Fortunately for me, I've been blessed by a little girl who knows what quality is. And because of that, she's been able to compare toys of yesterday to toys of today, and come to her own conclusions of what she thinks is worthy of spending her money on.
(Personally, I would have LOVED to have it all done up in traditional Barbie colors (pink, black, and white) mixed in with a little damask, etc. patterns. (Not to mention wanting to go all gung-ho on carving a styrofoam fireplace, with more realistic touches, etc.) However, who am I to impose on my daughter using her creativity to make something customized to her own tastes?)
With the $30 'dollhouse', comes the fun of choosing wallpaper and tile. And it's cheap too! All it takes is a trip to the craft supply store, where you can pick up scrapbooking sheets. (And compared to the quality of some dollhouses at the toy stores-- it's pretty much the same, if you know what I mean!)
So here are some decorating ideas that my 7 year old has come up with:
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| Print out tropical landscapes and frame them for windows! |
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| Print out stained glass designs from the internet for wall decor, and use patterned scrapbook paper to create tiled floors! |
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| Cut up scrapbooking paper and glue on the 'walls' as decorative paneling! |
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| Add ribbon along the walls for a quick chair rail. Print out mini posters (like "Keep Calm & Do Laundry") for artwork! |
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| Pinterest holds lots of ideas, such as this one I found for a queen-sized bed, made from a cereal box and duct tape. My kiddo was hoping to have a bed for Mom and Dad Barbie to sleep in! |
Compared to the dollhouses out in toy stores (going for more than $100 each), I think we've done pretty well, coming in at less than $50!
Use your imagination without breaking the bank. It makes a fun day when the kids are bored!
Shabby Chic IKEA Mydal Hack For Under $200
As a parent to two daughters, one thing is for certain-- the youngest ends up with a treasure trove of the older sister's leftovers. Sometimes, it can be a blessing, or in the event of the parent having to look at the mess-- a curse!
With this being said, it wasn't fun for me, to tell my youngest to go clean up her room, only to be frustrated with not knowing where to put things. (Not to mention my frustration with having one thing being left on the floor, and looking like a tornado running through it because of that!)
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| Well, okay. More than one thing being left behind. (Note my little one peeking out from the end of her bed. I would be too if I had a room that could be featured on 'Hoarders'!) |
Having a small room isn't the greatest thing in the world, but it's something that can be worked with.
So I ended up going online, trying to find a loft bed. However, the beds were either just the right size, but $400 too much. Or just the right price, but made for a room with 12 foot high ceilings.
That's when I went to IKEA, and started looking around. I've heard of the hacks going on, and I was hoping that I'd be able to find something that wouldn't break the bank-- or my sanity!
I found the IKEA Mydal bunk bed, and tried to envision it without the bottom bunk. There were just four posts-- rather than the usual 8. (This makes it sturdier, being that the dowels that usually hold them all together, won't end up splitting apart, when used as a loft bed.)
So for $159, I was sold. (And I brought the online price in to IKEA, who wanted $179 for it at the store. I wasn't bound to pay the extra $20 for something that stated $159 on the printed out shopping list they offer online.)
With a husband not feeling so well, I was left with the task of assembling this by myself. And with a 7 year old around (to occasionally hold one side up, while you're putting it together) it can get done!
And this, is what we ended up with:
And I, by no means, am an expert seamstress. So there was no way I was going to invest in a ton of fabric only to realize that I was four inches off from the bottom hem, etc. I was truly fortunate enough to find the curtains at Target for a measely $7.49 each! (From their Shabby Chic line.)
They are actually balloon shades that I tacked up, and installed on a tension rod. (The good thing with just tacking them up, is that you can take out the stitch later, and use them for windows later on.)
I still have some work to do on the bed. As you can see, the ladder needs a bottom rung. And to make the ladder sturdier, I need to make a run down to Home Depot, to have a full-length post that reaches the floor.
And to keep the tension rod from falling down, I added a plant hook in the middle of the bed, to snap the rod into:
And on top, my kiddo has lots of room to sleep. (Although, there'd be a lot more, if Grandma would stop adding to the stuffed animal menagerie! ;)
The fun part, is underneath. With $30, you can get 3 shelving systems at Walmart that can make a great customized Barbie doll mansion, with room to play!
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| (If you happen to blow this pic up, nevermind the fish stick box sitting on top of the shelf. Apparently, this has turned into a Barbie room, after a grocery trip from Costco. (I was wondering where that box went!) |
This project (loft bed and curtains) was just $190. And it's amazing how long my kiddo has kept her room cleaned!
A's Dreamy Bejeweled Dollhouse
Okay. So for now, I'm going to repost this project from a previous blog that I did, as a way to start things off (and see how it looks when it's posted).
This project is something I did for my A, a couple of years ago. After several months of wanting a home for her little Lalaloopsy dolls, I came across this puzzle one from Creatology (found through Michaels Craft Store), for a mere $8.
