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| (Handmade LPS Portable Dollhouse) |
I have always been fascinated with all things miniature and would pretend I had a little faery friend who I would someday build a house for. Well, ever since my little baby faery daughter was born (aka: Gemini Grrl), I have been putting my craft skills to work and have enjoyed coming up with homemade activities, DIY projects and other fun games we can do together.
My recent project was this portable/ carry-along dollhouse for a vintage Littlest Pet Shop Bobble-Head Siamese Cat (from the 2004 LPS Portable Pet Series), which I used to play with (please don't do the math. I still collected and played with toys well past my teenage years. Haha!), but have since passed down to my daughter. It came with a tiny pink pet carrier, but we decided that kitty needed a bigger place to call home.
I have made a few dollhouses out of old chocolate boxes and shoeboxes, but when I saw a few posts online of portable dollhouses using mini paper suitcases, they looked so adorable and I loved how we could easily bring them out with us to keep Gemini Grrl occupied when we're over at friend's house, or eating at a restaurant, etc. It was really fun to make and I got her to help pick out the wallpaper/ flooring, choose the decals, the various colours of things, the placement of certain items, and what exactly she would like in the house. She also helped to glue some bits (using child-safe school glue) and it took us only one day to get everything done (with breaks in between for snacks, lunch and naptime).
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| (The outside of the mini paper suitcase is blue with orange, red, green & yellow stars) |
Below is a tutorial of how exactly I made the dollhouse.
But if you prefer, you can also watch a short & sweet tutorial video I made :)
But if you prefer, you can also watch a short & sweet tutorial video I made :)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Mini Paper Suitcase
Scissors
Pencil
Superglue
Gift Wrap Paper or Scrap Book Paper
Cotton Wool
Drinking Straw
Toothpicks or Matchsticks
Popsicle Sticks
Various Bits of Fabric
Scrap Book Decals
Stickers
Magazine Cut-Outs
String or Wool
Letter Beads
Small Empty Boxes
Cupcake Liner
Craft Foam
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| (You can easily glue your wallpaper & flooring to the insides, if it is made of paper like this one) |
You can either choose the same piece of gift wrap paper/ scrap book paper for both the wallpaper and the flooring, or you can do what we did and use two different pieces. Our wallpaper is light yellow with little trees, teal silhouettes of deer and tiny white flowers. Our flooring is white with green, red and yellow triangles. You can also use any kind of fabric or even felt for your flooring, to make it more like a carpet instead. I got both gift-wrap papers from a knick-knack shop near my house for 40 cents each (3 rolls for $1). This is partly why I have a seriously hoarding problem when it comes to gift-wrap! Put the mini paper suitcase on the the gift-wrap paper and trace around it with a pencil. Cut it to size to fit on the insides. I had to trim it a few times because the outside of the house is obviously a little bit bigger than the inside, but it wasn't too hard to do.
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| (The cosy little bed with pictures on the wall) |
I used an empty (plus washed & dried!) mini drink box and wrapped it up in a preloved baby washcloth that has been sitting in Gemini Grrl's bottom drawer for a while now, and glued it together. The pillow is a wad of facial cotton (the kind that you use to remove make-up), wrapped up in a small piece of fabric (also cut up from an old baby washcloth) and glued shut. The bed's headboard is a little craft foam decal used for scrap-booking, which I dug out of my collection of bits & bobs. You can use whatever you already have or cut out a nice picture from a magazine.
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| (Who's the fairest of them all?) |
The picture frame directly above the bed's headboard (Je t'aime), is made out of toothpicks, but you can also use matchsticks. Just trim the length to fit around your chosen picture (mine was cut out from a magazine) and glue it directly onto the edges of the picture. I added a little craft foam heart at the corner there just to make it look even nicer, and glued the frame directly onto the wall.
The same method applies to the mirror on the other side of the room as well. I just so happened to have a piece of reflective paper which I tore out from a magazine years ago (seriously, I think it was actually 10 years ago! I told you I am a hoarder). You can also paint or colour in the frame to make it even prettier. The other picture on the wall of the crown with a heart in a middle, is actually a bottle-cap decal mixed in with my loot bag of craft stuff which I won from an online competition. SO happy with the stuff I got :)
Oh, and the round rug in front of the mirror is actually the liner from a Ferrero Rocher chocolate, but you can also use any other cupcake liner, or a piece of fabric.
Oh, and the round rug in front of the mirror is actually the liner from a Ferrero Rocher chocolate, but you can also use any other cupcake liner, or a piece of fabric.
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| (Itadakimasu!) |
The base of the table is an old plastic bottle top and I glued this glittery yellow craft foam circle on as the table top. The dining chair is the top of a vitamin bottle (the seal thingy that you remove from the inside). The irritatingly cute sushi are actually erasers I got as a set from a dollar store. I know I can also make the miniature food myself, but I have a weakness for these things when I see them in the shops. They actually give me inspiration for my next dollhouse creation.
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| (Rub a dub dub) |
I hope you can see the details on this one. The bathtub itself is cut out of a mini cereal box, and wrapped with some gift-wrap paper. The bottom of the bathtub (inside) is a magazine clipping, and so is the row of shampoo/ conditioner/ soap/ sponge. The shower is a bendy drinking straw. The taps are letter beads (H for Hot and C for Cold water). The pink towel is cut out from another old baby washcloth. And last but not least, the bathmat is a craft foam heart.
I actually glued down all the furniture in this dollhouse, so just a tip if you intend to do that - remember not to glue things too close to the edge because you won't be able to close the lid. Umm, I speak from experience. Haha. Next time I make a dollhouse, I probably won't glue the furniture down though, because my daughter got pretty annoyed that she couldn't rearrange stuff. I only did it this time because this was a portable dollhouse and I didn't want anything to fall out and get lost outside.
Oh, I also want to point out the magazine clipping of grass in the background around the edges there, which I glued on for fun. Yes, my kitty's bathroom is outdoors apparantly. Nevermind! :P
I actually glued down all the furniture in this dollhouse, so just a tip if you intend to do that - remember not to glue things too close to the edge because you won't be able to close the lid. Umm, I speak from experience. Haha. Next time I make a dollhouse, I probably won't glue the furniture down though, because my daughter got pretty annoyed that she couldn't rearrange stuff. I only did it this time because this was a portable dollhouse and I didn't want anything to fall out and get lost outside.
Oh, I also want to point out the magazine clipping of grass in the background around the edges there, which I glued on for fun. Yes, my kitty's bathroom is outdoors apparantly. Nevermind! :P
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| (The other side of the bedroom) |
Really, the sky's the limit! Just use whatever you already have and go with the flow! I glued on a popsicle stick as a shelf and then wondered where to go next with this little corner of the room. But then discovered some darling little dress decals and decided to glue them onto a string of wool. I didn't glue the dresses onto the wall though, so they sort of flap around if you poke them. The two tiny cupcakes on the shelf are so random, I know, but they were in my craft bag and they were too cute not to use.
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| (Scrapbooking bits & bobs) |
It's good to have lots of bits and bobs of scrap-book decals, magazine cut-outs, stickers and all that. I just squirrel them away, hoping that they'll be of use some day and sure enough, they definitely were! Don't stress yourself out over how to make it perfect. When you're having fun, the ideas will naturally come to you. You are only limited by your own imagination, so don't overthink it and just experiment.
If you want to see a video tour of this portable dollhouse, as well as the tutorial, do check out our video on Youtube. Please remember to Subscribe to our channel as well and do let us know in the comments if you would like to see more of our dollhouse creations! :)
