Bedrooms are of course important for when its time for the dolls to finally take a break from their busy lives.

Dresser/VanityTo make a perfect vanity or dresser set use a small, individual sized cereal box set on its side. Cut up popsicle sticks to make the legs and little cardboard pieces to represent drawers. Paint the whole thing as you’d like. To attach a mirror use a half lid of a coffee or Pringles can lid and cover the inside with aluminum foil. Glue all pieces together and let dry.

Bed and Mattress The bed and mattress set is easy to make, especially if fruit is in season. Trim a berry basket so that it resembles the mattress,head and footboards. For the other two sides, cut them straight just above the holes all the way down to the bottom of the box, never cutting them completely apart from the head/footboard piece. Fold the other two sides under to serve as the frame. You can use a sponge or foam for the mattress, a cotton pillow and fabric bed cover.

If you are extra creative you could even crochet or knit a bedspread.

Nightstand
For any kind of nightstand or side table you can use the lid of an old spray can. Simply place the open side face down to create a contemporary, modern look. You can add color, fabric or stickers to the top for added decoration.

Additionally, you doll will of course need a bedside lamp so that she can do everything she needs to before jumping into bed. This lamp can be made with a golf tee, bendy straw and toothpaste cap. Use the golf tee as the base and place it upside down. Cut the straw down to size and then place the straight end over the point of the tee. Follow it up by adding a toothpaste lid wide side facing down to the other end of the straw. Wah lah! You have a minature lamp.

Join us next time for the dollhouse final touches.

Third in the series of do-it-yourself dollhouse designs is the little living room. This little living room can fit a small coffee table, sofa or arm chair and maybe even a fire place. These are the ideas we have for you today.

Coffee Table

The coffee table is an easy fix. First you should decide if you want it to be round or rectangle. Then, based on your choice you will find a carton in that shape, and cut it down so that it is just tall enough to make the sides of the table. You can then put pushpins in to make the bottom and a cardboard cutout for the top. Decorate however you’d like. Spray paint, crayons, markers and even construction paper or stickers are good options.

Arm chair or Couch

Using a cardboard or even plastic berry box is a good option for an armchair or sofa. You may have to add a little padding afterwards to make it look believable. Cut the bottom of the box around the air holes and set it upside down for the base (picture included). Then cut a another section out and place it right side up for the seat and back.

Cushions and throw pillows can be made by placing cotton in between two squares of fabric which are then glued, stapled or sewed together.

Fireplace

A paper towel (cut short) or toilet paper tube can be used for the chimney portion of the fireplace. The actual fireplace itself can be made with a tea box. You can make it square by simply cutting a square out of one of the long sides and placing the chimney on top of the box, or you can be a little more creative. To make a more funky, diagonal looking fireplace (picture also included)- use the following steps:

- Cut off and discard the front and bottom panels of a tea box.
- Cut a rectangular opening centered along the lower edge of the back panel.
- Trim the long edge of the box lid to fit around the stack.
- Cut the shorter edges diagonally and fold the box sides back against them.
- Tape the pieces together.

No matter which version you do, you can paint it to look like a fireplace.

Wood and fire can be made using a bottle cork and mylar or colored foil.

Next entry we will learn about the bedroom.

This is the third in the series of do-it-yourself dollhouse decorations. Today we get to talk about the bathroom and what little, around-the-house objects you can use to give your dolls the pristine perfect potty while on a penny pinching budget.

Let’s start with the most important part of any doll’s bathroom, the “John

The Toilet

You can make the toilet using some objects that would normally be found in your bathroom. First, for the tank, paint an empty soap box white, or whatever color suits your fancy. After painting the box, cut a small round flap/opening in the box to serve as a toilet seat lid. For the flusher, use a cup hook wrapped in tissue paper.

Now comes the bowl. For the bowl, get the top from an individual plastic juice carton and invert it. Picture is included for a clearer idea. Glue all parts to a piece of cardboard for easy “remodeling.”

The Tub

For a rectangle tub, use a painted tea box with the lid cut from the top. Leave little edges on the lid to flip out and form the tub lip. For the water faucet aspect. Insert a cut bendable straw and push pins for knobs.

