'Haunted' dollhouse for Halloween
small world play fun
This Halloween dollhouse makeover is the perfect activity to try with your primary school aged children.
I see so many incredible dollhouse makeovers online, but the one thing they tend to have in common is that they are clearly all done by talented adults. Dollhouses and miniatures are such a fun hobby, however for my 7 year-old daughter, I wanted to create a project idea that she could join in with.
My daughter is naturally drawn to anything creative and arty. I know that if I involve her in simple craft projects now, she might eventually become one of those talented crafters herself!
After upcycling my daughter’s dollhouse for her birthday, I’ve been keen for us to do projects together where we decorate the dollhouse according to the seasons.
How to Create a Halloween Dollhouse
To make a Halloween dollhouse with your children, start by seeking out the materials you already have in your home. We didn’t buy anything new for this project, opting instead to reuse old Halloween decorations and an outgrown white t-shirt.
As this project is made with the involvement of your children, here’s a quick reminder that it doesn’t have to look perfect or Pinterest worthy! This is simply supposed to be a fun way to spend time together.
Suggested Resources:
fairy lights / Halloween themed lights
rope light (for backlighting)
old t-shirt / white fabric to make simple ghosts
fabric scissors
black art marker
cobweb decoration (or cotton wool)
black fabric and card – to make simple witch outfits
plastic spiders / bats
felt and ribbon – to make mini bunting
Additional Halloween decor – e.g. mini cauldrons
mini pumpkins
Maileg mice / dolls
How to Make the simple Ghost Outfits
You will need:
White fabric or t-shirt
circle template
pencil
fabric scissors
fabric pen
My daughter made all of the ghost outfits for the Halloween dollhouse herself. In my opinion, it’s a great precursor to more complex projects. Here are the steps:
Use a circle template to draw around the fabric with a pencil
Cut around the fabric with a scissors
Measure approximate earholes (if you also have Maileg mice) and mouth by folding the circle in half
Cut out the holes
Add eyes with a black fabric marker
An alternative option would be to simple cut out the fabric and draw on eyes and a mouth.
How we made our Halloween Dollhouse
First we cleared out all of the furniture from the dollhouse and gave everything a good clean.
We added a Halloween spider fabric behind the radiator with rope lights for a spooky effect.
After placing the furniture back into the dollhouse, we added cobweb fabric with plastic spiders. We also cut up an old (and broken) set of ghost lights and placed them around the house.
Couldn’t be simpler, right?
If you follow us on Pinterest, you’ll also notice that we added the Maileg camping set and a pumpkin patch to our small world scene. You can view the video here.
This post originally featured on my website, thisplayfulhome.com. I am now in the process of transferring all of my work onto Substack. You can read more about the changes here.