Save Old Shoe Boxes To DIY A Mini Doll House For Your Kids

In case you don't have enough creative ways to repurpose old shoeboxes yet, here's another one that your kids will love: make your own mini doll house. This DIY is not only a great way to reduce waste, it's also helpful if you need to create a kids' playroom in a small space and don't have room for oversized toys. Plus, you'll save money by not making new purchases, while teaching your kids how to repurpose things around the house. You can even involve them in the process of saving shoe boxes (hello, delayed gratification) and in the creative process of designing the doll house itself. So gather up your old shoe boxes and get ready to make an adorable mini doll house.

For this project, you can keep it as simple or as elaborate as you want. The amount of shoe boxes you'll need will be determined by how big you want to make the doll house. One box can make a single, simple doll house, while multiple boxes can turn it into a multi-level dream home. You'll need some decorative paper to cover the walls and floors, some glue if the paper is not self-adhesive, and a pair of scissors. Optional but fun supplies include stickers, old fabric pieces, embellishing crafting tape, like washi or artists tape, and of course, dollhouse furniture, which you can purchase or make from recycled materials. Here's a walk-through of how to make a mini doll house from a single shoe box, and ideas on how to expand it.

Once your supplies have been appropriately arranged, begin by removing the lid and turning the box onto its side. Use cardboard from the lid to make walls that separate the dollhouse rooms. Simply cut the lid material to size and glue the new piece right into the shoe box, affixing it in the middle for two equal sized rooms or slightly to one side to make a main room and a smaller room. You can use decorative paper to cover the floors and walls of each room, customizing them with stickers, stamps, and markers. Use crafting tape on the edges of the house to pull it all together and give it a polished look.

To expand your doll house, repeat this process and attach the boxes with glue, either side by side or one on top of the other (or both, if you're feeling extra). You can leave the roof flat or use cardboard from the lids to create a triangle shape like a traditional roof. That will also add an extra room as the attic space of the doll house. If you want to furnish the home, look for things around your house or in the recycle bin – like the plastic white spacer from Friday's pizza box that makes a perfect miniature table, or a single serving yogurt cup that's just the right size for a mini bathtub. One of the more genius ways to repurpose empty Tic Tac containers around your home is to cover them with decorative tape and place them in the doll house as tables, beds, or seating. Small bits of extra fabric can be used as miniature rugs on the floors or blankets for the beds.