DIY Barbie Bed (out of a shoebox or cereal box)

Make a Barbie sized bed out of a shoe box, or even a cereal box. It’s effective, practical and a fun way to extend Barbie play.  Below is a step by step process how I made the beds.

Materials

Box (big enough for the Barbie to lie on)

Cardboard

Hot glue gun & sticks

Wadding

Lace ribbon (enough to wind around the box – 1 metre should do it)

Material scrap – at least 30 cm (Tip: check for remnants. I purchased a variety packet of material remnants for $5)

Washi tape (optional)

Instructions

1. If desired, make a bed backboard out of cardboard. For this one, I covered it with washi tape. For the bed further below, I used coloured cardboard.

2. Cut a piece of wadding big enough to cover the top and sides of the box, and at least 5cm inside the box (or underneath if you’re using a full box). I didn’t measure anything; used the box as a guide.

3. Cut a piece of material a little bigger than the wadding, and big enough to wrap around the box and overlap on the inside about 5 cm.

4. Place the piece of wadding over the box. Then lay the material over the top of the wadding.

5. Pull the material tight start on a long side of the rectangle and glue the material on the inside (or on the base) of the box. Do the same with the opposite side (before you start on the smaller edges of the rectangle). 

6. Next fold in the excess sides and bring the shorter flap over the top. Pull tight and glue on the inside of the box. Repeat on the other side and that is the main part done.

7. Glue the ribbon around the base of the bed. This gives the bed a realistic and luxurious look. Last thing is to glue the headboard on and it’s done.

Pillow

I also made pillows to go with the bed.  I wrapped a piece of wadding inside a small piece of material and used hot glue like I would if I was sticky-taping a present.

Cereal Box Bed

I also made a bed out of a small cereal box. To give it height, I used four sections from a egg carton tray but the process is similar to the above. How great does it look!

Note: These Barbie beds are easy to make but it can be a bit fiddly using the glue gun so I didn’t give this to my kids to do. It was something I made for them, and they enjoy playing with it.

You can find the rest of the tutorial for the other items in this dollhouse here.