Do you have a little one who loves to play house?
I was wandering about a toy store last Christmas trying to decide on a gift for my daughter Sarah (2.5yrs). She is still at the wonderful age where I can take her along to the toy store and she is none the wiser.
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On this particular occasion, as I picked up this and that I noticed that Sarah had spent the entire time playing with a dollhouse. As she chatted away, she put little people to bed and others took baths. Her sweet reenactments of our daily lives very quickly helped me decide on a gift. Sarah plays with her dollhouse everyday. Taking care of ‘her kids’ is her favourite game.
Now a dollhouse just simply wouldn’t be complete without furniture. These tiny chairs and tables are beautiful in their simplicity. They take next to no time to make and are free; being made from beautifully textured branches.
How to make dollhouse furniture
You’ll need:
- some branches – at least wide enough to fit your child’s little dolls
- a saw
- a chisel
- a hammer
- some sandpaper
How to make a chair:
- using the saw, make a cut where you would like the top of your chair seat
- cut about 2/3 of the way through the branch – this will be your seat
- make a series of cuts up the branch
- using the chisel and hammer, gently chisel out the cuts – this will be the back of your chair
- give your little one some sandpaper and have them help you sand the chair smooth
How to make a stool:
- simply cut your branch to the height you want for the stool
- sand your stool
How to make a table:
- using a thicker branch simply cut a thick slice to make a table
- use the sandpaper to smooth
Once you’ve made your first set, your mind will be buzzing with ideas for making new additions. You could make:
- a little bed from a long thin slice
- or use some twine and some smaller branches to make a clothes line
- add a fabric scrap for a rug
- some upturned acorn caps for bowls and some little wood chips for plates
See.
Buzzing with ideas.
And if you have older children, this would be a wonderful project for them to take creative control over as they fill their dollhouse with beautiful, natural furniture.
Love these and can’t wait to make some this summer. Shared here http://siayla.blogspot.ca/2014/01/got-wood-try-these-wood-crafts.html
This is beyond gorgeous, Kate! I’m in love 😉
Thanks Steph 🙂 They actually turned out much better than I was expecting. Jack and Sarah love them too 🙂
I love it! Such a lovely set. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
These are wonderful! I love the natural look! For Christmas this year, I am making a bunch of wood presents (a la Mama May I) for my boys and their cousins. I think I just might have to include some branches! Thanks for the idea.
Hi Kaly 🙂 I hoping to make some lovely wooden pressies this year too 🙂 I’d love to see what you make 🙂
I love these. I just traipsed home a whole heap of branches I found on the side of the road after some wild weather here. We don’t have a doll’s house but I wonder if I’ll have enough to create some fairy furniture.
Good looking furniture!
This is such pretty furniture! I would be wonderful to give as a Christmas gift.
This is so completely amazingly awesome and I feel soooo lame for never thinking of this myself before! Thank you so much for the post 🙂 I love the natural look and that it doesn’t cost $20 a set! 🙂
🙂 I love the natural look too. We bought Sarah a kitchen set and bedroom when we bought the dollhouse but I love these natural ones so much more. I’ll think we’ll be making new items from now on 🙂
I love this idea! We often go outside, and find a big tree or a unusual crevice and play farm animals and set up a scene, your ideas will be such fun to implement in our games! Thanks, I love following your blog. From Lawrie, fireflyfarmadventures.blogspot.com
That’s a lovely idea. My children like to set up little imaginary play scenes outside in the garden. It always makes me smile when I see them doing this, I remember setting up my own when I was a child 🙂
What a great idea! Did you dry the wood? Or treat it with anything?
Thank you 🙂 Nope just a regular old branch left over from some garden pruning. It was in the yard for a month or so though so might have dried out a little.