DIY Making Illusions: Rooms--Hut to School Room

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These Portable-Fold-up Rooms are easy for even the youngest DIYers.

What does the first Vickie's Vintage, The Vacation Hut, and the Schoolroom all have in common?

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Vickies Vintage-Fashion show

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Hut from Seven Days and Six Nights.

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First Day of School---soon to be a new quick story.

Answer: Walls and Floors. They are all used for the basic room. 

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I start with a thick piece of foam core- I buy a few pieces when it is on sale, otherwise one piece runs about $6.00. I covered Vickie's floor originally in silver/gray poster board (Michael's) only 99cents a sheet. It's gold on the other side, which comes in handy for scraps. The silver matches duct tape perfectly, so I did all the edges in silver duct tape...super sticky and finishes it off nicely.

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Since I am doing a new permanent Vickie's, the gray floor got finished on the backside for the HUT.

I flipped it over and finished the front edge of the tile---like this. It's still gray and finished on the other side. 

Tiled flooring was a screen shot of actual tile samples, enhanced and blown up to 1"square tiles-perfect for doll scale. Multiple prints were made, cut, and then pieced together--taped for a tiled floor. I covered flaws where it was pieced with a marker. 

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Secured to the thick foam core, this tiled floor looks quite real.

Walls are made of thinner foam core. Two or three full pieces will make walls for your floor, depending on the dimensions. I actually used the same walls for all three dioramas.

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Make three side walls to match the dimensions of your foam core. Nice thing about making your own--is you can go deeper than a manufactured room---allowing more play space and more realistic room settings.

So three walls of thin foam core, hinged with tape. This can all be secured to the floor with T-pins or Velcro. I use T-pins, but for younger children Velcro will work.

Here is some of the original Vickie's Wallpaper.  Cut your wall dimensions to allow for turning the corners and securing on outside of the floor.

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Here's the first walls of Vickie's covered in bubblegum pink wrapping paper from the dollar store.

Vickie's also was silver and white for the holidays and last Spring. The new permanent wood Vickie's will have a gray/silver/white theme and probably will not change for the seasons.

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Like many entrepreneur businesses, 

Vickie's went through many transformations with the seasons for two years. 

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Vickie even went purple and orange for Halloween last year

 to promote a charity affair, the Skeleton Bash.

While a new permanent Vickie's is being built I stole the walls and base for the HUT.

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The Hut used bamboo placemats on the walls and a green cloth placemat.

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Here I set the furniture up before deciding on the walls. This wasn't the final setup.

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 I simply draped the placemats over the edge and securing with pins. The bamboo was great for hanging items with hooks made from cut pieces of colored paperclips.

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Some items were simply pinned into the foam core, or double-faced tape to the walls.

Well, after three transformations of Vickie's walls and then the Hut...

I finally got really smart and covered the foam core with white satin finish Contact paper. 

This will allow easy removal of taped on wall treatments. 

I then used the same setup for the School room.

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Two placemats were used on the floor for a different texture. 

Since this isn't a permanent room, 

I taped the map and all the paintings with scotch tape, so they can easily be removed.

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This is a history class, so two pieces of scrapbook paper---

America maps...finishes off the white walls.

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Small vintage photos from a local calendar give the history theme a boost. A shelf on it's side makes a counter for printers/computers and cubbies for book bags. 

Hope this quick post gives you some great ideas.

I have used this room base and walls for over two years and probably 100's of photos and multiple seasons, and it is still going strong.  Maybe, it will be another apartment, tomorrow. 

Materials for a Fold-up Room:

1 thick piece of foam-core 

2-3 pieces of thin foam core for walls. depending on your dimensions

1-2 pieces of silver poster board for floor

Duct tape for wall joints and floor edges.

Paper Tile printouts----or scrapbook paper to finish the other side. 

A Roll of white Contact paper---to give walls a slick finish for taping to.

Wrapping paper, or Scrap book paper for wallpaper.

Double stick tape, or scotch tape for attaching things to walls.

T-pins or sticky velcro for attaching walls to floor.

Artwork/lights/furniture to make your room whatever you want it to be! 

Best part, it will all fold up and go away in storage in the thickness of 4 pieces of foam core. 

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

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