Two Dollhouse books
Oct. 31st, 2007 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyjadwigaFor years I've been hunting for a dollhouse book that the Seymour Library in Brockport used to have (though looking in their catalog suggests they no longer have it), that was full of useful tips for making dollhouse furniture from things around the house. I still haven't found it, but I wanted to mention two books that do a similar thing.
They are a bit dated, but much less than you'd expect, and they are still very helpful for young people who want to create and furnish doll houses to play with, or parents who want to create dollhouses for their children without paying huge sums or using plastic. (Most of the tips in these books are not suitable for serious minaturists-- but then serious minaturists don't play with their dollhouses and/or don't even put dolls in them, so what do they know?) The other advantages of these books is that they advocate recycling common household materials-- often ones that might otherwise be thrown away-- to make dollhouse furnishings.
Boxed-In Dollhouses by Betsy Pflug. (J.B. Lippincott, 1971). 48 p.
Pflug advocates a method of making dollhouses out of a collection of cardboard cartons, one for each room, assembled together. The best part of this is that it works for any size playable doll, as well as stuffed animals. Rooms can be added, removed or replaced with something different with little time and expense.
In addition, Pflug gives useful decorating and furniture building suggestions.
Instructions and drawings are given for making and attaching doors, windows, ceiling, floor, wall and window treatments. A quick section on room dividers and changing the shape of the room will do a budding decorator good. Easy to follow line diagrams and instructions show how to create chairs, tables, and other furnishings, usually staring with small boxes, cardboard, or plastic containers (the kitchen sink bowl made from a single portion jelly holder; chairs made from plastic cups, a toiletbowl from a section of egg carton). Some of the accessories ideas are a bit dated-- round globe lamps? Mobiles and abstract sculptures? But suggestions for others to make out of bits of fabric, clay, etc. are charming. There is even a section on making a garden for your dollhouse, with suggestions for creating plants, planters, ponds and outdoor furniture.
All the instructions are well within the scope of a 8-12 year old to do alone; a younger child with assistance from a parent would do well with them also. There are no photographs, only line drawings, but I suspect these will inspire a creative child -- they certainly inspire me. I'd be making one of these now if I had a place to put it.
Dollhouse Magic: How to make and find simple dollhouse furniture. by P.K. Roche. Photographs by John Knott, drawings by Richard Cuffari. (Dial Press, 1977). 58p.
Warning: children whose parents struggle to control their habit of collecting bits and pieces should not be introduced to this book. There's a whole page on "Things to Save," all of it basically involving recycling things. Fortunately the Basic Tools and Materials section is quite short.
The suggested projects and ideas are divided into four sections: "A Room to Sit in," "A Room to Eat in," "A room to work and play in," "A room to sleep in." Each section is headed by a cute black and white photograph showing such a room with the furniture projects and populated with a family of minature teddy bears.
Each suggested project is on a page by itself, laid out like a simple recipe, with "You will need" list and then a list of the steps, accompanied by a diagram. Additional suggestions are given for variations, such as a stone treatment for the fireplace made from a box. There are fewer projects than in Boxed-In Dollhouses but they are covered in more detail.
Again, all of the projects are within the capacity of a child who can cut carefully and do a little elementary sewing. The projects have aged well, though the layout of the photos and the age of the paper will tell a child she or he is looking at an older book. Though simple, the projects are nifty-- using pipe cleaners to make a curtain rod, for instance, rather than merely gluing curtains to the wall; making a table lamp with an old-fashioned toothpaste cap, a marble and some clay; game pieces (such as chess pawns) for andirons, a desk made of six matchboxes and a piece of card.
There's also a section at the end, a few pages of suggestions for "Dollhouses that don't come from stores," including bookcases and grocery boxes.
They are a bit dated, but much less than you'd expect, and they are still very helpful for young people who want to create and furnish doll houses to play with, or parents who want to create dollhouses for their children without paying huge sums or using plastic. (Most of the tips in these books are not suitable for serious minaturists-- but then serious minaturists don't play with their dollhouses and/or don't even put dolls in them, so what do they know?) The other advantages of these books is that they advocate recycling common household materials-- often ones that might otherwise be thrown away-- to make dollhouse furnishings.
Boxed-In Dollhouses by Betsy Pflug. (J.B. Lippincott, 1971). 48 p.
Pflug advocates a method of making dollhouses out of a collection of cardboard cartons, one for each room, assembled together. The best part of this is that it works for any size playable doll, as well as stuffed animals. Rooms can be added, removed or replaced with something different with little time and expense.
In addition, Pflug gives useful decorating and furniture building suggestions.
Instructions and drawings are given for making and attaching doors, windows, ceiling, floor, wall and window treatments. A quick section on room dividers and changing the shape of the room will do a budding decorator good. Easy to follow line diagrams and instructions show how to create chairs, tables, and other furnishings, usually staring with small boxes, cardboard, or plastic containers (the kitchen sink bowl made from a single portion jelly holder; chairs made from plastic cups, a toiletbowl from a section of egg carton). Some of the accessories ideas are a bit dated-- round globe lamps? Mobiles and abstract sculptures? But suggestions for others to make out of bits of fabric, clay, etc. are charming. There is even a section on making a garden for your dollhouse, with suggestions for creating plants, planters, ponds and outdoor furniture.
All the instructions are well within the scope of a 8-12 year old to do alone; a younger child with assistance from a parent would do well with them also. There are no photographs, only line drawings, but I suspect these will inspire a creative child -- they certainly inspire me. I'd be making one of these now if I had a place to put it.
Dollhouse Magic: How to make and find simple dollhouse furniture. by P.K. Roche. Photographs by John Knott, drawings by Richard Cuffari. (Dial Press, 1977). 58p.
Warning: children whose parents struggle to control their habit of collecting bits and pieces should not be introduced to this book. There's a whole page on "Things to Save," all of it basically involving recycling things. Fortunately the Basic Tools and Materials section is quite short.
The suggested projects and ideas are divided into four sections: "A Room to Sit in," "A Room to Eat in," "A room to work and play in," "A room to sleep in." Each section is headed by a cute black and white photograph showing such a room with the furniture projects and populated with a family of minature teddy bears.
Each suggested project is on a page by itself, laid out like a simple recipe, with "You will need" list and then a list of the steps, accompanied by a diagram. Additional suggestions are given for variations, such as a stone treatment for the fireplace made from a box. There are fewer projects than in Boxed-In Dollhouses but they are covered in more detail.
Again, all of the projects are within the capacity of a child who can cut carefully and do a little elementary sewing. The projects have aged well, though the layout of the photos and the age of the paper will tell a child she or he is looking at an older book. Though simple, the projects are nifty-- using pipe cleaners to make a curtain rod, for instance, rather than merely gluing curtains to the wall; making a table lamp with an old-fashioned toothpaste cap, a marble and some clay; game pieces (such as chess pawns) for andirons, a desk made of six matchboxes and a piece of card.
There's also a section at the end, a few pages of suggestions for "Dollhouses that don't come from stores," including bookcases and grocery boxes.
