Sweetheart Chair

 For She-she's "Sweetheart" bedroom I decided to make a Sweetheart Chair. These chairs are easily adjustable to fit whatever theme you want to have for your little dollhouse room.  It can be expanded into couches and personalized in general.

1.  For this one you will need a piece of wood (Mine is just under 6 inches) and whatever "decor" pieces you would like - In my case I opted for 2 hearts.

2.  Cut the wood at a 30 degree angle.  For straight up and down do a flat cut - This offers a slight recline that appears more comfortable.

I chose to round out my seat "cushions" for a softer look.  I did this with a power sander.  

 3. Sand all the edges, including the back.  

 

 4. Test the fit and angle.  If it isn't flush adjust a bit with the sander.  

5. Using a file rough up one side (the side you intend to glue) this helps it adhere fully.

6. Liberally apply the glue to both sides and stick together.   

7. Let it dry fully. 

 8. Sand down any excess glue once fully dry.

 9.  Rough up your decor pieces.

10. And glue them on.

10.  Let dry and paint however you would like. I went simple so I could accent it with pillows.

Fleece Blankey

Diffuclty Rating: 1.5 - Child's Play 

(Scissors should be used with adult supervision.)

She-she's bedroom started out as a "baby bug" room, particularly the "pretty" bugs like lady bugs, dragonflies, and butterflies, but as she's gotten older she's wanted more and more Tinkerbell.  We have a slightly "odd" bed for her - its dimensions are not quite toddler and not quite child, so i decided to make her a fleece tied blanket all to herself.

I took my sweet little girl to JoAnn's with me and we chose two fleece's - one of course with Tinkerbell, and one with the background.  I particularly wanted the little "bumpy" fleece as it was extra soft and cute, She-she chose the color.  

Now you've probably seen this before, as its incredibly easy and they were hugely popular some eight to ten years ago. but for a quick reminder this is how you do it:

Step 1: Choose two of roughly the same weight fleece fabrics. place them together right sides out.  There is no flipping reverse sides like regular sewing.

Step 2: Going in about 3 inches cut 3 inch long strips about an inch apart. I did the first few with rulers, and had the ruler sitting there to check when I felt they were getting a bit off.

Step 3: Using the front and the back strips (in my case Tinkerbell and the green bubble fleece) tie a simple square knot.  I highly, let me repeat that, HIGHLY recommend knotting every few strips.  A strong wind, playing kids, running cat or anything else could move your fabric so the front and back cuts are off and your ties will be all messed up. 

 Step 4: Repeat until you come to about 3 inches out of the corner, tie it snugly and don't worry about bunching you'll stretch it a bit later. When you reach the corner, simply cut the rest of the fabric off. (See photo.) Then continue going along the other side with the same knotting method you used, repeating the corner cutting until you are to your very first corner.

Step 5: You will likely notice that your fabric is incredibly bunched, this is normal and shouldn't concern you.  Simply grab it along one edge about 6 inches apart and pull it to stretch it back out to its regular grain.  You may hear a little tearing here, but that's normal.  Watch what you're doing however as it is possible to rip a knot right off, but its difficult. 

Step 6: Fluff the edges and tighten any that have gotten lose, once tightened they will do well for several years. 

In fact, I have a quilt my mother made me using this method when I was still in high school (I wont say how many years ago that was haha!), other than having to tie a few knots over the years its been fantastic, none of the edges have torn off and while some stress has been made to it, its still in very good shape.

So if you're looking for a sweet gift idea or a fun thing to do on a slow Sunday why not opt for a quick fleece quilt?

Days With My Own Dolly

The rush for getting the dollhouse ready by Christmas morning prevented some of these blogs from hitting the net, in fact many of my pictures are so scattered through my albums that I'm not sure if I'll ever find them.  But I did want to let my readers know that I did make the only true and important deadline and the dollhouse was ready and adorable for my daughter Christmas morning.  I was very pleased with my little She-she's reaction to the gift, and am sharing it with you in the embedded photo.

She is a pretty spectacular little girl and an amazing light in her father and my eye.  Six months later and She-she has customized her house several times over (she took chalk to it) my initial reaction was a panic then I realized this is best, she and I will be able to remodel and add on to it plenty in the years to come.

And just so you don't fret - I am going to be uploading more dollightful "Barbie-sized" crafts and I'll be including more things my dolly and I do together, everything from preschool to mudpies. :) Enjoy!