DIY Découpage Dish Craft

Above is a very old set of durable, glass dishes shaped like the flowers of a petal.
I bought the set above, four bowl and four plates, in a local tag sale.

       You can easily customize small sets of desert dishes for a child size, play kitchen. You will only need a few basic tools plus Mod Podge. I chose to decoupage my bowls with a red acanthus design printed on tissue paper; I thought the colors were not only striking but versatile. I will hand-paint the plates to match, in a different post.
       Wash any dishes that you wish to use in this craft thoroughly, with warm water and dish soup. Many crafters use a sponge brush to apply Mod Podge because they think is works better. I just use either my finger tips or a regular bristle brush. There will be creases in the tissue, but the end result will be lovely. If you must remove a layer that you don't like, simple soak the dishes in a pan of hot water and remove the layer of tissue before starting over.

       As I have mentioned, you will need to cover the underside of the desert bowl with Mod Podge, a kind of transparent white glue. Then gingerly layer the tissue on top of the glue. Then cover the tissue layer again and layer a second time with the tissue, wrong sides together. I used this method because the print on my tissue paper was only one-sided and I needed the pattern to be double sided. Cover the final layers with several additional coats of glue and allow each application to dry thoroughly before brushing on another.
       Trim around the dry tissue layers with sharp scissors or a razor blade in order to preserve a final, clean edge around the lip of the bowl. Brush on a final, thick layer of glue to the lip to seal it. Do not wash these dishes after use, this will remove the découpage. Wipe the surfaces down with a damp cloth if they get dirty. This set is intended for play time only!

Above you can see that I covered my bowls with the same tissue print with the reverse sides together. You
 won't need to add this many layers of tissue if you use solid colors or two-sided patterns. Although the  
découpage is quite durable, it is not water proof, so remember that this craft only temporarily alters your glass
 dishes. On the far right, bottom corner, I show that the edges of each bowl have been given a final, thick 
layer of glue in order to seal the rims and keep the tissue dry for longer use. This glue will dry hard and clear.

In this sample video the back of
 the plate is pounced with paint.

See more video about decoupaging dishes:

• DIY Serving Plate Personalized Beautiful Easy Fun Make It Yourself
• Viveca's Decoupage on Glass

Classic Alphabet Blocks

 One of the first references to Alphabet Nursery Blocks was made by English philosopher John
Locke, in 1693, made the statement that "dice and playthings, with letters on them to teach
children the alphabet by playing" would make learning to read a more enjoyable experience.

       Toy blocks (also building bricks, building blocks, or simply blocks) are wooden, plastic, or foam pieces of various shapes (square, cylinder, arch, triangle, etc.) and colors that are used as construction toys. Sometimes toy blocks depict letters of the alphabet like the standardized from our family collections shown above and below.

• Alphabet Blocks Inducted in 2003

Witold Rybczynski has found that the earliest mention of building bricks for children appears in Maria
and R.L. Edgeworth's Practical Education (1798). Called "rational toys", blocks were intended to
teach children about gravity and physics, as well as spatial relationships that allow them to see
how many different parts become a whole.

The first large-scale production of blocks was in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn by S. L. Hill,
who patented "ornamenting wood" a patent related to painting or coloring a block surface prior to the
 embossing process and then adding another color after the embossing to have multi-colored blocks.

What can children learn while playing with blocks:

• Motor skills: toy blocks build strength in a child's fingers and hands, and improve eye-hand coordination. They also help educate children in different shapes.
• Socialization: block play encourages children to make friends and cooperate, and is often one of the first experiences a child has playing with others. Blocks are a benefit for the children because they encourage interaction and imagination. Creativity can be a combined action that is important for social play.
• Academic training: children can potentially develop their vocabularies as they learn to describe sizes, shapes, and positions.
• Math concepts: are developed through the process of grouping, adding, and subtracting, particularly with standardized blocks, such as unit blocks. 
• Interaction and play: with gravity, balance, and geometry learned from stacking toy blocks also develops basic survival skills.
• Creative thinking: children receive creative stimulation by making their own designs with blocks.

       In 1837 Friedrich Fröbel invented a preschool educational institution Kindergarten. For that, he designed ten of the 20 Froebel Gifts on building blocks principles.

• The Means And Ways of Occupation In The Kindergarten

Push And Pull Toys

        Above is one of many wooden pull toys in our family collection. This alligator was made by hand. The wooden balls spin as the comical reptile is being pulled across the floor. Below is a bouncing, wooden frog by Melissa and Doug and a dancing alligator by Plantoys Planwood.

What kinds of skills can a baby or toddler learn with the use of push or pull toys?

