Flossie Fisher on a Farm

Dear Girls and Boys,

       Well, the Early Garden page must have come to a great many places just when the first touch of spring, with its bluebirds, its blackbirds, its robins and its song-sparrows all flew in together on the south wind, for there was a perfect deluge of mail for me at once. And all the stories showed how nearly winter was over, so that I could almost see how warm and bright the sun shone where you all were. Every day since then the sun has been getting higher and higher, the days longer and longer, and the thoughts of everyone are turning to the countryside, their gardens and vacations. Below is a storyline cut in silhouettes that should bring delight to those of you who love the farm and it's animals!

Sincerely, 
Helen Nyce
(The original letter from the illustrator has been modified.)

       ''Read'' with your eyes the series of events from top to bottom, left to right, to discover what happens to Flossie and her little companions below. Then, write in your own words a brief descriptive narrative describing based upon what you see. Below is a introductory sentence to help student begin there own narratives...

       Flossie had lots of fun on the farm. She was sorry for the little piggies shut up all day, so she decided to let them out. Here are some of her adventures... 

Flossie taking care of farm animal friends.

       Over 100 years ago, Helene Nyce organized children's writing competitions for The Ladies' Home Journal. The magazine editors would include her silhouette cuts to illustrate a series of adventures for a little girl named Flossie. Children would then write a short story to accompany the illustrations and submit it through the mail to win a prize.

How Flossie Made Her Early Garden

 Dear Girls and Boys,

       Flossie wants all of the students learning to write while using this exercise, to write very plainly. Don't forget to write your name at the end of the story before handing it into your teacher! Make sure also that you only write about what you see and that the events are in order of the appearance of each pictured silhouette. Use your very best handwriting and do not forget to capitalize the letter of each first word in a sentence. Also include a period at the end of every sentence too!    

Sincerely, 
Helen Nyce
(The original letter from the illustrator has been modified.)

       ''Read'' with your eyes the series of events from top to bottom, left to right, to discover what happens to Flossie and her little companions below. Then, write in your own words a brief descriptive narrative describing based upon what you see. Below is a introductory sentence to help student begin there own narratives...

       Flossie Fisher and her little dog tried to make an early garden. Below are the silhouette cuts that show how they worked and the troubles they had.

Flossie and friends plant a Spring garden.

       Over 100 years ago, Helene Nyce organized children's writing competitions for The Ladies' Home Journal. The magazine editors would include her silhouette cuts to illustrate a series of adventures for a little girl named Flossie. Children would then write a short story to accompany the illustrations and submit it through the mail to win a prize.

Flossie and Her Friends Have A Picnic

 Dear Girls and Boys,

       I wonder how many of the Flossie Fisher children colored Easter eggs as Flossie and her pet rabbit tried to. I don't believe many had the same sort of fun, because Flossie does seem to have a way with her that makes all the animals want to do just what she would have them do. But then we have all known dogs that could almost talk, cats that surely think, and horses that are really members of the family! Even the goat below appears relatively cooperative for his kind, at least for a short while anyway...       

Sincerely, 
Helen Nyce
(The original letter from the illustrator has been modified.)

       ''Read'' with your eyes the series of events from top to bottom, left to right, to discover what happens to Flossie and her little companions below. Then, write in your own words a brief descriptive narrative describing based upon what you see. Below is a introductory sentence to help student begin there own narratives...

       Here is the story of Flossie's picnic. Don't you wish you could have been with her?

Flossie silhouette story for Easter picnic and egg hunt.

       Over 100 years ago, Helene Nyce organized children's writing competitions for The Ladies' Home Journal. The magazine editors would include her silhouette cuts to illustrate a series of adventures for a little girl named Flossie. Children would then write a short story to accompany the illustrations and submit it through the mail to win a prize.

Flossie Helps Her Bunny Color Easter Eggs

  Dear Girls and Boys,

        Flossie and her bunny friend had a great deal of trouble in getting eggs to color for Easter. When they at last succeeded they boiled most of the eggs, and the last few pictures will tell you what happened to the unboiled ones...      
Sincerely, 
Helen Nyce
(The original letter from the illustrator has been modified.)

       ''Read'' with your eyes the series of events from top to bottom, left to right, to discover what happens to Flossie and her little companions below. Then, write in your own words a brief descriptive narrative describing based upon what you see. Below is a introductory sentence to help student begin there own narratives...

       Easter is approaching fast so Flossie must meet up with her friend to make sure all is ready for the big egg hunt on the Saturday after Good Friday.

Flossie silhouettes for Easter story.

