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DIY Chalkboard Dollhouses – Tutorial

May 13, 2016 · Delia 11 Comments

I’ve been on the hunt for a good basic dollhouse for my four year old for some time now.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

During my search, I found these adorable little house shaped wood shelves at Michaels and decided to DIY some!

Then I thought…why not throw in some chalkboard paint as well? Because what could be more fun than a doll house…Well a doll house you can draw on of course!

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

She can change the theme of the houses as much as she wants and however she wants.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.comDIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

Having several little houses also gives her the option of making each house a room, as apart of a bigger “house” or making a whole neighborhood for more of her toys.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

I started things out with some of my own doodles because I actually kept these a secret from her until picture time. Then I surprised her with a little play session.聽She was pleased as pie!

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.comDIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

Ready to make some yourself? Let’s do it!

MATERIALS

House-shaped plywood shelves (from Michaels – check raw wood aisle)

House-shaped blocks (same aisle in Michaels)

Small sheet of MDF ($3 sheet from Home Depot)

Small 1 inch nails with wide nail head

Wood glue

Hammer

Jig-saw

Pencil

Sandpaper – 80 grit (but really any is fine if you aren’t picky)

Chalk board paint (I used Rustoleum spray paint)

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

STEP ONE: Cut聽out doll house backings.

Trace your houses on the sheet of MDF. You can use another type of wood if you have it. MDF is the cheapest and and smoothest, so I used that.

Cut out the houses with a jigsaw…or in my case, have your husband do it because you can’t cut a straight line with a jigsaw very well. Ha! I almost used that whole sheet of MDF trying to get it right before I finally asked begged for help. 馃檪

That said, if it’s not precisely straight, don’t worry. We’ll be sanding things down in a minute.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

STEP TWO: Attach backings to doll house shelves.

Remove the shelf hardware. Then apply wood glue to the back edges of each house. Place the backing on the doll houses, and hammer in place using nails about every 2 inches. Let them dry.

Sand down any uneven or rough edges. You can easily do this by hand, but I used my mouse sander to be more efficient.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

STEP THREE: Paint the dollhouses.

Paint your houses using your preferred kind of chalkboard paint. Let dry according to paint instructions.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

STEP FOUR: “Cure” the houses.

Before using your chalkboard houses, or any chalkboard item, it’s a good idea to “cure” the chalkboard surface with some chalk dust. This ensures that your first doodles don’t stain the surface and make it difficult to completely wipe away.

To build up some chalk dust, I like to scribble on a piece of paper with some chalk, and then use a soft cloth to wipe up the dust and apply it to my chalkboard surface.

That’s it!

You’re ready to doodle and play.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

Add some of your favorite dolls or action figures…

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

I made these peg dolls of our family. <3

I found blank peg dolls, again at Michaels, and just painted them with simple designs.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

I probably had just as much making this as she has playing with it. Oh who am I kidding…I play with it too. 馃槈

I admit, affter a decade of Legos, cars, and trains…it’s really fun to get to play dolls with my girl.

DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com DIY Chalkboard Doll Houses // www.deliacreates.com

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Comments

  1. Cheri says

    May 13, 2016 at 11:51 AM

    Chalk for a dollhouse? Genius. I never thought of marrying those two ideas. Love it….and I totally hear you about a decade of playing with Legos and then getting to play girl stuff. I love watching the Disney princess classics after LOTS of superhero shows. 馃檪

    Reply
    • Delia says

      May 13, 2016 at 12:14 PM

      Thanks Cheri! I know right? I mean, I love Legos. But I’m enjoying getting my turn reliving my childhood with her, like my husband has with the boys. And yes…bring on the princess movies! 馃檪

      Reply
  2. Rachel Quesada says

    May 13, 2016 at 2:13 PM

    What a great idea – and the black chalkboard paint goes so well with your aesthetic!

    Reply
    • Delia says

      May 17, 2016 at 11:21 PM

      Thanks Rachel!

      Reply
  3. Kathleen says

    May 13, 2016 at 5:26 PM

    Awesome!

    Reply
  4. Charity says

    May 14, 2016 at 11:14 PM

    I love this idea! I totally can’t do this with my daughters because all I would hear is “She erased my drawing!” but I still love it… maybe I should make a set for me. 馃槈 Your doodles on it are super-cute! I love Nat’s pigtails too- she’s darling!

    Reply
    • farhana says

      June 16, 2016 at 12:45 PM

      A very great idea. Thanks for sharing. Planning to make the same for my daughter who is so fond of doll houses.

      Reply
  5. Jodie says

    August 11, 2016 at 12:57 PM

    Delia,

    Did you make the doll houses or were they purchased at Michael’s already put together? I’m having a hard time finding them.

    Reply
    • Delia says

      August 12, 2016 at 3:56 PM

      Hi Jodie!

      Good question. I bought them pre-made as house shaped shelves and then added the backs afterward. I saw them at Michaels in the unfinished wood aisle recently, but availability may unfortunately vary from location to location. I apologize that I can’t give you a better answer. If it helps, I just found a great more traditional wooden doll house from IKEA. You could always paint that with chalkboard paint?

      I hope that helps?

      Delia

      Reply
  6. Lisa says

    December 13, 2018 at 1:36 PM

    You are so crafty! I love this and I will definitely be trying it soon. I’ve never used chalkboard spray paint. Do you think it works better than the brush on or is it just a quicker alternative? I recently shared a similar craft on my new blog. I hope it’s okay with you that I also included a link there for this awesome project… if not, please say so and I’ll remove it. Your images are great by the way!

    Reply
    • Delia says

      December 19, 2018 at 11:30 AM

      Thanks Lisa!

      Honestly, I think both work great. Spray chalkboard paint dries faster and it goes on very smoothly, but I personally like the brush on kind just fine too. Of course I don’t mind! The addition of your peg dolls are very cute! Thank you for the link. 馃檪

      Reply

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