Japanese Dollshouse

Japanese

I saw a Japanese dollshouse in issue 63 of Dolls House World and fell in love with it. I decided that I would attempt to turn my next Buttercup house into something similar.

I decided not to paint the house but to varnish it. The windows and doors are decorated with red and black paint, and the roof trims are painted gold.

I did a lot of research into Japanese culture and furnishings. On the floors there is tatami matting which I made from good quality handmade paper. Upstairs there is a futon and a deep wooden lidded bathtub with a wooden pail. Downstairs there are tea ceremony utensils - a bamboo whisk, a hibachi stove set into the floor. There is also a gong. Wooden shoes known as geta are left by the door facing outwards. There are scrolls on the wall by the window seat. There are blinds at the windows and screens are used as room dividers.On the range there are plates of sushi with chopsticks, a bamboo steamer, a wok, and boxes of beautifully presented food.

Most of the contents are home-made or found objects, although the kitchen range was bought. The screen upstairs was an ornament which cost only a few pounds. The small shrine is an ornament which belonged to my gran. There are also oriental vases and a wooden birdcage.

The dolls are all peg dolls, even the baby. I don't think it is very traditional for the man to be holding the baby! Eventually the little girl will be carrying the baby on her back but I haven't decided how to attach it. The children are playing battledore and shuttlecock. The woman is wearing a red kimono with gold embroidery - this was made from a length of red ribbon which took weeks to embroider! She is carrying a parasol and a fan. The children were made by sawing the pegs to a shorter length.

In the garden there is a stone basin made from Fimo, and a Shishiodoshi. This is a length of bamboo which fills with water, tips over to empty, falls back into place, hits a rock and makes a hollow sound. There is also a stone lantern and a Zen garden - gravel raked into designs around stones.

After making the dollshouse I decided to decorate my living room in Japanese style to match!

Lantern
Make the top part of the lantern out of polymer clay (any colour). Make a round base from polymer clay. Glue these to either end of a long thin cotton reel. Paint the whole thing with stone effect paint.

Futon mattress
Cut two pieces of cream cotton and two slightly smaller pieces of thick cotton wadding. Sew together three edges of the cotton pieces. Place the two layers of cotton wadding inside and sew the remaining edge. Mark 9 points on the futon - 3 lines of 3. Using black thread, sew tightly through the futon at each of these points. Leave the ends of the thread dangling on one side of the futon.

Hibachi stove
Cut 4 lengths of square strip. Paint these black and glue to the floor in a square. Paint the floor inside this square black.

Model a pot and lid from anthracite coloured polymer clay. Place this in the square.

Cut a 1cm length of cocktail stick. Use a craft knife to separate the top 2/3 of this into thin strands, leaving them attached. This is the wooden whisk.

Gong
Cut 3 pieces of square strip for the frame, and two smaller pieces as supports. Glue these all together and paint black.

Remove the back from a button cover and drill 2 holes in it. Bend a piece of wire and insert the ends into the holes. Attach to the frame using a jump ring.

Geta sandals
Cut ovals from pale colouredmount board. Cut small strips of mount board and glue two to the bottom of each shoe. You may need to support these while the glue is drying, depending on what sort of glue you use. Cut two V shapes from black felt and glue one to the top of each shoe.

Lunchboxes
You will need a small square box to put the food in. I used white plastic boxes which held microscope cover slips. Mould food from polymer clay, making the shapes and sizes very regular. Look in books about Japanese culture for ideas. Confectionery in flower shapes and pastel colours looks particularly good, but the Japanese can present even vegetables in the most stunning way. Tie a thin strip of raffia around the box.

Stone basin
Model a round basin from stone effect polymer clay. Make a square depression in the middle. Roll some very thin strands of polymer clay and use these to make Japanese characters on the top of the basin. After baking, fill the depression with Royal Coat Dimensional Magic to give the effect of water. Stipple on pale green acrylic paint for moss.

Bamboo sticks - Cut two lengths of cocktail stick. Paint with green paint and add brown lines. Tie together with brown thread. Stick to the top of the basin.

Shisiodoshi
Make two stones from stone effect polymer clay. Cut a kebab skewer into two lengths. Tie these together near the top and shape into an inverted V. Use the bottom ends of the skewers to make holes in the "stones" which will support them. Cut another length of kebab skewer. Paint all of the kebab skewers with a pale green colour and make thin brown lines around them to make them look like bamboo. Tie the third piece of kebab skewer into the small V at the top of the other two, so that it is pointing downwards at a 45 degree angle. When the stones have been baked, glue the ends of the kebab skewers into these.

	Lantern Make the top part of the lantern out of polymer clay (any colour). Make a round base from polymer clay. Glue these to either end of a long thin cotton reel. Paint the whole thing with stone effect paint.
	Futon mattress Cut two pieces of cream cotton and two slightly smaller pieces of thick cotton wadding. Sew together three edges of the cotton pieces. Place the two layers of cotton wadding inside and sew the remaining edge. Mark 9 points on the futon - 3 lines of 3. Using black thread, sew tightly through the futon at each of these points. Leave the ends of the thread dangling on one side of the futon.
	Hibachi stove Cut 4 lengths of square strip. Paint these black and glue to the floor in a square. Paint the floor inside this square black. Model a pot and lid from anthracite coloured polymer clay. Place this in the square. Cut a 1cm length of cocktail stick. Use a craft knife to separate the top 2/3 of this into thin strands, leaving them attached. This is the wooden whisk. Gong Cut 3 pieces of square strip for the frame, and two smaller pieces as supports. Glue these all together and paint black. Remove the back from a button cover and drill 2 holes in it. Bend a piece of wire and insert the ends into the holes. Attach to the frame using a jump ring.
	Geta sandals Cut ovals from pale colouredmount board. Cut small strips of mount board and glue two to the bottom of each shoe. You may need to support these while the glue is drying, depending on what sort of glue you use. Cut two V shapes from black felt and glue one to the top of each shoe.
	Lunchboxes You will need a small square box to put the food in. I used white plastic boxes which held microscope cover slips. Mould food from polymer clay, making the shapes and sizes very regular. Look in books about Japanese culture for ideas. Confectionery in flower shapes and pastel colours looks particularly good, but the Japanese can present even vegetables in the most stunning way. Tie a thin strip of raffia around the box.
	Stone basin Model a round basin from stone effect polymer clay. Make a square depression in the middle. Roll some very thin strands of polymer clay and use these to make Japanese characters on the top of the basin. After baking, fill the depression with Royal Coat Dimensional Magic to give the effect of water. Stipple on pale green acrylic paint for moss. Bamboo sticks - Cut two lengths of cocktail stick. Paint with green paint and add brown lines. Tie together with brown thread. Stick to the top of the basin. Shisiodoshi Make two stones from stone effect polymer clay. Cut a kebab skewer into two lengths. Tie these together near the top and shape into an inverted V. Use the bottom ends of the skewers to make holes in the "stones" which will support them. Cut another length of kebab skewer. Paint all of the kebab skewers with a pale green colour and make thin brown lines around them to make them look like bamboo. Tie the third piece of kebab skewer into the small V at the top of the other two, so that it is pointing downwards at a 45 degree angle. When the stones have been baked, glue the ends of the kebab skewers into these.