       Over 100 years ago, Helene Nyce organized children's writing competitions for The Ladies' Home Journal. The magazine editors would include her silhouette cuts to illustrate a series of adventures for a little girl named Flossie. Children would then write a short story to accompany the illustrations and submit it through the mail to win a prize.

Paint a bur acorn to look like a blue Hubbard squash!

Hand painted bur oak acorns dried and painted to look like
baked Blue Hubbard squash. See index for more cooked
doll foods to craft.

        Where I live there are all kinds of oak trees growing within blocks of each other. But, the finest one of them all is the Bur Oak. It's acorn seeds are simply magnificent! These are the largest acorns of any North American oak. But what do these acorns share in common with Hubbard squash? This craft project, that's what.
       It just so happens that dried bur oak acorns look exactly like blue Hubbard squash when dried and painted for our 18'' doll larder. These acorns are edible, but I am not so very interested in their taste as much as I am interested in drying these properly for crafts. 

• If you wish to try eating bur acorns as the native people still do read about this here.
• Here is an article about crafting with nuts at our Christmas blog.
• I have crafted using this nut before... click here to learn how to make Coconut Drinks for your 18'' dolls using bur acorn parts here.
• See our other squash crafts made to enlarge our doll's vegetable stand set here.
  

These giant bur oak acorns have been drying-out in a cupboard drawer for two years.
The outer husks with furry edges will be saved for a future craft as well as the tough shell
 of the inner nut meat. This time, I painted the dehydrated nutmeat of this bur oak acorn.

Left, you can see the texture of the nut's outside skin looks just like blue Hubbard squash,
 once it has been painted over with a dry brush and several acrylic paint colors: a bluish
 green, tan, and a much lighter tinted tan color. Right are the rich golden insides of the
nut painted and sealed with several layers of Mod Podge.

A raw blue hubbard squash cut open. The
seeds and pulp must be removed before 
baking the squash in the oven.

      "Hubbard squash usually has a tear-drop shape and is often used as a replacement for pumpkins in cooking. According to one source, the name comes from Bela Hubbard, settler of Randolph Township, Ohio, in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Other sources conclude that this variety came to Marblehead, Massachusetts via Captain Knott Martin where Elizabeth Hubbard brought it to the attention of her neighbor, a seed trader named James J. H. Gregory. Gregory subsequently introduced it to the market using Hubbard as the eponym. Gregory later bred and released the Blue Hubbard, a variety with bluish-gray skin. Another variety, the Golden Hubbard, has a bright orange skin. Gregory advertisements for Hubbard squash had begun by 1859.The Hubbard squash, including questions regarding the name, is the subject of a children's ditty, "Raising Hubbard Squash in Vermont". More about Cultivar squashes here...

Tiny needlepoint roses for your doll's house...

Four patterns for wild rose needlepoint or cross stitch. 
Students are free to make their own versions of 
needlepoint pillows for the dollhouse.

       All of these tiny rose needlepoint patterns are antique and from Germany. Although flowers in needlepoint do not need to be strictly copied from patterns, it is nice to have a few charts for beginners to reference as they work for the first time. The reds and pinks could easily be substituted with golds or coral colors if they prefer.

Tiny rosebud needlepoint pillows with lace trim inside of my 
daughter's antique dollhouse. The left has been laundered, 
the right still needs to be cleaned.

Two patterns for a rose wreath or swag.

Mouse sized rhymes...

 Miss Mouse Longing

Little Miss Mouse

Ran through the great house,

Coming out in the pantry with satisfied squeak;

''If I had but a pocket,''

She sighed, ''I could stock it 

With dainties enough to last me a week!''

A Happy Family

A little white hen, duck, and a mouse,

Together they lived in a little white house.

The mouse went to market on dark, dark nights,

and they ate cake and cheese with keen appetites.

They are cheese and cake till the mouse broke his leg,

Then the little white hen laid a little white egg.

The duck took them sailing when 'twas fine weather,

And so they lived happily, all three together.

The Little Boy Pleads for Mouse

Little Boy Pleads...

Shh, ma', speak to pussy and kitty,

They are dragging all over the house,

Without any mercy or pity,

A poor little innocent mouse.

I hate to see such wicked cunning,

For pussy allows it to go,

And just as the mouse thinks of running

She catches and teases it so.

Mother Answers

My son, our puss cannot reason,

And therefore she is not a sinner;

Perhaps this is not hungry season,

And this teasing is cooking her dinner.

But when children, my darling, are cruel,

And injure the brutes heaven made,

They sully the beautiful jewel,

That with a kind heart is inlaid.

Molly and the Mouse

Molly and the Mouse
by Maurine Hathaway

Five -year-old Mollie
Was holding her dollie
In the shade at the side of the house,
When what should she spy,
In the path running by,
But a poor little mite of a mouse.

