Make a Doll Closet out of a Shadow Box

You wanna hear a secret?

Sometimes I’m envious of my dolls.

They have the most stylish clothes, the most perfect hair, and thousands of people love them.

Some days I wish I could trade places with my dolls, if only for an hour.

A doll’s life seems so flawless . . .  but there’s one area in my dolls’ life that’s coming up short.

And that’s storing their many outfits.

Whether your collection has 5 dolls or 2, I’m sure you have 10 pieces of clothes scattered throughout your house.

I know I do.

Currently I store my doll clothes in a big zip-lock bag, and it does the job well but it’s a disorganized mess.

When I’m looking for a particular item in the overstuffed zip-lock bag, it takes an eternity to find what I’m looking for.

It’s sooo frustrating.

Tired of rummaging through a zip-lock bag, I decided to do something about it.

So I set out to try my hands at making a Doll Closet using a simple shadow box.

And I’m delighted at how well it turned out.

It’s a modern & simple doll closet.

And now I want to share my Dolly Organizing Tip (DOT) with you!

If you’re ready to tackle your army of doll clothes, then continue with me to make your very own doll closet.

Making A Doll Closet

I’m so glad you’ve decided to make your own dolly closet.

It’s super easy to make.

With the right supplies, tools and a bit of patience you’ll have a closet for your dolls in no time.

Let’s get started!

Supplies You’ll Need

• Shadow Box any size will work (I used a Black Mini Shadow Box, 6″ x 6″ By Studio Décor purchased at Michaels)
• Screw Driver
• Pencil
• Ruler
• 1 Wooden Dowel (I selected 1/4“ diameter dowel. I bought a dowel value pack 50ct at  Amazon)
  • When choosing a wooden dowel be aware of the diameter (how thick it is). You want the hook of your hanger to fit the diameter of the dowel
• Drill (not pictured)
• Drill Bit (I used size 5/8  – not pictured)
  • The drill bit you use will need to be a tad bigger than the thickness of the wooden dowel you selected
• Something to cut the wooden dowel to size (I used a small mitre box kit purchased at Amazon)
• 3M Sanding Sponge, Medium Grit, 6-Pack  (found at Amazon)
• Elmer’s E842L Carpenter’s Wood Filler (found at Amazon)
• Putty Knife (not pictured)
• Spray Paint (I used Satin Seaside by RUST-OLEUM Painter’s Touch)
• Gorilla 4500104 Clear Glue (found at Amazon)
• Face Mask (not pictured)
• Foil to protect your wooden dowel (optional)

Great, you’ve gathered all the supplies. Now It’s Time To Get To Business!

Let’s Prep the Box

Step 1: Carefully remove the glass and all the screws attached to the shadow box

(My shadow box had wood frames along the inside that I removed. If your box has the same remove it too)

Step 2:  Turn the box on its’ side

Use a ruler and pencil to measure how far down you want your wooden dowel to sit

Mark the spot with a dot

Take your ruler and draw a horizontal line through the dot.

Step 3: Next, measure the side width of the box and divide that number by 2 (this number is the center of the box’s side)

Take your ruler and place it horizontally on the side of the box.

Locate your center number on the ruler and mark a dot on the box at that spot

Then take your ruler and draw a vertical line through that dot

You should have a nice bullseye mark

Repeat Steps 2 -3 for the other side. Ensure the marks on both sides are straight and even.

X Marks The Spot

Step 4: Grab your drill and attach the bit

Dolly Building Tip: Use a drill bit that is larger than your wooden dowel.

A larger drill bit gives the dowel wiggle room to pass through the holes

If you use a drill bit that is the same size as the dowel the hole will be too tight for the wooden dowel to pass through.

Step 5: Drill directly on the bullseye mark you made in Step 3 for both sides of the box

Next insert the dowel through the holes you made.

You’re checking to see if the dowel can easily slide through the holes.

If it’s a tight squeeze then you’ll have to use a larger drill bit to make the hole bigger

Let’s Smooth The Box

Yay, looking good, your closet is taking shape!

Now it’s time to sand the shadow box

Things are about to get dusty so protect your lungs by putting on a face mask

Step 6: Sand the entire box. Pay special attention to the areas you drilled

You want the surface to be nice and smooth

Once the box and the area you drilled feel smooth, clean the box

Grab a damp lint free towel and gently wipe away any dust or dirt from the box

Let’s Beautify The Box

Now comes my favorite part . . . painting!!!

Be sure to paint in a well ventilated area

If you’re spray painting outdoors, make sure it isn’t too windy and wear a face mask to protect yourself from fumes & vapors

You’ll also want to protect the surface you’re painting on

You could use plastic, a trash bag or a drop cloth

I set up a nice painting area outdoors to spray my box

Step 7: Spray the outside and inside of the box

Allow the paint to dry before painting the bottom of the box

The instructions on the paint have the recommended time it takes to dry before handling

I painted as much of the box as I could & waited 1 hour before flipping the box over to paint the remaining area

Once you’ve sprayed the whole box, let it dry for 24 hrs or as directed, before moving on to the next step

Dolly Building Tip: While spray painting, use an even back and forth/up & down motion. This will help create a smooth finish

Beautiful!

You’re getting closer to the finish line!

Let’s Cut & Hang The Rod

Before we insert the rod, we need to cut it to size

Step 8: Measure the width of the shadow box from end to end

My shadow box measured 7 1/16”

Step 9: Cut your rod to to the length you found in step 8

I used a small mitre box tool to cut the rod

Now that the rod is cut we need to insert and glue it to the closet

Step 10: Insert the rod half way through the 1st hole

Step 11: Apply glue along both edges of the rod

Step 12: Slowly push the rod until both ends are positioned into the holes

Once you’re happy with the location of the rod, set aside your box and let it dry for 24 hrs

Let’s Putty The Holes

After 24 hrs, it’s time to cover up the holes with wood filling putty

Step 13: Put wood filling onto your putty knife

Step 14: Apply the wood filling evenly and smoothly over 1 of the holes making sure that the hole and rod are completely covered

Step 15: Clean up any excess wood filling that may have landed on the box with a damp cloth

Step 16: Allow the wood filling to dry for the recommended time (Mine stated 15 mins)

Step 17: Repeat steps 13-16 for the other side

Step 18: After the putty is dry, sand both sides to make the area smooth

Dolly Building Tip: Sanding will remove some of the paint but don’t worry, you’ll fix it in the next step

Let’s Add The Final Touches

You’re almost done!

It’s time to repaint the sides

Step 19: Wrap and secure foil around the rod to protect it from paint

Step 20: Apply a light coat of spray paint to both sides

If you have any touch-ups you wanna fix, now’s the time to do so

Allow the paint to dry for 24hrs or as directed

Way To Go!!

You got yourself a dolly closet that you created with your own hands!

Give yourself a round of applause.

You can experiment with your closet by changing the height of the rod giving it a totally different look.

The 1st time I made the closet my rod was lower than I liked, so I made it again and raised the height of the rod.

Wrapping It Up

We hope you enjoyed this DOT (Dolly Organizing Tip) installment.

If you make a dolly closet using this tutorial please let us know or even better, send us a photo at tinyprojects[@]dollyinsider.com, we would love to see your results!

Have you ever bought an item intended for something else but transformed it into something for your dolls?

If so, share it in the comment section below!