Dollhouse Miniature Grocery Set

Watch the video here.

This week I actually had another project planned, and half way completed but it became very obvious that I just would not get it done in time for this week's tutorial. Instead of panicking I got out the kits that Ann from Paper Minis had sent me a while back and picked one that many of you had requested. Okay, I picked two but I only had time to put together one of them, so we will save the other kit for another time.

The kit I picked today has a grocery bag and some boxes and bags of staple items for your dollhouse kitchen. These are a little on the tedious side because of the size but they turn out so cute that they are well worth the effort it takes. I do recommend spreading the project out over a couple of days so you can work in short periods of time. If I try to do too much at one time on these small kits I find myself making dumb mistakes and getting careless.

You will need some thing to cut with I decided to use scissors today, something to score the fold lines with and some glue. So very few tools or supplies are needed for these kits. Oh and good lighting is also important because you want to be able to see all the details as you work.

I hope you enjoyed the video and be sure to go over to Paper Minis and have a look around. Ann has so many wonderful kits on her site. I am sure you will find some thing your dollhouse just has to have. LOL

Here is the link to the kit we made today.

Oh and if you do buy from Ann let her know I sent you over. We really enjoy hearing from all of you when you go to look at her site. And if you make up some of her projects be sure to send pictures to both Ann and to me, we both love to see what you are working on. (and Ann might put your pictures in her newsletter too!)

Dollhouse Miniature Folded Clothing

Watch the video here.

This week I am working on something that was requested a while back, some clothes that are folded so you can put them in the drawers of the dresser or stack then wherever you need them.

This is a fun project and really easy because there is no sewing involved at all.

The first time I saw these was in a swap I received probably about 15 or more years ago. I was very intrigued by the idea and set about to figure out how to make them. I am really happy with my version and I hope you are too.

Before we start we need to pick our fabric. This can be tricky because we need to keep scale in mind. Of course you can stick with solid colors then you don't have to worry about it. Just keep your eyes open for tiny prints. For this project I do recommend using a 100% cotton because it takes to ironing very well and also glues well.

To start we need two pieces of fabric the first one cut 2 ½” by about 6”. the second one needs to be aout 1” by 2”. We also need a piece of cardstock that is cut 7/8” by 1 ¼” (I know I said the size wrong in the video-sorry)

The steps in the video are pretty easy to follow, Just take your time and be careful working with the hot iron.

If you are not familiar with the paper backed fusible web it does make life so much easier when doing projects like these. I use it all the time and always have some on hand. Just be careful not to get the glue part on the iron. That is a huge mess and not fun to clean up.

The other tools you will need are some glue (I used Tacky) , scissors, a toothpick (to apply the glue) and a hole punch (1/16”) for the optional buttons.

I hope you enjoyed the project. Remember to let me know if you make any of my projects I love to see what you are working on. Send me pictures if you can either on the Facebook group (the link is always in the video description), here on the blog, or you can email them to me here. 

Dollhouse Miniature Faux Ceramic Tiles

Watch the video here.

Once again this week I am showing you a project that was inspired by the Frugal Crafter's Channel. If you haven't checked out her channel, well, what are you waiting for? Here is a link, go have a look around.

This time we are going to make some faux ceramic tiles. This project is really more of an inspiration than last week's wood was. This week I had to make some changes to get the end result I was looking for and some simply because I didn't have the materials and/or supplies Lindsay used in hers. Also I just wanted the tiles not the stamping technique she was showing.

So for paper I am using some glossy photo paper that I got at the Dollar Tree. There are 8 sheet for a buck so this is a really inexpensive project. I have a lot of different colors of ink because I love to rubber stamp and make cards. You can use any ink you want for yours. I like the Distress Inks from Ranger because they come in fun colors and I happen to have most of them. I almost always buy my ink in the small mini size- a lot cheaper and they take up less room. I like to have lots of color choices when I dig through my ink.

For this project we are going to use a scoring board and score what will become the grout lines in between our tiles. I went over each score line twice to make it slightly more pronounced that it would have been if I had just went over the lines one time.

I wanted to make my tiles to look like 12” tiles so my score lines are 1” apart. You can make pretty much any size tiles you want, just adjust your score lines.

I found that using the ink pad in a circular motion and not pressing too hard was the best way to apply the ink. Don't stay in one spot too long or you will do what I did in the first area I worked on and fill in your grout lines.

Once the ink was dry I used my white gel pen to touch up the grout lines. This worked pretty well except in the area I was really heavy handed with the ink. I think a white fine line paint pen might be a better choice in that area. Or just be more careful of how you apply the ink, in other words learn from my mistake.

So this is another project that I am showing you how to make a basic supply and I want to see how you use it. So if you use these tiles in a project be sure to send me a photo. 

Dollhouse Miniature Faux Wood

Watch the video here.

First let me say I saw this process on one of my favorite Youtube channels. If you aren't familiar with the Lindsay of The Frugal Crafter you just have to check out her channel (here) She is a very talented lady who among other things paints, stamps, makes cards, makes jewelry and so much more.

She used this faux wood technique a while back on a card and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it out. I knew it would be a technique my followers could use for many things in the dollhouse. I can see this being a floor, siding on a building, maybe a table top, and so many other things.

If you do use this process in your mini projects be sure to send me some pictures I want to see how you use it!

Since we are starting with Kraft color cardstock we already have a “wood” color base going on. We just need to add some grain lines and some dimension. The first step in this process is to use a scoring board (mine is a Martha Stewart one around $20) to make lines between our “boards” I chose to go every ½” to give me some 6” wide boards. You might want to try closer or further apart.

Next we need to add the “wood grain” for this I used a selection on dye based ink pads that are used for rubber stamping. I do prefer the small or “mini” size because I can collect a lot more colors for less money. The full size ones get really expensive if you want to get lots of colors. My are from the Tim Holtz Distress Ink line by Ranger. Here is a link to some online. You should be able to find them at any craft store. You can use any brand but I do find what is known as a “dye based” ink works best for this project. They dry faster and clean up is easy.

Lightly use the ink pads to wipe on the color going the direction you want the wood grain to go. Allow this to dry (it won't take long)

Once the ink has had a chance to dry use a rough paint brush to barely dry brush some paint onto your boards. Again go in the direction of the wood grain. Allow to dry.

Once this is all dry you have the option to come in with a dark colored pencil (I used dark brown) to trace over the scored lines. This adds depth to them and kind of looks like the dark lines between real boards.

I do recommend that you finish your project with a quick coat or two of a clear spray sealer.

Now where are you going to use your sheet of faux wood? Send my a picture so I can see.