I built all of these dollhouses using the miniature buildings from the Greenleaf Dollhouses series. These buildings are in quarter scale and can be used for miniature railroads, Christmas village scenes, and other displays.
The Quarter Scale Arthur Dollhouse
I documented my first assembly of this dollhouse in this blog post. This is my second assembly, and I made a few changes.
This dollhouse is part of The Miniature Greenleaf Village kit. It is assembled like a one-inch scale, tab-and-slot dollhouse. Originally, these buildings were designed with closed backs to serve as gift boxes, but I modified them to have open backs like traditional dollhouses.
The dollhouse is set on a black foam core base that I landscaped. I used diorama trees and grass paper for the landscaping. To add detail, I scattered loose green moss and silk flower berries around the yard. The flamingos are miniatures from a fairy garden that are the perfect scale for this dollhouse.
The floors and room dividers were made from balsa wood slabs. The doorway between the bedroom and bathroom was custom-made. I also created a staircase for the dollhouse. This interior modification requires a lot of strip wood.
I used a strip of masking tape to hinge the front door because the chamois is too thick for this scale. With the door slightly open, you can just barely see the staircase.
This dollhouse kit does not include interior moldings, so I made them from thin cardstock paper. The wallpaper was printed on a computer, and the flooring is made from wood-printed scrapbook paper. The gingham table display was a gift from another miniaturist, not something I created. Although the details are hard to see due to the small size of the display, it includes tiny burgers on plates, napkins, and ketchup and mustard bottles.
All the furniture is made of plastic. I created all the accessories using strip wood, air-drying clay, and square and round dowels.
I made the bed and painted many of the accessories with flowers for extra detail. All the doorknobs are made from jewelry beads.
This is the small bathroom. Since the rooms are very small, I used a glue stick to apply all the wallpaper and flooring. Tacky or white glue would be too thick for this scale.
This is a view of the staircase from above.
The Quarter Scale Sugarplum Cottage Dollhouse
The small gnome in the front yard is a fairy garden decoration. The fence, also meant for fairy gardens, is the perfect size for this dollhouse. It is made of thin tin, which can be easily cut with scissors and painted to match any decor.
I wanted this dollhouse to closely resemble its one-inch scale version, so I had to make significant modifications with custom pieces. For example, the settles on the front porch were custom made from balsa wood slabs. I also created the side chimney and the front window flower box.
I thatched the roof with faux fur. The wishing well is completely handmade from air-drying clay, different sizes of strip wood, dowels, and balsa wood slabs.
I modified the back roof to see the second floor. The floor is made from a balsa wood slab, which I covered with wood-printed scrapbook paper. All the interior trim is custom-made from thin cardstock.
The chimney flues are made from square dowels, and I created the indoor fireplaces using brick-printed paper, the same paper I used to cover the exterior of the chimney.
I used spackling compound to apply stucco to both the exterior and interior of the dollhouse. Since the scale is so small, spackling compound is the easiest material to work with for stucco.
I made the ceiling beams using wooden dowels.
I made all the food items from air-drying clay. The other accessories are made from different sizes of strip wood and wooden dowels. The furniture is plastic.
The perfume bottles are made from jewelry beads. I used a printed quilt to dress the bed. The tiny dog was a gift from a fellow miniaturist and was not made by me.
The Quarter Scale Buttercup Cottage Dollhouse
This is a fully custom dollhouse, not included in any of the Greenleaf Dollhouses quarter scale village kits.
I built this dollhouse using leftover parts from The Miniature Greenleaf Village kit.
I used soft balsa wood to cut out arched windows and architectural details for the dollhouse. This wood is easy to cut with a craft knife, and sanding helps create fine details.
The flooring and wallpaper were printed using a computer.
All interior accessories must be handmade because they are hard to find at this scale. The quarter-scale plastic furniture can be easily painted to create various looks.
The chimney is made of balsa wood and covered with brick-patterned paper.
I used various bushes and ground cover from the diorama section of the craft store to create the landscaping.
The Quarter Scale Brimbles Mercantile Dollhouse
This small dollhouse is part of The Miniature Greenleaf Town kit. I modified it, like the other quarter scale dollhouses, to have an open back and two floors.
The small car was a rare find on eBay.
I used a strip of masking tape to hinge the doors, which was concealed by the door trim.
I found trees on sale at my local craft store. You can find all the landscape materials for these dollhouses in the diorama section of the store.
Because the dollhouse is small, most of the interior accessories had to be handmade.
The cans on the wall shelves were made from wooden dowels, and I printed the labels using the computer.
The apples and potatoes are made by hand from clay.
I used scrapbook paper for the wallpaper and flooring. You can also use computer-printed paper for small dollhouses.
All the interior and exterior trim is custom-made from strip wood.
The Quarter Scale Orchid Dollhouse
The Quarter Scale Orchid Dollhouse is part of the Corona Concepts Miniature Pine Mountain Village Kit. I chose to paint mine entirely white to honor the Greenleaf Dollhouses' "White Orchid Dollhouse," which is no longer in production. This limited edition dollhouse was created to test a new composite material that Greenleaf was considering for its models. The material was all white, and when assembled, it looked stunning and unique in its unfinished state, earning the name "The White Orchid." Dollhouse enthusiasts began sharing photos of their "White Orchids." Although Greenleaf decided not to use this composite material again, the "White Orchid" kit has become legendary and is now a rare collector's item.
I customized several features of this dollhouse to make it as close to the one-inch scale version as possible. I added window sills, a bay window, and flower boxes.
The kit included frosted windows, but I added my own fingernail art for a unique design.
I painted the furniture silver and added crystal beads and nail art for detail. To get a shiny silver finish, it's best to use permanent silver markers.
The accessories are silver beads of various shapes and sizes.
I used light gray scrapbook paper for the walls and white felt for the flooring. I plan to add more decorative pieces to the dollhouse as I find unique items in the right scale.
The Quarter Scale Adobe Dollhouse
This dollhouse was created using leftover parts from buildings in The Miniature Greenleaf Town.
I mixed spackle with acrylic paint to make the exterior stucco.
The fence is custom-made from balsa wood. I used wooden dowels for the roof pegs and painted the exterior furniture in a southwestern style. You can find the desert landscaping in the diorama section of your local craft store. The rug on the fence is a printout on computer paper.
I used strip wood to create custom beams for the interior. The flooring was made from computer-printed paper, and I applied gloss acrylic to give the tile paper a shiny finish.
I hand-painted all the interior furniture to give it a Southwest style.
The chimney is made from a roll of cardstock covered in spackle to resemble stucco. The small cactus planters hanging from it are handmade from wood strips and dowels.
The little hat was a rare discovery. All the wall art was printed from my computer.
I printed all the interior rugs using my computer and cut the edges with scissors to create a fringed look.
The Quarter Scale Storybook Cottage Dollhouse
This is not exactly The Storybook Cottage Dollhouse, but it resembles it closely. It is one of the buildings included in The Miniature Greenleaf Town Kit, which also contains the gazebo.
You can find all the outdoor landscaping and decorations for a tiny Christmas house at your local craft store during the Christmas season. These items are from Christmas villages, which are similar in scale to this dollhouse.
I made the snowman by using cotton balls and jewelry supplies.
The Christmas tree in the gazebo was handmade with small paper printouts and jewelry findings for ornaments. The snow on the roof is baby powder.
I used scrapbook paper for the flooring and walls of the dollhouse. All the interior and exterior trim is custom-made from strip wood.
All the accessories and pastries in the display case are made by hand from air-drying clay.
All the toys are made from air-drying clay, and the cash register is made from balsa wood.
The Quarter Scale Custom Cottage Dollhouse
This dollhouse is part of the Corona Concepts Dollhouses Miniature Pine Mountain Village Kit. I modified it, like the other buildings in the kit, to have an open back.
I used diorama landscaping materials to create the outdoor scenery. I found these small trees on clearance for $1. I like the little fruits on them; they look like candy, which is perfect for a candy shop.
I used the same color scheme as The Storybook Cottage Dollhouse I finished years ago. The bubble gum machine outside is a jewelry charm.
This dollhouse has limited interior space, so I designed it with just one floor. All the display cases and furniture inside are custom-made from balsa wood.
The candy containers are clear plastic tubes filled with colorful beads, clay slices, and confetti.
I used candy-printed tape as a border for the wallpaper. The flooring and wallpaper are made of scrapbook paper. The ceiling lamp is created from colorful tape and beads.
The Quarter Scale Washington 2.0 Dollhouse
I miss my hand-stenciled Washington 2.0 Dollhouse, but I no longer have space for a full-sized version. So, I decided to create a tiny replica. This quarter-scale Washington 2.0 was made using leftover parts from buildings in the Corona Concepts Miniature Pine Mountain Village Kit. However, the selection was limited, and I had to construct most of the dollhouse from scratch.
I stained and stenciled the dollhouse, just like I did with its full-sized sister.
I tried to replicate all the details of the full-size version, including the chimney, window boxes, wrap-around porch, shutters, window mullions, and the exposed "lock assembly" on the roof.
I designed the same number of floors and rooms as the full-size version. Since I wanted it to be a country house, I chose landscaping that matched that theme.
I used the same quarter-scale plastic furniture inside, but I finished and decorated it to give it a country feel.
I even built an outhouse for this dollhouse.
