How to Make Dollhouse Furniture Out of Cardboard

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Things You'll Need

  • Small cardboard boxes or pieces of cardboard

  • Scissors

  • Transparent tape

  • White glue

  • Double-sided tape

  • Colored or decorative paper

  • Fabric scraps

  • Ribbon or lace trim

It's easy to make dollhouse furniture out of cardboard.
Image Credit: Ssvyat/iStock/Getty Images

Cardboard is a fun and readily available material to use for making dollhouse furniture. Small boxes, such as those for tea bags, soap and individual snack or cereal serving sizes, work especially well. For example, a tea box standing on end can make a great dollhouse refrigerator or cabinet. For larger dolls, such as Barbies, you may have difficulty finding boxes big enough for furniture. For these dolls, you can use pieces of cardboard cut from larger boxes. Make sure the cardboard pieces or boxes are completely empty and clean, and free of any staples, before using them to make dollhouse furniture.

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Make a Dollhouse Bed Out of a Cardboard Box

Step 1

Choose a small, flat cardboard box that's just large enough for the doll to lie on. For large dolls, such as Barbies, you can use a shoebox lid.

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Step 2

Wrap the box with colored paper or a scrap of fabric as if you were wrapping a gift.

Step 3

Cut a piece of ribbon or trim, such as lace or eyelet, so it's just long enough to wrap around the sides of the box.

Step 4

Attach the ribbon or trim to the sides of the box using double-sided tape.

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Step 5

Make a blanket and pillow for the bed from scraps of fabric, or use colored facial tissues for a blanket and cotton balls for pillows.

Make a Dollhouse Bed Out of Cardboard Pieces

Step 1

Cut a piece of cardboard large enough for the doll to lie on. This will be the mattress support.

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Step 2

Cut rectangles of cardboard for the headboard and footboard of the bed. These should be as wide as, or slightly wider than, the mattress support. Round off the upper corners of the headboard and footboard, if desired.

Step 3

Trace the headboard twice on colored or decorative paper. Cut out the paper and attach it to the front and back of the headboard with double-sided tape. Do the same for the footboard.

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Step 4

Glue one end of the mattress support to the headboard, about 1 inch above the bottom edge of the headboard. Glue the other end to the footboard at the same height.

Step 5

Make a blanket and pillow for the bed from scraps of fabric, or use colored facial tissues for a blanket and cotton balls for pillows.

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Make a Dollhouse Sofa Out of Cardboard

Step 1

Choose two small, rectangular cardboard boxes, both the same size--one for the sofa seat and one for the sofa back. If you can't find boxes the right size for the dolls, you can cut pieces of cardboard the size you want and tape them together to make custom boxes.

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Step 2

Wrap each box with colored paper or a scrap of fabric, like you would wrap a gift.

Step 3

Turn one box on its side and place it behind the other box, lining them up so that they look like a sofa.

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Step 4

Attach the two boxes together using glue or double-sided tape or by using regular tape that wraps around the back of the sofa.

Step 5

Cut small pieces of cardboard the same length as the width of the seat box to make armrests (optional). Cover the armrests with matching paper or fabric scraps, and tape them to the sides of the sofa.

Tip

You can also make a dollhouse chair using narrower boxes and the same technique as the sofa.

Warning

Supervise children when working with scissors. Choose age-appropriate crafts.

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