Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Calibrate Your Printer
Determine the maximum paper size that your printer can use. If you use larger paper sizes, you will minimize the number of pieces that you will need to assemble. Avoiding unnecessary cuts usually improves the end result. If you can't get card stock in a size you need, you can glue ordinary paper to cardboard after you print it.
Load the furniture printable into a graphics editing program that will let you work in inches. If you do not see rulers at the top and left margins, look through the menus for an option that enables them. Draw a line that is exactly 1 inch in a free area of the page.
Adjust your program's canvas size to the exact measurements of the paper you plan to use, with the longest dimension aligned with the longest side of the printable. This may cut off part of the design, which indicates a problem that will need to be addressed later. Add some solid blocks of color to the four sides of the canvas, extending completely to the edge. This will reveal the actual printable area of your paper.
Print a test copy of your printable on ordinary paper. Check the options in the printer driver dialogue, and set printing to actual size (if you find an appropriate option). Measure the scale mark on your test copy to verify that it is exactly 1-inch long. You may need to adjust the number of pixels-per-inch in your graphics editor and retest until you have a 1-inch printed mark. Determine your margin widths by measuring the distance from the edges of your page to where your colored edge graphics stopped printing.
Create a new file in your graphics editor, making the canvas size the same size as your paper. Use guides or faint gray lines to mark the margins that will not print. As you design or modify printables, you cannot allow visible parts of the furniture to cross these lines. Save a copy of this file as a template. Rotate the image by 90 degrees and save for use as a template with the opposite orientation. These templates are now ready to be used as the starting point for each page of your printable.
Prepare to Print
Open the printable and, if necessary, resize to the number of pixels used in your templates. Resize the image from its original scale in order to achieve "play scale." Make sure that the program is set to change all edges proportionally when you adjust any one of them. If adjusting from the most common 1-inch to 1-foot scale, simply double the size of one side to achieve play scale. Check to see if the overall page size will fit on your paper, allowing you to simply print the page as-is. This is not common with larger furniture pieces designed for use with Barbie-sized dolls. These instructions assume that you will need to adapt the design.
Open a template and save under a new file name to preserve the original template file for future use. Copy the largest pattern piece from the original printable and paste into your new template file. If it does not fit within the printable area of the template, you will need to cut it so that it can be printed on multiple pages. Remember to add a tab on each new cut edge to allow it to be glued. Try to place the cuts in an inconspicuous place.
Copy each remaining piece in the original printable into one of your new template pages. If possible, place smaller pieces in available spaces between previously placed pieces.
Print and Assemble
Print each of your template pages, using the settings that you tested when you calibrated your printer.
Cut out each of the pieces. If your paper is too thin to support the structure, glue it to thin cardboard before cutting.
Fold each piece as indicated on the pattern. Rub along the fold to create a well-defined edge.
Apply glue to each tab and glue to the appropriate edge. Consult instructions that came with your printable. In some cases, the order that you glue the pieces will be critical to constructing the finished piece of Barbie furniture.