How to Wallpaper a Dollhouse

Two easy ways to create dollhouse wallpaper

Hey guys! A few weeks ago I shared the build plans for my modern DIY dollhouse. Then I shared the method I used to add siding to the front of the house and frame out the exteriors of the windows and front door. Here’s a picture of there the house was when I left off.

Now it’s time to get to work on the actual rooms in the dollhouse! The first thing I am going to tackle is the wallpaper. I had actually done some of it before attaching the back/front to the dollhouse, so bear with me if some of these photos seem a bit out of order.

I used two different methods for the wallpaper: scrapbook paper and adhesive vinyl. I want to talk about the pros and cons of each method, as well as what I decided to go with for each room and why. So let’s get started!

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Method 1: Scrapbook paper

First let’s take a look at the process for using scrapbook paper for dollhouse wallpaper. There are tons of options, and it’s super cheap. But is it easy?

Supplies & steps

• Patterned scrapbook paper
• Cricut Self-Healing Mat
• Cutting Ruler
• Cricut TrueControl Knife
• Aerosol adhesive
• Decoupage
• Measuring tape and pencil

Step 1: Measure and cut the scrapbook paper

First I measured the area I wanted to wallpaper. In this case, I was working on the “deck” area of the dollhouse. I wanted to add this brick scrapbook paper to make it look more like a patio. so I cut out a square to fit the space exactly.

Although I didn’t use my Cricut machines for this part, I did find my self-healing mat, ruler, and TrueControl knife absolutely amazing for this process. It helped me make precise, straight, and super clean cuts. And it was a lot faster than cutting these out by hand!

To cut out the windows and doors, I simply traced the rough outline of each window/door and then cut that out using my self-healing mat and TrueControl knife. The knife made is 1000% easier than cutting with my scissors!

I ended up not using the pineapple print I cut out below, but since it shows you the process, I’m sharing the pics. I liked it, just decided I wanted to do the adhesive vinyl for the bottom floor and add decals (you’ll see!).

Step 2: Add Decoupage to the wood

I had planned to do all of the scrapbook paper dollhouse wallpaper using Decoupage. This is a multi-surface glue, sealer, and finish that I’d planned to use to glue the brick paper in place and then seal it as my first trial.

However, I was quickly a bit disappointed in this approach. The paper almost immediately started wrinkling when I pressed it down into place on the balcony. I was kind of freaking out at this point because I had spent a ton of time measuring and cutting scrapbook paper wallpaper out and didn’t want this part to be a failure.

Step 3: Add sealant coats

So I went ahead and brushed on a sealant coat as a way to try to smooth out the wrinkles. It worked somewhat, but it wasn’t 100%. After a few coats, I was satisfied enough with how it looked and decided that I could cover up imperfections around the edges with the balcony railing I was planning. And the finished product looks amazing!

But what about the wallpaper…?

Okay, so since this ended up working on the balcony, I decided to move forward with it on the walls as wallpaper. This was a…big mistake. Haha. Long story short, smoothing out the wrinkles one a vertical surface was wayyy harder than smoothing them out on a flat, horizontal surface. The paper was also a bit thinner, and it wrinkled like crazy. I couldn’t salvage it.

Luckily I only messed up a few of the pieces on the bottom floor. So I decided to redo the wallpaper on that floor. But I really loved the two prints I’d chosen (and had already cut) for two of the rooms upstairs, so I decided to keep those!

Instead of complicating things with Decoupage, I ended up using a spray adhesive I had in my craft closet. This stuff smells nasty, so I brought the scrapbook wallpaper outside, gave the entire back of each piece a light coat of glue, and then firmly pressed them in place.

This worked great, but it doesn’t seal the wallpaper. I figured this would be fine. If something happens and R destroys one of the walls, it’s just from a single sheet of cheap scrapbook paper. So here’s where we stood with the scrapbook paper—two rooms on the top floor: the master bedroom and the bathroom.

Method 2: Adhesive vinyl

The next method I will walk through is using adhesive vinyl as dollhouse wallpaper.

Supplies & steps

• Adhesive vinyl
• Cricut Self-Healing Mat
• Cutting Ruler
• Cricut TrueControl Knife
• Measuring tape and pencil
• Cricut machine for decals

Step 1: Measure and cut the vinyl

I took pretty much the same steps as I took for the scrapbook paper wallpaper: measure and cut using my self-healing mat, ruler, and TrueControl knife. I kept the backing on this entire time.

Step 2: Apply the vinyl

The vinyl is adhesive, so you don’t need any glue. But that means it’s very sticky and you need to be careful when applying it. Use a flat scraper to help push out air bubbles and try to avoid creating wrinkles. I wasn’t too worried about it fitting exactly because I knew I’d be framing out windows and doors.

Step 3: Add decals

One of the great things about scrapbook paper is that it comes in countless colors and patterns. Adhesive vinyl does come in a lot of colors, but it doesn’t come in nearly as many patterns. I couldn’t find any that were exactly what I wanted, so I decided to just do the entire bottom floor in white adhesive vinyl wallpaper and add decals.

I cut all of those decals using my Cricut, similar to the DIY rainbow wall decals I did in R’s room. The living room got hearts, and the kitchen got rainbows—the exact same rainbows as I did in R’s room. I thought she’d like that. 🙂

I also decided to do a “half wall” of the mint green vinyl up in the baby loft, separated by a kraft board wall divider (more on that, as well as the beautiful framed out windows and some of the wall art I’ve already hung, in my next post!). It looks really good with the baby crib in there—I can’t wait to show you all that!

Scrapbook paper vs. adhesive vinyl for dollhouse wallpaper

Both are great options, but each have pros and cons. Here’s my take on using scrapbook paper vs. adhesive vinyl for DIY dollhouse wallpaper! Overall, I’d recommend using adhesive vinyl and customizing it, but here’s the breakdown!

• Scrapbook paper pros: Cheap; easy to find; easy to buy more if you mess up; comes in tons of patterns, colors, and finishes that look like wallpaper patterns.
• Scrapbook paper cons: It is paper, so it doesn’t come sealed and might not last forever; you need some sort of glue or adhesive to apply it.
• Adhesive vinyl pros: Very durable; comes back with adhesive, you don’t need to buy or apply glue; comes in a variety of colors and some patterns.
• Adhesive vinyl cons: Patterns are more limited than scrapbook paper; it is a bit more expensive than scrapbook paper; you can customize it with decals but it takes more time.