You can also create a circle spa tub using paint and an old individualized sour cream container. It comes with everything built in but the jets and seat. You can make the seat out of a trimmed down plastic cup and jets can be either drawn in or made using the back side of brads inserted into the plastic.

The Sink

Last but of course not least is the sink. This again can be made using a tea box, cut in half and placed on end. Use a plastic bottle cup to trace a spot just big enough for it to fit tightly in and then cut from the tea box a place for the sink basin. Use the same method as the tub for the faucet.(Bendable straw and push pins)

These are just a few of the many ideas you can come up with for your dollhouse bathroom. A bath rug can be made from a piece of an old cut up washcloth. Use a tea box upright with some fabric and a straw (rod) for a shower. The more ideas you discover on your own the more unique it will be for you.

Last post we promised that we would give you some ideas for crafting your dollhouse room by room from ordinary household objects. For this first post, we will start in the heart of the home, the kitchen.

Start with an empty orange juice carton for the counter and make the sink using pudding cups and a bendy straw faucet. Use two pudding cups for a double-wide sink. Bottle cap tops and liners and buttons make excellent dishware.

For a handy-dandy stainless steel stove “set a tea box on end, then cut off and discard the top half. Cut a door opening with a window in the front panel and wedge plastic berry basket ‘racks’ in the oven. Glue on pieces of cardboard for a stove top and control panel, then cover the entire stove with aluminum foil. Attach paper fastener ‘controls’ glue on bottle cap ‘burners’ and tape on a paper clip ‘door handle’.” Picture included.

For kitchen chairs use sections of a paper towel roll as the base and use a section of an egg carton as the chair, you can even make a milk jug cap the “cushion.”

The table is simple as well. You can use the bottom end of a plastic drinking cup cut in half or a box or carton of some kind and cut out in a rectangle table shape, then paint to cover the carton design. Use foam for the table top.

For the refridgerator use a tea box set lenthwise. Cut out doors and then create shelves by cutting straws into sections and make shelves out of clear plastic berry boxes. Once again, use paperclips as door handles.

These are just a few ideas to get your homemade dollhouse kitchen started. You can also make a floor mat using scraps of fabric or lightbulb casings.

If your children have been bugging you to get them a doll house or even just simply to spend more time playing with them, we have a fun craft for you that can “kill two birds with one stone.” That’s right, you can save money by helping your child build a dollhouse, barn or other project from stuff sitting around your home and spend time with them at the same time. Who knows, you might even have some fun yourself.

During the next few weeks we will be giving you ideas for each room so that you can have something as simple as one bedroom cabin to as luxurious as a castle built for a princess. Let’s get started with the house itself.

We have found that in general bigger is better! You will want to start out with the biggest empty box you can find, within reason of course. We suggest using a large refrigerator box and cutting off one of the long sides, leaving a “look-down-upon” feel.

Now that you have your frame, it is easy to put in doors, walls and even windows using scissors or box cutters. (Be sure to help your children with this step. You can even add paint, “wallpaper” and even siding by cutting out magazine clip-outs or craft paper and glue. You could also add windows and doors to rooms by the same “paste on” method. Walls of course can be added by using leftover box parts.

Making the walls snug, but not glued together will make them adjustable as well, adding even more fun and variety.

Now that you have the general idea of what you want to do, start gathering items. You can use anything from emptied perfume bottles, to buttons, to bottle caps. Scraps of fabric make good rugs and carpets. Egg cartons, q-tips, toothpicks, matchsticks and even paperclips can find a home in your homemade dollhouse. Just use your creativity.

Don’t forget the best part. When you are done, it is already mostly put away. It’s in a box! Just find a place to store it and you’ll be ready for when you want to pull it out again.

As an adult, it’s sometimes easy to look back at life and think how good things were, and how they could’ve been different, or better.

With a dollhouse mania in full swing, you can literally purchase dollhouses in just about any color, style, size, shape, and match them with various toys or dolls.

If you’ve ever seen the TV show Kate plus 8, you know that she purchased play dollhouses for her children a few years ago. Not one for every child, but ones for them to share and play.

