DIY Barbie House and Furniture

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My daughter has never been into Barbies.  She has a few, but now has decided she wants a house and furniture for them.  I didn’t want to invest a lot of money into something that is a fleeting interest.  So I came up with a DIY Barbie house and furniture.  The best part was she got to help.

DIY Barbie House and Furniture Supplies

Supplies used:

-toilet paper rolls

-foam core board (I got mine at the Dollar Tree)

-coordinating scrapbook paper 12″ x 12″

-old organizer shelf

–spray adhesive

-Capri Sun box

-fabric

–fiber fill

–Brayer

-finishing nails and hammer

-craft paint

Assembling Barbie’s Kind of Dream House

First we found a new home for the books from her bookcase.  If you don’t have one of these around, you can get a pretty cheap one here.  Mine didn’t have the cardboard backing on it, if yours does remove it. Cut the foam core into 12″ x 12″ squares with an Exacto knife.  Spray with a coat of spray adhesive and lay a piece of scrapbook paper on it.  I let my daughter smooth the paper out with the brayer.

Be warned that spray adhesive involves a lot of overspray and that stuff won’t come out of fabric including carpet.  Spray the foam core outside and use an old painter’s drop cloth or sheet to protect any surface you remotely care about.  I highly recommend using a pack of scrapbook papers so that all papers will have coordinating color schemes. Allow the squares to dry for about 30 minutes.  Attach the squares to the back of the book case with finishing nails.  I did have to trim the the foam core pieces a little so that they would each fit snuggly.

DIY Barbie Kitchen Furniture

Use a toilet paper roll for the base of the table.  Cut a circle from the foam core for the table top.  Use Elmer’s white glue to attach the top to the base.

For the chairs, I just drew a line on the tube creating the silhouette I wanted for the chair and used regular scissors to cut it out.  Trace the bottom of the on the foam core and cut out to use a seat cushion.  My daughter chose to paint the chairs purple and gold.

DIY Barbie Bed

The dolls pictured are shorter than Barbie.  These are some Disney Fairy Dolls that are about the size of Skipper (do they still make Skipper) Barbie’s younger sister.  Barbie needs a longer bed, we haven’t crafted that yet.

For this bed, I cut a Capri Sun box in half lengthwise.

Cut two pieces of foam core 5″ x 8″ for the sides of the bed and two 9.5″ x 5.5″ for the mattresses.  Since the Capri Sun box has such a glossy finish, I applied a coat of spray adhesive to add some tooth to the surface.  Then I used hot glue to attache the foam core to the box.

I used some ribbon I had to cover the edge of the box, but the bed spread covers it.

Cut some squares of fabric for the bedspreads.  If you don’t have a sewing machine, use Stitch Witchery to hem it.  Cut some smaller rectangle and fill with fiber fill to create some pillows.

So Barbie and her shorter friends are enjoying their little fixer upper and I enjoy that I didn’t spend a fortune to accommodate Barbie.