adajohn010

       A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or casters, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or gliding motion. Bassinets and cradles are distinguished from Moses baskets and carry cots, which are designed to be carried and sit directly on the floor or furniture. After four months, babies are often transferred to a crib (North American usage) or cot (UK usage). In the United States, however, the bedside sleeper is the prevalent option, since they are generally bigger, recommended up to 6 months, and often used up to a year. Read more...

       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.

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.