1. learning to balance his or her body weight on two feet or one foot
2. coordinating two skills at once, walking and pushing something
3. selecting a direction to move and successfully accomplishing it
4. listening and acting according to sounds that the object makes while moving
5. large motor skills are practiced over and over
6. developing the sense of one's own body and how that relates to another object

 New games with old toys.

 More About Pull Toys:

• Pushing and pulling: toddler development
• Physical play and development
• Educational Benefits of Providing Toys to Children 
• Playing with pull toys at 16 months

More Pull Toys from Our Family Collections:

Fisher Price: Little Snoopy pull toy.

Fisher Price: Toot-Toot train engine pull toy.

Fisher Price: Classic telephone pull toy with rolling eye-balls.

  Return to the Doll Guide Index Page 

Give An Old Set of Blocks a New Life!

Left, I've even added a few unique pieces to this collection like this wooden castle craft that originated from
 a Home Depot kit. It was marked up but a bit of new primer and fresh paint makes it a charming addition
 to our family block collection. Right, you can see that I used many different shapes and sizes of blocks
to include in this DIY toy block project.

Preparation of surfaces.

       All woodwork must be sanded and thoroughly dried before any paint is applied. Care should be taken to see that all sharp surfaces and edges are smoothed to the touch so that a baby or small child does not get cut or poked with a splinter while playing with the blocks. You may wish to apply a primer first to your block surfaces prior to painting them depending upon the wear of their surface areas.

       After the priming coat of paint is dry, putty up all knot holes, dents and cracks, and other defects on the surface of your blocks.

Left, are the sizes and styles I was able to collect from resale. Right you can see how I laid the blocks out
 inside of a deep cardboard box before spray painting many of them. I also painted my blocks
 with a brush and acrylic paint sometimes. I use what was on hand to complete the project.

Application of Paint.

       In applying the paint to the toy the first coat should be thinned. This will act as a kind of primer or undercoat for the succeeding coats of paint. Care should be taken that plenty of time is allowed between coats for the paint to dry completely. Three coats of paint will produce a good finish.
       I used a variety of enamel and acrylic paints that I already had purchased for previous craft projects. This is a great way to use up all kinds of paint that you may have tucked away in cupboards and drawers around the house. Try to use water based paints for easy, nontoxic application. I will, however, seal the painted surfaces by coating them with a wood varnish. This will help prevent chipping; wooden blocks take lots of tumbles while in use!

So many colors of blocks: rose, rust, red, orange, magenta, grey, pink, purple, brown,
lighter versions of purple, ocher, green, orange and four different blues, yellow ect...

  Varnishing.

       Two or three coats of varnish will produce a very durable finish. The first coat of varnish ought not be quite as heavy as the succeeding coats. If the varnish is of extra heavy body it should be reduced slightly for the first coat. The best varnish reducer is thin varnish. The prepare this reducer, take one part varnish (the same varnish to be reduced), and two parts of turpentine. Shake these together well and let stand twenty-four hours before using. This will reduce the consistency of the varnish without tearing down the body as pure turpentine would. The first coat of varnish should be allowed to dry thoroughly before the second is applied.

This collection is sure to please any small aspiring architect!

Points on Varnishing. 

1. The less varnish is worked under the brush the better its luster
2. Use clean brush and pot, and clean varnish. See that the surface is clean before beginning to varnish.
3. Allow a coat of varnish plenty of time for drying until it becomes hard.

More Tips for Prepping & Painting Blocks:

• How to make a sanding block for wood projects
• DIY Wooden Building Blocks
• DIY Wooden Blocks - Easy Wood Toy
• Finishing Wooden Building Blocks with A Hot Marks Iron

Make Simple Beanie Caps for Baby Dolls

This little Berenquer Doll came dressed from the local Goodwill! He is the
 perfect companion to my other little boy, baby dolls. I think he needs a hat.

    It seems as though you can make just about anything from a nice pair of socks these days. If you don't feel your up to knitting little beanie caps from scratch, cut up a some of those socks that you can't find a match for! Suddenly, knit baby bonnets will become fashionable in your doll nursery. 

   Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut across a sock just above the heal. Turn the sock piece inside out and sew a tough seam across the end cut side. Repeat this seam several times to eliminate the prospect of the sock unraveling. Turn it back to the front sides facing out and fit it over a bald doll's head. Now tuck in the peaks until you've got the beanie looking fit and trim. Thread an embroidery needle with contrasting floss and sew the nips and tuck down securely to the shape of your doll's head.

Socks Make Great Garments for Dolls:

• Making Doll Sock Sweaters
• Adorable dolls clothes knitting patterns for those of you who love to knit

Tuck in the corners of the sock and sew them down with a embroidery thread and needle.
I did this using a blanket stitch. The trick to getting this just right is to do it while it is
 stretched over the surface of a bald dolls head. Don't do it if your doll has a wig! 

