doll suitcase

UPDATE: Since posting this I have made two more interchangeable rooms - a kitchen and bedroom - and posted a step-by-step tutorial on how I made it. Would you like to make your own?

Come check out the full tutorial!

I already showed you Dolly, but now she has a place to call home, and some cute new clothes to boot! I had so much fun making this, but I have to say that I got majorly burned out whipping this up so quickly for the Christmas time crunch. I had even grander plans but they will have to wait for when I get another burst of motivation. But I digress, let me show you inside...

Welcome to the living room! The only room in the house for now. I made the back panel interchangeable so eventually I can make a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. and the panel would just need to be switched out and voila! you are playing in a different part of the house! 

Everything was sewn onto one big piece of fabric which was glued around a piece of poster board cut to fit. My vintage suitcase (which I bought at the thrift store for $2) had this handy ruffle edging to pop the panel behind.

But is Dolly home you ask?

Why, yes! She is tucked away in the basement with her wardrobe waiting to be dressed up and played with! The 'floor' lifts up to reveal her hiding place. I used foam board for the floor to make it more sturdy.

        You may notice I never gave her a face..truth be told I was scared to mess up and then several people told me they liked her without a face and I tend to agree with them. This way she isn't just sleepy or happy all of the time, but any emotion you want to imagine!

I managed to make her four dresses, a coat, a purse, a scarf, and a pair of moccasins before my big burn out (I still need to add little snaps on the dresses and coat). I'll probably end up making some more summery things when the weather gets warmer, and if I get my act together I'll share my patterns with you since that is the part that takes the longest. 

Here she is showing off her favorite outfits:

Dolly is already getting lots of love and it will be fun to add to her house and possibly get her some furniture bit by bit. If you want to try this out the possibilities really are endless... 

I am really happy with how it turned out. And the fun part is that if the Little Miss wants to take Dolly with her to Grandma's house she is already packed up and ready to go!