Mini Farm for Mini Kingdom

 I love tiny dolls, and I love cardboard, and I love what you can make for tiny dolls with cardboard!

These dolls are from the patterns Sunny Farm and Mini Kingdom by Olka Novytska.    I wanted them to have a barn, and eventually Sunnie will have a tiny home.  As a footnote, when my Grandfather bought his farm in 1938, he didn't care what shape the house was in...just how well built was the barn!

All you need to make this tiny barn is a small box, an empty cerial box, and a piece of sturdy cardboard for the roof and the back of the barn.  Tacky glue, a ruler, and a craft knife.  I painted my barn first with Gesso, which is a medium that strengthens the cardboard and also provides a nice surface for paint.  Red paint for the barn, brown for the barn flooor, and brown and green for the entry to the barn.  I used a craft knife to cut the cardboard.  Be careful  you don't slice off your finger!

With one of the flap sides of the box, turn up one end to form the roofline of the barn, and slice the side flaps in two to make Dutch doors.  The remaining flap is the barn entry.  Lay the front of the barn on the sturdy cardboard and trace around the side and roof (you want the door flaps closed when you do this).  Cut this piece out with craft knife and glue this piece to the back of the box (see the middle picture at the top). 

Cut out two supports from the cerial box to glue between the front and back of the barn roof.  This will not only stabilize the barn, but you will glue the roof to these supports.  You can see this in the middle and right side pictures at the top.  Let all of this dry.

Cut the roof from sturdy cardboard.  I was fortunate enough to have a piece of sturdy white cardboard to use for the roof.  Measure the total length and width you will need and cut a square, then find the midpoint and measure for the flat portion of the roof.  Score these lines with your craft knife to give you the Mansard roof look that this barn has.  If you have a front overhang of the roof, cut it back at an angle so your top Dutch door with swing freeely.

Paint the entire barn with Gesso and let it dry, then paint the barn whatever colors you like.  After all the paint was dry, I decorated the sides with buttons.

What took the longest was waiting for glue and paint to dry between  steps!