Is It Too Late For Another Christmas Craft?

I wanted to post this tutorial before Christmas.  That clearly didn’t happen.  Either the days are going by too fast, or I’m the worst planner ever (probably a little of both😉).

Honestly, even if I’d posted twice (or even three times a week), it would’ve been impossible for me to create, document, and post every Christmas DIY that popped in my head before the end of the month.  That’s how many ideas I have!  So, I’ve given myself the freedom to forget the December 25th deadline and continue making a few holiday minis into the new year.

Y’all won’t mind a few Christmas-related crafts in January, would you?

Good, because today’s project is very Christmassy:

Presents for the little ones in our doll family!

Arendelle Royal Family.

 

I’m sure you all noticed Iduna from Hasbro’s Arendelle Royal Family in my last post.

Usually, I introduce new dolls with a review before letting them sneak into my photos, but I’m not quite ready to review this set.

 

However, I couldn’t help snapping a few pictures of Iduna and her girls with the mini Christmas villages and cookies.  So, I tossed my old rule of “no pics before a proper introduction” out the window and posted them anyway. (Review spoiler: I love these dolls!)

I still plan to review the royal family–just not yet.

Because, my fairy friend, we’re going to make Christmas presents for little Anna and Elsa!

Tink, kids don’t want clothes (at least I didn’t)!  We need to give them something fun, like toys—or, to be more specific, dolls.

Doll Craft: How To Make Miniature Barbie Nutcracker Dolls.

I’m feeling nostalgic today, so I’m creating a couple of dolls from mine and Sister’s childhood: Clara, Prince Eric, and The Nutcracker from the 2001 Barbie Nutcracker movie.

At one time, Sister had the entire Barbie Nutcracker collection.  She and I played with those dolls almost every day.  Of course, Clara was exclusively her character.  I typically got the role of the prince and whatever villain we concocted.

Lately, she’s been reminiscing about the great epics we acted out with Clara, Prince Eric, and Marzipan, and her stories are what inspired me to make these miniature Barbies for little Anna and Elsa.

Supplies Needed:

  1. White Cardstock.
  2. Scissors.
  3. Glue.
  4. The Barbie Nutcracker Dolls printable on our Printables page.
Supplies needed for miniature paper Barbie dolls.

Our Barbie Nutcracker printable has three dolls: Clara as the Sugar Plum Princess, Prince Eric as The Nutcracker, and Prince Eric in his human form.

You’ll also notice that there are two images of each doll–one facing the correct way and one that’s been reversed.  The reversed image will be the backside of our doll.

Making The Dolls:
  • Go to our Printables page and print out the “Barbie Nutcracker Dolls” printable on white cardstock.
Image of Tink with Barbie Printable.
  • Cut a large square around each of the images. Don’t cut out the individual dolls just yet.
Image of Tink cutting Printable.
  • Glue the squares to more cardstock to give the paper a little extra dimension and durability.

Glue the printable to cardstock for extra strength.
At this point, my printable is two layers of cardstock thick.
  • Once the glue is dry, finish cutting out the Barbies.
Image of Tink: We outlined our mini Barbies, so it's easy to see where to cut.
  • Now glue the backsides (white sides) of the images together.
Image of Tink showing front and back of Barbie printable.
  • Finally, use an X-Acto knife (or pair of scissors) to clean up the edges around the doll and trim away excess paper.

Trim excess cardstock around paper doll's legs and arms.

Here is our finished product:

Miniature Barbie Nutcracker Dolls.

I love how these paper Barbies turned out, and I especially love that they’re a remembrance of mine and Sister’s yesteryears.  Recreating special treasures from your past for the dollhouse (and its residents) is fun and something I’d like to do more of.

Oh no!  I just remembered we’re out of wrapping paper!

Image of Tinkerbell: Don't worry. I've got you covered.

Image of Tink: Let's put in some tissue paper and the dolls.

Image of Tink: Then more tissue paper.

Good luck, Tink, keeping those presents safe!

I hope you all had fun seeing this craft come together.  Now, why not make a Sugar Plum Princess and Prince Eric for the Chelsea dolls in your miniverse!

If you do, be sure to tag us on Instagram with your photos–I’d love to see them.

6 Comments

  1. Ok I thought you would like The LOL dolls. We have 2 OMGs and Like 7 Others. you’ll like them.

    PS sorry about all the calpals letters.

  2. It’s fun to make things for our dolls! I’m sure Anna and Elsa will be thrilled with their new toys, and it’s great that you have Tinkerbell to help you.

    I like the paper that you used as a background. 😉 LMK if you buy an LOL doll or two.

    1. Author

      Yes, Tink enjoys helping, especially with crafts. She’s pretty good at giving instructions and showing how everything comes together.

      Do you mean the grey farmhouse paper? That is one of my favorite backgrounds (along with the wood planks). I was lucky enough to get it on sale at Michael’s thanks to your tip😁.

      I will definitely let you know if I get any LOL dolls. I’m thinking about getting one regular LOL and one of the little ones (I think they’re called Lil’ Sisters?).

      1. Yea they are called that they are little babys. the orgnal ones arre like 5. you’ll like them

  3. Hi, it’s me again I have to refresh every time you post. Christmas was great I got the beauty and the beast grand romance set. it was so cool. but mine was the walmart verson and her dress wasn’t as stuning but we have 3 versions of this dress so I just chose the other one that we had. and hte beast was so stuning and I sugest if you don’t like how scarony yours is you get this one becauce he looks geat! I also got an LOL OMG doll you should chech thease out they are like everafters. only shorter and there legs don’t move. there like the snapy legs and you can still make them walk adn stuff I just think you would like LOL OMG’S. can’t wate till you post again!

    Jaidan!

    1. Author

      It sounds like you had a fantastic Christmas!

      I saw Walmart’s Beauty and The Beast set when the movie first came out, and, yes, he is very well done indeed. I think I’ve grown used to our Beast’s “slim” figure but will still keep your suggestion in mind😉.

      Your right about LOL dolls being super cute! I don’t know how I’ve managed to keep from getting one this long. Now that you’ve stirred my curiosity, though, I may just have to pick up one the next time I’m at Walmart🤔.

      Have you tried clearing out your browser’s cache? Doing that might fix you needing to refresh your browser in order to see the latest post. You can also try re-subscribing via email.

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