Anyone who's known me for long enough, knows that I love me some Barbie! And yippee, I have a daughter to share it with. When she was old enough, I busted out the old Barbie bag. After seeing how much fun she was having, I thought it would be great if we could find a doll house for her new friends. Most of the projects I do are started because of one simple thing...I'm cheap! Have you seen how much those things cost?
.jpg "DIY Barbie House - Over The Apple Tree")
My husband and I did this project together, he built the house and I did the interior. I've seen people use old book shelves for this, but I didn't have anything like that laying around, so we had to build something ourselves. He didn't follow any kind of plans for the structure, mostly eyeballed it and just used wood we found in the discount scrap bin at Home Depot. Talented man huh? We ended up with a really sturdy house that will last longer than anything we could have bought.
The interior was a little more fun, this is where you need to use your imagination. No way I was buying furnishings...time to get out the glue gun!
Here's a list of supplies I used:
Wall Coverings*- Wrapping paper(top) and scrapbook paper(bottom)
Flooring*- large sheets of felt
Windows*- white paper, blue paper, white paper strips on top to make it look like window panes
*These were all attached to walls with spray adhesive(use only in very well ventilated area!)
Chairs and sofa- foam blocks, cardboard, batting, fabric, glue gun. Cover base, sides, and back separately then attach together with glue gun.Vanity and dresser- small boxes(I think they were from granola bars) covered in black duct tape. Drawers are cut out paper glued on
Bed- cardboard box(Capri Sun perfect size!), batting, fabric attached with glue gun
Wall art- magazine cut outs, cardboard, black duct tape, attached to wall with glue gun
Framed art- magazine cut outs, paper cut with fancy scissors Tutorial from My Froggy Stuff
Curtains- fabric scraps attached with glue gun
Fireplace- scrap wood, paper squares for tiles, fire painted on
Sink/counter- scrap of wood cut to fit, colored paper for sink, hook off a plastic hanger for faucet, clear beads for hot and cold, plant is chap-stick lid with fake foliage glued inside.
Coffee table- toilet paper rolls, cardboard, duct tape
Kitchen table and chairs-another tutorial from My Froggy Stuff on YouTube, this lady has some really great ideas!
Refrigerator is the only "bought" item but could easily be made with another cardboard box.
**Remember this is to be played with, so don't be shy with the glue, you don't want it falling apart!**
I soon realized their 70's and 80's hand-me-down apparel wasn't gonna match the new digs...new project! I have basic/moderate sewing skills, so after looking online I found a couple dress ideas I thought I could pull off posted by Craftiness Is Not An Option.
After that worked out and I had some more confidence Ken got some clothes too! It's amazing the things you can accomplish if you just give it a try.
See more
.jpg) |
| Thrift Store Princess Mirror |
Follow me here:
Hello! I'm Conchi and I write you from Spain. My English is'nt very good; sorry.
ReplyDeleteI love your Barbie house, it's beautiful! I also want to make a house like this, but I started making two wardrobes with help of tutorials from My Froggy stuff.
See you soon!
Conchi, thank you so much for your comment. Your English is much better than my Spanish! Please let me know if you need clarification on any of my Barbie furniture. We are a bilingual family, so communication is no problem. Good Luck on your project!
DeleteThank you for your help. I didn't remember the name of the blog and I was looking for it.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm doing baskets with rope and other things, for Barbies. They want to be trendy in summer, jaja.
First of all, I need to found a place where to site the house because I think it must be big enough for the wardrobes I made. But I'll tell you about it when I start.
You can reply me in Spanish, if you want.
I just LOVE your post on this Barbie house! I like the way in all cordinates together! I am wondering if you have tutorials on the furniture? Also, did you put the house together with glue or how did you hide the nails/staples so well?
ReplyDeleteHi Tiff, thanks for stopping by! The large pieces of the house are put together with screws because it's pretty heavy. They are mostly in the back and the sides where you can't see them. Small finishing nails were used also. Where appropriate, we used wood filler to cover any holes. I didn't do tutorials for the furniture because I made this before I started the blog and it didn't occur to me that anyone would actually see this! The most complicated furniture I guess is the sofa and chairs, which aren't actually that hard. The bottom is a foam block covered in batting and fabric, attached with hot glue. The back and sides are a piece of cardboard covered with batting and fabric also attached with hot glue. after each individual piece was done, I just glued them to the foam block. Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you need help. I know when I was making this, I couldn't find many tutorials online, had to make it up as I went!
