mattelken: 2011

A House for Lalaloopsy

We found that CD racks are the perfect size for a Lalaloopsy house, or any doll of that size like Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop.

We were so fortunate to find these fun house shaped CD racks at Michael's in the unfinished wood section for under $3.00! With a little paint, they were picture perfect :o)

... But I can imagine that squared CD racks would make a great townhouse look!

How to

Shhh... She is Made Out of Socks!

With the new Lalaloopsy craze hitting the toy stores this holiday season I had to find an alternative when all the toy stores were sold out!

how to make a handmade doll

Using three socks, some scrap fleece, pink felt and a couple of buttons... I was able to throw together this cute handmade doll in no time :o)

Piano Lessons, Anyone?

You can take our easy 18 inch doll desk and quickly convert it into a piano with just a few adjustments.

First, we printed a set of keys off our computer and cut them out...

made a music stand by folding a piece of thin cardboard
(like the kind you find on a cereal box)...

drew some sheet music on a some piece of computer paper and done!

Comfy Cozy Holidays

Christmas is almost here and we know that you want your dolls to be ready!
... that is why we have come up with a few craft ideas to make the season brighter for all :o)

how to make a doll Christmas tree with pipe cleaners
how to make a doll Christmas tree with recycled materials
how to make a dollhouse wreath
how to make dollhouse candle sticks
how to make a doll fireplace

Doll Stuff :o)

Making a fabulous doll room is all in the details!... and it can be a lot of fun to make...

We made fabulous wall art with some black paper, a toothpick, scissors, and a glue stick...

First we cut the black paper into thin strips and then curled them around the toothpick... glued them together with a glue stick...DONE!

...it reminds me of rod iron home decor :o)

...these also

Recycled Doll Craft Project: Gift Cards and Credit Cards

I was looking through my junk mail and was inspired to come up with this craft idea...

.... making doll sized gift cards / credit cards from the pictures in the ads by simply cutting them out and gluing them on some card stock ( I harvested the card stock from a bakery box... not exactly sticking to my diet lately)... then I glued it on with a glue stick, cut it out with kid safety

We have started on the Kitchen

This has to be one of the hardest rooms in the house to create!!! But we love a challenge :o)

How to Videos:

how to make a doll saucepan and lid
how to make a doll stove that opens
how to make a doll refrigerator
how to make a doll cherry pie
how to make a doll kitchen sink and cabinets

Happy crafting :o)

What kinds of Videos are You Interested in?

Cast your vote! in the poll to the side

We want to know what kinds of vids you are interested in... Doll crafts showing more furniture? pet stuff? doll shows and spoofs like

"Space Crafters"? our doll collection reviews
or doll room tours?

...just a few things you should know:

we do our best to keep our ideas as original as possible, and every thing we do is from trail and error,

Love Fall Gardens

We are putting our green thumb to work ... well, our dolls are anyway :o) We created this cute little box garden that you can plant and harvest over and over again... Plus! it works for almost any doll size :oD

how to make a doll box garden video

happy crafting :o)

New Ideas in the Works

We have so many projects on our to do list and more than that in our heads... where to start?!

*easy recycled materials doll food

doll chinese takeout video

*paper plates and cups

doll plates and food video

*living room

decor pillow video
no sew decor pillow video

*kitchen

stuff for the kitchen can be found on this post

*hoilday stuff

use our decor pillow video to make

The Making of a Doll Bathroom

We have been working very hard to create an easy "recycled craft" bathroom ... and at last, I think we've got it!We have some fabulous tips for all you crafters out there:* how to make a tiled bath tub video* use pillow fluff for soap bubbles in the bath tub* how to make a bathroom sink video* use an Altoid as a bar of soap* use a compact mirror for the mirror over the sink * how to make a toilet

How to Make a Doll Mailbox

Here is another recycled craft by request... :oD
We used a old floss container, large popsicle sticks (wood cutouts optional), hot glue gun, silk flowers, and red craft foam, and a nail file...
after gathering our supplies, we sanded off the words on the floss container with a nail file and then washed it clean with soap and water...we pulled out the insides... then cut a small piece of foam to

The Laundry Room: Tips

We are currently making the cutest little laundry room out of household items!Like the clothes basket? We used a cleaned out old applesauce cup for our pint sized clothes basket :oD... too simple and too much fun!
***how to make the washer and dryer video***how to make the mop video***how to make a bucket video
Happy crafting :oD

How to Make a Doll TV

You know we love old cereal boxes! ... and today I get to use two!...using two cereal boxes, I cut one into long small rectangles for the drawers (two rectangles for each drawer, then I hot glued them onto the other cereal box, when it was dry, I spray painted the whole thing to match my doll room. Then using some beads for the knobs and buttons on the TV and an image I printed off my computer (

Recycled Dollhouse Projects

WE have so much fun decorating our doll house, but it can get kind of expensive if you are constantly redecorating like me :oDHere are a few tips to get the look that you want ...so that you can free up a few bucks to go shopping in my Etsy Shop :oD1) the lamp : watch this video2) room in a box : watch this video ...the sofa : watch this video3) the pig : I buy small animals at Michael's for

Recycled Dollhouse Clock

This is a great way to recycle some household objects into a great looking clock.I used a lid from an empty jar of strawberry jam... it was already a gold color with no words on it... "perfect"!Then, I hot glued some jewels on it and cut down some sewing pins for the hands of the clock ( I think next time I will use flat tooth picks and just paint them ahead of time)... I hot glued them in the

Love Black Spray Paint!

Time for a little home decor...... so here is the story, I have a new house and now I want a whole new look... But, if you think I am about to go out and buy all new stuff then You Must Be Crazy!It is time to reuse, recycle and craft!I went around my house and gathered somethings that could use a makeover. Then spray painted it all black with indoor/outdoor spray paint (except for the bowl of

Easy Doll Room Tips

Did you know that you can make a doll room just about anywhere, using just about anything around your house?...OK, well maybe not just about anything, I mean you do have to take size under consideration.But what I am trying to say is that you can have a fabulously looking dollhouse (or doll room, I should say) by just getting creative...Cough (....and buying some of our stuff) LOL, but no,

How-to Fashion Doll Purse

You know we LOVE to make things out of recycled materials and scraps... so... here is an easy one for you!Grab some scraps and get ready to craft! we used some scraps from two cotton shirts and some ribbon...cut two squares 3.5 X 3 inches, then hem the top side... then, cut a small square and fold all the sides in (iron flat) then sew across the toppin the small square to the front side of one

Recycled T'shirt Softies

What to do with those old tee shirts?... Well, here is an idea... make softies!Using two and a half tee shirts and some fluff we made this cute little pandas. Cut out the front and back of each shape, with good side facing good side, sew around the edges of the arms legs and ears , but leave an opening to flip it right side out and stuff with fluffsew the dark spots on the

Felt Activity Book

Traveling with kids can be... well, let's face it ... painful! if they are board out of their minds and asking you "are we there yet" every five seconds... so I made this for our next car trip...I put a goldfish looking monster on the coverusing fabric and felt I made a "Let's eat" page with a pocket to hold the simple felt fooda dinosaur play mat on the center pages (but all I could find in the

Family Portaits

You won't be sitting in line at Sears for these...Graffiti artist chrisB takes the family portrait to a whole new level. His colorful creations will transform your family room into a pop art gallery... I have seven!All you have to do is get in contact with his sales rep ( if you are interested I will give you the email) pay him on paypal and email him a head shot ( I think the crazier the photo,

Tool Time!

felt tool set
I just had to make this little felt tool set for my little guy... no smashed thumbs around here!