With a wild, frantic shout,
Mollie quickly leaped out
Of the pathway and ran in a fright
To her mother and cried, 
"There's a mousie outside;
Get a trap that will catch it to-night."

Mother said, as she smiled,
"Why, you dear little child,
Mousie never would hurt you a bit,
And I'm sure, if you knew,
'Twas more frightened at you
Than you could have been frightened at it."

And her words were quite true,
For that mouse fairly flew
To it's mother who lived in the wall,
And she squeaked "Mother dear,"
As she trembled with fear,
"There's a girl out there frightfully tall.''

 ''Ha, ha,'' laughed Mother Mouse,
As she tidied her house,
''Did you run away home just for that?
What I thought had occurred,
When your scream I first heard,
Was that you'd seen a fierce pussy cat.''

Old-fashioned prints for Victorian themed dollhouses

        Elizabeth Hector illustrated children's books at the turn of the last century. I have restored three of her charming prints in three different sizes for a nursery wall inside of a Victorian dollhouse. Students may print them freely for personal projects only. Enjoy!

Victorian creeping cat, lovable sheep and red squirrels - all would look period appropriate in a
dollhouse nursery!

Make an empty tomb doll cake for Easter!

       A three tiered layer cake decorated for a doll Easter celebration may be crafted using the most ordinary materials found around the house. How it looks in the end will be much determined by the supplies that you can gather. 

       The tiny ''candy'' flowers used in our sample cake were cut from various Fimo flower canes. Alternatively a child could substitute details like these with: buttons, stickers or ribbon flowers. My flowers were already cut and sold in a pack but I will link to this craft from Youtube for those of you who would like to craft the canes from scratch. 

• Polymer clay fall flower can and beads by The Creative Dork
• Quick and easy petal cane from Fiona Abel-Smith Polymer Clay
• Cool Tools - Flower petal cane by Debra DeWolff

The Easter Empty Tomb Cake is covered with a
plastic cake 'dome' that I cut from a recycled
plastic cake container. You can also see a 
similar craft here.

Supply List:

• scrap cardboard
• recycled egg carton
• white school glue
• masking tape
• tiny clay flowers (cut from cane)
• decorative gravel (very small)
• green and brown acrylic paint
• little sawdust
• brown paper bag

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. With multiple circles of cardboard glued together and stacked, students can make doll-sized cakes to decorate for Easter.
2. I also cut a cave shape from a recycled paper egg carton to secure to the top of the cake with more glue and tape.
3. Let the glue dry and cover the entire cake using masking tape Before painting it and gluing on details.
4. I covered the Spring hillside using green acrylic paint. 
5. Paint the path leading up to the tomb with brown and glue a layer of sawdust on this to add texture.
6. Glue on a few tiny pebbles or stones to outline the path and emphasize the tomb. In the U.S. cake shops sell pebble candy that looks like the real thing.
7. Paint the remaining tomb surface to look real and then glue on the flower cane slices on top of the green painted icing.
8. Cover your cake creation with Mod Podge and set the dessert table for a dolly's Easter celebration!

More ideas for empty tomb cakes at Easter:

• The making of The Tomb of Jesus Cake by Maria P R
• Easy Resurrection Cake by Thalias Cakes

This plastic cake container once was used to package a angel food cake from the market. See the
form at the center inside, when cut apart from the package, it is a perfect shape and size to use
as the dome of a 18 inch doll-sized cake stand.

Above see how I layered cardboard to make the Easter cake. Also I am making sure it fits 
perfectly under my recycled plastic cake dome.

Decoupage the masking tape layer with another layer of brown paper bag before painting this 
pretend confectionary. 

The three tier Easter cake with pretend candy decorations is finished.

How to make dog collars for doll sized pets...

Left, our 18'' doll pets stand five inches tall when seated on their haunches. Right, the doll 
collars with split rings and dog themed charms.

        Does your doll's pet have a collar to identify who they belong too? These sweet little paper wire collars are as unique to your pet as you would make them. Choose different papers and charms to add one-of-a-kind touches.

Supply List:

• paper covered wire 
• decorative scrapbook papers
• white school glue
• masking tape
• metal dog charms
• Split Rings (20mm for dogs 5'' tall)

Left, paper covered wire frequently used in packing lettuce in supermarkets and what it looks 
like after it's been cut and covered with masking tape. Right, the dog collars are decoupaged
with white glue and scrapbook papers.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Twist the paper covered wire into a circular shaped collar for a stuffed pet dog. The circumference should be approximately 2 1/4 inches across. This size will easily slip over the top of a standard sized plush pet dog measuring 5 inches tall when seated on it's hind legs. If your doll's dog is smaller simply use a shorter wire for it's collar. Twist the ends together of several lengths of wire to determine what size works best for your doll's pet.
2. Cover the paper wire with masking tape.
3. Decoupage the dog collar using any decorative scrap paper you wish and the white school glue. Let the glue dry over night.
4. Slip a split ring onto the collar and then add a dog charm.
5. Now squeeze the plush dog's head a bit to fit the collar on over it's head and around it's neck.

