adajohn010

       You will probably need to fill your doll's bookcase with a few books and there are many ways to craft small volumes. I will demonstrate with photos below just one way to make miniature doll books for now...

Glue additional titles and decorations to the outside of the doll book.

Supply List for Miniature Books:

• corrugated cardboard
• scrap magazine pages
• glue stick
• scissors

        The television depicted on the left below, has a picture pasted directly to the monitor and is much easier to craft. The television shown on the right includes an additional cardboard covered frame so that you can replace the picture by sliding it between the layers of cardboard. 

       Both flat screen T. V.s are weighted down with washers, carefully glued into each television's base.

       Cut three rectangles from cardboard, two from the corrugated cardboard and one flatter piece from the cereal box. All rectangles should be identical in size.

       Glue the two corrugated pieces together and paint one side with black acrylic paint. Let this side dry before continuing.

       Take the third rectangle cut from a cereal box, and measure approx. 1/4" from the outside of each edge. Use a ruler to draw the lines marking the measurement. Now cut out the inside of the flat screen T.V. monitor.

       Only glue three edges of the third rectangle to the other corrugated rectangular pieces, leaving the top edge of the flat screen T. V. open (see photo below). Leaving a gap at the top of your doll's television will allow you to slip pictures in and out of the screen to change what the doll's are watching. All of these should be neatly stacked on top of each other when you are finished. (see photo)

       Cut a long narrow base for your T. V. from the corrugated cardboard. This base rectangle should be slightly shorter in length than the actual screen. 

       Trace around a washer at each end of the stand and then carefully poke around the tracing with the tip of your scissors or get an adult to cut away this top circular layer with an Exacto knife. 

       Crush down the center cardboard filler with the washers and glue so that these metal pieces are level with the top layer of cardboard. Layer masking tape across the washers to keep them firmly in place. (see photo below.) Set aside the stand to continue with later, while it dries.

      Now trace around the flat screen television screen on top of the black craft foam twice. Cut out the tracing and hot glue these foam pieces to the front and backs of the toy T. V.s. If you have the kind of flat screen television where you can change out the pictures. You will need to repeat measuring and cutting out the frame 1/4" from the edges before gluing this piece of craft foam on top of the screen. If you have a simpler flat screen without the frame, like the one shown just below, you will only need to cover the front and back of the screen before pasting on the television's picture.

       Now you are ready to attach the stand to the flat screen monitor. Cover the stand's base the same way that you covered the screen by layering the top and bottom between craft foam. Cut an additional strip of cardboard to glue between the screen and base. 

       Carefully attach this small piece with hot glue at each end. For a larger flat screen, you may wish to attach these two elements together with a cut dowel rod.

       Now cover any remaining cardboard with the same black craft foam.

       Barbie's little boy loves cars and trucks, so I decided to replace a missing trailer from a small replica of a John Deere big rig with a toy chest. Now our doll can pretend to haul the toys away after an exhausting fun filled day!

       In order to make this playscale toy box, you will need to first acquire the front end of a semi-trailer truck. If you have small children this will not be difficult. If not, take a trip to your local Goodwill or resale and you will surely find one of these in no time at all.

       Next, you will need to recycle a bit of plastic trash or a small box for the back end of the big rig toy chest. Choose something that looks in the correct proportion to your truck parts.

       Fortunately my semi-trailer truck has a hole between it's wheels where I can easily fit a small wire to attach the toy chest. You can see this hole through the plastic recycled box above.

        After covering my toy chest with masking tape, I simply poked a small, stiff wire through the bottom of the box and bent it into place so that the chest would attach to the back end of the truck. The bent end of the wire is held in place with glue and tape. 

       Then I lined the inside of the toy box with scrap fabric and white school glue. The out side of the truck trailer is wrapped with blue foam attached with hot glue and the bottom with black tape.

       I made a set of back wheels for the trailer by hot gluing two buttons to the ends of a wooden skewer through a small cardboard tube. Then I hot glued a metal snap to the white buttons to mimic tiny hubcaps.

       I discovered a doll sized bookcase at resale. It was a bit too wide and heavy for a fashion doll bookcase and too small for an American Girl Doll's bookcase. So, I decided to convert it into a changing table for our Barbie's nursery.

       Two 11 1/2 inch dolls will fit comfortably inside this little wooden doll trunk. Soon I will fill it with handmade doll clothes and accessories. The drawer is for shoes, the rack for clothing and I will add a shelf for hats later.

