Make Your Own Doll House for CHEAP!

So my niece's 4th birthday was coming up and I knew I wanted to do something super special for her.  She's going through a serious doll phase, so when I saw this dollhouse shelf at Michael's on sale for like $20, I just couldn't help myself!  Now while the original purpose of this "house" is to hold books and other gadgets and gismos for display, I saw serious potential for an awesome little dollhouse that my niece could play out her own soap operas in.  I always dreamt of having a dollhouse, with the little furniture and miniature appliances, but never got one, so I used a dash of imagination with a sprinkle of creativity and came up with some of the cutest ideas to furnish the house.  And catch this, most of it was made using items I already had lying around the house or taking up space in that junk drawer (you know you have one of those drawers), so the cost was minimal.  So if you love crafts, have a good imagination and have always wanted to make a dollhouse for that special little girl in your life, then here's a project for you:

STEP 1:  BUY THIS AWESOMELY CHEAP DOLL SHELF AT MICHAEL'S 

STEP 2: PAINT YOUR HOUSE 

(and I bought a flower calendar from Michael's for $1 and used a couple of the pictures as wallpaper)  Just used wood glue to paste it to the "walls".  Trim as needed to fit perfectly.

STEP 3: PAINT AND DECORATE THE FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE!  

I found packs of wooden squares for about $1.50 at Michael's, the trees are actually place card holders for a $1 in the wedding section and the fence pieces were like $1.

STEP 4: MAKE YOUR FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIZE THE HOUSE!  

Here is the canopy bed that I made from scratch.  It's probably my favorite part of the entire project.  I bought a piece of rectangular styrofoam for a $1 or so and used an old white pillow case to wrap the foam in and hot glued it in place.  I then used 4 chop sticks (yes, the ones you get when you order out chinese food), painted them white and poked them down into the styrofoam.  Then all you need is a little bit of ribbon for the top of the canopy and the bed skirt, some lacy material for the drapes and some material for the comforter set and pillow.  So much fun to make! It took me a little while, just because I wanted it to be perfect, but I could probably make the next one in half the time now that I know how I want everything done.  And you can't really see it, but I glued a piece of cardboard that I cut and shape like a headboard and glued little rhinestone squares (look like mini mirrors) to it to make a glamourous headboard.  

STEP 4:  PUT IT ALL TOGETHER TO MAKE A FABULOUS DOLLHOUSE FOR THAT SPECIAL LITTLE GIRL IN YOUR LIFE.   

Or shoot, I have two boys and they totally loved playing with it before we got it to the Birthday party.  Throw some blue paint on it, make some boy accessories and your little guy has a cool Batman Cave or Spiderman Hideout house!

And please note the lights that put up around the house.  These came in a pack of 6 and are the battery operated miniature lights that have a little on/off switch on the back.  I glued one piece of velcro to the top of the house where I wanted the lights put up and another piece of velcro to the actual light so that you can just pull the lights off the house to turn the switch on or off and then just stick it back up there.  (notice I also put one by the front door)

I must say, this particular dollhouse doesn't fit the adult sized Barbie dolls in the smaller rooms, but if you have a small Skipper dolls or any other little doll, the kids will use them!  Luckily, my niece got a pack of little Disney Princess Figurines which she used and found to work perfectly.  It was definitely a great gift and was not only a hit with the little girls, but with everyone else at the party.  My family and friends joked that I made their gifts look pretty lame and that it was obvious which gift was her favorite!  My response:  "Well it better be after all the time and hard work I put into it."  ;)

STEP 5:  ADD A CURTAIN (IF YOU WISH) 

I'm not sure if I'm totally glad I did this or not.  I saw a similar idea somewhere and it was super cute, but I'm not sure I am quite advanced enough to pull this one off, but as you can see above, I put hooks on the sides so that she can pull it aside and have it held when she's playing and then can close it when she's done.

Do you have a dollhouse project or doll furniture that you've made?  I'd love to see what other people have come up with! Enjoy and please message me pictures if you decide to go make your own now!