bodner072

       What a big difference a little paint and fabric can make. It's was so easy to transform this little wooden bench into something bright and cheerful for a doll's bedroom.         I chose to cover my doll's bench in blue and orange. Blue and orange are complimentary colors. This means they are opposite of each other on the color wheel. Decorating your doll's rooms according to particular color wheel combinations will ensure that your color choices are tasteful combinations. Many interior decorators use color wheel combinations to design aesthetically pleasing rooms. Visit my Art Education Daily blog to view color wheel graphics. Supply List: cardboard paint for the bench a small wooden bench (from resale) hot glue gun and hot glue just a bit of fabric  felt scraps clear acrylic sealer typing paper (for pattern) Step-by-Step Directions: Clean the bench with a mild dish soap and set it in the sunshine to dry. Sand ...

Description of Coloring Page: pin curls, balancing hands, toddler doll, frilly dress Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Description of Coloring Page: book, reading, stripped stockings, lace collar, china doll, school girl doll Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Description of Coloring Page: wheels, pull toys, horses, ponies, antique horses, mane, saddles Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Try stacking all kinds of shapes in order to configure a contemporary night stand. Use spray paint to achieve slick, crisp surfaces that look professional.        I glued together two modern looking night stands using two bottle caps, two spools and two empty tin cans that once held bee's wax. You could use a hot glue gun to stick these items together. I used a sticky wood glue.         In order for this glue to work on plastic and metal surfaces, it must be adhered to masking tape. So between each surface, I applied the tape.         Then I cleaned the tin cans thoroughly before masking them completely and spray painting the bottom halves of my night stands with blue paint.        Remove the tape from the masked areas to reveal clean, crisp metal finishes and evenly painted surfaces on bottom!   Watch and see how to make more modern looking night stands...

A new set of towels for Barbie's friends.        I think that our family's dolls will agree that there is nothing nicer than a new, fresh set of towels! I chose a couple of brilliant azure blue, terry cloth, hand towels from a local dollar store to cut apart for this simple craft. Supply List: terry cloth trims for hand towels needle and threads to match   Step-by-Step Directions:  You may wish to straight stitch the sides of your doll's towels on a machine or by hand. I turned and straight stitched every side for both the bath towels and hand towels. However, I didn't bother with the tiny wash cloths.  Add a little extra trim to the ends of the hand towels. I decorated each of my solid color hand towels with a white floral embroidered lace.  The bath towels measure 4 1/2" x 11". The hand towels measure 2 1/2" x 5 " and the wash cloths are 2 1/2" x 3" each.  Sew more towels for your doll: Sew a Towel Set for A Doll With Monogram Min...

The finished result after a couple hours of spray painting.        In the 1970s and 1980s, it was popular to furnish doll houses with small wicker furniture; the alternative to plastic inflatables. Because wicker is not very strong, much of it did not survive the playtime I suppose.        I picked the stool, side table and one chair on the first day and then I returned the following day to retrieve the second chair. When visiting resale in the city, I always return the day after I have purchased something in order to see if it is a part of a larger set. Doll furniture in specific, was and still is sold in sets from high end toy stores. By the time these little furnishings are donated by former owners, many pieces may be lost or shifted into multiple bags or boxes.        I have also discovered that employees in my local resale shops, do not always put sets of doll furniture out on display all at o...

Above are the doll's yellow and lavender feather dusters. These are stored in the utility cabinet when they are not being used. See them hanging on the cabinet's hooks here.        These feather dusters sure come in handy after the dust settles in our doll's house! So much construction going on this month.        Why not make a few for your collection today? They are easy to make and cost less than a penny to manufacture.       Feather dusters can be made any size, miniature or playscale. It all depends on the length you make the toothpick. Supply List: craft feathers toothpicks Sculpey, oven bake clay white school glue white twine Step-by-Step Directions: Shape a simple little handle onto the end of a toothpick. Make sure that it encompasses at least 1/2 inch of the toothpick. This will make your feather duster durable. Use the tip of a toothpick to poke a tiny hole into the end of the handle so that you can tie a small...

