A little house

My youngest niece, Molly, turned 2 years old recently so of course a handmade present from Aunt Rae Rae was in order.  After scouring the internet for a good present that I really wanted to make, I came across the cutest pattern for a little fabric house.  Here's the pattern I used as my guide: http://uklassinus.blogspot.com/2008/08/fabric-dollhouse-tutorial.html

I did make a few adjustments to mine - basically I made it slightly larger, increasing most of the dimensions by about two inches.  I just felt like the original pattern wasn't quite big enough for a decent sized dollhouse on the go.  Here's my finished product:

I used scrap fabric for the outside color.  These girls have a lot of pink in their lives so I decided to make the outside of the house a nice teal color.  I hot glued buttons and felt on for decoration.  Molly and her older sister, Maggie, are both old enough that they aren't swallowing little pieces, so I wasn't too concerned about just hot gluing buttons on instead of sewing them.

Of course I made sure to include a handle so she can take it with her on the go.  I also used simple felt tabs with velcro to close the house up.  The original pattern called for buttons but I thought velcro would probably be a bit easier for everyone (for me to attach and for her to open and close).

Here are some more detail pics...

I had miniature clothespins from my i spy bags so I used a couple on the back to make a little clothesline on the back of the house.

Here's the house all opened up...complete with a little pond and cobblestone path.

And a close-up of the inside of the house.  I loved that pink princess fabric for the walls.  And of course a felt dresser with button knobs.  I also added little curtains with ric-rac tie backs and a ric-rac valance.  With this description you may be getting the impression that I also make these handmade presents because I secretly want to play with them myself...valid...and true.

I took Kimbo's advice over at A Girl and Glue Gun and also invested in some polly pocket dolls that seem to fit the house pretty well.

Oh, and remember that felt car playmat that I made Molly's sister, Maggie?



It's still out at my sister's house and looks like it's best well loved and used :)  Which makes me awful happy to see!

Oh and hey, did you know that I had my Basehor Craft Fair?  I'll post some pics from my booth later this week and tell you all about it.  It was quite the success!