Repurpose Old Wooden Hutch to New Doll Dreamhouse.

Hubby and I just finished of our first major creative project together (since getting married) on Friday and it is already in the hands of its new owner. We were pleased with how the end project turned out though there were times that I think one or both of us worried we would not get it done on time.

The piece was a dollhouse commissioned by a friend of a friend of my mom. I admit we really should not have taken on the job as we have several other projects on the go. There is no way of getting out of a job that you received through your mother's praising you up to her friends though.

The requirements for the piece were that it was to be solid wood,  at least 4 foot tall, doors to close it all up after playtime. Our budget was $500.

Due to Covid lumber prices have skyrocketed and a single sheet of plywood rose to $90 and we were going to need several.

We flip allot of things on Facebook marketplace and I happened to see a post for a hutch. It was perfect. At $40 the price was certainly right.

The first thing we did when we brought it home was carefully remove the glass shelves and mirrored backing. There were also some pot lights which we needed to take out.We initially thought we would keep the doors on and work with them but it was not long until we decided they were not going to work for our idea.

I remembered seeing a post on Pinterest where the lady flipped the hutch upside down to make a farmhouse cabinet. My husband was skeptical but after some discussion we decided to give it a try. Voila, we had a lovely base for the house.

My husband is a carpenter by trade so I just let him do his thing taking out the wine rack and putting in new wooden shelves. Initially we were going to put just a single peaked roof over the entire piece but inspiration struck and I asked James to cut off the top section making it two levels at the top. I thought the two seperate levels would make the roof more interesting. Once the piece was removed we suddenly realized it was the perfect place for a garden terrace for Barbie to relax on.

Once the basic shape was established Hubby built a roof for the highest surface, and large plywood doors for the two living areas. The doors swing from the centre out so that they are out of the way during playtime. He used 3 small hinges on each door just be sure that they would remain in place for many years.

The customer was purchasing this house for her 18th and final grandchild as a gift for her 6th birthday. She told us that each of the grandchildren had received a special handmade wooden toy. You know I love that kind of thing. As part of the gift the family had been collecting little pieces of carpet and bits of wallpaper from their own renovations so we were only decorating the outside of the house and priming the inside. 

We had a choice of the little girl's 2 favourite colours, purple or pink. We went with a Fushia Pink in Behr flat acrylic paint. The roof was painted black with a can of tremclad glossy black. We primed all the surfaces with a water based primer.

The window grates were made by cutting up a white basket from dollartree. After the windows were cut out to size we used gorilla glue to attach them to the wood.

After the final coat of paint (which took 2 full coats and then some touchups) I applied some cardstock stickers that I had in my craft stash using decor art decoupage glue which dries clear and matte. 

The front windows, door and porch were all painted on using lots of 3M painters tape and Folkart Acrylic paints. It did take several coats to cover the fushia paint.

BONUS

We made some furnishings before we realized the family was decorating the interior. Here is quick list of some of our creations. We used only Dollartree materials.

1. The swimming pool was made from one of the plastic containers with blue transparent lid and some acrylic paint.

2. We used one of their Jot stationary organizers covered with marble contact paper for the counter and  put it on a cabinet base made of Dollartree Jenga pieces.

3. The rooftop garden was made using one of the clear acrylic makeup organizers, some cut up scrubbing sponges, and random small floral stems.

4. The bathtub was made of a plastic drawer organizing basket with the grey grip on the bottom. I used hot glue to attach foam board as a base and then used the tiny self adhesive mirror tiles in hot pink to cover the two outside walls.

4. My favourite creation was the toilet which we made using the small flip top jars. You get 2 in a pack and I just got hubby to cut the threaded neck off one to turn upside down for the tank, the other was perfect with the lid opening and closing like a real toilet seat.  We spray painted these white to look like porcelain.

5. The final piece was the fridge, made from a clear acrylic storage container with 3 sections. I used electrical tape down one side to hold it together when it is opened and closed and the we spray painted the entire thing white.

We are really excited to find out how the birthday girl liked the dollhouse. Putting it all together turned out to be a really fun project.

Buy Your Crafting Supplies Now at The Dollar Tree!

Unboxing Video July 15, 2021

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Youtube update.

Hello Friends.

I am so excited to be able to resume my papercrafting. Things have been interesting the last few years but finally I have arrived to a very happy place in my life.

In fact I am happy to share that on June 8 of this year my highschool sweetheart and I eloped. We had not seen each other in 30 years but God brought us together and has blessed us with so much happiness. 

Of all things he turned up at my yardsale in 2019 having no idea it was me. Now 2 years later we are happily married with a dozen or so young adults as our children. Life is good.

I wanted to be sure that you saw my video about coming back to YouTube, blogging and just papercrafting in general.

I also wanted to share a couple of photos from The Little White Chapel in Tweed, Ontario where we were married.

Can you believe how perfect the bridal prep area is? Vintage dresses and veils, beautiful lace and linens. It was as if it was designed just for me.

Sincerely,

Tracy Robertson

Mixed Media: What is it and why you should care.

This post contains affiliate links that if you purchase from I will earn a small commission.

Current events have us all scrambling for outlets for our anxiety and uncertainty. The things we took for granted, the guideposts of our day are mostly gone. Using your creativity is a well proven method of calming those feelings. Mixed media gives us the opportunity to be freely creative, to colour outside the lines, to break the rules of how art should be done. I'm not saying completing a complete canvas using strictly oil paints is not rewarding, but for me there is nothing that clears my mind more than playing with textures, colours, finishes and even materials.

One of the first steps to immerse yourself in mixed media is to start an art journal. Don't go out and buy a special book, we all have old notebooks and better still old hardcover texts that can be used.

Commit to doing one page every day for a month. I suggest using random pages in no particular order so that your book does not become lopsided. Put things that inspire you onto each page of the journal, whether it is a quote, a song lyric or even just a colour swatch that reminds you of the sky on a particularly special day.

I have included several examples of a mixed media journal which you can explore further on the Stampington site. Find a style that resonates with you and start. Do not wait for the perfect time. Start today! As we have learned over the last year, we are not ever guaranteed what tomorrow may bring.

Another great resource for Art journaling is the downloadable issue of 

$2 Off Art Journaling Summer 2021 Instant Download