Dollhouse Prints for Horse Loving Dolls

        The following clip art is of four paintings by Martin Stainforth. The prints are for student personal use only. If your doll loves horses, you may print and frame these samples below to hang in your dollhouse for fun...

• Read more about the artist here.

Horses in brown, bay and chestnut: some stand in front of fences, others in front
of stables.

Giving by John Martin

 

Giving by John Martin

Give smiles, and more will come to you;
Give help and never trouble.
Give joy to others here and there,
And yours will surely double.

Give of your strength to those with less;
Give reverence to sorrow.
Give thoughtful gentleness to-day,
And then again, to-morrow.

Give with an open hand and heart;
Give with full faith, believing
That open hands and open hearts
Are constantly receiving.

Give love to every thought you think,
For love is constant giving;
Then wait, and watch real riches come
To all your life and living.

Craft a Whale of A Weather Vane!

A whale weather vane with wire bent letters for the pretend wind to spin so that the dollhouse
residents know from which direction their breezes and storms are blowing; N for north, S for 
south, W for west and E for east.

        I designed this miniature weather vane for my daughter's thrifty dollhouse flip. You will need a few supplies to make one like it: Sculpey, cereal box cardboard, masking tape, white school glue, a wooden skewer, two or three beads, paper covered wire and paint.
       First, cut out a cardboard whale and cover it with masking tape so that Sculpey or oven-bake clay may be spread and sculpted over the form before baking. (This makes the sculpture super strong.) Also poke a whole into the bottom half of the whale so that it can be mounted onto a skewer after baking. Use a tacky glue for this and let it dry over night.
       Then thread onto the skewer a wooden bead. Twist paper above it and below it to keep the bead in position. 
       Then bend a wire approximately a foot (not too long or too short), into the shape of a capital "W" on one end and then wrap it around the skewer below the bead and give it a bit of space and then bend the end of the wire into a capital ''E''. Clip the excess wire off of the ''E.''
       Next, bend a wire approximately a foot (not too long or too short), into the shape of a capital "N" on one end and then wrap it around the skewer below the east and west part of the weather vane and give it a bit of space and then bend the end of the wire into a capital ''S''. Clip the excess wire off of the ''S.''
       Wrap a bit of paper to stop the directional signs from falling off the skewer. Cut the weather vane to fit your doll's house through a whole on the roof. 
       To paint the weather vane to look like weathered copper: spray paint it first with copper paint and then second dry brush on a light coating of black acrylic and second of green. If you wish more copper to show through, gently rub the painted surfaces gently so that the spray paint shines through. repeat these steps if necessary until you are happy with the results.
       On the inside of the dollhouse, glue a small block in place under the pitch of the roof to hold the weather vane in position. Do not put glue into the hole directly because this will prevent the whale weather vane from spinning altogether.

• See the pink thrifty-flip dollhouse that this weather vane is attached to here.
• Find additional miniature crafts on this blog here.

The Prairie-Schooner

A ''praire-schooner'' is a covered wagon. Above are
children playing with their version, a rocking horse
and tent make a great imaginary toy!

 The Prairie-Schooner
Picture and Verse by Charles S. Chapman

I was an Indian Chieftain,

Head of a warlike band;

She drove a prairie-schooner

Out on the desert land.

I was the first to sight her,

And lead the wild attack;

I carried her off to the mountains,

Far from the beaten track.

There in my tent, a captive,

Bound hand and foot she lay

Till she promised me my squaw she'd be

In the far-off time, "Some Day."

Now, as I look from my window,

Our children's children play

In the same old prairie-schooner,

In the same old tireless way.

Though the drivers may be many,

And each of them fair and tall,

I know that the first fair driver

Was lovelier than them all.

And I wonder, as I watch them

Playing the new-old game,

Beginning in jest, as we once began,

Will the ending be the same?

The Weaving of Native Americans

Vintage albumen print. Original caption "Aboriginal life among
 the Navajoe Indians. Near old Fort Defiance, N.M. / T. H."

         One of the chief arts of the North American Natives is that of weaving blankets. When the Spaniards came to our country they found beautiful blankets and fine weaving among the Pueblo and Navaho people of the southwest. Perhaps these people learned this art from their neighbors to the south; or they may have originated it themselves because they needed and sought something better than mere skins for clothing.

