Barbie Just Moved Into the Neighborhood

One of my favorite Christmases when our children were young was the year that my husband and our two oldest sons built the girls a Barbie house. This was in the days before cell phones and selfies, so the pictures I have of it are not even worth posting. But believe me when I say that it was a masterpiece. So it was hard not to get excited when  Delys suggested that we build one for her daughters.

I had saved my original plans (which I adapted from a house that my sister built for her girls several years earlier--thanks, Al!). I thought about posting them, but there are a lot of plans out there already, so I am going to focus more on the building details and decorations that might be a bit unique.

One of the joys of the project was pulling the whole family in. My kind son-in-law helped me assemble the frame work, and others helped with sanding, painting, and decorating:

The original plans called for only one attic room which had a door opening out to a rooftop patio. But Delys wanted more indoor living space, so our house has three full stories:

(It was challenging to get a good picture of the entire house because of where it is in her bedroom.)

Rather than try to cover everything at once, I will take a room at a time. So today, a few outside details and half of the attic. . .

The house has a pitched roof. Eventually, I plan to shingle it, but for now, it is painted white like the rest of the house. I also thought it would be fun to add a chimney and/or dormer windows someday.

I could have simply painted the front, raw edges, but I chose to trim them out with fluted wooden molding that I cut to length with my drop saw. It also hides the rough edges of the carpet and flooring, giving the house a more finished look. It's available at both craft and hardware stores. I applied wood glue, and then, using a tiny bit, drilled pilot holes through the molding into the front edges and then nailed it in place with finishing nails.

The house is made of plywood, so it is HEAVY. We added handles to each side to make it easier to pick up and move--something we don't plan to do often:

The attic rooms are the "children's" rooms. I connected the two rooms with an arched doorway that I cut into the wall with a jigsaw before I put it into the house. Both rooms are carpeted with a remnant from the carpet we have in our home. (I hope we don't have to pull it out to patch up a disaster.) I attached it to the plywood flooring with finishing nails. We used acrylic craft paint for the walls.

The room on the left is the "teenager's" room:

To maximize sleeping space, I made a bunk bed and trundle. I would share plans, but I don't really have any; I sort of made it up as I went, which is clearly evident if you examine it closely enough. I did look at this site which has the inspiration for the bed as well as darling plans for a house and more furniture: http://krusesworkshop.blogspot.com/2013/10/building-for-barbie-on-budget.html. I made the trundle from a shallow wooden box, making sure that the bottom bunk was far enough off the ground to leave space for both the trundle and the bedding. Just for fun, I made all the bedding reversible:

The little rocker is a thrift store find, and the armoire was an unfinished piece I found on clearance at Michaels. The dresser is made from two drawers that I pulled out of a five-drawer dresser that was too large for the space. I simply glued them together and painted them white. (The other drawers will show up in the bathroom downstairs.) A blue wooden tray sits on top of the dresser. and a small, counted cross stitch sampler hangs above it. I used removable velcro hanging strips to attach everythng that hangs on the walls so that we can move items around without leaving holes in the walls.

So, Skipper, come on over!

Bread Box to Roll-top Doll Desk

As you can see from this earlier post, my closet/doll townhouse is full. There isn't room for any more furniture:

 However, when I saw this breadbox at a thrift store, my first thought was, "This would make a perfect roll top desk for 18" dolls. I'll make it and then give it away."

I knew that the biggest challenge would be creating stable legs, So I began by building a small, sturdy shelf to serve as the back support as well as provide storage for books and school supplies. (I probably wouldn't have thought of that, but I have a small, vintage roll top desk that is constructed this way.) I used the height of the doll's kitchen table, which was 10" from the floor to the bottom of the table, as my guide for the height of the shelf and front legs. The width of the shelves was slightly less than the width of the bottom of the bread box. Using an inexpensive 1 x 3, I constructed this simple shelf and attached it to the bottom back of the bread box with wood glue and screws:

While I was at Lowes picking up the 1 x 3, I noticed some bannister posts on clearance for 54 cents and bought two of them for the front legs:

 

They were, of course, way too long, so I cut them to 10" and will save the rest for another project. Because the posts are a bit spindly, I knew they would need extra reinforcement to keep them from breaking off the desk, so I added a bracket to the back of each post:

I marked the spot for each post at both front corners of the desk (I just chose a spot that I thought would look good and made sure it was the same on both sides) drilled a hole, applied wood glue to the desk and the post, and then secured the post to the desk with a 2" screw. I had pre-drilled a pilot hole through the center of each post. I then drilled up from the bottom through the bracket hole and added a shorter screw so that it wouldn't pop up through the desk top. I filled all my screw holes with wood filler and then sanded them flush. The back shelf also needed some sanding.

To reinforce the "old time" feel of the piece, I decided to paint the desk with chalk paint (not to be confused with chalk board paint.) I went with black because I already had a dark chair that was a perfect accessory. (My granddaughter thinks black is a disappointing choice, so you may want to choose something cheerier.) Knowing that it wouldn't take much, I used a coupon and bought a small pot of chalk paint at Hobby Lobby. It did take three coats to cover the large word "bread" emblazoned on the front, but I still had enough. After the paint dried, I applied a thin coat of wax that I bought at Lowes:

Ready for school. . . .

(I wish I had taken a picture of the desk with the top open, but it's too late

--I have already given it away.)

