I made this doll house for my niece. It was so exciting and enjoyable to make and to decorate every room in the house!! My niece loved it and so did my son !
This has been my first major project which took me almost a week to complete !
Material Required:
- Cardboard Boxes – 2 big – for the body of the house
- Cardboard Boxes – in all shapes and sizes for furniture and partitions
- Lots of Design and Colored Papers
- Glue
- Tape
- Stapler
- 2-3 small dolls/ plastic animals for making pets
- Colored Newspapers/ Magazines
- Stickers of Nature – Flowers, Leaves, Butterflies etc.
- Piece of Cloth
- cotton
- Small nick-knacks around the house – pick some small pieces of toys – for utensils, small dog, a small stool, car, or any other detail you want.
Steps for making the doll house
1. Decide the layout of the house and stick all cardboard pieces with glue or fevicol (it is super strong!!). You must leave the fevicol to dry out for at least an hour or so, to ensure the frame is stuck and strong enough to carry out further work. Once layout is finalised, stick cardboard sheets on the outer frame with fevicol to make it sturdy. As you can see, for the bottom I used a larger piece which came out in the front to make the lawn and car parking. Make the partitions, cut out the doors and stick to the roof.. Also, cut out the windows.
This is the most important and time consuming phase of the doll house – took me long hours for 2 days.
2. Once the frame is done, use colored paper to cover up different rooms and the lawn.
3. Drawing Room Furniture – This is a simple backless sofa and a center table. Cut out the frame of sofa, put a thin layer of cotton on the seats and covered up with design paper.
For the center table, I stuck a circular piece of cardboard to an empty spool.
4. For detailing of the drawing room, just cut out small stack of some newspaper and staple from centre to make magazines/ novels etc. Keep a colored sheet on the outside to make the cover. Draw / Stick pics to make covers. I used a small piece of card paper to make the magazine holder.
The window was made with small strips of cardboard, painted and stuck together as shown below. On the back of window stick a newspaper cutting of a scenery. Take cuttings from magazines / newspapers for other detailing – bookshelves / paintings/television/ music system etc.
Final Drawing Room
5. Bedroom Furniture – Take the size of the doll to mark the length and breadth of the bed. Again, put a thin sheet of cotton to make the mattress and put on the bed. Now cover up with design paper. For the quilt and cushions, take a nice piece of cloth, put a thin sheet of cotton on the inner side and place another piece on top and sew it wit a simple running stitch. Do the same for the pillows. Its ok – there is no need to be really perfect here 😉
Make a dresser with a simple box and for mirror, I stuck a piece of small mirror i had spare. Further, add detailing with the help of magazine cut outs – paintings, clock, carpet etc.
Final Bedroom
6. Bathroom Facilities – For this, I used an empty bottle of J&J bathing liquid. Surprisingly, he plastic of the bottle was very soft and easily cut with a cutter. The bottom of the bottle was used for the tub. From the side of the neck of the bottle, I cut out 2 pieces for lavatory and wash basin. Stick them as seen in the pic below. Use a straw to make the pipe and tap of the basin.
Final Bathroom
7. Kitchen Furniture and Equipment – For the kitchen I used a long cardboard box, covered up with red color paper and stuck it to the kitchen floor. For gas stove, I drew the same on a white paper and stuck on the box as shown. With a black pen draw the other details – knobs, cabinets. For the sink, cut out the top and place a transparent piece of plastic (this plastic sheet was a piece of the packing in which we get bourbon biscuits). For the refrigerator, take a small cardboard box and make door as shown. Cover up with color paper. draw handle outside with a pen. Stick some food pics inside. Make a small shelf also to put a pan there.
Final Kitchen
8. The Dog House – This was made from a small allout-refill box as seen in the pic below. Cut out the door as per the size of the toy dog. Cover up with design paper.
9. The Windows and flower planters – Use tiny cardboard box to make window planters. Stick it below the window and put on some artificial flowers. I made the windows by drawing them on a white sheet of paper and then sticking it on the walls with glue.
10. Outside Walls – Cover the outer frame also with some brown design paper to make it look neat and presentable. At the bottom, I stuck a green sheet of paper on the 2 outer sides and back. I stuck loads of flowers and leaves and butterflies to beautify it.
11. The Lawn – Make the detailing on the lawn with stickers of flowers/ leaves etc. and make a pathway to the entrance of the house. On one side, make a place for parking the car.
Once done, arrange all furniture and other items in the doll house. And TA-DA, the Doll House is ready for your princess (or prince) for playing !!
Tip:
In case you feel too lazy to make all furniture, just purchase it from market and arrange inside !!
Avika loved loved loved the house! Not only is it very strong and durable, it has everything that she needs in a doll house – dressing area, books, car, sink, refrigerator, place for dog, garden… The side windows were specially beautiful.
My hardwork paid off with the happiness she got in playing with it !!
Great work Neha! You have some awesome fun ideas. I look forward to your posts. Great going girl.
Thank you so much megha !! I hope I will be able to keep you hooked to the website 🙂