Last Friday, I started thinking about how I could make 18″ doll bunk beds for Mo’s Journey Girls (Toys R Us’ version of American Girl). I checked out prices online and about fell off my chair! Even on Etsy and eBay – It’s highway robbery! I wanted to come up with something easy and kid-friendly that we could make together. I came across a really cool channel on You Tube called My Froggy Stuff where she has tons of ideas to make doll stuff out of household items, where I got this idea…
Friday at lunch, I ventured to Lowe’s to find something to make the base of the bunk beds. I knew I didn’t want to go the whole wood route – just too much work. I came across this closet shoe organizer for less than $10…
These 24″ shoe organizers are stackable and I thought without the top shelf they would be perfect bed frames for Mo’s dolls.
To build these beds/closet organizers, all you need is a screwdriver. When you open the box, there will be two shelves and two side pieces. Lay one of the shelves aside – you won’t be using it. (Note: I would keep this, just in case something happens to the shelf you do use, this way you have a backup to replace it with!)
Attach one shelf to one side – utilizing the set of holes toward the middle of the board. Make sure the trim pieces are facing the same way, or you will end up with raw MDF on the front.
Once you get the sides attached, you can use the bed by itself or create a bunk bed for multiple dolls. (And, technically, you could create a three-bed bunk bed as well!)
(Ignore the dog’s hair and kids’ legs… just keeping it real.)
To make the bed into a bunk bed, locate the wooden dowel pins in the screw bag. Insert those into the holes on the very top of the sides. Build the second bed the same way you did the first, then stack the two beds together.
Now comes the fun part – the mattress and linens for the bed! (Post coming soon with both sew and non-sew options!)
How’s that for an 18″ doll bed and/or bunk bed for less than $20?
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Julia wants to live in a world where Hogwarts is real, dark chocolate is packaged with good books, and houses clean themselves. Until then, she is the divorced mom of twins, blogger, sometimes crafter, traveler, napper, cooker, snail mailer, geocacher, and corporate bean counter.
Very cute. Love how affordable it is! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
Well Done! Very creative. Worked out great and Mo loves them. She has some pretty spoiled Journey Girls.
This is fabulous! Every little girls dream. I will have to make one for my little girl soon! Thanks for sharing your creative mind!
Brilliant! Talk about thinking outside of the box! I love wandering through Home Depot or Ace Hardware to see all the widgets and what-not that I might use for a craft or building project.
I love a good thrifty and practical project, great job!
I am teaching a neighbor child how to sew. We started with simple straight edge sewing but now she wants to sew for her 18″ dolls. So glad to see the nightgown pattern and the hint for a bunk bed. Like you, I hated to pay store prices for patterns that will never (at my age) be used again. Thanks!