Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Gather your materials. The main body of the castle will be constructed from a medium to large box, standing on its side so that the box's opening faces out the back and box's bottom forms the front face of the castle. The actual size of the box depends on what you have gathered and the size of the dolls to be used in the princess castle. Be sure the main room of the castle is at least 20 percent taller than the height of the dolls. Taking into consideration the materials that you have collected, draw a sketch of the completed castle as you imagine it will appear. This sketch will be your blueprint for the structure as you assemble it.
Stand the box on its side as it will be in the finished product. Using an X-Acto knife, cut away extra flaps from the box.
Using the X-Acto knife, cut at least one or two windows from the box. Make the windows tall and pointed for a gothic shape or rounded on top.
Stand the toilet paper (or paper towel) rolls on top of the main body of the box. Put one on each side of the box. These will form the towers. Tape each tower into place with masking tape.
With scissors, cut out two circles from 60 pound card stock. The circles should be at least 50 percent larger than the circular opening of the cardboard tower tubes. These circles will be formed into cones that will be used to make the pointed roof of the towers. Cut a straight line from anywhere on the outer edge of the circles to the exact middle of the circles. Label one side of the cut "A" and the other side "B." Now bend the circle into a cone shape by pulling side A to overlap with side B. The more side A overlaps with B, the taller the cone will be. Once the cones are shaped, use a piece of tape to hold the shape and then tape them into place on top of the towers.
Measure the perimeter of the side of the box that represents the roof of the castle. Now, from extra pieces of cardboard, cut out rectangles of cardboard the length of each side of the roof. These will be used as walls for the roof of the castle. Hold each wall against the corresponding side where it will be located, then trim the wall to the desired height.
Drape strips of newspaper dipped in papier-mache paste to the outside and inside of the castle. Be sure to lay the paper flat. Papier-mache the entire castle. Cover all surfaces. The papier-mache will dry and harden into a thick shell that will hold the pieces of the castle together.
When the papier-mache is completely dry, paint the castle white with acrylic paint and allow it time to dry.
Paint the primed white castle in feminine colors like pink, lavender and gold. Paint windows on each tower and a large door in the front. Paint should also be used to decorate the interior of the castle. Paint portraits of princesses hanging from the walls, and soft rugs on the floors.
Outline the windows in rhinestones, and glue rhinestones in small clusters around the outside of the castle. You may also use the rhinestones to form shapes like hearts and stars on the sides of the castle.
Using the X-Acto knife, cut out evenly spaced squares from the top edge of each wall to form the turrets. Tape the walls to the perimeter of the roof so that the roof becomes an enclosed space. The turrets will add to the castle imagery.