How to Make a Doll Bed
Get a wooden fruit crate or a cardboard shoe box., Gather your other supplies., Trim seven of the short paint stirring sticks to 8 inches long., Place five of the trimmed sticks side by side of a flat, clean surface., Secure the footboard with wood...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Get a wooden fruit crate or a cardboard shoe box.
The easiest way to make a doll bed, no power tools required, is to use a wooden fruit crate or a cardboard shoe box.
You can find a wooden fruit crate at the grocery store.
They are often used to hold fruits like clementines, small oranges, or grapes and many grocery stores will give you empty fruit crates if you find one available in the produce section.Many fruit crates already have small “legs” on each corner made of wood.
You will use these legs to help the crate stand up off the ground when you transform it into a doll bed.
Alternatively, you can use a standard cardboard shoe box to make the frame.
Look for a cardboard box in good condition and made of stiff material that can hold some weight. -
Step 2: Gather your other supplies.
You find most of the supplies for this method at your local hardware store.
You will need to following supplies for this method:
A 4” x 4” fruit crate or a standard cardboard shoe box 16 wooden paint stirring sticks (12 short ones, 4 long ones) Wood glue Scissors Large binder clips Sandpaper or a sanding block Gesso or primer Acrylic paint in your desired color , Measure the sticks and mark the 8 inch line on each with a pencil before you cut them.
Then, score the sticks with the X-ACTO knife seven to eight times against a ruler and then cut them easily with the scissors or the X-ACTO knife., Lay one of the longer sticks next to each end so the bottom of the long stick extends 1 ½ inches past the bottom of the row of trimmed sticks.
This is going to form your footboard., You can do this by laying one of the trimmed sticks across all the sticks so it is parallel and about ½ inch above the bottom of the five trimmed sticks.
Drizzle the stick with wood glue and secure it over all the sticks so it holds them in place.Let the footboard dry for at least one hour with a heavy object, like a book, sitting on top of the sticks. , Trim five of the short paint stirring sticks so they are 8 inches long using scissors and/or an X-ACTO knife.
Then, place the five trimmed sticks side by side on a flat, clean surface.Take two of the longer sticks and place each on on either end of the five trimmed sticks so the long sticks extend 1 ½ inches past the bottom row of trimmed sticks.
Secure the headboard with wood glue by drizzling a trimmed stick with glue and laying it across all the sticks, parallel and ½ inch above the bottom.
Let the headboard dry for at least one hour, placing a heavy flat object on top of the sticks. , It should be balancing on one of the short ends of the crate or box.
Take the footboard piece and drizzle glue across the short stick lying parallel on the sticks.
Press the footboard on the short end of the crate or box.If the box has short wooden legs attached to the corners of the crate, line up the longer sticks with the wooden legs so the doll bed will sit evenly on the ground when it is done. , Make sure the binder clips are secure over the sticks and the crate.
Let this dry for at least one hour., Once the footboard side is dry, you can attach the headboard to the other short end of the crate or box following the same steps.Make sure you clamp the headboard into place with the binder clips and let it dry for one hour so it is secure. , Use sandpaper to lightly sand the bed so there are no rough corners or patches.
Make sure you sand the cut edges on the headboard and the footboard until they are smooth.If you are using a cardboard box for the bed section of the frame, you only need to sand the headboard and the footboard. , You can finish the bed frame by painting one primer layer of gesso on the bed.
You can then apply two to three coats of acrylic paint to the bed frame, sanding between each coat.Let the bed frame dry overnight and then add on other elements to the bed, like a mattress and pillows. -
Step 3: Trim seven of the short paint stirring sticks to 8 inches long.
-
Step 4: Place five of the trimmed sticks side by side of a flat
-
Step 5: clean surface.
-
Step 6: Secure the footboard with wood glue.
-
Step 7: Repeat this process to make the headboard.
-
Step 8: Turn over the fruit crate or the cardboard box.
-
Step 9: Clamp the footboard into place using the binder clips.
-
Step 10: Follow the same process for the headboard.
-
Step 11: Sand the bed with sandpaper.
-
Step 12: Finish the bed frame by painting it with acrylic paint.
Detailed Guide
The easiest way to make a doll bed, no power tools required, is to use a wooden fruit crate or a cardboard shoe box.
You can find a wooden fruit crate at the grocery store.
They are often used to hold fruits like clementines, small oranges, or grapes and many grocery stores will give you empty fruit crates if you find one available in the produce section.Many fruit crates already have small “legs” on each corner made of wood.
You will use these legs to help the crate stand up off the ground when you transform it into a doll bed.
Alternatively, you can use a standard cardboard shoe box to make the frame.
Look for a cardboard box in good condition and made of stiff material that can hold some weight.
You find most of the supplies for this method at your local hardware store.
You will need to following supplies for this method:
A 4” x 4” fruit crate or a standard cardboard shoe box 16 wooden paint stirring sticks (12 short ones, 4 long ones) Wood glue Scissors Large binder clips Sandpaper or a sanding block Gesso or primer Acrylic paint in your desired color , Measure the sticks and mark the 8 inch line on each with a pencil before you cut them.
Then, score the sticks with the X-ACTO knife seven to eight times against a ruler and then cut them easily with the scissors or the X-ACTO knife., Lay one of the longer sticks next to each end so the bottom of the long stick extends 1 ½ inches past the bottom of the row of trimmed sticks.
This is going to form your footboard., You can do this by laying one of the trimmed sticks across all the sticks so it is parallel and about ½ inch above the bottom of the five trimmed sticks.
Drizzle the stick with wood glue and secure it over all the sticks so it holds them in place.Let the footboard dry for at least one hour with a heavy object, like a book, sitting on top of the sticks. , Trim five of the short paint stirring sticks so they are 8 inches long using scissors and/or an X-ACTO knife.
Then, place the five trimmed sticks side by side on a flat, clean surface.Take two of the longer sticks and place each on on either end of the five trimmed sticks so the long sticks extend 1 ½ inches past the bottom row of trimmed sticks.
Secure the headboard with wood glue by drizzling a trimmed stick with glue and laying it across all the sticks, parallel and ½ inch above the bottom.
Let the headboard dry for at least one hour, placing a heavy flat object on top of the sticks. , It should be balancing on one of the short ends of the crate or box.
Take the footboard piece and drizzle glue across the short stick lying parallel on the sticks.
Press the footboard on the short end of the crate or box.If the box has short wooden legs attached to the corners of the crate, line up the longer sticks with the wooden legs so the doll bed will sit evenly on the ground when it is done. , Make sure the binder clips are secure over the sticks and the crate.
Let this dry for at least one hour., Once the footboard side is dry, you can attach the headboard to the other short end of the crate or box following the same steps.Make sure you clamp the headboard into place with the binder clips and let it dry for one hour so it is secure. , Use sandpaper to lightly sand the bed so there are no rough corners or patches.
Make sure you sand the cut edges on the headboard and the footboard until they are smooth.If you are using a cardboard box for the bed section of the frame, you only need to sand the headboard and the footboard. , You can finish the bed frame by painting one primer layer of gesso on the bed.
You can then apply two to three coats of acrylic paint to the bed frame, sanding between each coat.Let the bed frame dry overnight and then add on other elements to the bed, like a mattress and pillows.
About the Author
George Jones
Experienced content creator specializing in creative arts guides and tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: