How to: doll-size wooden pergola

Hello again! Long time, no see! I knew that I wouldn't be able to work on the blog for a few weeks, but I didn't expect to be gone for a whole month. To be honest, it's been a combination of having some stuff to take care off and lack of motivation. The fact that I don't have AC in my craft room while we've been having 40ºC temperatures hasn't really helped. But despite the heat, I got myself to work on this project here and there, and it's finally finished. 

While I was making this project, I had a few setbacks and I made some mistakes along the way, which made this project take longer than I expected. The good thing about mistakes is that they serve as a learning experience, both for me and for anyone reading this. There's no point in pretending that everything I do is perfect. I also did watch My Froggy Stuff's video after I came up with my design, which eventually didn't make me change much of my design. 

Before I get into this craft, I must warn you that this isn't super easy, and it implies some sawing. However, I will try to suggest some alternatives that might make it easier for everyone. This is what I used:

• Square wooden dowels, 1cm thickness (25/64 or 0,39 inches).
• Wooden batten, 1cm thickness. I believe these are often used as molding or as a trim. 
• Saw.
• Popsicle sticks.
• Glue. I used both white glue and hot glue.
• Popsicle sticks
• Wood stain or craft paint. 

Note: All of my craft projects are thought from the perspective of an adult. Kids should not do this without the supervision of an adult. 

If you read my crate console post, I mentioned that I had been looking for square wooden dowels high and low and wasn't able to find them. But one day, at a DIY store, I saw a long wooden batten that had a thickness that could be suitable for crafts, so I got it. It is 2,4 meters long (7,87 feet), so I thought I could have plenty. Originally, I bought it to make a daybed, but then I came up with this idea and decided to prioritize it. As it usually happens, once I had found an alternative, I found the square wooden dowels. In order to make my life easier, I decided to use both the batten and the dowels for this craft. 

Dowel (left) and batten (right)

The dowels are around 30 cm long (11,81 inches), which I thought would be a perfect size. I always start by planning out the design, first by drawing it and then laying down the pieces. This is how the "roof" is going to look like. It's going to be 30x31cm, with a spacing of 5cm between the beams (1,97 inches). 

Since the dowels are slightly slimmer than the batten, I decided to use them for the inside parts of the pergola, and use the batten to create a frame. 

I start by measuring and cutting two pieces that are the same size as the dowels. Due to the size of the batten, sawing got a bit complicated and I needed some help of Mr. Monster. As an alternative, you could make all of this using the wooden dowels, and adjust the spacing between the beams to fit in. 

Then, I had to plan out my design again, so I could make sure the other two outside pieces were the perfect size. Due to the spacing and irregular sizes of the beams, it turned out to be 31 cm. Take your time doing this to make sure the size is perfect, and then cut down two pieces.

If your cuts aren't very clean, you can sand the pieces to remove any imperfections. 

Using white glue, I glued the pieces in place and let it dry.

Now it's time to glue the last piece, and here is where the problems started. There was a slight difference in size from some beams to others. It was not just the ones I cut myself, but also the pre-cut dowels had small imperfections. Here's when I understood why Froggy glued the beams on top.  

After a failed first try, I had to sand the bigger ones and use hot glue to stick them in place. Hot glue can get some dimension when it dries down, so it would fill the gap. My issue with it is that it dries down pretty fast, so I really had to hurry up. Here's the finished result.

Now it's time to cut the columns. Using a doll as a guide, I decided that the best size would be 35cm (13,78 inches). It won't raise much above the dolls' head, so it will still be visible in photos. Cut 4 pieces. 

If you want to use wooden dowels for this, you might have to create a base with cardboard or something to raise them to the desired height. 

To save me some head aches, I glued the columns using hot glue. 

For extra detail, I cut some popsicle sticks to support the column. To be fair, I don't think this gives real support to the craft, but rather creates the optical illusion of being sturdier. I measured 5 cm, and then I drew two lines at a 45º angle pointing outside. 

Cut a few of these. Depending on what you want to do, you would need 4 or 8. 

Glue the popsicles in place. 

Here's what we have so far. It has a few flaws, but I hope we can cover them.

Now it comes my favorite part: painting. In this case, I'm going to use a water based wood stain in a walnut color. This is meant to protect wood outdoors from sun damage, but I don't like the effect of varnish. I used to sell this when I worked in the DIY store, and it was known as being great quality. 

You can always stain wood using acrylic paint and thinning it with water and that will save you some money. In my case, I got it because I'm also planning to do a wooden floor using popsicle sticks, so I would use this for that too. 

Painting did take longer than I expected, but it was worth it. 

Now it's time to try it with some dolls. It took me a while to find a set up that I was happy with. I brought the patio chairs that I made way back in 2013 to add a pop of color to an overall dull background. Here's the first photo that I took that I was happy with. 

I wanted to add some plants and flowers wrapped around the pergola, both to hide the imperfections and to add a pop of color to an overall dull background. I would like to find something with small leafs that I could wrap around the beams and mimic a climbing plant. I haven't found that yet, but I found this paper flowers and wire, and for now this will have to do. I got this at TEDi, a German gift store where you can find all kinds of stuff, from candleholders to craft supplies, often at quite affordable prices.

I started by wrapping the wire around the beams, and then added a few of the flowers here and there.

I took a photo with Chloe, to see if it works. It does look cute, but I think I could really use some more flowers and plants. 

Overall, I'm quite happy with the result. I love the stain color I chose, and it looks nice in photos. However, if I had to start again I would probably do a few things differently. 

The size of the pergola is OK if you have a permanent diorama or want to create a "dining outside" scene, but if it's just a prop for photos or have limited storage space, I feel you could get away with a smaller version. In fact, I have another design in mind, but smaller and with the beams glued on top. 

That is all for me today. I haven't been working in any other crafts or projects because I got so stuck with this pergola, that I couldn't focus on anything else. My next post is going to be a photo compilation, so that'll give me some time to work on another craft project. I have some tea boxes I could transform into shelves for my dioramas, or maybe I'll start working on a hardwood floor. We'll see what I feel like doing. 

I hope you guys are doing great. I haven't been keeping up with my reading list, so as soon as I hit "Publish", I'll visit some of your blogs to see what have you been up to. 

See you soon.

Monster Crafts