DIY American Girl Bed

My daughter is currently in the American Girl phase.  I'm not sure how long it will last, but boy is her current wish list expensive!  For Easter I decided I'd make her a DIY version of an American Girl bed.  I found complete plans to make a the bed here on Ana White's website.  The goal with this project was to spend as little money as possible so I didn't follow the plans exactly.

The entire bed was constructed out of wood from my scrap pile in the basement with the exception of a 2x2 that I had to purchase.  The plan calls for a 3' length and rather than buy a whole 8' length at the local lumber mill I bought a 4' stake that is sharpened to a point at one end (I think it's used for fencing?).  According to the man at the shop it was cheaper - it came in just over $1.  I ran out of 1"x3"'s partway through and omitted or substituted different dimensions instead.  I had no suitable plywood scraps and although I have some 1/4" masonite lying around I had no desire to have to cut it down to size.  I decided I'd make it a rope bed.  My daughter has an antique rope bed at her Dad's house so I thought it would be cute if her doll did too.

I drilled 9 holes down each of the sides of the bed then 6 holes across the ends.  You just thread the 'rope' (leftover from a dollar store project) through the holes, weaving in a basket weave pattern (over and under).  Knot off each end after pulling tight and it will happily hold a mattress.

The mattress I made was constructed from fabric scraps which are on their third go around now - first as sheet, then a craft project, then as lining for my office curtains and now a doll mattress.   I still have some left and I'll probably make a pillow since I only just realized I forgot about that small detail.

Since I used paint and primer I already had in the house, all told the bed cost me less than $2.  Not a bad deal and I'm sure my daughter will love it.  Next project?  Doll bedding of course :)

 Happy Easter Everyone!