Items needed:
- Creatology 'Dollhouse With A Veranda' ($8)
- A bag of sparkly jewels, buttons, etc. (about $3)
- Tubes of acrylic paint (in your choices of colors) (about $3)
- One can of Minwax Polycrylic Spray ($10)
- Fabric biased tape (to cover corners and rough edges) (about $2)
- Paint brushes (about $3)
- Superglue (about $2)
- Ribbons, miniature roses, buttons, scrapbooking paper, etc. to dress it up
- Tools to have on hand: exacto knife, paint brushes, superglue-- and the nail polish remover, in the event you start gluing your fingers together at 2am like I did!
Begin, by painting the pieces of each sheet with 2 (or 3) coats of acrylic paint. (Making sure you do the backs of the railings and trims, as those will be in view, once the house is completed.) After the paint dries, spray 3-4 coats of polycrylic over the pieces. (This will prevent the chalky feel of acrylic paint reminiscent of those childhood art projects from school.) This part will probably take 3-4 hours-- especially if the directions to the puzzle is looking a bit Greek by now!
(By the way, it's a good thing to note that acrylic paint is totally washable from hard surfaces-- like my wood table, I found out. But since I have carpet underneath it, this project ended up more as a Mommy one!)
When everything is dry, start measuring, cutting out, and gluing your scrapbook paper to the walls and ceilings of your house-- TRIPLE CHECKING that you are not gluing floorpieces to ceilings, etc.
When that part is completed, look over the directions, as they might be hard to interpret. (All it shows is a layout of the pieces, where tabs and notches are numbered.) After piecing the walls and floors together already though, the process will become more self-explanatory. (As you can see above, there are gaps where the walls join. This can be corrected by gluing something as simple as bias tape over them, as it's already folded and ready to go. The tape can also be placed over the rough edges as well.)
What I found out, is that by finishing the pieces before assembly does, is that the paint layers provide a tighter fit, so the whole thing doesn't end up falling apart, once you pick it up. When you put the little locks into place, you can then start decorating the house to suit your taste. With the big spread of jewels covering my dining room table, I didn't end up finishing this until 3am! (Suffice it to say, I was having dreams-- or rather kaleidoscopic nightmares for the next few nights after finishing this project!)
But this is how it ended up. Hopefully, you can find something similar and give it a try as well. We've had this house for a couple of years now, and my daughter still loves it!
That Oatmeal Hairband Holder I Keep Seeing On Pinterest...
It's a sad thing, when you feel that you have to hand over the ethernet cord to your husband, as he leaves the house. Yes. I've spent waaaay too much time on Pinterest, and have over 11,000 pins during the past year to show for it. (It's some kind of OCD thing with me. I get on a theme, and end up scouring for things to go on the board.)
With that said, I did manage to get some things done around the house. Although I procrastinated a little bit, and worked on this little project instead.
I had some leftover fabric from the pillowcase dress that I made a couple months ago, and thought it would have a nice contrast with the little hairbands laying around.
This project takes about 20 minutes.
You'll need:
- Quilt batting. I keep seeing other sites using just fabric or paper just glued to the oatmeal container, but I think the batting gives something for the bands to grab onto, so they won't slide off.
- The oatmeal container, of course. (The large-sized container.)
- Fabric and other decorations. (I started with the satin ribbon, but it kind of looked warped with the glue, so I ended up using a thicker grosgrain (I believe it's called) ribbon.)
- Cardboard-- as in the kind that comes from a box.
- Glue gun
So first off, what you need to do, is cut the batting and glue it to the container. Keep in mind, that the lid will need to close, so you shouldn't go rogue and tack it over the edge and whatnot, because then the lid won't close.
Next, cut your fabric, making sure you allow between 1/2"-1" extra, to fold under at the bottom.
After that, start gluing the fabric around the container, keeping it taut around the top edge of the container. (Taut, because you don't want it peeling off whenever the you put the lid on and off.)
Unfortunately, the leftover fabric that I had, barely wrapped around the box, so I had to improvise. (See below.) But you have to realize, it's an oatmeal container, so it doesn't have to be perfect. (Says the perfectionist in me, that's still having a little problem with this, lol.)
And as you can see, I've had to do a little tack-sewing with this. At first, I tried gluing the ends of the fabric together, where they met. But I had to take it off, because the glue gun was leaving too many bumps of glue behind.
Afterward, I took a strip of leftover fabric, and made a band, to cover that mess. (Hopefully, you'll have more than enough fabric to not have to do this. But in the event that you too, either didn't have enough, or mismeasured...) And if you notice, I am actually using a hair straightener to iron down the edges of this strip. (So convenient, when you don't want to drag out the iron for something as little as this.)
So you after you do that, you need to glue the bottom edge on the inside~
To give the bottom a nicer 'tailored' look, cut out a circle from a piece of cardboard. Cover it with fabric, gluing it to the underside. Afterward, apply some glue to the bottom of the container, and push the circle in to fit~
Now, to the lid. Like the pins I've been seeing for this project, I was hoping to just deal with a clear plastic lid. Nope! I don't know if it was just cheaper to do that way, or if it was something they decided, based on ecological data. But the container lid is just a ring with paper in it! (You might have better luck with a different brand's container.) But with that said, cut out a circle, and glue it right on top of the Quaker Man's face~
And when you're done, you can add extras-- like the ribbon that I did below. (Mind you, I could have done more, but I have to realize that it's just an oatmeal container!)
And when you're all done, it looks like this!
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