DIY Miniature Dollhouse from a Recycled Box

Easy DIY Miniature Dollhouse from a Recycled Box

Learn to make this cute miniature dollhouse from a recycled pasta box.

Since I've been staying home so much recently, pasta is one of my favorite foods. That means that I have plenty of pasta boxes to recycle. And when I find cardboard, I start thinking about making houses. I came up with how to make a miniature dollhouse with my recycled pasta boxes. It's also a great craft you can make up as a craft kit to make with a child.

I bought a number of different types of pasta and found that the boxes are all about the same size. So this pattern can be easily adapted for all of them.

Here's how to make this adorable miniature dollhouse

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Materials for Making a Miniature Dollhouse from a Recycled Pasta Box

• Pasta Box
• Cardboard
• Card stock or copy paper or scrapbook paper
• Glue - this is my favorite
• Mod Podge
• Gesso primer
• Paint
• Craft knife
• I used a Cricut for the cardboard pattern
• Printer to print the wallpaper and decorative elements

Instructions to Make the Easy Miniature Dollhouse

• Copy the pattern for the dollhouse - Design No. 84
• Cut out the cardboard templates for the dollhouse
• Print the wallpaper and pictures
• Cut out the wallpaper shape for the inside of the dollhouse
• Cut out pictures and frames
• Trace the outline on the opened pasta box
• Cut out the shape of the house from the recycled box
• Glue the cardboard templates to the house
• Prime and paint the cardboard house
• Glue the wallpaper to inside back of the house
• Add the shutters and the door.
• Glue the house together.
• Adhere the roof to the little dollhouse

First, Download and copy the pattern for the dollhouse

You can get the pattern for the miniature dollhouse from the Paper Glitter Glue library where I keep all my free patterns. If you already have the password, just type in the password. The patterns are listed chronologically with the most recent pattern first.

If you don't have the password yet, just subscribe to my Paper Glitter Glue newsletter with the form below and you will get the password immediately. I'll send a newsletter every one to two weeks.

Cut out the cardboard templates for the dollhouse

This is a relatively easy pattern to cut out by hand, but even easier to cut out with an electronic cutting machine like a Cricut or a Silhouette. I use a Cricut when I make my little houses.

Here's how the pattern looks in Cricut Design Space. There is only one line you have to change to a score line and attach. That's the one line on the roof piece. The cut lines on the shutters need to be attached as well.

Print the wallpaper and pictures

You have two forms of the wallpaper. One is a sheet you can print out and then cut the shapes from the printed sheet. The other sheet is in the shape of the house and side panels. Use whichever one works best for you. Print it on copy paper or card stock.

Cut out the wallpaper for the inside of the dollhouse

Next, cut out the wallpaper in the shape of the inside of the dollhouse. You can cut the pattern by hand or with a Cricut.

Cut out pictures and frames

Also, cut out the pictures and the frames to decorate inside the dollhouse. Now you have all the pieces needed to decorate the house.

Trace the outline on the opened pasta box

Open the pasta box so it will lay flat. Trace the outline on the box.

Cut out the shape of the house from the recycled box

Here's how the box looks after the cut outs for the front and back. Please note: Leave a flap on the top of the arch to form roof tabs to glue the roof in place.

Glue the cardboard templates to the house

Since pasta box cardboard is kind of flimsy, we can glue the templates on the outside of the house to make the dollhouse sturdier.

Prime and paint the cardboard house

Next prime and paint the cardboard house. I prime the inside as well so raw cardboard won't show on the edges. Then I painted the outside a bright green. Remember to paint the part of the roof that will show once it is glued to the house.

Glue the wallpaper to inside back of the house

Use Mod Podge or white glue to adhere the wallpaper to the inside of the house. Follow that with the pictures, picture frames, the curtains and the door frame.

Once the wallpaper is done, add the shutters and the door to the front of the house. To make the door open and close, make a hinge with card stock. Cut a 2.75 x 0.5" rectangle, score it in the middle and glue to the door and the side of the house.

Glue the house together

Glue the house together along the original tab that held it together. Next glue the angled roof tabs to the flaps. I used painter's tape and binder clips to hold the roof flaps in place while the glue dried.

Last detail - adhere the roof to the little dollhouse

Finally, glue the roof to the dollhouse. Paint shingles on the roof for extra cute details.

I hope you had fun making this little house. Next up is another recycled craft - making a little barn. See you with the next paper project.

Lucy