add farmhouse style to any home by She Holds Dearly
- See this same dollhouse room decorated for Halloween...
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Friday, October 9, 2020
2 Doll Lamps Made From Recycled Materials
A finished doll lamp next to a silver photo frame. |
- cardboard tubes or toilet roll tubes
- Dixie cups (paper)
- cup cake liners
- paper egg cartons
- wire
- cotton balls
- tiny beads
- white acrylic paint
- white typing paper
- ribbon
- decorative scrapbook paper
- masking tape
- white school glue
- small empty bottles
- spools
- wire
- How to make a dollhouse lamp - Barbie lamp shade - Easy doll table lamp decor by Tanis Gallery
- MyFroggyStuff also makes a Barbie size lamp using beads and paper condiment cups.
- Dollhouse Ceiling Chandelier that really works - Light pendant including battery operated tea lights. No wiring needed. by Loy Dollhouse
- Cut the cardboard tube to the size you desire.
- Place it on top of a piece of scrap cardboard and trace around the outside of the tube. Cut the circle template out and repeat the step again. Now you have two circles that may be glued to either end of the tube in order to seal it off.
- At the top end of the tube glue a sturdy recycled spool.
- Now decoupage all the pieces glued together with either a figurative or geometric decorative paper.
- You can also seal this with Mod Podge or white school glue to protect your finished surfaces.
- Next, decoupage a recycled masking tape tube using the same technique, only cover one end with cardboard, however.
- Glue the shade onto the base of the cardboard tube lamp.
- To add details to the top of the shade: clip and cut smooth texture wire, parts of a recycled egg carton and beads. I used cotton wrapped wire but you may use any wire you have on hand. The lamp fitting and finial are constructed from cardboard and beads, then painted white to match the wire.
- Paint the bottom of the lamp base to blend with other parts of the lamp design.
This lamp version is decoupaged with orange and white paper details. It will look nice in a mid-century modern doll space. |
Directions for The Recycled Bottle Shaped Lamps:
- Cover all parts of the lamp, both the body and shade with masking tape.
- Glue the bottle neck to the inside of the lamp shade. In order to do this your lamp shade must be closed at the upper end.
- To lend the lamp strength for play, you may glue a cardboard collar around the parts connecting the shade to the bottle neck. Add additional glue to the inside of the collar.
- Decoupage the base of the lamp with a patterned or solid paper. Cover the shade with cloth, paper or cupcake liner for a decorative detail.
- I also added faux lampshade fittings to the top of the shade to give these little doll lamps added realistic details. See the directions above.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Sculpt a Stone Faced Fireplace for a 12" Doll's House
The finished stone faced fireplace for a twelve inch fashion doll. |
- heavy cardboard and shallow box
- masking tape
- grout
- scrap wood for the mantel
- twigs and (tree branch perhaps)
- Sculpey
- wood glue
- hot glue gun and hot glue
- small stone pebbles
- paper mache pulp
- acrylic paints in earth tones
- acrylic clear sealer
- river pebbles
The box is cut to size and masked. |
- First cut a shallow box to scale and then cut from it an opening for the logs to go in the fireplace.
- Glue this box onto a floor surface.
- Cut a nice decorative piece of wood for the mantle, stain it and glue this onto the top of the fireplace.
- Cover all of the cardboard surfaces with masking tape, including the inside of the fireplace.
- Prepare the paper mach pulp according to the packages directions.
- Layer approx. 1/2" inside the cavity cut from the fireplace.
- Grout the floor base of the fireplace and push small river pebbles into the grout with a bit of glue on the bottom of each. Let this grout harden overnight.
- Use a pebble mold to help create the texture for the fireplace if you have one. If not, simple roll out many stones and layer these onto a cookie sheet in order to sculpt the stone faced fireplace. Cut these tiles into square sheets approx. 2" square.
- Bake the Sculpey as directed. Then glue these stone "tiles directly onto the fireplace. It's o.k. to leave gaps.
- Roll small smaller stones with the clay and bake them. Then hot glue these "faux" rocks into the gaps between the faux rock tiles. See photos for details below.
- Now use a small dry brush to work color into the walls of your doll fireplace, alternating five different colors as you go. I chose: ivory, grey, tan, black and white.
- After all the paint has dried, seal the surfaces of your fireplace with clear acrylic varnish.
Far left, base coat of grey for the grouted areas. Middle painted details. Right, finished firebox interior with blackened wall where smoke from pretend fires has left a bit of soot. |
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Barbie's Bohemian Patchwork Sofa
Little Chelsea and Friends Dolls romp on the sofa with their pet dog, Beanie. Next to them is a bolster pillow with added floral tatting applied to each end. I used tatting scraps from an old recycled sweater for this decorative application. But you can find many free tatting pattern |
- fabric scraps cut up into small squares
- needle and threads
- lace and lacy needlework scraps
- cotton batting - both a sheet and stuffing
- solid colored fabric for sofa's seat
- cardboard box
- hot glue and hot glue gun
- masking tape
- decorative buttons
- four beads for sofa feet or a smaller box
- tacky white glue
- faux wood grain paper
- Wrap a small box of your own choice with a sheet of cotton batting. Use a bit of hot glue to hold the sheet in place so that it doesn't move while you are folding and tucking fabric around the box on top of the batting.
- After wrapping the bottom of the "couch" with fabric and tacking it down with hot glue, use a threaded needle with matching thread to neatly sew the sides and corners together around the box. I used an invisible stitch to hide my stitches.
- To make the upper cushion of our sofa, cut 1"x1" squares of fabric and sew these back together, matching up the sides and corners to create an overall pleasing checkered, patchwork rectangle measuring the length and two sides of your wrapped box.
- Fold and sew the right sides together down the length of the fabric and across one shorter end.
