Projects with Kids

Making our own Dollhouse

Projects with Kids

The whole point was to do a project together. Something that excited both of us.

So summer of 2023 we started our dollhouse and months later, this still holds true.

We enjoy this bonding activity that allows us to be busy with our hands and push the imagination a little bit every time. I deliberately use recycled materials to encourage our daughter to stretch her idea about everyday things and how we can re-imagine anything. The sustainability or envrionmental lesson is a nice bonus.

There are easier projects out there for sure, and on some days I need to remind myself why we DIY anything. Here are ways to reframe when projects like this start to lean towards “chore”:

  • “It’s time-consuming.” –> It’s wonderful hours of non-agenda, non-gadget play.
  • “It’s not perfect-looking.” –> It’s handmade and spirit-filled work. The delight is in the making.
  • “We can just buy a dollhouse.” –> We strategize and design all the little details. It’s very intentional.

This is an open-ended work that will just keep getting upgrades when inspiration hits. It’s become the default art project in our home, and admittedly I do a little dance of joy every time I hear my daughter say, “Don’t throw that! I can use it for my dollhouse.”

How to DIY a Dollhouse

Project start: July 2023 – ongoing

Materials We Use:

  • For the base:
    • Egg Trays, toy boxes, pizza boxes, cake boxes, milk cartons, medicine boxes
    • Barbeque Sticks for support
    • Scratch paper / used bond paper to cover small boxes as furniture
    • Tissue for papier-mache
  • For decorating:
    • Colored Felt
    • Colorful pages from Activity books and coloring books
    • Stickers and Paint
  • White Glue

Updates:

  • 💛 What are your Works-In-Progress?💛

    💛 What are your Works-In-Progress?💛 Here’s an update on our DIY dollhouse (yes it’s still alive!). ✅️ Pool – our milk carton got a fresh coat of purple paint and tada! Outdoor pool is ready [Not in pic]: ✅️ Sofa – only a pink one will do for this little pinkie, made from juice carton…

  • 🤍What’s your big picture?🤍

    Our 5yo wanted a dollhouse, and in the spirit of doing projects to get her off gadgets, I told her we would make it.💪 Here we are halfway into it, doing some testing. I thought all along the house was for her Lego dolls about two inches high. Turns out she wanted her Barbies to…

💛 What are your Works-In-Progress?💛

Projects with Kids
Montalut Daily Rhythm

Here’s an update on our DIY dollhouse (yes it’s still alive!).

✅️ Pool – our milk carton got a fresh coat of purple paint and tada! Outdoor pool is ready

[Not in pic]:
✅️ Sofa – only a pink one will do for this little pinkie, made from juice carton

✅️ Sofa pillows – She drew squares on Red felt, asked for help to cut and glue them, and insisted on looking for cotton to stuff them with ➡️ this one was a fail, they fell apart, so will probably need to sew them together

✅️ Bunting banner – She made it all by herself: drew triangles on paper, colored and cut them, and asked mommy to help string them together

✅️ Curtains – pipecleaners for the rod and unknown for the curtains–paper towels didn’t pass our 5yo’s quality check
—

There are so many wins on this project:

👉 It’s ongoing, so it helps build sustained interest and a longer attention span. We’ve been working on her dollhouse for almost a month, and she’s still coming up with ideas for it.🌈

👉 Hours (not minutes) of focused, creative play.

👉 Planning: she’s the architect, mommy is just her assistant

👉 Problem-solving, especially when things don’t work

👉 Resourcefulness: she now sets aside random things because “maybe I can use it to make something for my dollhouse.”

💛 On Yellow Day, check the WIPs in your life: the open projects that excite and challenge you, hold your attention (and time), and keep you imagining what’s possible and what’s next.🙃

Happy Wednesday!