Gingerbread/Foamcore Houses

I used gingerbread templates from bobvilla.com to create my fun houses out of foam core board. We colored them. fun project to make with the kids. We made mini ones for our ornaments on our tree. To make real gingerbread houses there is a great recipe here at Housefull of Homeade.

Here are Bob Villa's A-frame house templates.

Cub Scout Nutcracker Ornament

My son loves nutcrackers and when I found these little guys at the Dollar Store in packs of two I couldn't resist. 

When I got home I immediately pulled off the white hair and beard along with the glue.  It came off easily.  I then decided to take a before photo. 

Steps to make a cub scout

* Remove hair and beard

*Remove painted on mustache (I scratched it off with a screwdriver)

* touch up cheeks with craft paint

*Paint pants green *Paint shirt solid blue

*Paint patches, beads, hat logo, scarf

I am super excited to give these to my cub scouts for Christmas.  I hope they enjoy them as much as my son (and daughter)

 

DIY Doll Sled

Making a doll sled is super easy.  Take either a plastic plate or Frisbee, drill a total of four holes, two holes per side for rope/string to thread through for handles.  Can also drill a hole on the front and add a rope for a tow rope.  Fun for winter sledding.

 

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Doll Basketball Hoop

 

My kids like basketball so why not one for their dolls.  I first cut out a backboard and attached to a piece of 1x2.  I drilled holes in the 1x2 to attatch the towel rack.  I secured the towel rack with a nail through the back.  I added a base and paint.  Simple and fun.

Doll Hampster Cage

To make a simple doll pet hampster cage I recycled a "lunch meat container".  I cut holes in the lid for air holes and added a wire handle.  Added shredded paper for the bedding.  The hampster is a Zuzu baby. 

Doll Candy

My kids and I made candy for their 18"doll's.  I cut 2" squares from a plastic sandwich bag.  I wrapped beads in the squares with a little dab of hot glue.  I then rolled the ends to look like a candy wrapper.  We filled a tiny pumpkin bucket for Halloween play.

DIY Doll Fishing Net

To Make a doll fishing net I used the inside loop on the smallest embroidery hoop.  I drilled a hole the size of the dowel handle and glued it in after glueing a simple net bag onto the hoop with hot glue.  Works perfectly with our fish and pole in previous posts.

DIY Doll Fish for Fishing Pole

 

 

To make a stuffed fish for your doll you need to print pictures (Google search) of fish onto fabric with your ink jet printer.  Do that by ironing an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of plane fabric to the same size piece of Freezer Paper.  This will allow the fabric to go through the printer. 

 

  Make sure to make two copies of each fish and flip one of the pictures so it prints both directions.

 Remove the freezer paper from the fabric.  Paint your fabric fish with vinegar so that the colors won't get damaged with water in the future.

 

 Cut out each of your fish with as much space as possible for sewing.  Put the two fish mirrored image to each other.  Hold it up to light to make sure they are lined up.

 



Draw a seam allowance around the fish.  Find a spot with a long straight edge to leave un-stitched for turning you fish after sewn.

 

 Before sewing the fish, you need to add a looper so that the fishing pole can "catch" the fish.  I attached a loop of fishing string out of the fish mouth.  You can also use string or thread.

 

Once the fish is sewn, turn it right side out.  Stuff.  Whip stitch closed.  Here is a great tutorial to finish stitch your project.

 

Enjoy fishing with your Doll.

 

DIY Doll Fishing Pole

To make a doll fishing pole I took a piece of dowel or wood skewer and stuck one end into a cork.  I nailed a sewing bobbin into the cork and wrapped fishing string around the bobbin.  I added a small wire ring to the end of the pole and tied a picture hanger hook to the end of the fishing string.  Super easy and a perfect fit for our 18" dolls.

DIY Doll Masks from Craft Foam

To make easy doll masks I cut fun shapes from craft foam.  Figured out where the eye holes should go and cut out.  My daughter and her friends decorated them with glitter, feathers, craft foam cutouts, etc.  We also made mouse ears with craft foam.  To ensure the elastic doesn't rip out of the foam masks after lots of play I added small paper crafting grommets before tying the elastic. 

