DIY Doll Bunk Beds

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For Christmas 2014 I got my husband to build our daughter bunk beds for her American girl dolls. Of course, it was finished just before Christmas, and I was sneaking down to the basement for a few minutes at a time to paint them red, her favorite color. I was so surprised that I was able to pull it off! (I also had a gigantic trapping basket in the tub hidden behind the shower curtain that day! I am pretty sure I inherited a gene for last-minute-homemade-gift-making.)

red and aqua american girl doll bunk beds

To build the beds, I found free plans from Ana White (available HERE). My husband did find a small error in the directions and it is important to note that these beds are not made to withstand children climbing on them. Not that ours would do that...

DIY doll bunk beds

The other part to this gift was that I took her fabric shopping to choose fabric for the bedding. It was a painful experience. I did a post on the sampler quilts HERE. They took forever.

18 inch doll bunk beds

It fits the dolls nicely and it coordinates really well with their bedroom. (You can see the collage wall and free printables HERE).

red doll bunk beds

Of course, with five girls in this house, you can bet that one doll bed is not enough! I will be posting about that one soon!
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Barn Sale Sign

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The biggest project that I made this Christmas was a custom made "BARN SALE" sign. It is for someone who sells antiques, and I really wanted this to look authentically worn and aged. For real... these pictures don't do it justice. I was super happy with how it turned out!

My husband put three, 36" long, 1 x 6 boards together with strips on the back to hold it together. This sign is HUGE! It is a "pallet" effect, but with solid, better quality wood that will last a long time.

The layers underneath contain mustard yellow and robin's egg blue- both very "vintage" paint colors. The background is several layers of barn red paint. The letters are white, but I did them with about four coats of paint using a tiny brush. It is hard to get a crisp, white color over a dark background and I didn't want thick brush lines. I also used the little paintbrush to give the letters a black shadow and it really made it pop!

It was difficult to find hangers that were not shiny and new, so we ended up using these fun, decorative, gate hinges. Flat, black, tractor paint was used to take the gloss away and the end hole was drilled out a little bigger to make it possible to use rope to hang it up.

The lettering isn't perfect, but it is authentic and this piece took a lot of work! 

Thank you to my sister for modeling this piece. :)
Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

Ana White Farmhouse Twin Beds

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We are just about finished with the girls' new bedroom and I am so excited to show you what my husband made!!!

Beds! Aren't they awesome? He made custom beds for the girls using free plans from Ana White. He used the farmhouse bed plans in a twin size. Everything went pretty well (besides our paint sprayer acting up- but that is not her fault).
There was one change that he made for me. The collage wall was hung before the beds were made and he cut 7" off of each piece to shrink them down so that I wouldn't have to move everything up. I love him! 
They are really heavy and sturdy! Oh, the comforters were from Target HERE- we got them on clearance for under $10.
Oh, and this is the doll bunk bed he made for one of the girls for Christmas. It was made using THIS free plan, also from Ana White.  I am still working on the quilts, but the sheets match the room great! (My daughter picked the fabric.)
Now, I just need to decide whether to paint the door and closet doors white, light gray (like the walls), or dark gray (like the trim). What do you think?

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

You can see more of the collage wall (with free printables) HERE: