Every now and then, I try to unleash my creative/crafty side with my kids. Last year, it was with Halloween costumes and Christmas presents for their friends. Although admittedly, I try not to do a lot of DIY stuff since I'd like to keep the mess to the minimum (as minimum as possible with three kids in tow). But this has got to be my biggest DIY project as a mom so far.
It all started when I saw a doll house online that my girls really wanted. For a brief moment, I tried to justify to myself why we should get it for them, but decided against it for three main reasons: First, it was super expensive! Even if I combine all the gift-giving holidays for this year and the coming year (their birthdays and Christmas), it's still not enough to convince myself that buying a $200 doll house was a good deal. Second, I don't feel like I can commit to having a three-foot toy inside our already cramped play area. It will take up too much space. Finally, what will my kids learn from getting a really expensive doll house, aside from realizing how entitled they are and that they can get anything they want without really working hard for it?
So I suggested that instead of buying, we can create our very own doll house (but like any clever mom, I made it seem like it was their idea) that was even nicer than the one we saw online because we could design it. They agreed that it was a good idea. My eldest was so happy about it, she wanted to start working on it right away!
We (I) decided to make the doll house out of old shoe boxes. I know a wooden one would've been more sturdy, but given my carpentry skills (or lack thereof), it would be so hard to do it without any help, and I honestly didn't want help on this one. I knew that I can only work on it during my free time, so having to rely on someone else to do the "wood works" would mean I have to consider someone else's time too. And again with the issue on storage space. I wanted something lightweight for the girls to carry, and something they can stack up when it's time to pack away.
The doll house was a real mother-daughter project. Nash was in-charge of looking for materials (she found all the shoe boxes), mostly stuff that we already had around the house. I also asked for her inputs with the design (the wallpapers to use, the beds, and the color scheme). She also reminded me every day to work on the project, while I did most of the "legwork." I enjoyed it though. It's been a while since I did something creative, and I liked the feeling of taking something so basic and watching it transform into something that resembled a real miniature home. Kawaii mostly watched us work and was constantly asking if it was already done, so she can start playing with it.
The project took a little over three weeks to be fully completed. Aside from the fact that I only worked on it when the baby is asleep or somebody else is holding him, or when I'm not working, I also had a lot of other side projects (Nash's small birthday parties, which also involved a lot of DIY-ing), made a lot of changes and kept on adding to the furniture. There were times when I felt like abandoning the project and just throwing all the boxes away, and giving in to a store-bought doll house. But I remembered that my daughters were also involved in it and I wanted them to see the glory of finishing something and seeing it through no matter how difficult it is. So I went on to do it, one furniture, one old box at a time.
So after a lot of time spent on Pinterest looking for inspiration, googling wallpapers and vectors, after a handful of printouts and stickers and several minor injuries (from using the glue gun) later, we were finally done with the doll house.
Okay, so it's not perfect. Some may even say it looks like an elementary school project. It's not as sophisticated or sturdy, and it's nothing compared to the rustic miniature houses you see on Pinterest, but it's fine the way it is.
How much did I spend on this project? Practically nothing. All the items we used were mostly things that were just lying around the house. Old shoe boxes, jewelry boxes, bottle caps, lids, scraps of cloth, and a lot of art materials that we already had. Probably the only expensive things in this project were the shoes that used to be in those boxes. I considered buying miniature furniture online, but having a minimal budget really had me stretching out my creativity.
So without further ado, let me give you a tour of the rooms in our DIY doll house.
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| Our chic living room. Thanks to Pinterest for the backgrounds. The chairs were made from old jewelry boxes, and used the pillows inside the jewelry boxes as well. Stools were made from plastic toy containers that I finally found some use for (I used to just throw them out). |
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| Neon QT's neon kitchen. The inside of the box was already yellow, so I figured I should make the other furniture colorful too. Most of the cabinets were made from medicine boxes. We used some of the kids' old toys here as well. The sink was the container of the barbecue sauce from McDonald's, and the fridge (one of my favorite creations and one of the last one I made because I kept changing my mind about it) was made from a used lid of baby wipes. I had the lid for a long time already, knowing that I would be able to use it for something in the future. |
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| The bedroom. Nash wanted bunk beds, and it turned out to be such a space saver. I had more room to put in a crib for the little sisters. It was my first time to make furniture out of popsicle sticks, so don't judge. I'm also quite proud of what I did on the mattresses and pillows (made from old scraps of cloth) |
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| The owner wanted a gold bathroom, so here it is. I couldn't get a nice gold wallpaper printout for the tiles, so I just played with the other details. Our golden bathtub is an old soap dish, golden shampoo and bottle caps for the sink and mirror, and glittered foam paper. The toilet bowl, which I made using an old medicine box and the lid of a milk carton, is my favorite creation of all. Cue Gwen Stefani's "Luxurious." |
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| I loved playing with the details of this dressing room, making it look as girly and stylish as possible. I knew I needed to make a closet (with paper clips for hangers) for the clothes and a nice shelf to store all of the dolls' shoes (although they're nowhere to be found at the time of the pictorial so I just had a few on display). Also check out the vanity mirror and the black and white frames on the wall, with quotes from my favorite style icons and fashion designers. My daughter wants to be a fashion designer in the future so I knew I had to make this room extra fun for her to dress up her dolls in. |
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| Bonus: a patio where the dolls can hang out and have some barbecue. We also made the table using popsicle sticks, and the picnic chairs from a container of some Japanese cookies we bought recently. We were eating out one time and their dessert had this umbrella in it, the girls decided to keep it so they can use it for the doll house. |
There are still a lot of things that I want to add (like I promised the girls some stairs and a swimming pool), but I figured I should let go and stop working on it (for now) so that the girls can start playing with it. That's the whole point of making it in the first place, so that they can have fun with it and their dolls.
I know there are some disadvantages to making a doll house out of shoe boxes. It's not sturdy enough for a lot of kids to play with. But even though I complain about them being rough and uncoordinated sometimes, my girls are actually very gentle with their toys. And they always tell me when they destroy or break something, so I can fix it immediately. So I think we'll be okay.
Also, I have to admit, working on that project took a lot of my time. Like I skipped work for a few nights so that I could finally finish the doll house. Which is why it's important to set a deadline for a project like this. So that I could finally let go, decide that I'm done with it and focus on something else.
But I don't regret any time that I spent making it. Everything was worthwhile. I loved the look on my daughters' faces when they see something new on the doll house when they check on it every morning. And how they called it their doll house. Their mom made them a doll house. From scratch.
And when the time comes that they've grown tired of playing with it, or in the (hopefully not so near) future when they break it, whichever comes first, I hope my girls will remember an important lesson on creativity - that you can do anything as long as you work hard and use your imagination. And the value of being resourceful. Think twice before throwing something out. Most of the stuff you need are just within your reach. Most importantly, I hope they remember all the fun we had making it together.
That said, I'm taking a break from all DIY projects for Halloween... Okay, maybe just a little customizing, but I already bought the costumes. But I'm already excited for our next project lined up - Christmas gifts!