It’s easy to look back and think how different your childhood could’ve been, if your dreams and imaginations could’ve been let loose.

How incredible would it be to have a life-size house (when you’re a child this is much easier to achieve)? You could play out all different fairy tales and imaginative stories with a literal house. A life-size dollhouse.

These houses literally come in wood, or cabin type houses; plastic princess, medieval houses; bright pink, Barbie houses; and just about every different combination you can imagine. They even come with shed or cabin type options for boys as well. (We’re not surprised—these houses are a lot of fun!)

These play houses are a fun way to act out grenades, bombs, army-style scenarios, or Little House on the Prairie scenarios.

Let’s face it: these large, almost life-size play houses are a way for parents to live vicariously through their children. With these houses they can enjoy having a place of their own to host tea parties, BBQ’s, grenade-launching battles (pretend, of course), and anything else kids love to dream.

Whether they’re indoor or outdoor play houses, kids can enjoy these fun toys and decorate them to make them their own. Wouldn’t it be fun to match their personalities with the right play house so they can grow and get the most out of their childhood dreams?

Polly Pocket is probably the smallest dollhoue I’ve ever seen. These doll houses started out so small that they were given a string, and you could wear them around your neck. After development, who little houses and shopping malls were designed in the more traditional flat on the table sense. Polly Pockets are designed for little girls and come in all different shapes and sizes. One of the fun things about Polly pockets is that they usually fold up to look like something else. When a Polly Pocket is closed, it can look like a jewelry box, or a castle, for example.

Thes were really fun toys for girls a while back. I’m not sure how popularity is now, but I’m sure they are still available. One of the down sides of such small toys is the ability to lose the dolls and accessories because the are so small.

Dollhouses often summon up  images of pink plastic palaces from for little kids doll sagas to be played out. In fact, dollhouses have been around since the 1500s, and the subculture surrounding them today bespeaks something of ancient lore and skilled artisans.

Dollhouses were once off-limits for children, and were available to adults only, due to the havoc young children tend to wreck on things. Some dollhouses have achieved international acclaim and instill nothing short of awe and wonder in those who see them, such as Titania’s Palace. It took 15 years to build and has toured the world extensively. This famous dollhouse sold for 130,000 British pounds in 1978, infinitely more than the average person paid for a home at the time.

There is often an eerie, mysterious aura attached with dollhouses. This is especially true of the Nutshells. For a time in the 1940s, a woman named Frances Glessner Lee designed a different sort of dollhouse: crime scene recreations. These models, usually individual rooms, were miniature copies of crimes scenes, complete with bloodstains and corpses, were then used to teach investigative techniques and the art of deduction to police trainees. A book, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths, is dedicated to telling the story of Frances and her “nutshell cases.”

Some prefer model airplanes, but a model of a whole house is a much bigger and exciting project. Each room to design and furnish, the outside to paint and add accoutrement. Will you base in on a house you used to live in? A historical mansion you admire?

Dollhouse kits can be bought today, including stunning Victorian houses which will astound adults and delight children. These houses feature sections cut with laser precision and are attainable for around $80. Building one from a kit with your children can be a rewarding bonding experience for all of you.

Doll houses have been around for a long time and companies started to develop dollhouse kits. Kits are a great way for all ages of people to enjoy making a dollhouse. Some are more technical while others are very basic and can be setup by somebody that is very young. Dollhouses come in all types of materials but usually the kit does not include the paint, furnishings, or other decorations. This allows the owner to decorate the dollhouse according to their taste or desire.

The most common material that dollhouses are made up of is wood. Wood is a very sturdy material and once put together can resist lots of damage. Kits are often times quick and easy to put together and they may offer many different features. Some features might be doors and windows. The wood often derives from ply wood. Ply wood allows the dollhouse to be light but yet durable. These kits all include illustrations and easy to follow instructions. Most doll houses will cost between $25-300 or more depending on the size, material and features. Dollhouses are great because they will encourage your child to participate in role play or storytelling. And they might help your child develop social skills. Choosing the right dollhouse is important because you want the recipient to always be excited and look forward to creating their own story.