Categories: LIFESTYLE

Create a Unique Doll Door Stopper for Your Home

Do you have a door in your home that is in need of a stopper? If so, you may want to think about creating one out of an empty soda bottle and assorted craft supplies. Based on my experience, such items may be used to create a door stop doll that is both adorable and functional. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies Needed

In order to complete this project, you’ll need a bag of play sand, an empty soda bottle (2 liter), a Styrofoam ball (3 inches), a bag of doll hair and a bag of polyester stuffing. You’ll also need a bag of chenille stems, a piece of flesh colored felt, a package of nylon knee-highs, fabric markers and a doll’s dress.

The doll’s dress should be long enough to cover the entire length of the soda bottle. Based on my experience, most 2 liter soda bottles are roughly 14 inches tall. You can typically purchase 14 inch long doll dresses through the Julie’s Stuff website. Should you wish to make your own doll dress, there are free patterns available on the Susan Kramer website. In addition to obtaining those items, you’ll also want to have access to a utility knife, a pair of scissors, a hot glue gun and a bag of glue sticks.

Prepare the Base

Begin the project by filling the empty soda bottle full of play sand. I have found that using a funnel is helpful in such endeavors. If you don’t already have one on hand, you can typically purchase one through auto stores and discount retailers for around $8. Once the bottle has been filled, temporarily set it aside.

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Create the Head and Face

Continue by taking the bottle’s lid and tracing an outline of it onto the Styrofoam ball. Then use your utility knife to create a hole into the ball that is capable of holding the bottle’s lid securely. Next, remove the lid from the ball. Keep going by covering the ball with a nylon knee-high. The knee-high will serve as the doll’s flesh. If the first knee-high doesn’t completely cover the white of the Styrofoam ball, feel free to add a second one.

Afterward, trim off any excess nylon and glue the raw edges inside the cap hole you made earlier. Then use the fabric markers to draw a human face onto the Styrofoam ball. You’ll also need to glue some doll hair on top of the ball as well. Once that’s done, set it aside to dry.

Create the Arms and Hands

Proceed by stuffing the arms of the doll’s dress with polyester stuffing. Then run a piece of chenille stem through each arm. Leave a bit of stem extending out of each sleeve. It will serve as the basis for the doll’s hands. Keep going by creating four identical hands out of the felt. Once that’s done, sandwich each stem extension in between two felt hands and glue them into place. Make sure that when you do so, you also glue the sleeves shut. Otherwise, the polyester batting may fall out.

Finishing Touches

Next, cover the soda bottle with the doll’s dress. I prefer not to glue the dress into place. That way, it can be swapped out with other dresses throughout the year. You’ll just have to make new arms and hands for the doll to go with each new dress. Continue by screwing the lid onto the bottle. Then insert the doll’s head onto the lid. Afterward, your homemade door stopper will be ready for use.

Source: Personal Experience