- Turn the fabric inside out and stuff with cotton batting.
- Turn inside 1/4" of the remaining short end and sew the last opening closed using a whip stitch.
- You may add details to the patchwork sofa cushion such as buttons or embroidery stitching.
- Now hot glue the patchwork pillow top to the top of the upholstered sofa box in a "C" shape around the two shorter ends and along one long side of the box.
- I then attached a smaller cardboard box to the bottom of the doll sofa to act as the footed section of upholstered sofa.
- I glued a wood grained paper to the outside edge of the box. You may choose to glue on beads for the feet of the sofa instead. The box sofa may not need the added height given by gluing on "feet"; this is a matter of preference.
- You can make additional small, decorative pillows using scrap fabrics and laces. I used a velvety purple fabric scrap for one pillow adding a turquoise colored button and a bit of lace for accents.
- Then I cut a tiny rectangular piece of green faux fur and sew together the two shorter ends. Turning this inside out, stuffing and sewing two coin shaped ends to either side of this tiny tube, in order to finish the tiny, doll sized bolster pillow.
Left patchwork squares, Center, quilt blocks hand sewn together, Right the backside of patchwork. |
Patchwork details, buttons and stitching. |
The doll sized bolster pillow in progressive steps. |
Left the front of the sofa with pillows, Center, the backside of the couch, Right without pillows. |
Our dolls have fun playing on their new quilted doll sofa. |
More Doll Sofas:
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Craft Contemporary Farmhouse Doll Tables
- Craft a 1960s version of a Mid-Century Modern sofa table - it comes with a template
- popsicle sticks
- small cardboard boxes
- Elmer's school glue
- masking tape
- decorative paper
- acrylic paints - ivory
- Mod Podge (optional)
- tiny silver buttons for drawer pulls
Cabinets usually have one or more doors on the front, which are mounted with door hardware, and occasionally a lock. Cabinets may have one or more doors, drawers, and/or shelves. Short cabinets often have a finished surface on top that can be used for display, or as a working surface, such as the countertops found in kitchens.
The finished television set is made from cardboard and paper in much the same way that we made a T.V. from craft foam. |
- Use small amounts of glue and clamps when possible. The use of too much glue will cause the cardboard to warp.
- Reinforce corners with masking tape if you intend to decoupage the cardboard furniture. This will make your projects hold up with play and also support heavier dolls if needed.
- Double up walls of cardboard furniture to add strength.
- Begin projects using boxes that are proportional to the size of your doll. This makes the project seem easier to a novice crafter (child) than beginning from scratch.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
DIY Upholstered Wingback Chair and First Impressions
- Miniature upholstered arm chair with free template from Bentley House Minis
- DIY miniature no-sew armchair tutorial by Kixkillradio Miniatures
Above you can see that I have covered the basic chair structure and soon will begin to sew and attach the interior pillows. |
- cardboard
- masking tape
- upholstery
- round needle (also called a curved or upholstery needle)
- wooden blocks for legs
- tongue depressor for chair aprons
- paint or stain for legs
- matching threads
- wood glue or tacky craft glue
- hot glue and hot glue gun
- buttons for pillows
- poly-batting for chair cushions and pillows
- Download a pattern, copy a pattern from a library book, or purchase a pattern.
- You may need to size the pattern up for a larger 18" doll.
- Cut out all of your cardboard pieces from very heavy cardboard. Some of you may choose to use wood for the project. I make most of my doll furnishings with cardboard but wood is good too.
- Assemble the wingback chair's body with either wood glue or tacky white glue. Take the extra time to wait for the glue to dry hard before covering it with fabric.
- Measure and cut fabrics as you go, turning under the rough edges, neatly cutting and clipping corners. Apply small amounts of hot glue on these to attach the fabric neatly to the chair parts.
- Glue down a felt covering to the interior seat of the chair after everything else has been covered with fabric and glue.
- I use a curved needle and matching thread to stretch the fabric seams tightly against the frame. This step is optional and could lead to greater frustration if you are not a sewer. However, it will make your upholstery work look professional in the end.
- Measure and cut the both the back and seat cushions, inserting seam allowances if necessary. Do not over stuff the cushions or your doll may not be able to sit securely into the chair. As a rule you should always use less filler here, instead of more.
- Now glue on the chair legs using a wood glue, if your legs are made from wooden blocks.
- Glue on the chair's apron using cut tongue depressors. These lend strength to the legs!
- Finish the legs with a paint or stain. Hot glue a chair skirt or a fabric trim of some sort around the apron only if you prefer.
- I permanently attached the upper and lower cushions to the seat with hot glue. This is optional as well. I felt it necessary for play; children have a tendency to loose things like chair cushions and tiny pillows.
"This old-fashioned chair would look lovely in our library." Sophie says. Poppy says, with just a hint of remorse, "Oh how I wish my knees could bend!" |
"Who is this? She sure seems affectionate around Sophie." Poppy thinks. She does not know that Sophie has a younger sister. |
"Skylar, you are so lucky to have elbows and knees!" Sophie begins to chastise her sister. "Look how neatly she sits in this comfy, cozy chair!" Poppy exclaims with a little envy in her voice. |
Sophie says, "Every person has a special gift, Skylar; don't forget to be considerate." Skylar and Poppy's eyes meet; They will soon be good friends and share in many adventures. |
Skylar is lounging in the upholstered arm chair that I will include in our dollhouse library room along with many other interesting things. |
Sophie shakes Poppy's hand and tells her she is looking forward to a playdate with the younger girls. Skylar waves goodbye, as she bounces up and down on the new arm chair. |
- Peggy Stuart's dolls are "Welcoming the Newcomer"
- The Reflection in Me HD - animated film
- Wise words from Kid President