Wednesday, September 14, 2011

DIY Dollhouse

A certain little someone had a birthday last week.  I know, you had no idea, did you? ;)

We are pretty frugal around these parts, and birthdays are not a big present day.  I like to make things for my kids for their big days whenever I can and this year was no different.



Libby has a family she loves to play with.  It is a Mom, Dad, baby and sister.  Her barbies and other dolls become part of the family often also.  This poor family was living in the barn with the animals.  I decided that is no way to live, so we did something about it.


Yep, it's as easy as it looks.  All we used was a 3 shelf bookshelf and I put some fun scrapbook paper on each of the "floors".  I had some wall vinyls from a project I did for the girls' room in Logan, so I used that for the upstairs room.  Jeremy didn't have time to make a real roof, so this cardboard one will work for now :)  She loves it so so so much.  And I am so so so glad.

 

**Update** The furniture is here!!!  The family now has a place to cook, lounge, and sleep.  I got Ryan's Room Toys from Amazon and we LOVE them.  The quality and detail are amazing.  I highly recommend this furniture and think we will be buying a bathroom to go in the attic ;)


What do you do for your kids' birthdays?  Do you like to make things for them?

14 comments:

Jana said...

That is awesome i have been thinking of doing the same thing for Keilei, cool to see that it will actually work!Looks great

nicole said...

Thanks for the inspiration. A dollhouse is on the radar for a certain 3yo in our house. I usually don't make things because I'm just not that crafty. But I do put a lot of thought into their gifts. We have a birthday in our house today. My son wants to be a UNT football player for Halloween, so he is getting a jersey for a bday present that will serve as costume too. I call it a win (jersey was very affordable at Target, as opposed to the absurd price at the stadium).

Carly said...

so cute, and i think homemade gifts always mean more.

True Daughter of Mary said...

That's adorable! And such a space saver, in comparison to most doll houses!
We have 9, going on 11 kids, so I don't really have time to make things for their birthdays. We use birthdays as a time to catch them up on needed items. Their special thing is getting to pick what is for dinner, and choosing whatever cake or dessert they want. They usually want cake when they are little, so they get to pick what goes on the cake, and artist Dad does it for them!

Evin said...

I love this! We've got a bookshelf that's too small to hold anything useful, I think it now has a future!!! Thanks for the idea!

Whit said...

What an adorable DIY idea Kim! Thanks for sharing. These are the times I wish I had one little girl...I'm surrounded by boys!

Unknown said...

You're brilliant, you know that? LOVE this idea!!! Can't wait to see their new furniture... :)

erika~ the inspired mama said...

aw, SUPER CUTE!! and the little dollhouse is very sweet too :) well done, mama!

xo,
erika

Heather Guymon said...

OMG I LOVE this idea Kim! What a fun idea!!!

Tom and Juli said...

How cute! She obviously loves it! Way to go. :)

My husband and I are planning on making our own kitchen for the kids this Christmas. The ones you can buy are way too much money for a tiny little thing, so we found a plan that is perfect and have been collecting many supplies for free!

Kira said...

That is adorable! I am not a crafty person at all, so I don't do homemade gifts. We try to DO something for birthdays rather than BUY something for birthdays. It might be a weekend trip to grandma's house, a special dinner out with just mom and dad, or this year (since double digits are a big deal) it is a trip to Universal Studios Harry Potter World! (Dont' be too impressed - we live close enough that it is a day trip). This way we have memories to keep a lifetime instead of a toy that will be broken or forgotten soon after the birthday ends.

Jen said...

What an amazing gift! I love it!

Cheri said...

You are SO clever, daughter of mine...darling!!!!

Beth said...

Very cute idea! And I personally think it's much cuter than any store bought plastic monstrosity barbie house! I also saw in a magazine where someone took the two shelved, longer bookshelves and made a bed on the top shelf for their daughters 18" doll. Just bought a small piece of foam and covered it with material and fit it right on the shelf. Then made a quick blanket & pillow. So cute and you could also use the bottom shelf for another doll and make it into a bunk bed. Might have to find a 3-shelved bookshelf and do this for my daughter's 3 favorite dolls...her birthday is this week! Perfect timing for your post to remind me of this idea! :)