"You Can Do This" Doll Bed for 18" Dolls

After seeing the "closet into dollhouse" conversion I did, a friend tagged me and posted this bed on Facebook:




Of course, I fell in love and immediately went to the site. It is a project person's dream! So many cute ideas, and she shares purchasing lists for materials needed, cutting guides, diagrams, and building instructions. (I'm so excited that Elin has bought a house so that I can build her all kinds of things she probably doesn't want or need.)

I had been piling up reasons to purchase a drop saw, and this cute bed tipped the balance. You could make it using a hand saw, but having this tool made it so much faster and easier:

If you are interested in making this bed, here is the link to her instructions:

http://ana-white.com/2010/11/doll-farmhouse-bed

Because I had wood scraps available, I used what I had--including pieces of molding that were left over from framing out my bathroom mirrors. I used them as the inset panels in the head and foot boards:

Some of my scrap pieces where pretty rough, even after sanding, and mine doesn't look nearly as "finished" as hers. We'll call it a "Rustic" Farmhouse Bed:

Sweet Dreams!

Empty Nest. . . Means Empty Closets :)

Over the last three years, my husband and I have gone from having a full house--nine people--to an empty nest. Big adjustment! Suddenly we have empty rooms and, naturally, empty closets. I am trying not to fill them up with random stuff, but I am enjoying the opportunity to use some of the extra space creatively.

I loved dolls as a child. I had dolls of all shapes and sizes, and my oh-so-talented (and patient) mother sewed beautiful clothes for them, including tiny, detailed, Barbie dresses. (Some of them survived both me and my girls and are now being used by her great, grand-daughters.) I spent hours creating homes, furniture, and accessories for those dolls.

Later, when Delys, Elin and Laurel started playing with dolls, I had the chance to sew and plan and build all over again. When they outgrew the doll-phase, I boxed up their favorite things to keep them for their daughters. Long story short, with the help of my kind and skillful brother-in-law, I recently turned the bottom half of the game closet in our family room into a two-story town house for 18 inch dolls.

We measured and marked a line 24" up from the floor and screwed boards into the walls along that line to act as braces for the "floor boards," which we made from scrap boards cut to fit the space. (You could also use plywood.) We used two boards and joined them together on the bottom with some metal braces and a single, perpendicular board in the middle for added stability.

Support Braces

You can see the water stains on the bottom of the  boards, but once we primed and painted them, the tops looked great.

Below are some pictures of the different "rooms" and their furnishings:

The Living Room

If you read this blog regularly, you will soon discover that I love bargains (code for "I'm cheap"), so almost everything in this doll house was either homemade or bought on clearance. The chairs and all the accessories in the living room were gleaned from bargain bins or at resale shops.

The Fireplace

The fireplace started with the mantle, a small wooden shelf I found in the clearance aisle at Michael's. The other pieces were wood scraps I had at home and cut to size--except the white corner pieces which I bought, pre-painted, from Home Depot. (You don't need fancy tools; I used a hand saw with a miter box to keep the lines straight.) I simply cut the pieces, painted them with inexpensive acrylic paint, and then glued them in place.

Kitchen

I bought the kitchen on sale at Target. I loved the details--doors and drawers that open, knobs, burners, cupboards, burners, facets, etc. The pot on the stove was actually a Christmas tree ornament that I found after Christmas. The mop in the corner is a baster that I grabbed from a clearance bin at the grocery story. You can find little tea sets in all shapes and sizes and price ranges--including at dollar stores.

Dining Area

I found the dining table and chairs on sale at Tuesday Morning, but I have also seen unfinished tables at craft stores, and the last time I was at Salvation Army, I saw someone walk out with a wooden cake stand that would have made an adorable table. The shelf on the wall was another under-a-dollar clearance find that I painted and hung.

Second Floor Bedroom

One of my sweet sisters made the bed years ago for the girls with her scroll saw. I bought most of the other bedroom furniture unfinished at different times at craft stores. White paint and green and peach stenciling on each piece helped bring them all together. The wardrobe had shelves but no hanging rod, so I added one by drilling a small hole part way into each side of the inside of the wardrobe, cutting a wooden dowel to length, and gluing it into place. The rug is a placemat (found at Kohls on clearance, of course). I love the jukebox on the bedside table, an after-season birdhouse that I found for 90% off at Walgreens.

I hung a shoe rack on the door to hold clothes, shoes, and accessories. 

The house is ready. The dolls are excited. Can't wait for the grand-daughters to come!

P.S. . . . .

A friend pointed out that it would be easier to visualize with a doll in it. (Sorry, I should have thought of that.) So here are a few pictures, with a doll, that will hopefully show the scale a bit better:

 In the bedroom. . .

And the kitchen. . .

And the living room. . .

 And while we're at it, the bathroom.  Because floor space is limited in the closet townhouse, you can store additional items on the shelves when they aren't in use, and then pull them out to create additional rooms in the space around the closet. I bought this tub, complete with plastic bubbles, at a thrift store.

 The backyard or the park. I found the trellis at a dollar store and wound it with ivy--also from a dollar store--to create an outdoor backdrop. Like most of the wooden furniture, the bench came, unfinished, from a craft store. I bought the metal birdbath at the end of the season at Hobby Lobby, and the pram is a thrift store find. I think it is actually quite old--a fun treasure.

Another view of the garden.

This is the longest blog ever--sorry :)