Over the past year I have been researching all of the dollhouses out there. I knew Zoe would love to play with one, and I wanted to make sure it was something that would last for a long time. I looked at the usual Melissa and Dougs, Kidkraft, and Plan Toys versions out there. They are all very neat, but I wanted to find something different.
Then on Black Friday at Toys-R-Us I made a poor choice and we got her a plastic dollhouse that was one of their door busters. She loved playing with it on Christmas morning, but even when I was putting it together for Santa I knew it was going to end up in the scrap heap. The stickers started falling off before I even got them attached, and by Christmas evening some of the furniture had broken. Bad idea.
So when we were discussing what to get Zoe for her 3rd birthday I felt like it was a good opportunity to ‘right the wrong’ so to speak.
I found a few options on Craigslist and ended up getting a handmade structure, worn and dusty for 20 dollars. She said her aunt had given it her a few years ago and she had intended to fix it up with her daughters, but had never gotten around to it.
This is the full exterior of the house.
I cleaned up the structure and pulled out most of the icky flooring. It got a good scrub.
This is what the interior looked like after it was cleaned up and stripped.
I picked out some scrapbook paper and used mod podge to adhere it to the walls as new wallpaper.
I bought some dollhouse wood flooring (and stained it) for the ‘living room’. I left the checkerboard kitchen floor because it was so cute. I cleaned up the purple carpet they had and used the best part of it for one of the bedrooms (because Zoe is a big fan of purple). And, I added some vinyl for the flooring in the other bedroom.
This is the interior with new walls and floors.
I also decided it needed a cover so that it would look OK in the corner of our living room since there isn’t enough room in the playroom for it!
This is the super easy cover I made to keep it nice and tidy.
I wish these photos were better, but I have had to do all of this at nighttime to keep from spoiling the surprise.
I researched the best furniture for her age, and there really wasn’t a lot of options. I picked out the Ryan’s Room sets because they were durable, less in cost and neutral in coloring. I only got a few to fill out the space. I figure in a few years she might want real miniature house furniture, but for now these will be good.
The cover is also going to serve as wrapping paper. I will cover the sides that are exposed and add a big purple bow.
I really can’t wait to give it to her! Her party is Saturday.
We are doing a Rainbow theme this year. I am pretty sure pinterest has made rainbow parties very popular, but I love the idea of working with color and not some Disney/Nickelodeon personality.
I spent a long time drawing a cartoon of Zoe for the invitation….
We are keeping it low-key with decorations, etc. Rainbow is pretty easy to do with cupcakes, balloons, etc.
I have a few more things to do before the party and I can’t wait to have our friends over to celebrate.
Three years. It seems like I blinked and they went by. She is sweet, stubborn, cute, smart, crazy, and beautiful. And, I think she is happy which is what means the most.