Watch the FairyChic Emporium cover her steamer trunk
 using a decoupage patchwork effect. Visit her YouTube
 account for more creative ideas.

Left, Cut and trim the pattern for a doll laptop below. Draw around it on top of scrap pieces of cardboard  or cardstock. (laptop is 2 1/2" x 1 3/4") Center, the laptops shut. Right, the laptops open with monitors on display.

       The "clamshell" shape of this pretend, laptop computer is made by layering and pressing corrugated cardboard pieces together. Don't let the finished product intimidate you! The process is a simple one and a child as young as 10 can do it.

       It is also important to use wood putty and a light weight sandpaper for the process, so make sure that you have all of the supplies on hand before beginning. I have linked to similar crafts below for those of you who are looking to craft something a bit simpler; all of these options are very good as well.

You will need just the right broken toy for this project, but your version will look different from mine,  depending upon the toy car that you find.

       Cover the entire wagon attachment with masking tape before adding the paper mache pulp to it's outside walls. This protects the cardboard surface, strengthens it and makes it mostly water proof. Well you can't dump the toy in a tub, but, you will be able to wipe it down with a damp cloth if need be...
       I left the inside of the wagon and the bottom side of the wagon free of paper mache pulp and opted to cover these with a black duct tape instead.

Masking the cardboard wagon before applying paper mache pulp.

Covering the cardboard wagon with paper mache pulp.

Above is the finished car ball-pit for my playscale fashion doll's children. This looks great in their bedroom!

Step-by-Step Directions:

       First, cut out the doll playpen from your choice of recycled plastic bottle using an X-ACTO knife. If you are younger than 13 or 14 years of age, you will need to ask a responsible adult to do this first step in the craft process.

       As you can see from the photos below, I wrapped a piece of masking tape around my bottle to mark where I should make my cut using the text on the labels to measure a height appropriate for a playscale doll playpen. (approximately 3 inches)

       Cut away the side panels for the baby doll to see through, leaving the corner walls and floor intact. Reserve a top panel that encloses the entire surround of the playpen. (approximately 1/2 inch in width.

Above, you can see that I chose a bottle with an interesting shape. If you can not find a bottle like this one,  do not worry. You can make a playpen out of any shaped bottle and it will look just as nice in  your own dollhouse!

Every surface is eventually masked off so that the hot glue will adhere the fabrics to the plastic properly.

The doll playpen has been lined with a matching hot pink felt. On the far right, you can see that I used  a very long needle to turn under the edges of my decorative fabric with. I also recommend that you use a thimble to protect your fingers while you work at upholstering doll furniture for the first time. If you feel unable to work with a metal thimble, a quilter's thimble that is made from leather, may be easier for you to wear.

       Next, you will need to cover the playpen with your decorative fabric. Turning under the edges as you proceed with a long needle and an invisible stitch. I used waxed dental floss for this process instead of ordinary cotton thread. The floss will hold my sewn surfaces firmly in place through much rough play over time.
      Cut your strips of fabric a bit larger than the felt liner in order to hide seams properly. Sew the thread from back to front and then back again through the soft mesh plastic.
       I left the felt showing on the lower parts of the inside of my playpen, knowing that most of this would be concealed by the thick mattress.

The doll playpen is almost finished.

       The headdress in the shape of a cone or "steeple", or truncated cone were worn in the late Middle Ages by European princesses and women of the nobility. Various writers on costume history use hennin to cover a variety of different styles. Almost all agree that the steeple-cone style was the original hennin. You can make these theatrical looking princess hats for all of your Barbie dolls!

       This summer top with spaghetti string shoulder straps was made from a recycled baby sock and a bit of embroidery transfer. The cuff of the sock is used here as the waist edging on the doll. The toe of the sock was cut away and the raw edges were finished with a tacky white glue. As soon as the edges were dry, I finished these with blanket stitching all along the top of the garment. Then I attached some yarn at either shoulder to act as my spaghetti string straps.

       Make cool weather slacks for your fashion dolls from recycled long ribbed socks. Our versions may be made either by hand or on a sewing machine if you prefer.

       Rainbow colored wigs are much easier to purchase during October and February because  these are the months that Christians celebrate All Hallows Eve and Mardi Gras in costume.

       The wig you see pictured below was purchased for $1.00 in it's original package and has never been worn previously. 

       You will also need to buy some very tiny hair clips to attach your doll's hair extensions. These may be found in dollar stores and grocery stores in hair care supply.