Works for Me Wednesday: American Girl Wardrobe Box

My in-law's bought K- an American Girl doll for Easter this year. It was very generous of them, as K- would have probably gotten the Target Our Generation knock off from us when the time did come. So we have the Little K- doll, as K- has named the doll after herself since it is the doll that is supposed to look like her anyhow. (K-'s doll has green eyes, but the only one I could find like her online had brown eyes.) We also have accessories and clothing. We needed a better way to keep track of Little K-'s stuff. So for K- and my two nieces, I made them American Girl Wardrobe Boxes for Christmas.

I purchased three extra large raw wood trunks from the Flower Factory. They were about $6.80 each. I did an acrylic staining to the boxes (one each of pink, purple and green) with the 50 cent acrylic craft paint that I purchased from Pat Catan's. I decorated the front with some printed canvas type material that I traded a friend for. I know that she purchased it at Joann Fabrics on the clearance. The larger rectangle I left print side up. The smaller rectangle that I personalized with round type stickers was just the printed material reversed. I fringed the edges before I glued all of it down. I continued to decorate the front of the box with the pre-painted wood cut-outs that I scored at Walmart for 47 cents each and the clearance rack rhinestones that I purchased this summer. (Ignore the sticks. Just keeping K-'s name private.)

I also glued the rhinestones on top of the screws on the big ole latch on the side.
On the inside, I lined the back of the box with the print material. I used Aleene's Clear glue to adhere the fabric and all of the other items to the box. Hubs cut some shelves for me from particle board that we already had. I glued the tight fitting shelves in with little side slats. These flat little sticks came from Walmart craft department for 77 cents. (A big pack.) I used Tite Bond glue that we already had. It does not dry clear. I did not know. Oh well. I electric stapled the elastic in for both the accessory box and the hair brush. I had some Sticko's stickers that I used to decorate above the hairbrush. It was a blank spot. It needed something. They were 99 cents at Pat Catan's.
I purchased little clear accessory boxes to tuck into the depth of the lid. I found these boxes at Walmart in the fabric department for $1.97 each. They'll be perfect for holding little hair accessories, socks and the bracelets and necklaces that I made for the dolls.

A little personalization on the back.

In the end, I figure that each box cost me about $11.50. That's a bargain! I admit that I used a lot of things that I already had on hand. I checked the American Girl website and their trunks start at $75.00. They are absolutely beautiful wardrobes, but none that I could afford. Making a handcrafted gift for my little girl meant a whole lot more to me. I hope that she enjoys it as much as I do!

Next week: I'm on a bit of a bloggy break. I'll be back after Christmas!