Tackling a DIY Barbie House can be time-consuming and expensive. But, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get creative, there are lots of easy ways to cut cost. Now, when it comes to crafting I have to admit that I’m a bit of a hack. This is usually because any creating happens at night when the kids have all been put to bed and I’m on a time crunch. If this sounds like you, check out some tips below to help you along the way to constructing your own project!
Fabric & Sewing
I can’t sew. Even a button. Everything in the Barbie house I made that required fabric was strictly no-sew (I know…my seamstress sister-in-law would be ashamed…along with my mom who bought me a small sewing kit as a joke when I moved out of the house). I was able to use fabric from my kids’ baby clothes that were too stained to donate but which I didn’t have the heart to get rid of. If you plan where to cut, you can usually keep a finished seam so it makes it look more professional. You can also use hot glue to give edges of blankets a finished look. Simply put a small line of glue along the edge of a blanket and fold over a small edge. Repeat for all edges and voila! My girls don’t even notice. You can also use this trick for pillows. Simply cut out 2 identical squares of fabric, place them on top of each other with the good sides facing in, and glue 3 edges together while leaving one edge open. Turn the pillow inside-out, stuff, and carefully glue remaining edge together. Here is a good tutorial if you need one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMXY8IWDKPg . Did you notice the cute ruffles on some of the pillows in the house? Those are from some adorable ruffle-bum leggings my girls both wore!
Furniture
There are SO MANY ideas for making Barbie furniture online! I had tons of old furniture to use from my childhood collection so I didn’t end up needing to make a large amount. I did end up painting quite a few pieces that were badly faded or ugly. I just used acrylic paint for this and hope to seal them with a wipe-on poly this summer. Here are some tips for a few of the pieces I made:
Couch: One of the pieces I did make was a grey sectional for the living room. I used fabric from an outdated blazer I had in my closet. If you need a good tutorial, check out this website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-gGJ3Xdkuw
Coffee Table: I simply used an old craft box and painted it. Raid your drawers! You might be surprised by what you find.
Built-ins: I created built-ins in both the toy room as well as the master bedroom of the Barbie house. I found little cardboard drawers at Dollar Tree and also purchased several sheets of foam board (Foam Board is the cheapest at Dollar Tree). I also used skewers and paperclips (for the hangers…make sure you get the large size). Check out this great tutorial for creating a built-in wardrobe: http://egolonsville.weebly.com/wardrobe-for-dolls--armario-para-muntildeecas.html
Shelving: I made a lot of floating shelving out of scraps of wood and foam board. Foam board shelving is easier to secure with hot glue but it is not as durable as real wood. For cube shelving in the kids’ bathroom, I purchased 2 wooden organizational cubes from Dollarama, fixed a thin piece of wood at the top of them, and added a small skewer with hangers in the middle. Check out this tutorial for the paper boxes I made to go in the cubes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6gYcjryiJs
Books: I made quite a few miniature books for the Barbie house using free printables. Several actually have pages that open while others are simply covers glued to small pieces of foam board. The Disney ones aren’t even in English but the pictures are so realistic that my kids don’t mind. Make sure to use a ruler and bread knife to score fold lines: It makes life so much easier!! Check out these sites for free printables:
Tent: I made a miniature Barbie tent for one of the bedrooms in the house. I did not use an online tutorial for this….so it was a lot of trial and error. I ended up using several small skewers, tying them together at the top and using hot glue to secure them in place. I then cut out a piece of fabric to fit, glued it in place and cut a triangle opening. Add in a blanket and throw pillow and you’re done!
Hooks: The easiest way I found to make hooks for coats/etc. in the house was to use pushpins I found at the Dollar Tree. They have a ball on the top and a hook on the bottom. I used some needle nose pliers to pull out the actual pin from the back and then hot-glued them to the wall. For the hooks in the mudroom, I first glued the hooks to a small piece of wood.
Plants: I used this blog for my inspiration on making miniature plants: https://www.aneclecticeye.com/miniature-plants. The cheapest place to buy miniature plant pots is from Dollar Tree. You can also find some larger ones at Michaels. That being said, you don’t have to use actual miniature pots for plants. All kinds of household items (lids from toothpaste/hairspray bottles/etc.) can be used! I added a little paint to a plastic cup, shoved in some stones and fake greenery and BAM! Planter for the patio.
Accessories: Most of the accessories I created for the Barbie house were made using tutorials from this blog: http://myfroggystuff.blogspot.com/. Their printables are FANTASTIC and they have so many amazing ideas for DIY Barbie miniatures! Since gifting the Barbie house to my daughters, I have been doing some of the tutorials with them to add to items in the house.
Paint & Wallpaper: As mentioned in an earlier post, I only used acrylic paint from the dollarstore inside the house. The only exception is the outside of the house, which I painted with furniture paint. This was the designer Beautitone brand, paint and primer in one, from Home Hardware. All wallpaper was craft paper or wrapping paper that I had in my craft room.
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