Amy’s Free Ideas
How to make a bed from recycled materials
Find a cardboard box that is the right size for a bed. Make sure the box fits in the room. Also, if the doll is already made, lay it on top of the box to make sure it fits. If the doll is not made yet, make the doll to fit the bed.
Cut the top 3/4 off of the bottom 1/4, and glue the two parts together again, top to bottom, so the cut edges are at the very top and bottom.
Cut all 4 corners down to 1/4 inch (1 cm.) from the bottom of the top box. Cut off both sides so that there is a 1/4 inch rim to hold the mattress on the bed. To make the headboard as tall as possible, only round off the 2 corners and don’t cut it any shorter. For the footboard, round off the corners, too, but cut it a little bit shorter than the headboard.
Optional: leave the bottom as is, or cut a slight curve on both sides to make it look a bit like legs.
Mattress: fold bubble wrap, styrofoam sheets, or a paper towel to fit the bottom of the bed.
Cover the outside of the cardboard box/bed with white paper or colored paper. Glue it on with glue stick. If the top edges of the headboard and footboard look rough, you can cut narrow strips of paper to glue over the top edges of them before glueing the paper on the outside that will cover the design on the box. NOTE : If the strips are too wide, the rounded corners will not look round.
BLANKET: Those cheap dishcloths made out of synthetic fiber make a great fabric to use for a blanket because it doesn’t have to be hemmed, and it comes in several colors. If you use regular fabric, you may want to hem all the edges so it doesn’t fray over time.
Make one or two pillows to finish the bed.
Pillows and cushions
Cut a short length of ribbon. Fold it around one or two cotton balls so that the ends overlap the length of the cushion. Sew or glue the two sides. The same dishcloth fabric used for a blanket above also makes a good material for making a matching pillow.
Optional stuffing material : If you don’t have cotton balls, use balled up or folded tissue or packing material.
Alternate way to make beds
These beds don’t have bottoms, so it might be frustrating for girls who like to rearrange the furniture, to have to re-make the bed each time she moves the beds.
If the doll is already made, make sure to make the bed long enough to fit the doll. If you are using a sponge for the mattress, make the bed to fit the sponge, too.
Cut the bed frame out of thin cardboard, such as a cereal box. Use a bottle cap or other round object to make the headboard and footboard. Use the cardboard frame as a pattern to cut colored paper to cover the outside. It doesn’t have to be one long piece--it can be cut in sections. Cover the insides of the headboard and footboard in paper, too.
Fold the frame right next to both sides of the headboard and footboard to make the bed. Glue the ends together where they overlap.
Optional heart shaped cut-out: use a hole-punch to cut the two humps of the heart, then use scissors to cut the point at the bottom of the heart.
Mattress
Cut a piece of foam or sponge to fit the bed (or make the frame fit the sponge.) Cut fabric to fit around the foam. Those cheap dishcloths that are made of synthetic fiber are great for this.
Wrap the fabric around the mattress, then push the covered mattress up through the bottom of the bed.
Optional: Glue the blanket onto the mattress, and the mattress onto the bed so it doesn’t fall apart every time you move the bed.
The same beds can look totally different, depending on how you decorate the room.
No room is complete without a doll to “live” in it.
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