Spruce Up A Heart Shaped Rocker for A Doll!

Left, the backside of my heart shaped rocker. Center, the front side of the rocker. Right, Disney Moana
doll holds a Valentine chocolate box and relaxes in the doll rocking chair; the chair is a perfect for her size.

        I discovered this unwanted iron work rocker at resale. I don't know whether is was designed to hold a miniature potted plant or if the manufacture intended it for a doll? I have seen similar chairs with pin cushions as seats. Whatever the original use, I decided to add it to our growing collection of furniture for the doll house. 

       I painted the frame a bright red using some leftover spray paint from previous projects and cut some heavy cardboard for a back and seat to cover with decorative scrap paper.

       Then I simply hot glued these finished pieces through the iron work on the backside of the frame and from underneath as well. Now I have a sturdy little heart shaped rocker that fits our 11 to 12 inch dolls.

Left, the rocker is it looked when I first purchased it. Center, I've cut a cardboard back and seat for the rocker.
Right, this is how the seat will look on the iron frame. I need to cover it with paper or fabric.

DIY Candy Filled Heart Box for 18 Inch Dolls

Valentine messages for candy boxes and cards in lavender.

"True as strong and strong as true

Is my earnest love for you."

Our 18 inch doll's "parents" have been working over-time making doll sized, candy filled
Valentine containers.  Our Chavonne doll holds the pink candy box and our Zoe doll
holds a purple version.

My own versions of fabric heart box covers.

"Tis the day the love birds mate;
Smile on me, and bless my fate."

"Here's my heart as good as gold
Bringing to you love untold."

       Although this craft is not difficult, it is time consuming to create. You can either make your Valentine shaped candy box using decorative fabrics or paper. What makes this Valentine craft truly unique are the tiny hand-made clay candies glued inside!

Supply List:

• cardboard
• masking tape
• tacky white glue
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• notions, trims, beads, lace (if you intend to make the fabric versions)
• fabrics
• Sculpey or paper clay
• acrylic paints: chocolate browns
• puff paints: white, pink, red 
• recycle an old heart shaped container (optional) 
• a variety of Valentine cupcake liners 
• matching tissue paper

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. If you do not have a recycled heart shaped box, you can make one similar to my own by hand. You will need to cut two hearts from cardboard. One of those hearts will need to be slightly smaller than the other, approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch smaller. The larger heart will become the lid and the smaller one the bottom.
2. Both hearts will need to have 1/2" to 3/4" side walls in order to comfortably hold your doll's miniature clay candy creations. Cut these strips from cardboard and attach them along the edges of your cardboard hearts using hot glue. Ask a parent for help when using hot glue.
3. Decorate both the top and bottom of your box. You may even wish to cover the sides of your box with ribbon or lace. Make sure the box lid fits neatly over the bottom before proceeding with the craft.
4. I also lined the interior of my two boxes with tissue paper.
5. Shape, or cut with a miniature cookie cutter or use tiny candy molds to make the doll candy from the clay of your choice. I used oven bake Sculpey for our doll's Valentine candy creations.
6. After baking the clay candy in the oven at 275 degrees, I let them cool completely before painting with brown acrylic paints.
7. I also covered a few candies with tacky white glue and aluminum foil paper.
8. Next, you may squeeze a bit of puff paint onto the top of your faux chocolates to identify what is supposedly inside each sweet treat; just as you would find on actual chocolate candies!
9. Let the candies dry and then cut long, narrow strips from a few cupcake liners to glue around the candy edges. Now you can choose to glue the faux candies inside your Valentine boxes or keep them loose. I chose to glue ours inside the bottom half of each box so that these would not be lost over time.

Left, Valentine clay candy cut with a miniature cookie cutter. Center, miniature Valentine clay
candy shaped by hand. Right, miniature clay Valentine candy shaped inside a tiny mold.

"When Cupid's dart
Shall strike your heart,
Oh, may his arrow be
This Valentine from me!"

Any doll would be pleased as punch to receive a box of chocolates like the two shown above and
below. Above is our purple version. The box top is decorated with satin, rick rack and a tiny
wire butterfly.

Here's a message, just a line,
Will you be my valentine?

Above you can see our buff pink version of this Valentine candy box craft. This candy box is
trimmed with pink silk embroidered flowers and green petals made from shaped ribbon.

"I send to you this heart of mine, 
For I'm your own true Valentine.

More candy filled container crafts:

• Origami Heart Box 
• Recycle old plastic bottle into a decorated heart shaped box

Craft Doll Sized Cookie Sheets And Sugar Cookies

Left, finished doll cookies in Valentine colors: red and purple.
Right, sugar cookies painted to look as though they have been baked.

Photo of steps used to make sugar
 cookies for our American Girl dolls
to play with.

       This cute and simple doll craft may be adapted for any sized doll. I chose to make this cookie sheet for the 18 inch dolls in our collection. If your dolls have an oven and you would like to make this craft to fit inside it. Be sure to measure the length and width of that oven so that you may cut your own cookie sheets to fit inside of it. You can also may these tiny cookies using air dry clay, paper clay or even salt dough clay. I used Sculpey for the sample project you see here.

Supply List:

• aluminum foil
• tacky white glue
• oven bake clay
• tiny doll sized cookie cutters
• cardboard
• acrylic paints: black, yellow, white, brown
• puff paints: red or pink
• glitter: purple
• Mod Podge (optional)
• hot glue and hot glue gun (optional)

Step-By-Step Instructions:

1. First roll out your oven bake clay into a 1/4 inch slab to cut out tiny shapes for doll sized cookies.
2. Bake the cookies in the oven at 275 degrees for approximately 15 minutes if you use Sculpey clay like mine.
3. While the cookies cool, cut 2 rectangles from cardboard measuring 3"x4"inches. 
4. Cut and glue thin stripes of cardboard to paste around the edges of the cardboard and let these dry.
5. Cut and paste aluminum foil to both sides of each cookie sheet. Press the foil around the edges of your cardboard gently as you go.
6. Take a dry brush and dip it into black acrylic paint. Then rub the brush over a paper towel. You only want a very small amount of black paint on the tips of the brush. 
7. Rub the loaded brush across the surface of the foil to give it an aged appearance. You can also take a dry paper towel and rub it across the cookie sheet to lift the black paint where you don't want it. Let the cookie sheets dry.
8. Now glue the clay shaped cookies onto one of the cookie sheets for display purposes. Leave the other sheet blank so that your dolls will have the option to put some of the cookies onto the sheet during play.
9. Use a very tiny brush to paint the finished cookies with a bit of yellow and brown. Let them dry and then use puff paints to add icing.
10. Before the puff paint dries, sprinkle on some glitter to look like decorative sugar.
11. Mod Podge your finished cookies and sheets to give them some durability.

More Cookie Crafts:

• Hearts and Stars Sugar Cookie Craft
• Paper Cookies from TheCraftTrain
• "If you give a mouse a cookie..." game board, treats and activities for children

Craft a Cupcake Stand Using Wooden Spools

Left, Here is the finished two tiered cake stand craft that I made for our 18 inch dolls to display
these sugary sweet treats for Valentines Day. Right, I used a series of wooden spools, beads
 and a decorative metal hook to construct the small stand.

        This craft is very easy to make if you can find the right materials. I used wooden spools for my own cupcake stand but this idea could be just as easily made using recycled jar lids or cardboard if you prefer.

Left, wooden spools, old-fashioned decorative, wall mount hook
and glue gun. Center, the 18 inch doll sized cupcake stand glued
 together. Right, I used small wooden beads for feet at the bottom
 of the cake stand.

Supply List:

• large wooden spool 
• one smaller wooden spool
• a finial or old decorative hook 
• Valentine scrapbook paper
• white enamel paint
• four wooden beads
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• white typing paper

       Above you can see the supplies collected on my old kitchen table. First you will need to glue the items together. If you use a hot glue gun and are a child, you should have an adult present to make sure that you don't burn yourself. Wooden parts can be glued together using many other types of glue if you have them on hand. It just takes longer for your cupcake stand to dry using them. 

Left, the cupcake stand painted white and you can see that I have cut my white typing paper
 to make a template for the liners. Center, the Valentine themed paper liners now fit the
bottom of each cake stand tier. I can remove these after Valentines Day is over and replace
 them with something else for our dolls to celebrate. Right, our hand-crafted, Valentine cup
 cakes are stacked and ready for our American Girl Dolls to play with. 
If you would like to make some like mine read this post!

       After my cupcake stand had time to dry, I then painted it with white enamel paint. I gave it three good coats of paint and let the paint dry between applications for approximately 20 minutes. Then I used a pencil to draw around the outside edge of the stand on white typing paper. Cut out the template and then cut a hole in the center of the pattern. I fit this to my cake stand before cutting out the decorative paper liners. You could Mod Podge these to your own Valentines Day Cup Cake stand in the end. However, I chose not to do this so that I could change the liners out with other holiday themed papers in the future.