DeleteFirst off you put my handmade barbie house to shame. http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/2013/08/guest-blogging-over-at-beautiful-mommy.html. I am so impressed by your abilities to make really cute furniture. The pink and black, is just gorgeous! I bet she loves it. And I am so impressed with your barbie clothing skills. All I have attempted to make our straight light dress with halter type strings to keep them up, lol. Oh wait, I did crochet a top and skirt for one my daughters barbies, lol. Will you pretty please stop by and link this up for Friday Follow Along @ http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/ This Friday?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by Allie! Thank you as well for the wonderful compliments. The Barbie house is one of my favorite projects and I think my husband and I were more excited than my daughter when it was finally done(took me about a month)! This was one of, if not the first post I did when I started blogging back in February so I haven't really shared it since I had no idea what a link party was at the time! I post regularly on Friday Follow Along, see you then!
DeleteWow! You and your hubby are super talented!! I would so live in that house!!
ReplyDeleteThis would definitely be the ultimate girly girl house! I'm so jazzed that bloggers I follow are actually stopping by my blog, thanks Selene!
DeleteSo cute! I would love for you to join me at Check Me Out Saturday and share with my readers:
ReplyDeletehttp://iamonly1woman.blogspot.com/2013/12/check-me-out-saturday-craft-link-party_13.html
Thanks Bobbie, I'll check it out!
DeleteHow adorable, you did a fabulous job with this!!!! It's decorated perfectly!!!! It reminds me of the DIY barbie house my parents made for me when I was little too! Love it!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Maria! I wish I had a Barbie house when I was kid, no I have to settle for living vicariously!
DeleteThat is the prettiest Barbie house I have ever seen! Thanks for joining our Twirl and Take a Bow Party! Hope to see you again next week!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is so nice. What a great gift. I'd love if you'd link up to The DIY'ers - and don't forget to enter my giveaway for a free chandelier! http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-diyers-42.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Kayla, I'll check it out and add you to my link party list!
DeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through the Friday Follow Along Party. Love the Barbie dollhouse. You creativity is very inspiring. I am in the process of building a trash to treasure room box for a dollhouse miniature group I am in & love some of your ideas for furniture. Here is my blog if you'd like to take a look http://miniaddictions.blogspot.com
Lisa
This is absolutely amazing! I have a little boy, but any barbie girl would be MORE than happy to have this! Pinning!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible and a great way to save money... the real Barbie Dream Houses are so expensive!
ReplyDeleteno need to mention my froggy stuff, that people steal original ideas from miniature, craft and dollhouse stuff makers and never gives them credit, they talk like they invented and their fans bully other crafters all the time
ReplyDeleteWhat are the measurements of the whole thing and individual room sizes?
ReplyDeletefirst floor to bottom slope of roof is about 29 inches, whole house is 35 inches wide. Barbies fit comfortably with room to spare.
DeleteThis is just AMAZING!!!!! I am SO doing this for my 8 yr old daughter, who just turned 8 on Dec 27th. I'm totally in love with the color scheme-I have to admit, I want to replicate your house so bad!!! Thank you so much for posting such a fun DIY project that, as you said, will stand the test of time much longer than her "real" digs!! Hahaha you have definitely gained a new follower! Best wishes for an awesome New Year! Hugs, Shelly
ReplyDeleteThanks Shelly! I wish I had documented how I made some of this furniture but didn't think of it at the time. This project was a lot of fun coming up with creative ways to decorate. Good luck with your house!
DeleteThis is amazing! What did you use for the mirrors?
ReplyDeleteThe vanity upstairs is aluminum foil. The downstairs mirrors are actual little mirrors from the craft store.
Deleteawesome dollhouse I love it!!! I dont blame you for buying doll furniture, when you can make it yourself, I do buy furniture sometimes, but I am learning to make my own furniture also. I will be using the idea from your doll living room on my doll show, keep up the great crafting :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a super cute house. I was wondering if you could give the dimensions of the house ?
ReplyDeleteSorry no I don't have the dimensions. I made it so long ago, I actually don't have it anymore!
Delete