Construction tips for a simple, small shelf. Surely you won't find this in a luxurious appartment but at least now the dolls don't have to store their stuff on the floor anymore. ^^
There are no step-by-step instructions or a pattern to print out but it is a very simple project, after all. :)
Material list:
- some plywood of 3mm strength (less than a A4 paper is enough)
- fretsaw or a sharp box cutter or scalpel and a cutting mat
- pencil and (metal) ruler
- sandpaper
- wood glue
- some cut matches, as needed
- paint and sealant of your liking
Instructions:
First lay out all parts on the wood with pencil. You need:
- 3x14cm for the sides (2x)
- 3x10cm for the shelves (3x)
- 3x10.8cm for the top (1x)
Cut out all parts carefully with either the fret saw or with a metal ruler and box knife / scalpel on a cutting mat. We found the latter to be much easier, faster and more accurate since it's only straight lines. Smooth all parts down with sandpaper.
Put the sides vertically in front of you and use pencil and ruler to mark where the shelves go. Start measuring from the top. The first marking is at 4.4cm, the next at 8.8cm and the third at 13.2cm.
If you find it too hard and chaotic to glue it all together free-style you can cut down matches to sticks of 2-3cm and glue them on just beneath the marks. Then the shelves have more grip.
Else just put glue on both sides of the shelves and place them just above the markings. For the top use glue on the upper end of the sides and stick that part on. By using the grid on a cutting mat or some heavy books laid down in an L-shape as guidance you can make sure that all corners are square. Let dry. If the top turns out too wide use sandpaper to smooth it down flatly. (I know that in theory it's 2mm too wide but thanks to the glue the shelves became wider and mine was barely wide enough!)
The finished shelf can be painted to your liking, e.g. with several layers of acrylic paint or - for a more natural look - with a single layer of thinned down paint. Some fixative or sealant gives the item some shine and makes it easier to dust.
For the "true" IKEA look you can cut out a back from a piece of really thin cardboard, paint it or decorate it with gift paper and stick it on with wood or paper glue. As another detail you can measure the space between the lowest shelf and the floor and make a small bar to glue there, then the shelf looks heavier.
Of course you can change the measures as you please, too. I made a way bigger shelf this way. For this one I roughly scaled down the measures of a half-height IKEA "Billy" shelf to 1:6. I wrote a craft tutorial for the books on the lowest shelf. The two smaller formats fit and many of the upcoming books for print will fit too. So if you plan to make some of those too you should roughly keep the height of the panels.
Have fun!