How to Make a Small Dollhouse

Make a small dollhouse for your young child. She can help decorate it and then play with it. And, if she breaks it, you can easily make another one without much expense. Make the small dollhouse as a gift, or create a dollhouse village using various sizes, shapes and style of shoe boxes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Shoebox
• Scotch tape
• Material to use for a carpet (optional)
• Miniature furniture and dolls
• Magazine pictures (optional)

Small Dollhouse

1. 
    
   Large-Sized Shoe box

   Find a large-sized shoe box. Remove the cover and use a pencil to sketch a window or windows. Use a ruler to make straight lines. Use either a sharp knife or scissors to cut out the windows.

2. Use hobby paints to paint and decorate the inside of both the top and bottom of the box. When dry, decorate the window wall with a drawing of a flower pot, add stickers or leave unadorned.

3. 
    
   Omit the back wall and make an open box as shown

   Use a soft dust rag or folded towel to place on the bottom of the box, to serve as the carpet. Or, if you can find a piece of fabric, use that. Cut the "carpet" to size. Use a glue brush and paint glue on the bottom of the box. Press the carpet to the bottom of the box, fitting it carefully. Allow to dry.

4. Find a long straw and size it to fit over the cut out window. Paste it on top with glue or tape. This will be the curtain rod. Attach two together if you only have small straws. Make the curtains by using a piece of a scarf or fabric. Wind loosely around the straw with both the front and back ends hanging loosely.

5. Make the dollhouse look like a home by cutting out pictures from a magazine to paste on the walls. Attach the top of the box to the bottom with masking tape or packaging tape. Buy a few little mini-dolls, tables and chairs from any craft store. Add it to the bottom of the box and your hand-made dollhouse is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• Clip out decorations from magazines and paste it on the walls. Make a few varied size boxes and create your own tiny village. Invite other children to help build and decorate their own doll houses. Make a doll house that looks like a store. Cut and paste a picture of a table and chairs on the wall under the window. Find pictures to make it look like a home.
• Paint and create the window before taping the top in a standing position.

Resources

• Lets Build a Dollhouse
• Make Your Own Dollhouse