Cardboard Dollhouse Craft Project

Project Summary:

With a few simple materials, this cardboard dollhouse project will provide children with hours of fun, followed by the delight of owning and playing with their very own custom designed dollhouse!

Project Details – Cardboard Dollhouse Craft Project

Step 1 – Prepare the materials

The first part of this project is to source a suitable cardboard box, preferably one with a lid as this will act as the roof of the house and can be opened and closed for play. You will also need to choose a colour for the outside of the house and you will need to source patterned paper for the inside of the house. Using glitter and gems to decorate the house will give a wonderful sparkle appeal. And finally, you will need some toy dolls and furniture to place within the completed dollhouse.

Step 2 – Build the house

Paint the cardboard box

The very first step we conducted was to paint the outside of the cardboard box. We had pink poster paint which was a perfect fit for this dollhouse. The paint can easily be applied using a sponge or large paint brushes. And if you choose, you can leave it to dry and then apply another coat.

Cover the inside of the box with wrapping paper

The next task we carried out was to completely detach the front panel of the cardboard box with a scissors.  This will make cutting of the windows easier as you can lay the piece of cardboard on a cutting mat. Following this we cut pieces of wrapping paper to match the size of the interior walls and we stuck them to the inside of the cardboard using craft glue.

Cut out windows

The next task involves creating the windows and will require adult assistance; using the piece of cardboard that you detached from the house, you will need a pencil and ruler to measure out and sketch the outline of windows which will be an appropriate size of the house. You can also sketch the outline of a front door. Then an adult will be required to cut out the windows using a paper blade, in addition to cutting along the frame of the doorway to enable it to open and close.

You can then take the front of the dollhouse (the piece of cardboard which has the windows cut out) and sellotape one side of it along its edge and reattach it to the box. We left the other side open as this would leave easy access for play as children would be able to open and close the front of the house.

Use cardboard to add a second story

Finally, we made the dollhouse into a two story house by using the paper blade to slice a horizontal line across the back if the dollhouse, half way up in terms of height. We then took another piece of cardboard (also covered in wrapping paper), and fed the piece of cardboard through the slit and out the other side. This also created a mini ledge to play with at the back of the house. Inside the box, the piece of cardboard acted as a second story where we could place toy furniture.

Step 3 – Time to decorate

This is the really fun step for little ones; time to decorate! Using craft glue and a selection of glitter and gems, children can use their imagination to design their very own enchanted and magical custom dollhouse!

Step 4 – Add furniture and toy dolls

We added some toy furniture and some wooden peg people dolls that we had created as part of a separate project. Click here to see our wooden peg people tutorial to learn how to make peg people dolls.

Step 5 – Time to play

When the dollhouse is complete children will have so much fun opening and closing the doors and exploring the wonderful toy home that they have created. And when all the playing has been done, and their little dolls are in their beds, they can close up the house and place the lid on for a restful nights sleep ahead!