About This Project

I found a wood dollhouse at a yard sale for $5 that was large (2 ft tall), solid and sturdy and pretty close to 1/12 scale....but it had been abused and was sad and ugly to look at.   I'm pretty creative, so I thought with a little TLC (maybe a lot), I could turn this into pretty house my granddaughter would enjoy.

Many years ago I used to be active with the dollhouse and miniatures community but since I got Rheumatoid Arthritis, those miniatures were just too small for my clumsy RA hands and I had to quit the hobby.  But, because of that experience, I remember a lot of websites with DIY information and printables that you can use to wallpaper and decorate a dollhouse on a tight budget.   That gave me the idea to start this blog and share with you the tips, tricks and money-saving resources I encounter along the way as I try to fix up this large dollhouse without spending any money....or as little as possible, anyway!

When it's all fixed up, this dollhouse will be a gift for a 4yr old girl, so buying those fragile and expensive miniatures usually found in a dollhouse shop just isn't going to be practical. Consequently, this project will be an exercise in creativity because I will be making most of the furnishings out of recycled material (and sharing WIP photos).

Follow this work in progress and I'll share whatever money-saving, tight-budget tips I find along with links to free online dollhouse resources.   I'll also share my mistakes so maybe we can all learn from them!  LOL ;-)

If you're an adult making a dollhouse for your own hobby...not for a child....I think you'll find some useful tips too. I'll share some links where you can find supplies to use that maybe I won't be using for THIS particular dollhouse but have bookmarked for a future project!

Mary (Grandma of 4)

BEFORE    .............  

and   AFTER