Cardboard Doll House

Today I will show you all a doll house I had to make for an English project. It is supposed to be Anne Frank's Sectret Annex. It is the perfect size to house smaller dolls like polly pockets, etc.. 

What you will need are two cardboard boxes, or one cardboard box and a bunch of large scraps (the size of the box will be the size of the house), a ton of hot glue and a hot glue gun, an X-acto knife, scissors, a ruler, a pencil, and a ton of interior decor. I used a dish towel for the carpet, silver cardstock paper for the stairs, cute wrapping paper for the wall paper but you could paint it if you'd rather, and I got a ton of little wooden furniture from the Dollar Tree.

To start, face the box so the wider side is facing you, and cut off just that one wall so you can see inside. Now angle the two flaps on the side to close the box on a diagonal so it makes a roof shape. Mark the diagonals on the back flap with a pencil, then cut the extra cardboard so it actually looks like a house. Cut a piece of cardboard to fill in the space at the top for a ceiling. Now you should have the outline of your house. Oh, and hot glue the edges in place.

Now you want to decide how many floors you want. If your dolls are taller, you should have less floors so they don't hit their heads ;) I wanted three floors including the ground level, so I cut two more pieces of cardboard the same size as the base of the house. Always cut bigger, because sometimes the box's angles are not a perfect 90° and you can always slightly trim it down to size. Once you have your floors, mark where they will go, and measure to make sure it is straight, then hot glue them in. 

If you want to cut out a door or windows, do that now with the X-acto knife. Again, measure and mark for perfection! 

To add stairs, we will cut the cardstock into like one inch strips, then fold the cardstock back and forth like a fan to get the stair shape. Now hold it in front of the house and mark where the stairs land on each floor, then cut slits there. We will glue it to the bottom floor, then stick the paper in the slit to hold it in place. Glue at the top as well. 

Now add the wall paper. Simply do it like you are wrapping a present. It's a little tricky, but just try to keep it in the least amount of pieces possible. For example, cut one big piece and fold it so it covers the side wall, ceiling, and oppsite side wall. Once it is all covered, cut the carpet to the right size (cut out a space for the stairs) and hot glue it into the house. 

Add your finishing touches, and you're done! May your home be blessed with peace, love, and a happy doll family! <3

Hair Bow

Today, I will be showing you how to make this big, cute, hair bow! As some of you know, I am a cheerleader, I made it specifically for that, but it can even be worn regularly.

All you will need is a spool of ribbon 3 inches wide, a spool of ribbon 5/8 inches wide, matching thread, a hot glue gun, a needle, fabric scissors, and elmers liquid school glue.

First, arrange the thicker ribbon into a cursive lowercase L shape (with a loop). My mom compared it to making an X without cutting the ribbon, but anyway, it should be this shape. Leave the tails about 6 inches, so we can cut them to the right length at the end.

Now, once you like how it looks, cinch the middle by threading your needle through the center of the ribbon, then wrap the rest of it tightly around it and knot it off, through the ribbon. After that, cut a piece of the thinner 5/8 in ribbon and loosely tie a knot in it. Wrap that around the center and hot glue the ends together in the back, with the elastic underneath it.

Finally, to finish off the ends, I cut my ends to about 4.5 inches from the center, and cut a triangle out of it to give it a cute finish. Now to seal the ribbon so it won't fray. Take your elmers glue and lightly squirt it onto the ends of the cut ribbon and let it dry. Now you're finished! Enjoy your cute bow!

Diagonal French Braid Ponytail

Happy 100th blog post!!!!!!! I know it's been slow lately, but today marks the one hundredth craft/hairstyle I've shared with you over the past few years! If I ever don't post and you miss me, there are 99 more to look at! Odds are, you weren't with us from the very first day, so you'll see something new!

Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite hairstyles as of right now. A diagonal French braid, pulled into a side low ponytail. I've redone it and worn it like three days in a row because I love it so much, but each time, it's a little different due to the way I cover my elastics. I have a blog post on a ton of ways to do that, so check it out here.

To start, part your hair on one side. I've never tried it in the middle, but it would probably look really weird because the diagonal would be off centered... Anyway, on the light side of your hair, (you part your hair on one side, and it's the side without the majority of the hair) you pick up a section right by the part line, divide it into three sections, and start French braiding. If you want a tutorial on that alone, let me know. Just take the right side and cross it over the middle, then the left side and cross it over the middle, then add hair to the right side and cross it over the middle, then add hair to the left side and cross it over the middle, etc.. If you're having trouble with that, I suggest you wait on the diagonal, and do it on the side, right against your hairline, so you can see it. 

Braid it like a normal French braid, although make sure to start off pointing it straight back, then curve it over, rather than going down and around. Sometimes when I get to the front, I don't like how my front pieces of hair fall when they're in the braid, so I don't add them in, and just pull it over the braid as I put it all into one ponytail. 

Enjoy this hairstyle! It's a classic one for me!