       I picked this small wooden cradle for our fashion doll's house not only because I thought it charming but also because it rocks well without tipping. It is an excellent size, 8"x4"x4", for a Barbie doll's baby. All this piece needed was a bit of updating! Above, I painted this little cradle using two colors, green and teal, and left a few of it's surfaces stained. This style of furniture is comely referred to as "two-toned." Although, technically my cradle has three  colors on it. The word combination "two-toned" refers to the leaving of some surfaces stained and others painted. Detail of bumper pad tacked in place. See the coordinating changing table I crafted to match this doll cradle for Barbie here. Supply List: acrylic paints cardboard felt for lining, any color scraps of fabric for the bumper pad fleece for mattress cover, coordinating color needle and thread clear acrylic sealer  sand paper  small paint brush Step-by-Step ...

       You don't always need to alter, refinish, upcycle etc... every object you pick from a resale, an estate sale or flee market. Sometimes I have picked items that fit right into doll house interiors that look like they were designed for that exact purpose. These items do share one thing in common, however, I did not pay more than $2.00 for each piece and in some cases, I paid much less. This small, stained, wooden box was perhaps once used for jewelry? It looks like a set of stair-step dresser drawers  for a doll house. The brass handles and inlaid brass oak leaf design are in perfect condition! I won't be  altering this piece. Printed on the inside lid, "Lane Presented by Carol House Furniture St. Louis, Missouri." A cedar box, perfectly preserved with key to lock. This cedar box reminds me of a lovely cedar trunk that my grandmother had at the foot of her bed. Inside, she stored a wedding gown, wedding cake topper and fur cape. It was custom...

I used the wooden shelf paper to cover my utility sink's lower cupboard.        Our 12 inch fashion dolls will love these latest additions to their laundry room. The utility sink is cut from a bright yellow bottle and so is the doll's hamper. Spot, the pipe cleaner puppy, is waiting to see if the family cat will jump into the hamper to play hide and seek. Little does he know that the giant yellow sink is intended for more than just clothes. The utility room cabinet and sink have two towel racks made from tiny, unfinished, wooden spools and dowels. I covered the counter top with aluminum foil tape to mimic a stainless steel counter top. Supply List: cardboard (boxes) sharp scissors, box cutter, Exacto knife etc... shelf paper with printed wood pattern white school glue  masking tape recycled bottle (thoroughly cleaned) buttons for hot and cold water knobs thick, bent wire for faucet fabric for the liner of your doll's hamper needle and thread to match t...

       Some of our dolls are very tidy indeed! They have their own cleaning supplies that need to be stored somewhere. So I have made a cabinet from a recycled cardboard to include inside of the laundry room for this purpose. You can make a storage unit any size or shape that you desire. This cabinet is made to color coordinate with the other furnishings in our laundry room. Left, the box is cut and glued together in the shape of a utility closet. Center, the surfaces/walls are covered with paper. Right, the cabinet is filled with cleaning supplies, appliances, and other housekeeping stuff. Miniature things found in our utility cabinet include: an iron with a cord cleaning supplies for keeping a doll's house scrubbed and polished an aluminum dust pan a broom for sweeping the doll house floors a mop for soaking up all of those unfortunate spills feather dusters for clearing away dusty counters, windows, etc... a bottle of bleach for scrubbing out the bathtub...

This table top ironing board and miniature iron are handmade especially for our  12 inch dolls.        I chose to make the type of ironing board you can put on top of a table in order to save space inside of my doll's utility room. The ironing board fits perfectly inside the utility room cupboard.         Chose a fun looking felt for your ironing board cover! Our ironing board is covered with a hot pink, bright yellow and white floral print. Supply List: scraps of felt, the top layer should be attractive cardboard white school glue hot glue gun and hot glue three beads of equal size Step-by-Step Instructions: First cut out the shape you would like your doll's ironing board to be from a thick piece of cardboard. Now lay the cardboard cut out on top of thick felt and trace around the shape with a soft lead pencil. Cut the felt shape out. Both the cardboard pattern and the thick felt should be the same size and shape. Gl...