       In the early days, the Hopi Indians wove principally their own cotton to which they added some fibers of the yucca plants and animal hairs. When sheep were introduced by the Spaniards, they began to use a little wool. Their weaving is more complicated than that of other tribes. They not only produce a plain weave, but a checked one, and another which shows a repeated figure, usually a diamond.

       Among the Hopis it is the men who do most of the weaving of the blankets, shawls, sashes, and clothing. A lovely custom is still followed in weaving the bride's clothing. After the most important of the wedding ceremonies, the bridegroom's father distributes cotton to all his men relatives and friends. They spin and weave this cotton for the bride, working for several days or weeks. During that time, the bride stays with her husband and his family helping to cook and feed the weavers. Very carefully and beautifully the men weave a large white robe, a small white robe, and a wide, white belt with long fringe.

       When all are finished the bride wraps the small robe about herself, puts on white buck-skin boots and prepares to go to her mother's house where the young couple make their home for a while. She carries the large robe and belt in a rolled mat made of reeds bound together. After the wedding she uses the robes on ceremonial occasions and finally, the small one is wrapped around her body when death takes the little native woman to ''Maski,'' the Home of Hopi Souls.

       The indigenous people of the northwest coast seem to delight in color and movement. Perhaps their main thought is of the clan or family symbol which is expressed in totem poles, house fronts, house interiors, canoes, boxes and blankets. The Chilkats weave the most beautiful, fantastic blankets full of myths, and made in three colors: black, yellow, and greenish-blue. Although the women weave the blankets they are not supposed to be familiar with the designs and so copy them from patterns which have been drawn on boards by the men. The design contains the clan emblem and is usually of one or several animals so highly conventionalized that some natives themselves can hardly explain them.

       Not only the designs, but the materials used are different from those of other native blankets. The Chilkat woman takes the soft wool of the wild mountain goat and twists it around fibers of the inner bark of the cedar tree. These very strong threads of natural color are hung on the loom for the warp. The other threads, colored and containing no cedar fibers, are worked in and out of the strong warp threads. It takes about a year for a Chilkat woman to prepare the wool and weave one blanket, but it lasts for several generations.

       The weaving of Chilkat blankets is almost a thing of the past. The younger girls are not interested in spending so much time on robes whose ceremonial uses are almost forgotten. Only a very few old women are left who understand the art of weaving. Soon, even they will weave no more.

       Perhaps the best known of indigenous blankets are those made by the wandering Navahos. They practically live out-of-doors and the beauty of this is worked into their blankets. The women make these blankets, spinning the sheep's wool, dyeing it, and weaving it on hand looms. They often weave in crosses for good luck and symbols of the sun, moon, stars and lightning to bring the much needed rain.

       The colors worked into the blankets by the older Navahos were symbolic. They were considered sacred, ''gift of the best of their gods.'' Take for instance red - it means the blessed sunshine in which they move and live. No wonder these weavers love red and put the glorious warmth of it into their blankets. White stands for the early morning light which comes from the east and carries with it the hope of a new day. Blue stands for the cloudless afternoon sky in the south. The western sunset brings the yellows. Black comes from the far north where dark clouds gather and will, perhaps, bring the rain.

       Thus the Navaho woman of yesterday and today weaves her very life into her blankets. Often she sings the night chant as she works, ''With all around me beautiful, may I walk.''  Wood

• Weaving the path by Explore Canada
• Marie Begay Weaving
• Master Navajo Weavers: Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete
• Dream Weaver: Navajo designer Naiomi Glasses

Little Armies of Soldiers and Explorers...

