As a child, all I ever wanted for Christmas was a baby doll and or a doll house. The 'Dear Santa' letter always looked the same. When I was nine years old my dream came true. I received my very first doll house! I loved it and played with it as often as I could, but sadly, a few months later, I woke up to flames. My bedroom was on fire. By the mercy of God we all got out safely, but my beloved doll house was gone.
I had not had my dollhouse for six months before it was devoured by flames. So, each year after that I begged for another doll house. I thought for sure I would get one, but it wasn't until my sixteenth birthday that my request was answered. It was a doll house kit-not exactly a doll house, but close enough for me to be quite content.
If you know anything about dollhouse kits they are daunting. Hundreds of miniature wooden pieces with numbers on them and all having to go together in a very specific order. I fell in love. I worked on the house each day. It was my new love and hobby. I built it, wall papered it, carpeted it and filled it with lots of furniture!
Since then I have made several dollhouses either for the mere joy of it or to present it to my daughters on their birthdays.
This house was GIVEN to me by my precious G.G.
G.G. was my husbands grandmother. She passed away this past March.
She gave this dollhouse to me twenty years ago. It was the dollhouse her mother made and she had been storing it in the attic. I remodeled it and put in electricity!
I will never forget her face when she saw the 'home improvement!'
On the outside: I added the wooden shingles and painted it.
Wallpaper, flooring, and electricity were all added.
Some of the curtains are original to the house!
This house I made from a kit.
This house has wallpapering in each room, carpeting or hardwood flooring, but no electricity =(
One day I hope to add it to her house!
(The windows even go up and down!)
G.G. was my husbands grandmother. She passed away this past March.
She gave this dollhouse to me twenty years ago. It was the dollhouse her mother made and she had been storing it in the attic. I remodeled it and put in electricity!
I will never forget her face when she saw the 'home improvement!'
On the outside: I added the wooden shingles and painted it.
Some of the curtains are original to the house!
This house I made from a kit.
This house has wallpapering in each room, carpeting or hardwood flooring, but no electricity =(
One day I hope to add it to her house!
(The windows even go up and down!)
Well, a tradition had started and I knew I needed to make another dollhouse for my youngest daughter. I desired to make the doll house so that each of my girls would have their very own miniature doll house, but they are quite expensive and I wasn't entirely sure that I would have the time to devote to creating another one.
A few months ago I was driving home and saw this doll house on the side of the road. I stopped the car, jumped out and claimed it! Here was my chance to share my love of remodeling a doll house with my children.It is not what I am used to working with, but I was up for the challenge! My children couldn't wait either. It, as you can see, was painted pink and black! Painting it white was a must!
First, came the painting.
They loved it!
His first time using a roller!
The transformation has begun!
(My daughter couldn't wait to see if her 'Calico Critters' van would fit in the garage!)
After painting comes wall papering!
We had gone to Hobby Lobby and chosen miniature doll house wall paper and a few sheets of paper from the 'scrapbooking' section that seemed to be of the right scale to this dollhouse and it's family.
We had gone to Hobby Lobby and chosen miniature doll house wall paper and a few sheets of paper from the 'scrapbooking' section that seemed to be of the right scale to this dollhouse and it's family.
Flooring came next.
We chose carpeting, and hardwood flooring.
Some of the carpeting I purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric!
We used our quilting shears and tools to cut everything perfectly.
My daughter is thrilled with the outcome.
My son fitted and cut the carpet for the den.
My other daughter is working on making a
framed map, chalk board and bulletin board for the 'classroom!'
Making a way for Electricity!!
Drilling holes for the wires to run through
before putting in the flooring.
My 12 year old girl took her hand at drilling!
We put the flooring in and you can no longer see
the holes!
We put heavy candles on the upstairs bathroom floor as weights to
keep it down while the glue dried.
Here is the kitchen before the flooring is put in...
We used wood glue for to install all the flooring.
Kitchen flooring after!
The girls are working on installing the wallpaper in each room.
Flooring- Wall-to-wall capeting in the attic
Flooring - Hard wood flooring in the Master bedroom
and down the hall.
and down the hall.
My oldest and youngest working on filling the house
with furniture!
I couldn't forget the electricity!!!
All of my children were excited to learn how to
put electricity into a doll house!
The first lamp is up and working!
The doll house is complete! My little daughter wasted no time in decorating each room.
Here is the bottom floor:
To the left is the living room, in the middle is the kitchen and to the right is the garage.
My middle daughter MADE the kitchen table and benches for my youngest daughter!
The living room:
I use true miniature to scale furniture for the Calico Critters.
(I bricked the fireplace!)
It's still Christmas time for the dolls!
The second floor:
To the left is the parent's room, the middle room is the bathroom and to the right is the classroom!
The parents room-My middle daughter made the two white beds!
The CLASSROOM!
What is a home without a HOME SCHOOL Classroom?
My oldest daughter MADE the chalk board, bulletin board and MAP!
The desks and chairs, puppet show, and hamsters cage are from Playmobil.
The top floor:
The children's room is to the left, the nursery is in the middle and the PLAYROOM is to the right!
This a treehouse from Calico Critters.
Why not have a treehouse IN the house!???
The Nursery- my daughters favorite room of the house!SIX CRIBS!!!
And at last, the children's room!
Eight BEDS!
The children learned so much and we had fun!
I cannot wait to do it again =)
Great share, thanks for writing this
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