One of my readers had some really good suggestions for the dollhouse Bethany was making -- using scrapbook paper for wallpaper being one of them. Bethany loved the idea and so did I. So, we went to A.C. Moore and she picked out some scrapbook paper to put on the walls. She had so much fun picking it out -- and took soooo long. She ended up with three different designs -- two for bedrooms and she said the other was for the family room.
Andrew decided he would help her and he measured and cut all of the wallpaper. He even helped put some of it on the walls.
This was a wonderful idea and they spent several days working on the house. Below are the shingles they decided the roof needed.
Bethany cutting shingles and putting them on the roof.
One unfortunate thing happened. Bethany had put the dollhouse under the kitchen desk to store it after she had worked on it. Sophia got a hold of it before we realized what she was doing and did pull it apart a little bit and made the floors a little uneven as she jerked it around -- not like this little house is real sturdy. But, Bethany didn't seem to mind too much -- sagging floors and a little ripping off of stuff didn't make her like her house any less. She just kept on making furniture and carpets and pretty much ignored the fact that her house looked a little crooked. Not sure I like her choice of purple carpet but she insisted.
They spent an entire day working on this and parts of several other days. I don't have pictures of most of the furniture yet, but they used Bethany's albuterol and hyper-sal boxes to make a bed and maybe a stove and several other things. Bethany decided to make some pillows and made around three or four for the beds. The bed below was not finished yet, but she was in the process of making the bedroom furniture.
I am so glad the wallpaper idea was suggested to me as I would never have thought of that and Bethany didn't even know what scrapbook paper was until I showed her.
This became such a project that several of the other kids wanted to join in. And the great thing is that we basically spent a few dollars for this project and they thought it all up themselves -- with a little help from a reader.
This makes me think of the dollhouses I built. I got cardboard boxes and glued & taped them together. I put 3 across and added 3 more for the second level. I used old sewing pattern books (remember the big heavy ones they had at sewing departments?) and cut out pictures of curtains and glued them to the walls. Oh, and I took my Mom's sanitary napkins and made them into twin size beds. oops... Really, it was so much fun! I also made families from the people in the sewing patterns books. I would write the names of each child on the back. I love that Bethany and her siblings are creating these together. Imagination can take a child anywhere! Hugs ~ Jo
ReplyDeleteYour house sounds a little more sturdy than Bethany's. She hasn't made any people yet -- too busy decorating to think of people I guess. Maybe they will be next.
DeleteIt is absolutely brilliant! I love the creativity that bubbles out of them when the television is off and they are given the opportunity to just be kids. Tell Bethany (and Andrew) that five kids in Florida are all admiration for their work, and have been inspired to build a dollhouse of their own. My girls are in a diorama phase right now. The dioramas are adorable and so creative. I just love it!
ReplyDeleteI read your comment to them and they were thrilled that other kids liked what they had done. I think it will inspire them to do more.
DeleteAbsolutely super!! What imaginative and artistic children you have - and how lucky they are to have a family which fosters and encourages creativity! Thanks so much for the updates- I'll be telling my doll club about this and encouraging everyone to take a look.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that the Florida kids caught the dollhouse bug, too!
Susan in Kentucky
Cousin to 2 from U.
Thank you so much for your ideas! I don't want to sound stupid, but what is a doll club?
DeleteIt's a club of and for doll collectors. We have around 15 members, and meet once a month and have show and tell (new additions to our collections or related items or materials - books, etc.), a brief business meeting, lunch, then tell about the dolls we've each brought that deal with whatever our topic is: recent topics have been boy dolls, baby dolls, dolls that "do something", dolls dressed for sports, dolls which are family heirlooms, dollhouse dolls, and ladies in red (which covered a LOT of territory and was more fun than it first sounded). Our hostesses select whatever topic they like when we first plan our year of meetings.
ReplyDeleteOur club is an affiliate of UFDC (Google it!), the non-profit international umbrella organization, and we have members from all over our state. Once a year, a doll artist member instructs the rest of us in a cute doll-related projet. We have fun!
Junior membership is available for younger collectors, and there is an annual Junior Members' Tea at the big national convention, which is held in different cities each year. It will be in Washington, D.C. next July, and includes a day when the fantastic salesroom (packed with incredibly beautiful, rare, and valuable antique dolls as well as more modern ones) is open to the public at a modest entry fee. Small children are not admitted, for obvious reasons, but Bethany is old enough. A few years ago, my cousins from U. got to attend the tea and see the salesroom - they had a blast (so did I)! There are also regional conventions, which are much shorter than the annual ones, but which contain lots of the same activities - luncheons with doll souvenirs, doll competitions, sales, programs on all kinds of topics, and a closing banquet. There was a regional in Williamsburg about ten or eleven years ago, and it was fantastic! Wish they'd do it again...
Susan
Wow! I never knew any of this -- though I did, of course, know people collected dolls. There is a doll shop not far from our house where I have bought dolls for several of my girls. Some of the dolls are thousands of dollars -- beautiful, but way out out of my price range. They are for collectors. Some of the dolls look so real and have such beautiful, real looking hair. I like to just look at them, then pick out a baby doll for my girls -- usually for Christmas and at a reasonable price. The only problem is that they don't carry many nice baby dolls anymore since Lee Middleton was bought out. Now they mainly have expensive dolls for collectors -- but I do love walking the store looking at them. They also used to have dolls from different countries -- Ukraine, China and Native American Indian but I haven't seen many of them lately. I almost bought Caroline the Ukranian one and I did get Zola an Indian doll that she loved and would wear it on her back and she would wear her Indian dress-up and I can't tell you how many people asked where we had gotten her doll. It was quite a hit. Unfortunately, I can't find another one like it or I would get Bethany one.
DeleteThat was a great suggestion wasn't it! After we quit our sewing class for homeschool my girls want to make one too! We have lots of "wall" paper already! :o)
ReplyDeleteThank You for sharing! ((((HUGS))))
p.s. our Mercy is the "destroyer" when we don't watch out!!
I don't know how to sew, but would love to learn. I have a friend that is going to show me how to make pillow cases this fall. Maybe I could learn enough to teach a few of my kids. Hope your dollhouse turns out to be as much fun as ours did. Maybe you could blog about it -- I would love to see it.
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