DIY Doll Binoculars

 

 

 

To make doll binoculars I took a contact lens case and drilled 1" holes in the lids.  I spray painted the lids black before screwing the lids back on with a glass blob glued inside.  I also drilled a small hole in the bridge for a neck strap/string to go through.  They don't quite look like the real thing but the shape was perfect for their eyes. 

Glass and Ribbon Shelf

I came accross this idea on pinterest with ribbon and wood.  It is not a good photo but it gave me the idea to use glass shelves that I already had but wasn't using.  My son is at the age where he wants to display everything.  He loves lego's, especially mini figures.  This was the perfect solution for his room.

DIY Doll Water Cooler

When choosing a container to recycle to make my doll water cooler for camping I went with the Tootsie Roll candy bank.  I cut the top few inches off and replaced the lid.  I simply glued white card stock around the cardboard tube followed by a slightly smaller strand of orange construction paper.  I printed off the Coleman logo and glued it on.  Finally I glued on a pony bead for the water spout.  Must have water for camping.

DIY Doll Life Vest

This Doll Life Vest is super easy to make.  I ued 1/2" thick foam from a roll out camp mat I had.  I cut two rectangle pieces the same size for the front and back.  I cut the front piece in half.  The belt and shoulder pieces are made from ribbon/belt.  To add the shoulder pieces I cut a space in the foam, squeeze E6000 glue in the space, and pushed the strap into the space.  I did the same thing for the belt loops only I used a screwdriver to make the holes and small grosgrain ribbon.  Finally I added a heavy snap to the belt.  Love these life vest. 

DIY Doll Cardboard Canoe

To make the canoe I cut the bottom "football" shape from cardboard.  I then cut a length of 5" as long as the cardboard for the sides.  I cut triangle notches from 1" of one side to fold and glue to the bottom of the canoe base.  I used hot glue because it dries almost instantly and gives a good bond.  My daughter loves playing with this.  I even had a 1 year old sit in it and it held up.  I finally painted it for a finished look.

DIY Doll Merry-Go-Round

My kids love playing on the merry-go-round (yes, we still have them here).  I had an idea to make one out of a turn table found at the thrift store.  I attached a 3/4" dowel about 8" long to the middle to give the dolls something to lean against.  I attached with screws the smaller dowels to help keep the dolls on the merry-go-round.  I painted it to look like a traditional merry-go-round.  I was thrilled that it worked.  It works best with 2 dolls opposite each other for balance.  My kids other toys (Lego's, Potato Head, baby dolls, etc.) enjoy this also.

DIY Doll Cast - no sew

I found a great idea for sewing a doll cast here.  I made a simpler version by using craft foam, cutting out a small thumb hole, and adding velcro.  You can see where I added the velcro with the pink on the photo.  You will have to add the velcro to fit your doll.  You can't see the other piece of the velcro on the underside (under the "f" in friend and the "peace" sign.  My daughter and her friends love these.  They signed their names to the casts.  I also printed small version of x-rays found on Google and laminated them. 

DIY Doll Fortune Cookies

My daughter and I made fortune cookies out of craft foam.  We cut circles. fold in half, then fold in half the other direction and put a spot of glue to hold.  The paper fortune will easily slip into and out of the folds.  I typed fortunes using a typewriter but you could use a computer/printer.

DIY Doll Cotton Candy

What could be easier than making cotton candy for you doll.  Make a simple rolled paper stick and clue it to a cotton ball.  My daughter and I used sidewalk chalk to add color to the cotton.  The chalk left colored dust everywhere so we spritz a little hair spray for better hold.  We had a great time making these.

DIY Doll Perfume Bottles

I made doll perfume bottles with different sized beads glued together.  These would be fun with a small ribbon tied around the lid.  The sky is the limit depending on what beads you find.  I used E6000 glue for a super hold.  Directions and my inspiration come from here.