Wednesday Blythe - Dress Rack and Hangers DIY

Hello!

We've had a very busy holiday here.  So please pardon me if I haven't shared a Weekend Baking recipe last Sunday.  I also haven't had the chance to take photos so I will not be able to share how we spent our 1st of November here.  My son was a star yesterday and he was very cooperative even if we came home late from the cemetery. It was a lovely day.  I hope you enjoyed your holiday too! :D

As promised, to myself, I have started making stuff for my dolls' future house. Yey! :D

I have been dreaming of having a closet for my dollies to store and display their dresses.  The available ones in the mall are mostly Barbie's and in hot pink!  I did not like the style.  So for my first Blythe furniture,  I made a simple but cute dress rack!

See the supplies and instructions on making this dress rack below.

Supplies:
popsicle sticks   
metal rod (I used a crochet hook that I no longer use) 
tacky / craft glue     
scissors   
ruler   
pen    
acrylic paint   
brushes   

1. Line and cut one end of 8 popsicle sticks like pictured above.  2. cut the ends of 2 more popsicle sticks, sized according to the width of the 8 sticks.  3. Brush enormous amount of glue on the 2 sticks.  4.  Place the sticks on both ends like pictured above to gather and put in place the other 8 sticks.  This will serve as the side of your dress rack. Make 4 of this if your sticks are the same length as mine (around 4" long).

 5-6.  Glue together 2 of the sides like pictured above.  7.  Do the same for the remaining 2.  ***This is unnecessary if you are using longer popsicle sticks (like the ones available in Starbucks).  This length is all I've got so I had to make them longer.

8. Cut 5 more sticks for each sides' top/upper part.  Glue them on top of each other.  Do the same on the sides' bottom/lower part.  9.  Gather the cut ends and sized it according to the sides' bottom/lower part.  10.  Glue and pile them up together like pictured above.  This will enable your rack to stand better. ***The reason for the piled up 5 sticks is that my crochet hook is longer than the length of the popsicle sticks.  

11. Cut squares from the sticks / cut ends.  Prepare 12 squares.  12.  Glue the squares (3 layers each) on sticks 4 and 5 on each of the sides' top/upper part.  Make sure that there is enough space in between, sized to the width/diameter of your rod.  This is where you will insert the ends of your metal rod / crochet hook.  13.  Create the rack's base and a top shelf. For the rack's base, glue together 8 popsicle sticks like pictured above.  For the top shelf, I glued together 2 1/2 sticks. 14.  This is optional.  I glued sticks on the back of each side.  15.  Place the rack's base and top shelf on their places.  These strengthen the rack and prevent it from swaying especially when the metal rod is removed.  Make sure to always brush huge amount of glue on the sticks.    Then place the rod on its proper place. 

16. Let it dry completely.  Then test the strength of your rack by hanging some dresses.  and Ta-Da!

You now have a doll's dress rack! :D     

Now paint it or glue patterned paper on it.  You can design it with whatever you like.

I painted mine light blue. soo cute, isn't it?

Here is a simple tutorial on making your own dress hangers using pipe cleaners. :D

How to make your own dress hangers:

Materials needed: pipe cleaners and cutter/scissors (optional: beads and other embellishments)

Instructions: 1. Cut pipe cleaners 2 inches long.  One hanger uses two.  2.  Wrap around the middle of a 2-inch pipe cleaner the one end of another 2-inch pipe cleaner.  3. Insert beads to make it cuter.  And you're done! So easy, right?

 Test the hangers on your dress rack.

Then fill it with dresses! 

I will be very grateful if you will share your thoughts on this by leaving a comment below.  And don't forget to include the link of your creation too when you try this.  You can also share photos in this flickr pool that I started. :D  Enjoy!