Malibu Beach Dollhouse Kit After several attempts at trying to build my own modern dollhouse (and failing!), I decided to splurge on the Malibu Beach Dollhouse Kit from The Dollhouse Emporium in the UK.  The reason for choosing this house, pretty simple, it was on sale and they would actually ship it to Australia.  There are several other houses which I found and really loved the design of, but actually being able to buy one and have it delivered was another story.  My dream home would still be the Brinca Dada Emerson Dollhouse, but unfortunately I could not find one a ..read more

How to make over the Australian Kmart Dollhouse for under $100 BEFORE                                             AFTER The Budget : Kmart Dollhouse $49 Wooden eBay kitchen $14.00 Sandpaper (180 grit) / cork block $5.70 White Knight Tester Paint Pot $7.25 Bedding Material $10.00 Box cutter/knife or mini Stanley Handsaw $10.00 Spotlight Craft Glue $3.70 Total $99.65 The list above will give you everything you need assuming you have none of the above laying around the ..read more

Seeing as my dollhouse is modern style, I wanted my toilet to be 'floating' or 'wall hung'. For some reason I have got into carving balsa wood, probably because I have accumulated sooooo much of it doing all these dollhouse renovations and I'm getting sick of everything being square! So tools needed for a modern toilet - a block of balsa wood, this one started at roughly 6cm x 3cm.  Remember balsa is very soft wood so it is easy to cut and sand and that makes it my preferred choice of wood to use as you don't need power tools. Other tools needed are a box cutter, small hand saw, sand ..read more

How to make a modern miniature side board You will need, a handsaw or a box cutter, sandpaper and wood glue. Firstly cut your piece of wood to size.  In theory it would be a lot easier if you used a square block of wood, but I only had this long skinny piece so I cut 3 strips the same length.  I clamped and glued the 3 pieces of wood together to get the shape and size I wanted.  Next step is to mark the wood using a ruler and a pen.  I just randomly drew a few lines in different directions.  Carry the pattern over to the top of the wood. Next use a metal ruler an ..read more

How to make a miniature industrial style bookcase You will need the following: - Balsa wood - Good quality balsa/craft glue - box cutter - BBQ skewers (optional) I started by painting a strip of balsa with my brown stain (small dot of brown craft paint diluted in water). I will use this piece for my shelves. This bookcase is best suited for 1:12 scale. When finished it measures 15cm high by 12cm wide.  Measure the space you want to pace the bookshelf first as you may want to make your bookshelf smaller or larger. First cut 4 shelves.  Each shelf is 12cm long by 3cm wide ..read more

 You will need:  - 5mm round dowel - square dowel or scraps of dowel - box cutter - bottle top First of all I made the shower head.  I just cut two pieces of dowel into oblong shapes. Glue the shower head together using a good quality balsa/craft glue.  Once dried I used sandpaper to sand all the sides down to make it look 'rounder'. Next move onto the waterfall shower head.  I already had a precut round piece of balsa wood.  You could either trace around a bottle top and cut out a piece of balsa or you could use a plastic bottle top. Cut some sections o ..read more

 You will need  - Balsa wood - Cardboard tube - Craft glue - Box cutter Cut two sides out of balsa wood approx 4cm x 4cm Cut top and bottom out of balsa wood approx 8cm x 4cm On this cabinet I tried to mitre the edges to that it fits together seamlessly on the corners.  I just rubbed the corners across sandpaper to get an angle on the edge.  But the cabinet can be joined easily without changes the corners. Cut a small section from your cardboard tube.  My cardboard tube is the inner from a roll of garbage bags. Glue your cabinet together using a good quality balsa ..read more

 To make a modern miniature tap, I used: 1.   Round dowel (5mm) but you could use a paper straw (not plastic as you will not be able to paint it). 2.  BBQ skewer 3.  Craft glue  First step is to cut 2 pieces of dowel.  One for the base of the tap and the second for the 'tap' part.  I started with both pieces being 3cm but you can trim them down to suit the size of your kitchen. Next cut a small piece of BBQ skewer for the tap handle.  The two different size dowel and skewer give the effect of a tap. Lay the pieces out so you can get and idea of sca ..read more

Instagram 1k Giveaway Competition To say thank you to all my followers on instagram, I am running a giveaway competition.   I will be giving away the following little pack of #onebrownbearhomewares together with a set of amazing mini prints from @theprintablestudio! All you need to do is: -       Follow @onebrownbear and @theprintablestudio on instagram -       Tag a friend and whether you want to win the AU (Australia) or (OS) Overseas giveaway. AU prize pack (open to Australian residents only) contains: -&n ..read more

How to make a miniature Refrigerator You can use cardboard if you have it, but I prefer to use foam poster board as it is a lot stronger.  You can find poster board in craft shops, Kmart, Officeworks, Spotlight etc.  It has a thin layer of cardboard on the outside and is filled with foam, this makes it far easier to cut than using balsa wood of the same thickness.  Start off by cutting out the door, 2 sides and a back to the fridge. My fridge door is roughly 12cm x 6 cm, with the side being slightly smaller 12cm high by 3cm wide. Glue the fridge together to form a box ..read more