When I was young, I always dreamt of having a doll house. I would see commercials of these beautiful, highly decorative doll houses and thought “I need to get my hands on that”. However, once I grew up, I noticed how generic and expensive these houses were. They had no personality and lacked creativity. Every girl cannot possibly want a bubblegum pink, plastic playhouse. We all have our own style. Why not show it in something personalized!
As an artist I am always looking for a fun weekend project. I began reflecting on past projects that would inspire the materials needed to create a doll house for my daughter. She is at that perfect age where her imagination sparks in any game she plays. As I was rummaging through old photos, I came across one of my son’s old school projects-a castle made from recycled boxes. The purpose was to teach children that using recycled material can be fun and prove useful.
That is when it hit me. Now’s the perfect time to create and reuse existing boxes that we had lying around the house. With a few household items and a burst of creativity, I built a 3-story dollhouse made from recycled material!
Materials needed:
1 Cardboard Box
2 Shoe Boxes (one with a lid)
Duct Tape
Packaging Tape
12×12 Scrapbook paper (or any type of colored construction paper)
Exacto Knife/Scissors
Ruler
Gluestick or Glue
Instructions…Be Creative.
Find a box. Fit boxes within boxes to create your own structure.
Use the tape to reinforce the edges of the box and to add some color to the exterior.
Use papers, drawings, personal items to decorate and glue each room to add your own personality.
Don’t forget to decorate the rooftop as well as think about the outside walls. I chose to draw windows and a garage on mine.
Ultimately, I did not follow any instructions in creating this house and it proved more rewarding than following ridged steps.
This is a great project for parents to do with their children. Give the reigns to your child to decorate their own dollhouse, or art studio, or garage. The sky’s the limit. It allows them to express their creativity and understand the power of reuse and going green.
Happy Creating! Share what you create with me. vani@designpsinners.com
