Step 1:
Find an old doll house. I was able to snag this Fischer Price doll house from a local thrift store. I’ve seen many of these on the Facebook marketplace as well. Next, you want to spray paint the entire house inside and out with an antique white matte finish. (Primer would probably work just as well.) I used 2 cans of spray paint to make sure I covered it well.
Step 2:
After I let the spray paint dry, I added cheap acrylic paint to the details. For example, brown on the roof, floors and porch, brick red for the chimney and some evergreen tones to the windows and a tiny bit of white on the decorative trim, but you can do whatever you like. Another idea is to create a gingerbread house design. That would be adorable.
Step 3:
Once the house is dry, you can add a bit more detail work to the roof and chimney. These can make it look like real snow or define the chimney bricks. using a flat tip paint brush, make downward strokes on each brick. You almost want the brush to be dry, without much paint on it. This is called dry brushing. You want to dry brush the roof in downward strokes so the white will pop out on each shingle.
Step 4:
Let it snow! I used Mod Podge to glue fake snow onto the roof. You can find bags of snow at the craft store. Just glob the glue onto the roof generously and sprinkle the snow. I added some to each level of the house and gables as well. There is even a bit of snow on the porch base and porch roof.
Step 5:
Now that you have the entire house painted, you can apply a clear coat to seal it all in. I used a clear spray paint with a matte finish. You want to make sure it’s a matte finish instead of shiny or glossy. It will give it a softer look.
Step 6:
Deck the halls! This was ridiculously fun. I added fun mini battery operated Christmas lights. I found a small set of vintage looking lights from Fleet Farm. I’ve seen these mini lights at craft stores as well. Then I used an old strand of garland for some greenery by cutting it into mini strips. The garland has wire in it, which makes it easy to bend and manipulate how I want it. I made miniature wreaths by bending it into a circle and adding a bow. I strung garland from the porch roof and twisted it around the railing.
Step 7:
Lastly, you can add Christmas miniatures for extra fun. I found a small Christmas tree and Disney holiday figures to complete my house.
Materials Needed:
| Old doll house |
| 2 cans of antique white spray paint (Matte Finish) |
| 2 cans of clear spray paint (Matte Finish) |
| Acrylic Paints: Chocolate Brown, Evergreen Green, Brick Red, White |
| Paint Brushes – Make sure you have one with a flat tip |
| Garland – Make sure it’s on wire so it bends |
| Ribbon for making bows |
| Hot glue gun |
| Fake snow |
| Mod Podge |
| String of battery operated lights |
| Holiday Mini Figures – Disney ones seen in picture |
My Son Everett watched the Polar Express for the first time. If you’ve seen the movie, you understand that the bell rings for all who believe in Santa Clause.
We kicked off winter this week by learning about snow. It couldn’t have been a more perfect morning to teach the littles about it; as we watched it fall gracefully from the sky. There is something magical about the first snowfall of the year. I felt just as excited as they were. We read our Usborne book called “What is Snow?” and then worked on a simple snowflake project.
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