        The first American plastic toy soldiers were made by Bergen Toy & Novelty Co. (Beton for short) in 1938. Beton also acquired the molds of another pre-war plastic figure company, Universal Plastics with their figures remaining for sale when lead toy production was stopped in 1942. The Beton figures were painted like metal figures and sold the same as their metal brethren; individually or in a boxed set of around seven figures. Following World War II, Beton modified their figures in an attempt to change the World War I type helmet into the World War II.
       Following World War II, plastic manufacture was seen as an industry with growth potential with many old and new companies making plastic figures that were widely available in the United States. Army men following the war were sold unpainted, usually in a green color corresponding to United States Army uniforms in World War II.
       Beginning in the early 1950s, Louis Marx and Company sold boxed sets of figures and accessories called playsets, such as "US Army Training Center" and the later "Battleground" sets. A rival manufacturer, the Multiple Plastics Corporation (MPC) also sold plastic figures in various colors with different separate accessories, so the same figures could be kitted out as soldiers (green), farmers, pioneers or cowboys (brown), policemen (blue), ski troopers (white) spacemen (various colors), or American Civil War soldiers in blue and gray.
       The economy of plastic sold in bulk, popularity of army men, and competition with manufacturers led to army men being sold in large bags by Marx, Tim-Mee Toys and MPC for as little as a penny a piece in the mid-1960s. During this time, Marx gave the American army men actual enemy soldiers to fight such as German soldiers (molded in gray) in their 1962 "Army Combat" set and Japanese soldiers (molded in yellow) in their "Iwo Jima" set that was released in 1963. In 1965, a "D-Day" Marx set featured Allies such as French (horizon blue), British (khaki), and Russians. One of their last and largest playsets was the multi-level "Fortress Navarone" mountain set based on The Guns of Navarone, which was available in the 1970s and pitted World War II Americans against Germans.
       During the Vietnam War, sales and availability of military toys began to decline alongside the unpopularity of the war and the higher prices of plastic from the 1973 oil crisis. Since 1975 many manufacturers of plastic soldiers in Europe and US closed, for example John Hill & Company, Reamsa, Louis Marx and Company, and Dinky Toys.
       Today most army men are made inexpensively in China and do not include the extensive accessories that were common in Marx playsets. They are also smaller on average, often not much more than 2.5 cm (one inch) high. Most of these figures are generic imitations of model figure sets from such companies as Airfix and Matchbox. They vary widely in quality.
       In addition to army men, other inexpensive, plastic toy figures are also commonly available. Toy cowboys and Indians, farm sets, spacemen, knights, dinosaurs, firemen, police officers and other playsets are often sold alongside army men.
       In September of 2019, BMC Toys, a maker of army men, announced that army women would be sold in 2020. This announcement was made due to popular request from female veterans and toy fans. The most well-known request is from a six-year-old girl who sent a handwritten letter for them to be made. Wikipedia.

 

The History of the Plastic Toy Soldier.

More Toy Soldier Video:

• What Happened To Sarge?
• The Trenches Remastered
• The All-American Army Men

 Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

DIY Old-Fashioned Miniature Spool Beds

Our finished spool beds ready for the bookcase dollhouse.
Personally, I think they are charming...

       Spool dollhouse furniture is very vintage indeed. It was most popular when threads were commonly wrapped, packaged and sold to ordinary folk who made their own clothes, quilted etc... 

       So little people have been recycling unwanted trash to outfit their dollhouses forever, it seems. But now, you have to purchase wooden spools to return to the craft; it is not expensive if you are patient enough to acquire these wooden parts through second-hand vendors. 

Supply List: 

• a variety of wooden spools small, medium and large
• a wooden platform length cut to fit your sleeping doll
• paint (spray acrylic or acrylic in a tube)
• wood glue
• clear varnish or Mod Podge
• scrap fabrics and notions for the bedding

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. You will need to collect quite a few spools, smaller ones, for this craft. 
2. Cut a thin wooden platform for the mattress of the bed to lay on. Make sure to measure the platform to fit the height of your doll. You can see that I planned the larger of the two doll beds to fit a standard size six inch dollhouse doll below. The shorter spool bed was designed for a child doll.
3. You may glue the spools to stand upright or plan to attach them by stringing a long wire through the spool holes and bending it around the spool bedposts. In the end I decided to leave the bedrails off.
4. Attach the spools using wood glue and let the glue dry overnight. 
5. Use acrylic paints or enamel paint alternatively to finish the spool beds.
6. Because doll beds like these were popular before the world wars and during, I chose to sew very old-fashioned bedding from lace trims and doilies.

Left, I'm thinking about the arrangement of spools for me dollhouse beds. Center, wooden spools
 may be found at resale or purchased online or maybe you could find them in your grandmother's
sewing kit. Right, the platform for your doll's mattress needs to be long enough to accommodate
it's height and wide enough so that he or she won't fall out of bed at night!

Left, I made two beds in different sizes from wooden spools. These stack neatly together for
storage purposes. Center, see the felt bedding with attached bed pillows. Right, the lace dusters 
are sewn directly onto the mattresses so that these won't be lost during play or storage.

Left, old lace trims were collected at estate sales and used to craft vintage looking bedding.
Center, use darker colored silks beneath the lace trim to emphasize the decorative designs.
Right, the old-fashioned dollhouse beds are finished for our bookcase dollhouse.

Vintage cottage decor cabinets make much nicer dollhouses...

Once designed to organize dvds and cds,
these dollhouse themed cabinets will be
filled with furniture and dolls in our
downstairs play room.

        When I first spied these tall, narrow cabinets, obviously intended for the storage of dvds and cds, the first thought to enter my head was... How awful for home decor but how extraordinary nice for doll play! And isn't that often the case? Something that gets marketed for one thing - that it doesn't quite look right . . . can become a perfect fit in an alternative venue. I mean, this designer should have been employed by a toy company!

