Friday, April 15, 2011

dollhouse puzzle


Sadly, I cannot take credit for this ingenious design (by http://www.glueckskaefer.us). A miniature doll house puzzle whose pieces double as furniture? The versatility of such a toy and potential ensuing creative play was too tantalizing to pass up. I ordered one for my daughter's birthday. When it arrived, I was disappointed by how unfinished and rough it was, so I decided to try making one myself. My dad and I worked on this project together. Not as easy as I thought, and it required many hours of sanding, but I loved the finished product.
 My daughter dubbed it her "tea set". I happened upon some little wooden dishes at an Amish flea market and couldn't resist. We've also added interesting objects we've happened upon during nature walks.
 The passing beauty of these tiny purple flowers made for a perfect picnic scene yesterday. My younger daughter insisted on leaving it set up for hours because "they [weren't] done eating!"
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8 comments:

  1. ManuelaApril 15, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    I LOVE this. It's so beautiful and the dishes and everything is super cute.
    That's what toys should be like.

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  2. La Familia BotzApril 15, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    I love this! What a wonderful dollhouse! I love wooden toys and I have been wondering if you might do a tutorial sometime? This project looks like a lot of work, but I am also enamored with your rainbow puzzle and would love to try making one too!

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  3. allydruApril 15, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    that is amazing. makes me that much sadder that our scroll saw got swiped.

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  4. JennieApril 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    What a great idea to put together a tutorial for this and rainbow arches! My dad is the woodworking whiz in our family - he owns the bandsaw I used and got it set up for me. So I wouldn't be able to give pointers on the bandsaw set up,etc., but could definitely share the pattern and other useful steps. Consider this a project in the works...

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  5. JennieApril 19, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    Allyson - did this happen during the infamous raiding of your storage unit? I can't remember the others things that were stolen, but I seem to remember they were quite a random assortment of useful things.

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  6. JennieApril 19, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Thanks, Manuela! I wish J shared your enthusiasm for wooden toys. She has recently begun begging me for a plastic dollhouse. With little buttons to push that make noise. And little plastic furniture. "Not wood," she makes sure to add. Sigh.

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  7. nanaApril 20, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    Sigh, indeed! My experience tells me that she will come to realize the beauty of wood. What we are at 4 (or 14!) is -- wonderfully, miraculously, and thankfully -- typically not what we are when we grow up.

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  8. Irish CreamApril 21, 2011 at 2:58 PM

    Oooo, a tutorial? I would LOVE to make this little house for my girls- or another little girl. Do all the pieces have a specific function? I can't quite tell from the fully-assembled piece. It's AMAZING!

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