More Valentine Cupcake Crafts from Our Family Blogs:

• "You Take The Cake!" Valentine Pattern Included
• See how to craft a Valentine mailbox cupcake here

Color Sweet Treats from The "Le Petite Pâtisserie Coloring Index"

Custom Character Doll: Clara Anderson

Clara smiles for the camera
in the sanctuary.

Custom Characteristics

Name: Clairissa Olive Anderson

Living On Campus? yes

School and Grade: Trinity Christian Academy for Girls, 4th grade

Interests and Hobbies: sewing for her dolls, loves math, reading and art, loves to  journal in her Bible, Clara also loves to daydream, work jigsaw puzzles and bake with her aunts on the weekends for fun. Clara has a large doll collection.

Brief Family History: Clara lives with her two aunts during her summer months and vacation days. She was orphaned before the age of seven. She attends the Trinity Christian Academy which isn't far from her aunt's home.

Siblings: Clara has much younger siblings that were adopted by extended family members after her parent's death.

Religion: Lutheran

Pet(s): She has a cat named Nova and a parrot named Pretty Pete. Both of her pets live with her aunts permanently. Clara sees them on the weekends, during vacation and over the summer.

About Me: Clara. I am 11 years old. My favorite color is pale yellow. My favorite
food is bread. My favorite author is Gene Stratton-Porter. I would like to be a
nurse when I grow up.

This Alexander Doll is An Original Character Doll

Name: unidentified

Height: 18 inches

Physical Features: long dark brown hair, brilliant blue sleep eyes, Caucasian doll, pale skin, dimples

Designer/Company: Madam Alexander Doll Company

Year(s): 2009

Additional Information: purchased through donations made to the Kidney Foundation

Custom Character Doll: Chavonne Richards

Chavonne picture from her first
day of school at Trinity Church
Sanctuary.

Custom Characteristics
Name: Chavonne Monique Richards
Living On Campus? no 
School and Grade: Trinity Church School for Girls, 4th grade 
Interests and Hobbies: Chavonne is very artistic. She is always interested in learning about new methods in the arts and crafts. She loves to paint and sculpt in her free time. Chavonne has a lovely voice and sings in the Sunday morning children's choir on weekends. 
Brief Family History: Creole Descent. Chavonne lives with her grandmother, mother and stepfather, and younger sister in a large three story home. Chavonne's stepfather is an ATC for the Army Corps. Her mother is a fund-raiser for the local hospital. 
Siblings: younger half sister, Tiana Beth Reed 
Religion: Pentecostal 
Pet(s): not yet!

About Me: Chavonne Richards. I am 10 years old. I love all colors, especially
red! I love to eat pasta, pizza and French toast! I love all Roald Dahl books so
much!!! I want to be an artist like my aunt when I grow up. And also my
grandmother is a quilt artist.

Chavonne is an Original Character Doll from Journey Doll 
Name: Chavonne or Taryn 
Height: 18 inches 
Physical Features: medium brown colored skin, hazel eyes, dark curly locks 
Designer/Company: Journey Doll 
Year(s): 2015 
Additional Information: I acquired this doll from Goodwill.

The About Me Name Game

       Now you can play the name game on your doll's first day of school. Just download the About Me name tag below. Print as many as you have dolls to give them to. Fill out their personal likes and dislikes. Mix the tags up to see if your friends or family can tell which doll each name tag belongs to before you reveal her name. Write her name at the top of the name tag so everyone will know your doll's information. 
        I've included the questions our pretend teachers wrote on the classroom chalkboard for every doll to read and respond to on their first day of school. Our doll's responses along with their photo under each of their custom character descriptions will appear this month.

• What is your age?
• What is your favorite color?
• What is your favorite food?
• What is your favorite book to read?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?

All doll students are asked to fill out the "About Me" name tag on the first day of school.

Back to Trinity Church School for Dolls index page

A Lovely Church Interior for Doll Photography

Our doll Sophie stands in front of a terrific
background for our doll church school.

       This lovely church interior is by photographer Simon Bowen. It is of St. Andrews in Lincolnshire. If you would like to print a copy and use it for your doll's background you may do so. It is in the International Creative Commons and may be used for children's personal photography backgrounds. Parents may visit the official web site for the International Creative Commons to insure that their little ones are using it correctly. Thank you again Mr. Bowen for such a nice contribution!

• Back to Trinity Church School for Dolls index page

Photo by Simon Bowen 2016, Interior of St. Andrews Church,
 Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International cc

Custom Character Doll: Sophie Xu

Sophie in Trinity Church
Sanctuary on her first day
of school.

Custom Characteristics
Name: Sophie Grace Xu
Living On Campus? no 
School and Grade: Trinity Church School, 4th grade 
Interests and Hobbies: Sophie loves to play with her pets and she loves to join her parents while cooking in the kitchen. Although she has no siblings, Sophie has a big extended family and sees them often. Sophie likes to collect coins and postcards from around the world. 
Brief Family History: Sophia was adopted from China. Both of her adoptive parents are American born. Her American father's family immigrated from Taiwan three generations ago. Sophie's father and mother are engineers and work for the same company.
Siblings: none 
Religion: Evangelical Christian 
Pet(s): dog named Chops, cat named Ginger

About Me: Sophie Grace Xu. I am 10 years old. My favorite color is blue.
My favorite food is chocolate cake. My favorite book series is
Anne of Green Gables. I want to be a school teacher and a mother when I grow up.

Sophia Is The Original Character Doll Leah
Name: Today's Girl "Leah" or Journey Girl "Callie" 
Height: 18 inches
Physical Features: Asian face mold, 
Designer/Company: Lotus Onda Asian Doll 
Year(s): 1996
Additional Information: I purchased this doll at an online ebay auction.

School Uniforms for Dolls

Sophie Xu models the basic school uniform. She wears Trinity
 Church School's tartan plaid skirt and a classic, long sleeved, 
white blouse. On her feet she wears black leather, Mary Jane 
shoes. She also wears a matching white ribbon in her dark hair 
and a gold cross necklace tied with a black velvet ribbon 
around her neck, to complete the look.

       Trinity Church School for Dolls requires it's pupils to wear a school uniform. School uniforms are proven to be both economical and practical. Below are the necessary items that your doll will need to attend a similar private school of your own making. However, if your doll is a Virtual Student at our school, she may wear whatever clothes she has while she works from her own home computer.

• The tartan doll skirt is the primary piece of clothing used to identify classmates at Trinity Church School. Instructions for making this simple gathered doll skirt will be uploaded soon and linked from this page.
• The dolls may wear white cotton blouses of any fashion, just as long as these are tucked under their skirts or into their pants.
• They may also wear knit shirts, short sleeved or long, in the colors of their chosen tartan plaid. At this blog, our doll's school tartan comes with these woven colors: burgundy, navy, white and a brighter red. A pale grey may also be used as an alternative color to mix with the tartan.
• Soft jackets and sweaters that blend with the tartan plaid can be combined with the white blouses or knit shirts to provide the dolls with extra warmth or comfort.
• Girl dolls may wear darker navy leggings or shorts beneath their skirts if they so choose. 
• Flat soled boots or shoes are required. Please wear socks in the winter!
• Jewelry and headbands are also allowed and encouraged. We love our dolls to look pretty too!
• Neck ties, scarves, backpacks, lunch bags etc... that come with the school's tartan may be specially ordered through the school office. These items are optional and I will include free patterns for them online at a later date.

• Back to Trinity Church School for Dolls index page

Find more doll private school uniforms:

• School Uniforms for Wellie Wishers and American Girl Dolls by Debby
• DIY simple Cute Doll School Uniform - Back to School Barbie Clothes Tutorial
• Dressing your dolls in school uniforms
• Club Uniform for Girls of Faith Dolls
• Dressing Our Dolls Into School Uniforms

Extra Crafts for School Team Spirit:

• DIY Simple Doll Cheerleader Pom-Poms

More About Tartans:

• The History of Tartan
• The Scottish register of Tartans
• How tartans are woven
• See authentic tartans and kilts
• See contemporary school uniforms

Trinity Church School for Dolls

Left, Historic Trinity Church School for Girl Dolls, founded in 1903.
 Right, A view from the West during a school picnic

       This historic doll school was founded that there might be a place, easily accessible to the dolls of any child's collection where they will have a thorough education and a happy home life. Here dolls are surrounded by refining influences and they can be physically, intellectually and spiritually trained if their child owners so choose.
       As the cost of living in Dollville is less than in most places, it has been possible to make the fees more moderate than those of real child schools, and there are, comparatively speaking, no outside expenses.
       Miss Carroll, the Lady Principal Doll, has had much experience in work of this kind, having been for many years Senior Mistress at Trinity Church School for Dolls.
       The place chosen could not be more appropriate, a handsome and well-built building, situated upon the prettiest street in Dollville, and surrounded by beautiful grounds two and a half acres in extent.
       To the original building a large three-story addition has been made, which contains the chapel, art-room, dining-room, room for domestic science, infirmary, and sleeping apartments.
       The rooms are large and well-ventilated, the class-rooms bright and airy. 

      The recreation grounds are extensive: tennis, basket-ball, croquet, swings, all have their place, and out-door exercise is encouraged as much as possible.

       There is a picturesque artificial lake in the grounds, shown in the picture below, left.

       There is also a fine orchard, a vegetable garden, and a poultry yard, thus combining the advantages of country with city life.

       The work done during the school year is always very satisfactory, and a decided improvement in our doll pupils is exceptionally noticeable. Universal satisfaction has often been expressed by their young owners.

       It is our wish to create in dolls a love for their work, and to arouse an interest in learning which will not pass away with their school days.

       A series of recitals will been given by the dolls of both musical and dance talent. In the past and they have been enjoyable as well as most helpful in overcoming the nervousness and self-consciousness of our doll students.

       An excellent course of University Extension Lectures was held at our school during the winter break, and more recently a most interesting and instructive course upon Practical Home Nursing. Courses similar to these will be offered again during the next semester. 

Left, Historic View From The South During Spring Semester.
 Right, Historic Winter View From The North.

Our Dolls & Their Young Parents Learn About: 

• The Alphabet and Spelling Posts
  
• Church Catechism Index
  
• Nature-Studies Index
  
• The History of People, Places and Things Associated With Holidays: Index
  
• Further Studies in Topics Associated With Literary Dolls: Index

Crafts features from our school index include a graduation cap, an art supply cabinet,
 cheerleader pom-poms and a restored school desk for doll play.

 

 

In 2023 our private school students will
replace the school uniforms with street
attire! See what our dolls are wearing...

Back To School Doll Crafts & Artifacts:

1. Printable Student IDs for Your Doll and You! - Now your dolls can have student doll IDs for Trinity Church School and so can you!
2. Trinity Church School: Doll Enrollment - custom and original doll characters at Trinity Christian Academy for dolls: Sophie Xu, Chavonne Richards...
3. About Me Name Game - for new dolls in pretend classrooms
4. School Uniforms for Dolls - The required school uniform for our dolls at their school...
5. School Supplies for Dolls Entering 4th-7th Grade
6. Church Interior for Doll Photography -  This lovely church interior is by photographer Simon Bowen.
7. Play the About Me Name Game on your doll's first day of school - a printable About Me name tag for doll and her friends
8. Make Doll School Cafeteria Lunch Trays - DIY lunch tray for the pretend school cafeteria
9. A Doll Art Supply Cabinet With Drawers - All the supplies your dolls will need to become a student artist...
10. An Old-Fashioned School Desk for A Doll - A school desk made by our next-door-neighbor.
11. Doll Sized Spelling Printables - 1841 - How dolls and school children learned their ABCs 150 years ago.
12. Doll Gingerbread Horn Book Craft - Make a delicious edible horn book craft for your historic American Girl Dolls. Edible horn books were rewards for kids who learned their alphabet successfully during the Colonial Era.
13. The Horn Book in America - Education for children in Early America.
14. Restoring An 18 inch Doll's Desk - Restore a desk, make new drawers and writing accessories.
15. DIY Clamshell Laptop for Your Favorite Doll - Every doll needs a laptop for school and homework! This version is made using cardboard and clipart.
16. Printable Food Group Posters for The Doll Classroom - free posters for your doll's health class.
17. Restoring An 18 inch Doll's Desk - replacing missing drawers, crafting a few decorative and useful desk top supplies
18. Print Out and Color In An AG Doll Sized, Doll Coloring Book - doll coloring for doll's to color!
19. 18" Doll Sized Pencil Case Craft - A beginner sewing project for young students; now your doll can carry her toothpick pencils neatly without loosing them inside her backpack!
20. DIY a Doll's Megaphone - for school spirit, cheerleaders, and pep rallies...
21. DIY Simple Doll Cheerleader Pom-poms - in our church school colors but you can make them any color you like!
22. Craft a travel pillow for your doll - just in case she falls asleep in the car while going to school!
23. Craft a graduation cap for your doll student - Every doll loves to celebrate her academic progress and you can make paper graduation caps for all of them!
24. DIY a doll size, freestanding water cooler... - made using recycled materials only!
25. DIY Office Supply for A Doll's Desk - Crafts for pencils, pink erasers, journals, paper weights and tape dispenser!
26. The Annual Valentine Mailbox Competition - Every year participating students enter a mailbox contest with award ribbons, party games, and Valentines of course!
27. Craft Cute Clip Boards for Doll School! - Decorate these with your favorite stickers too.
28. Currier & Ives Prints for The Dollhouse - "God Bless Our School" antique print from late 1800s, for an old-fashioned classroom!
29. School Desks for 18" Dolls - all kinds
30. Flossie Plays School with Her Friends - read her letter with your eyes, write her story with your own words
    
31. Cut a foam hand mit for your doll's school spirit! - make them in your doll's school colors...
32. Just a bunch of old rocks? - for a doll's school Geology Unit and display...
33. Every Doll Classroom Needs a Globe - to study the map of the Earth and the boarders of countries etc...
34. How to make an insect specimen board for a doll's classroom - using tiny nail stickers and double panes to help insects 'cast' shadows, a 3D illusion...
35. Classroom Achievement Award Printables - "Good Apples", Outstanding Readers, and recognition for excellence of your choice...
36. Printable Pink Hall Pass - your doll's must have one of these to be in hall during class!
37. Printable magazine covers about school days - vintage

school days silhouette

Doll Fan Video About School Days:

• Awesome Academy OG Stop Motion - Our Generation
• How to be safe at school by AG mini Makers
• American Girl Doll School Classroom - Packing School Bags and Lunches
• DIY AG Doll School Classroom With Locker, Desk, & Accessries by CC and Lulu
• Cecee's Pre-Presentation Jitters - Join an Our Generation Doll classroom for a history presentation
• Cleaning up American Girl Doll school lockers on the last day of school! by agoverseasfan

Doll Fan Back To School Shopping:

• See agoverseasfan pack her doll's school bags...
• Back to school shopping vlog with The Darbie Show by MyFroggyStuff
• American Girl dolls go back to school shopping by Dolly Llama Toys

Free enrollment printable for Girls who wish to sign up their dolls for
Trinity Church School for Dolls. For personal home use only.

Two Techniques to Restore One Doll's Chair

Left, this chair was originally painted peach. Center, I layered both blue and pink using a dry brush technique.
Right, the finish is done.

       I chose to repaint this dollar find from the local flee market and then to hand weave a new seat using twine and ribbon found in my craft supply at home.

I wove a seat cushion using twine for the warp
 and ribbon for the weft.

Supply List:

• acrylic paints (your choice, 2 to 3 colors)
• stipple brush (optional), or soft camel hair brush
• twin or natural colored yarn for the warp components
• purple embroidery floss and needle
• purple ribbon for the weft components
• clean paper towels 
• clear acrylic sealer

Step-by-Step Instructions for The Dry Brush Technique:

1. Dust and clean off the chair that you have on hand. I discovered the one above at resale for $1.49; it fits a 14" doll perfectly.
2. I also removed the damaged seat.
3. Lightly load up your brush with paint. Dab it on the paper towel to insure that it does not have too much paint on it. Because this is a dry brush technique, you need very little paint to accomplish this wood finish.
4. Now lightly brush the surface of the chair. Let it dry and repeat with another color. Layer the colors randomly as you go. Stop when you are satisfied with the brushed color surface.
5. Some of the colors will show in places more than others.
6. Seal with a clear acrylic spray or wash.

Step-by-Step Instructions for The Woven Seat:

       First you will need to decide the direction of your warp wrap. I chose to wrap my seat running the warp twine up and down instead of the traditional method of wrapping from left to right. This is because I wanted the ribbon weft to show on the left and right sides of my seat.

       Tie the warp twine onto the chair stretcher directly under the lowest rail of the seat. (below left) Now wrap the warp threads under, up and over the front stretcher directly opposite to its back stretcher. Do this over and over until the seat has been filled from one side of the support to the other. Do not pull the warp tight; this will distort the chair frame! The weaving will eventually tighten the seat properly as you go.

Left, I am reading to wrap the warp first. Center, I chose to sew together the warp threads at each
 end of the seat weave with purple embroidery floss. Because I wrapped the warp all the way around
 the front and back rungs of my chair seat. It was necessary for me to tie both the top and bottom
of corresponding warp threads together. The embroidery floss helped me to secure warp threads
before proceeding with the weave.

Left, penny shows size of woven seat on top of the seat cushion.
Right, the weave as seen from beneath the seat cushion.

More About Weaving for Young People:

• Check out the Weaving Index at Thrifty Scissors