       What I love most about these cabinets is that when put together, they look like row houses or townhouses in San Francisco, where I once lived.

       The paint needed sprucing up a bit so I brightened the colors and repapered the interior shelves to look like dollhouse rooms.

       These particular rooms are the perfect generous size for 1:48 Scale or quarter scale; this being the furniture size that I chose to work with on this dollhouse project. I could have opted for 1:24 just as easily but the rooms would have felt over-crowded and the decorations limited. 

       If readers find a cabinet or two like these, and plan to give them as a gift to a little person, 1:24 scale may be a better choice for a younger child's play dollhouse. In this scale they won't need as much furniture and durable, wooden peg dolls (1-3 inches) could live inside the ''vintage look'' rooms easily.

       I will eventually include photos here of all my updates once these townhouse dollhouses are finished. 

       So far, I have just finished some of the wallpapers and floor treatments. Tiny 1:48 scale furniture has been purchased for most of the rooms. I will need to make some of the furniture by hand as this project is getting a bit expensive. All of the decor will be altered to match the color schemes of the wallpapers which are a bit flamboyant for my taste but appropriate for Victorian townhomes, especially for those little girls that prefer them in dollhouses.

The Yellow Townhouse for Dolls:

Left, I will either need to name the townhome or change this 'music' sign to a home address.
Right, See the sides of this cabinet are painted with just as much detail, very nice.

Left, wallpaper and 'linoleum' floor added. Left center, just thinking about furniture arrangement. 
This bedroom suite is complete and needs painting. Right center, the wallpaper treatment is for a
pink nursery, I still need to find a faux white floorboard paper. Right, I have a tiny crib, rocking 
horse, dresser and chair for this room so far.

Left, The wallpaper and kitchen tile floor are finished. Center left, all I have for this dollhouse
kitchen thus far is a white table and chairs and one planter. Right center, both stripes and flowers
in purple for the living room walls and a grey checkered floor treatment are finished. Right, all the 
furniture that this living room can comfortably hold will need to be painted to match the purple 
color scheme for this room.

The Pink Townhouse for Dolls:

Left, this door will need a set of front steps for it. Right, there is an extra room for this pink 
doll townhouse. I will turn it into a bathroom.

Left, the pale blue and grey figured wallpaper is finished. The linoleum floor will need to be
reapplied. Center left, a sink, toilet and bath wait to be installed. Right center and Right, before
and after photos of window repaint. I applied highlights to the windows and brightened up the
pink outside walls.

Left, The study/family room has hand painted wooden floor and green wallpaper finished.
Center left, a few furniture pieces: T.V., side table and desk set. The television needs to be painted
for certain and I will craft a couch and chairs for this room. Right center, the rose colored wallpaper
is finished, the floor still missing. Right, see the furniture I have for this bedroom thus far: bed,
two dressers, crib and potted plant. All will be repainted for the decor.

Left, the wall paper and linoleum floor are finished. Center left, the kitchen sink, stove and refrigerator
 are a perfect fit for the room. Right center, the butterfly wallpaper and stained wood floors are finished;
 but, the wainscoting needs to be applied before finished. Right, here you see that I have acquired the
tiny dining room set and a piano for the room. I may alter the dining chair cushions.

More City Living for Dolls:

• Build a doll sized apartment including an elevator and multiple stories
• KPO crafts a working elevator for Barbie's cardboard dollhouse and a pulley system for a dollhouse elevator by Inventor Crafts
• A Barbie Town House from 1979

How to make a matchbox bed for a mouse...

        Here are the craft instructions for the matchbox mouse bed displayed in Rosebud Cottage. It is very easy to make and every little mouse doll needs a cozy place to sleep. The matchbox is a larger size than most; it ordinarily holds 5000 wooden matches. Although our mouse came with a slipcase bed of her own, it was a little too large for her new home, so we made her a new bed to fit just right into her art studio...

Beatrix mouse posed in her matchbox bed
made especially for her very own mouse
house!