       The miniature rope basket is made in much the same way as it's real life version. This basket was designed to move dirty laundry back and forth from the bathrooms to the utility room. A rope basket can look very different depending upon the materials used to craft it. I chose natural colors that will coordinate with many of the colors in our doll's house, but you could use brighter, bolder colors if you wish. Barbie's pets are romping around in the laundry again! Supply List: recycle an old plastic cup enough burlap like fabric to cover the surfaces of the cup needle and thread hot glue and hot glue gun twine (I chose a natural looking twine) two beads for handles Step-by-Step Instructions: Wash and dry the recycled plastic cup. Cut out enough fabric to wrap around the outside of the cup with ample amounts to tuck inside the cup and cover it fully. Hot glue the fabric to neatly overlap the sides. Thread and needle and sew a straight stitch around the...

The duck 'floats' on top of the clear plastic  sheet as though he is swimming and the  grey papier-mâché pulp makes our birdbath look  just like a real life concrete version!        To begin this project, you will need the help of an adult to cut away the birdbath form from a recycled plastic bottle. Include the twist top cap in your cut as well. You can see below that I cut the clear plastic bottle along one of it's seams. The neck of this recycled bottle will become the birdbath's  pedestal. I also cut away the bottom of my bottle to glue to the top of the pedestal. This part will become the birdbath basin. Supply List: one recycled juice bottle, clear plastic papier-mâché pulp masking tape tiny sea shells hot glue and hot glue gun a recycled piece of plastic sheet a box cutter or sharp Exacto knife or a sharp pair of scissors Step-by-Step Instructions: Cut out the parts of your doll's birdbath with adult supervision. This part of the...

The pedestal sink here is made from two separate types  of candlesticks stuck together with a very sticky,  aluminum foil adhesive tape.        I made this particular pedestal sink from recycled, glass candle sticks. It is very near to impossible to glue together these kinds of parts. So the answer to a successful assembly is not to use glue! Use an aluminum tape from a hardware store to adhere the two pieces together. Either a silver foil tape or duct tape will work. I prefer the foil tape because it is more attractive and has a stickier backing.        Position the silver button inside the candle stick where a drain would naturally exist in a sink. Pool white glue over the top of the cavity. This will hold the button in place but will appear transparent. It takes three to four days for this ample application of glue to become transparent; be patient with it. Supply List: one glass candlestick that looks like a basin or sink...

Barbie sized paper towels and toilet paper balance on a soap dish rack converted into an entire doll sink counter.         This stainless steel, doll house sink is made from upcycled house hold things. The sink itself was formerly a 1/4 cup measuring cup used for baking and the steel frame once held shampoo, conditioner etc... The custom miniature toilet supplies are made from the very materials they are intended to copy. The toilet paper rolls and paper towels are cut and shaped from life sized toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls and the tiny tissue box was made from the cardboard and tissue of an actual box of Kleenex.        A modern sink like this one, is perfect for display in a contemporary doll house bathroom. Later, when I have finished more furnishings for a modern bathroom, I will show you how it looks inside of our doll house display. Supply List: stainless steel measuring cups stainless steel soap dish di...

       This doll bathtub looks like a built-in, however, I have applied a 'tile' design to all four of it's sides so that it may be turned in any direction, positioned into an alcove, and even placed into the middle of a room, if that is your preference. The shoebox bathtub is slightly larger so that it may accommodate both a 12" doll or a 14" doll.        I tiled this tub using glue, without the grout, in order to keep it lighter in color. I have no intention of ever filling it with real water both because it is made from cardboard and also because it will be used inside of an actual doll house, so it is not terribly necessary for it to be grouted. The tiles are also very tiny and do not need grout for support. Notice, I have chosen to use multicolored tile work so that several colors will coordinate with the tub, should a smaller person wish to decorate her doll house bathroom differently. Supply List: tiny tiles, one or two ...

       The reference to stories naturally brings us to another domain of children's imagination: the new world opened up by their story-books, which is all strange and far away from the nursery where they sit and listen, and in which, nevertheless, they manage in a sense to live and make a new home.        How is it, one is disposed to ask, that most children, at any rate, have their imagination laid hold of, and  fired to a white heat, by mere words? To watch the small listener in its low chair, with head raised, eyes fixed, and hands clasped, drinking in every word of your story, giving sign by occasional self-cuddling and other spasmodic movements of the almost over-powering delight which fills its breast, is to be face to face with what is a mystery to most "grown-ups". Perhaps we elders, who are apt to think that we have acquired all the knowledge and to forget how much we have lost, will never understand the spell of...