Sunday, December 07, 2008

Make it: Kids Doll Bed - recycled


Recycled Doll Bed - perfect for American Girl Dolls

In this recycled project, a breakfast tray is flipped upside down and transformed into a dolly bed. The linens and pillows are made from fleece and flannel and are no sew - just a drop or two of fabric glue is all we used. From the It's a Dolls World episode of Creative Juice.

Materials:
breakfast tray with collapsible legs
wood glue
wood screws
4 wood balls or blocks (bed legs)
2" thick foam
1/2 yd. flannel sheeting
1/2 yd. polar fleece
2 empty 6-oz. gelatin boxes
Fabric-Tac glue
measuring tape
pinking/scalloping shears
craft paint (optional)

Steps:

1. To make the head and foot board of the bed, flip the tray over and, using wood glue and screws, secure the legs in a locked open position. Let glue dry.
2. Using wood glue and a screw, add legs to the bed at the four corners and let dry. The bed legs are an opportunity to use your creativity: wooden blocks, drawer pulls, wood balls, etc., can be used -- just look for objects that match in size.



4. Using a kitchen knife, cut foam/mattress to fit base of tray.


5. Cut flannel 10" larger, length and width, than foam mattress measurements. Wrap foam, gift style, with flannel sheet and secure on the bottom with Fabri-Tac glue.
6. For the bedspread, cut fleece, adding 6" to width and 4" to length of mattress measurements. Trim edges with scallop shears.


7. For pillows, wrap two large, empty gelatin boxes with fun fur, leaving 1" on each end. Using Fabri-Tac glue, glue fur to boxes, tuck ends into box sides and secure with drops of glue. Fill boxes with crumpled scrap paper for additional strength.

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:59 AM

    What a good idea. That bed looks so cute. I will definitely keep that in mind for when my 8 month old daughter gets a little bit older.

    Cheers, Hans

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:18 AM

    I have just discovered your blog from the link on "one pretty thing" and I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this posting! I actually have two trays in my shed that were about to go to the thrift shop - I will now be able to make little beds out of them! Perfect for playing babies and hospitals with my 3 year old daughter! You are a genious! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:26 PM

    I am so makeing this

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:06 PM

    don't give her credit, this wasn't her idea! it was diy's idea- she even copied the pictures- i can report you and you can get sued for copyrighting-which i think i might just do now

    ReplyDelete
  5. Excuse me Anonymous!

    Perhaps you should do a little homework before accusing me of stealing.

    I am Cathie Filian and this is my blog - I executive produce, write and host Creative Juice on DIY Network and HGTV.

    The hands in the photos are mine, I wrote this project for Creative Juice. I think I'll edit this post to show a photo of myself making this project.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous8:44 AM

    This is a wonderful idea!!! I can't wait to make one! thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:42 PM

    I am definitely going to ask my dad to help me make this project. I will tell you when I make it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7:59 PM

    I like this idea, but I don't have any trays and haven't seen them in thrift stores either, is there soem thing else we could use instead??

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:09 PM

    I just made one of these and am making another. Thank you so much for the suggestion - they turned out amazingly well and my older daughter loves hers!

    ReplyDelete
  10. My daughter and I have been bonding over making beds for her doll & the dolls in our neighborhood....we've actually started a business:

    My product tester & quality control manager, Liam, feels it is necessary to jump up and down on the beds, to be extra sure they are strong enough to support those extremely heavy 10 oz. dolls (Insert Liam's picture 19 months old, here).

    The production department is very thorough when building and painting the beds. One coat of paint would be sufficient, however, Kathleen (insert Kathleen's 7-year-old picture here) my "pre-painter" prefers to begin the process in an art-deco free-form manner. This is quickly followed up with a second coat of paint by the finish-painter (me).

    Bedding and embellishments are laid out on the display area (kitchen table) and thoroughly examined and rated for color clarity, softness, and durability by the quality control department (anyone who can reach them).

    Check us out at: http://www.AmericanMadeGirlDollBeds.com and yes, that's my cutie-pie on the home page. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a wonderful project!
    My daughter & I took this a step further....
    Check us out at:
    http://www.AmericanMadeGirlDollBeds.com

    We made these ourselves for all the dolls in our neighborhood!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous3:27 PM

    does it have to be a brefast try all i have is a tv tray??

    ReplyDelete
  13. this is very nice blog thanks for posting keep posting

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous11:36 AM

    I love this bed! Thanks for posting it for us. I am going to make two for my daughters AG dolls, Molly and Emily. She is absolutely going to love finding these under the Christmas tree. I just have one question, where did you get the breakfast tray, by chance?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11:00 AM

    So cool! I will try to make one to!

    ReplyDelete
  16. My daughter has an 18" doll who needs a bed -- this is perfect, thanks for the inspiration! I wonder... have you tried modifying your original idea to make a crib? The Bitty Baby cribs are considerably more than I want to spend, I might try to make one using this idea.

    To people who've wondered where to get the trays, Bed Bath and Beyond stocks them!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and questions. Sometimes it takes me a few days to reply. Have a wonderful day!

Cathie

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