Supply List:

• one large matchbox empty
• one acorn for a pillow
• scrap fabric for the bedding
• paper covered wire, green like a vine
• button for trim
• small amount of batting
• decorative scrapbook paper
• white school glue
• hot glue gun and glue

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. For this little mouse bed, you will only need to use the 'drawer' part of the large matchbox. So remove this and cover all of it's parts with a decorative paper, layering Mod Podge on top to give the bed a durable surface. 
2. Next, cover the wire with white glue and green paper if it is not already in this state prior to working with it.
3. Now bend the wire into a headboard for the bed. You can make any design you like or copy the one shown in the photos below. Use more wire to secure connections between the bent areas. These are obvious in the pictures because they are wrapped with brown wire.
4. Paint the wire head board as you go if it pleases you. This one has been left green to look like a vine.
5. Bend approximately 1/2 inch of the wire frame to attach just beneath the edge of the bed and hot glue the headboard onto the back and bottom of the matchbox to hold everything in place.
6. Sew and stuff a little pillow for your doll mouse to rest her head on. 
7. Cut a fabric scrap blanket to keep her warm at night and collect a small acorn to display as a 'natural' sort of pillow.
   

Left, side view of Beatrix's matchbox bed. She has an acorn for a decorative pillow. Right, the 
view of her 'vine-like' headboard from behind.

More Mouse Fun:

• Go here to see our directions for sewing a little sock mouse to play with.
• Read the Church Mouse Companion for Fun!
• Learn how to turn your acorns into dolls too!
  

Sleepy Dandelions

Illustrated spring and summer flower poem.

Sleepy Dandelions by Harriet Putnam

The dandelion children
Have on their nightgowns
white.
They left their yellow dresses
In cupboards for the night.

And quite forgot this morning
To leave their dewy beds;
So in their lacy nightgowns
They dream-the sleepy-
heads!

My small Asian Gofun doll...

       This eight inch, vintage, boy(?) doll dressed in Chinese folk costume has a head molded using layers of ground oyster shell (gofun) and wood pulp. He also has real human hair braided and attached into one whole in his head at the back.

       The child's costume is embroidered with Buddhist symbols: a red feather, incense burner, and yellow Bon hat. It's coat was once brilliant blue and the pants red still... The doll's shoes are in excellent condition given it's age.

       Doll artists in China made dolls using oyster shell and sold these to an American market during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. However most collectors in the United States are familiar with the Japanese Ichimatsu versions from those decades, 1920s through the 1950s.

Left, the jacket unbuttoned to reveal 'Made In China' printed in red. Center, the hands are very
worn; this must have been a toy well loved. Right, The jacket embroidery includes lucky,
Buddhist symbols.

       This version above is of an Asian doll made using gofun is from China. He or She is most likely older than those Japanese dolls made with the same methods and materials. However, I am unaware of it's exact age, but I do know that the doll is Chinese, not Japanese.

        "Gofun is scrapings from the shell of a Gofun oyster, ground into a fine powder and mixed with glue from Nikawa seaweed. This mixture is painted over a wood pulp composition face or other body parts many many times. The number of coats determines the quality of the doll. If the doll has a gofun covered face, it is much more valuable than the modern hard plastic head of dolls now being made in Japan. One way to determine if gofun has been used is to gently see if there is a small hole where the hair is inserted in the head.'' Judd, Price Guide African and Asian Costumed Dolls, 1995, edited

Tips For Cleaning Dolls Parts Made With Gofun:

• If the doll's face, hands or feet need cleaning desperately, only use very tiny amounts of mild soap and water on the tip of a cotton swab! Do not press down hard, this will remove the top coat of paint if you are not careful enough.
• Some folks will not use water, but gum erasers only. In either case, these dolls are extremely delicate and should be only cleaned with the utmost care.
• The dust on a doll's clothing may be removed with a small blow-dryer on it's cool setting only. Otherwise you may need to opt for a clothing replacement altogether if the garments are beyond saving. 
• Caution, the garments are often not color fast and if washed they will bleed out in the water and discolor other pale colors in the same garment, even if you use a mild soap!
• Many smaller, antique Ichimatsu have clothing that is sewn directly onto their rag bodies. These tiny stitches may be removed and the body parts replaced with duplicates if necessary. You will need to take these apart entirely and trace around the original patterns to restore some cloth body and costume parts. Do this only if the doll is hopelessly damaged as it will affect it's collectible value.
• Ichimatsu can be repainted/restored by a doll hospital that will research it's original history. Of course these cleaning tips are only for the less valuable friendship dolls that are circulating among the general, ordinary collecting public. There are extremely valuable friendship dolls that are museum quality dolls made with wood not wood composite. Those dolls must be cleaned by a museum conservator.
• There are eleven of the original 58 Friendship Dolls given by Japan many years ago (1927) that are missing. These dolls where all 33 inches tall and should be only cleaned and altered by museums. They are very valuable and should be identified by experts and only altered by them.

Learning About Japanese Traditions in Doll Art:

• Painting in Japan by Sandra Grantham
• The art and care of a Japanese Friendship Doll - These are the pricey, 58, historical ones folks! This special collection is housed in multiple museums.
• See what gofun looks like here and read about it's history...

 Return to the Doll Guide Index Page