The farther I get into my dollhouse project, the more great ideas pop into my head. At this point, I think I’m coming up with projects faster than I can execute them! Today at Dollar Store Crafts I shared a tutorial for making teeny-tiny dollhouse books. Keep those books nice and neat with a set of miniature horse head bookends!
Supplies:
- 2 small toy horses
- Popsicle sticks
- Glue
- Craft paint
- Toothbrush
- Mod Podge
Directions:
Start with two toy horse and chop their heads off.
Okay, funny story tangent. I was out having coffee with my friends Erika and Jori and we were talking about my dollhouse projects. Jori got up to use the restroom, and came back just as I was saying to Erika, “Then I’m going to cut the heads off of the little horses…”
The look of shock and horror on her face was priceless. But anyway, back to the tutorial!
I used an old steak knife to decapitate my horses. I use this knife a lot as a saw for my dollhouse projects, it’s one of the knives from the set I got at SharpenedKnife.com. (Is it wrong that I love this photo?)
Cut the pointed parts off the bottom, creating a right angle.
Cut the curved ends off of a popsicle stick. Measure them so that they are just longer than the horse head in each direction, as shown. (I actually ended up making the vertical piece a little shorter than in this picture on my finished bookends.)
Glue the popsicle stick pieces together at a right angle, and glue a horse head into each resulting L-shape.
Give them a base coat of paint. I used white spray paint that is made for use on both wood and plastic; primer is also a good option for a base coat. Make sure you use something that won’t flake or chip.
Now it’s time to give them a faux stone finish. To make them look realistic, build depth by applying multiple coats of paint in different colors. You will need 4 or 5 shades of gray and/or brown, ranging from light to dark. To apply the paint, dab a little bit on an old toothbrush and run your thumb across the bristles to create a spatter pattern. For the best results, work with a fairly dry brush.
Start by applying a spatter of the lightest color of paint.
After the first layer is dry, add a spatter of the next darkest color.
Keep adding layers of color, working your way toward darker colors.
When you reach the darkest color, start working back toward the lightest color.
After you finish speckle painting from light to dark and all the way back to light, seal everything in with a few coats of Mod Podge. This will smooth out the surface and make the finish look even more like stone.
Once the Mod Podge is dry, they are ready to prop up tiny books!
Also seen here:
Such a great tutorial series. I love the bookends. I wish we could figure out a simple way to make them full-size. 🙂
Heather
That is so great!
These are great! I love seeing the creative stuff you’re doing in miniature!
You’ve been featured at this week’s Craftastic Monday! Be sure to stop by & grab a Featured On button. Thanks for linking:)
Hi, I used your dollhouse book tutorial to make some tiny books for a piece for my art degree. It worked really well, thank you.
http://thecraftartykid.blogspot.com/2011/02/miniature-books.html
Pretty cool, my grand daughter will love to make this (with adult supervision) now off to watch a movie. I suddenly got the urge to watch the Godfather!
Wow! Love your projects! I have done mini’s in the past, and found them so addictive. Recently returned to it, and your instructions and photos are great. You sound so personable, too, we could be best buds! 🙂 So far made several items for my dollhouse, please keep more coming!
Hello, Kelyn! I’m so glad you enjoy my itty bitty things! I have more projects on the way, so stay tuned. (I’m actually working on a tiny project right now!!)