These socks no longer have a matching partner so I've decided to reshape them into nursery beanie caps for a few dolls.

Introduce your child to sewing with this simple doll cap craft. My grandmother taught me to sew on a machine
 step-by-step by adding costumes to my doll's wardrobe many years ago.

Their heads are warm, now all they need are some booties.

Altering infant clothing to fit a baby doll...

Another doll from our family nursery by Berenquer Doll Designs.
This doll has hazel eyes and an open mouth for a bottle.

   I found these little Carter shorts in a resale shop not far from my home and I paid only a dollar for them. It is so much easier and cheaper to resize baby clothes for your dolls than it is to sew them from scratch. When altering shorts or pants, remove the elastic and cuffs with a seam ripper. If you take the time to do remove these, your end product will look clean and custom made.  Always trim pants from the outside seam, so that the detailing on the front zipper will remain intact. 

   Many vinyl baby dolls can be dressed in diapers intended for real preemie infants (premature) so don't cut the shorts or pants down too much; leave some wiggle room. Also, you don't want the clothing to be so tight fitting that little ones can't dress and undress their dolls. Repeating this process over and over helps them to develop small motor skills and it should be encouraged. 

Alter Baby Cloths Into Doll Clothes:

• Super simple ways to make doll pajamas!
• Repurpose baby shirt into a doll's dress
• From baby clothes to doll clothes!

Left, A pair of Cater shorts for infants, very classic plaid and durably made. Center, remove the upper seams,
 elastic and cuffs at the bottom before altering. Right, trimmed and the waist band restrung,
this pair of shorts has been successfully altered for a variety of doll body types and sizes.

Left, this baby doll has a simple altered tee shirt made from a recycled baby onesie. (see method here)
Right, Now my little fella wears a pair of altered infant shorts. I chose to make them a little large in order to
accommodate a diaper and/or a larger doll. 

Sew a Nightshirt for A Doll

A Berenquer Doll, these were very popular with my girls,
when they were little. Consequently, there are many in the
Grimm family toy collections.

    Many a mother or grandmother may consider sewing nightshirts for their child or grandchild's massive baby doll collection to be a daunting task. Given the size of that collection in our own pretend nursery, this would be a considerable effort that might take, at the very least, a week to finish! However, we are far more practical in the production of doll clothes than you might anticipate. Especially when one must consider the small people who will be dressing and undressing these bulky vinyl infants to begin with. 

    First and foremost, learn where to find the most economically priced baby clothes in your area, that may be a baby resale, Goodwill outlet, or perhaps even a garage sale at the end of your neighborhood street. Look for clean, like new onesies in the smallest sizes that you can find. (0 to 3 months or preemies ) I found half a dozen of these for three dollars and spent about ten dollars at a Once Upon A Child one afternoon. These onesies had adorable prints and applique designs and the best part of the bargain, I didn't need to spend hours trimming them to look adorable!

    I could have chosen to make nightgowns less contemporary but these would not have been as easily manufactured or as easy for little hands to manipulate around big headed dolls. So I opted for the simplest and most economical solution. Don't forget to get a selection of blues and pinks. Although most baby doll mothers insist on determining their pretend children to be girls, there are a few boys that seem to sneak in with the bald heads and mischievous grins.

    Trim off the bottom edges of your onesies, before altering the gowns. This will allow young parents to use the gowns to dress a variety of dolls of different sizes.  

    I chose to alter my doll's nightshirts using French seams. French seams are durable, clean, and visually attractive in my opinion. There is no need to worry if the seams will unravel with rough use. In a French seam, the raw edges of the fabric are fully enclosed for a neat finish. The seam is first sewn with wrong sides together, then the seam allowances are trimmed and pressed. A second seam is sewn with right sides together, enclosing the raw edges of the original seam.

I rolled the bottom edge of this baby doll's night shirt and
then added a blanket stitch to finish off the night gown.

Left, lay the doll on top of the baby onesie in order to measure how much you need to trim off in order to fit it to your doll.
 Center, I drew directly on the onesie with a pencil, in order to see just where I needed to sew. Right, here you can see that
 I have made my alteration and trimmed away the excess material just before turning the garment inside-out and sewing
 a second seam around the edge of the material. This is called a French seam. French seams help keep fabric edges from
 unraveling over time and heavy use.

Sewing French Seams:

• French Seams from Made to Sew
• How to make a French Seam

No matter how large and absurd the head of your doll, the lap
shoulder neckline makes dressing this type of doll easier.

A toddler can even manipulate this stretchy made knit over her doll's
permanently bent arms with a bit of a tug here and there.

Soon... I'm getting there.

Ah ha! presto-chango, a well dressed baby doll, ready for the land of nod!