Update: You can check out Part 2 of this project right here.
But let’s start at the beginning. When Sherry and I started talking about building a dollhouse for Clara, I was afraid. I know, I know – scared of a dollhouse? Get your laughs out. But that ominous word conjured up these elaborate images of perfectly crafted, to-scale replicas of Victorian mansions that seemed waaaaay beyond my skill / patience level. But once Sherry showed me some of her inspiration pictures on Pinterest (from Mousehouse, Natty Michelle and Under The Sycamore) my cold sweats dried up and I actually got a little excited. Yes, excited about a dollhouse. Now get those laughs out.
More accurately, those cold sweats turned into regular sweats since starting this project required a bit of basement cleaning first. Remember this mess?
I didn’t get rid of much of anything yet, but I did give it the ol’ “quick tidy” so I’d at least have a clean workspace to get a-dollhousing in. Here’s the “not-after-but-not-as-bad-as-the-before” result:
After giving myself a brief pat on the back for that, I moved on to dollhouse planning and material buying. Sherry loved the idea of priming/painting/decorating the dollhouse, so she called those parts of the task while leaving the entire design up to me except for very casually suggested a three-story house with seven rooms. After some thought I landed on something most similar to the Under The Sycamore’s version show above, except with a different room arrangement.
We decided on 1 x 8″ basic white wood as our building material. It was cheap and light, but sturdy and wide enough to make for easy play. We also opted for an 8″ room height on the first two floors and a sloped attic that’d go from 6″ to about 10.” So the finished dollhouse measures around 30″ tall and 30″ wide. Those 8 inches of room height with a sloped attic ceiling were a bit big for the scale of furniture that Sherry had found on eBay (more on that in her Part 2 post) but we wanted to err on the side of giving Clara plenty of room to move around rather than being sticklers for scale – and who doesn’t love a room with extra high ceilings?
My total for all of my building materials (just wood since I already had nails) was about $35 and I started off by cutting everything except the roof pieces to size, creating a box that was roughly 30″ wide and 24″ tall. I also cut the walls for my first two floors (not shown) to 8″ tall and used my table saw to shave a bit off the side so they were slightly narrower than the floors.
I wanted to affix the walls to the bottom and middle floors first, so I measured and marked where I wanted each divider to go. The two marks on the wood below represent each side of the wall board so I knew exactly where I wanted it to sit.
I’m usually a screw guy (that sounds weird, I realize) but I didn’t want Clara’s dollhouse to be riddled with screw holes and potentially split boards. So I opted instead to use a combination of wood glue and nails. I know lots of people swear by wood glue, but I just find it messy, time consuming and harder to reverse. But I put our differences aside and squeezed a line of it on each wall before putting in place. It actually worked really well.
I clamped two scrap pieces of wood (those two pieces of wood under the clamps weren’t part of the dollhouse, they were just pinching the perpendicular piece of wood to hold it up). This method helped keep things steady for a couple of minutes while the glue got a grip.
And since I’m impatient, I carefully tipped the whole thing over so I could drive a couple of nails into the wall board from the bottom. Now it’s hopefully more clear that the perpendicular piece of wood is the wall and the piece of wood on the bottom is the floor of the dollhouse (those two pieces of wood clamped above the base are just there to steady the wall I added while the glue dried and I banged in those nails).
So here’s what I was left with after putting up walls for the first two floors. I hadn’t tackled the third floor wall yet since I wanted to wait to finish the sloped roof to make sure my cut was accurate to a real roof, not my roughly sketched one. Oh and the first and second floors weren’t attached (hence them looking skewed in the pic below) – they were just both placed on the floor in a rough little layout of sorts.
Next I used the glue and nails method to affix the two sides, using another scrap board to help keep my corners at 90-degree angles. I also glued and nailed all of the walls into the floors above them.
One thing I didn’t point out earlier is that when I cut my side boards to length I actually did a slightly angled cut on the tops using my miter saw. The 15-degree choice was kind of an arbitrary “this looks like a nice shallow angle” decision, which I hoped would help my sloped roof rest evenly on the side boards.
I tried drawing some complex diagram of angles to figure out exactly how I needed to cut the peak of my roof, but I quickly realized how rough my 9th grade geometry was. So I figured I’d start with two 15-degree cuts butted up against each other and go from there. Luckily it worked out perfectly and I could scoff at Euclid as I glued the two pieces together.
Once my roof had dried enough I sat it in place to help measure the height of the center wall that would support it. Once that was cut (using two cuts of the miter saw to create a close-enough point at the tip) I glued and nailed it into place like the others.
With the roof also secured in place, this collection of boxes actually started to resemble a residence suitable for dolls.
But I still had to add a back side, which can be filed under the “two birds with one stone” column because I was able to take some thin plywood from my messy scrap pile (bird one) to make the back panel (bird two). I didn’t have a piece tall enough for the whole thing, but I was able to cut this one big piece so that the seam would be hidden behind the third floor board.
As for attaching it, you can probably guess the words about I’m about to type since I used the same method… I applied glue to the backside of the dollhouse frame, put the plywood down, and nailed it into place.
For the rest of the top I had to assemble a few scrap strips, which did create some seams. But we were already planning to caulk some other corners so it wasn’t a big deal to have a few other places to patch up before priming and painting it all to get a nice seamless end result.
Here’s the whole house after it was constructed. The last thing we wanted to do was affix the whole thing to a larger base to give it more stability. So this is a piece of 1 x 12″ that I cut to size and sanded so it had nice rounded edges.
A few more squirts of glue and swings of the hammer later, the construction phase of the d-o-l-l house (as we were calling it at this point to keep the secret from Little Miss Hears A Lot) was c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e.
It was actually surprisingly straightforward and took me about three hours in total (after about an hour of basement clearing out before I got down to business). And not that I’m gonna get all Victorian mansion on it, but it has given me the confidence to try to add some details like doors and windows (decorative, not functional) on the so-far blank backside at some point. But since all of this happened just a few days before Clara’s birthday, that’ll have to wait since the first priority was to get it all painted, decorated, and gifted by this past Monday (which was the bean’s big oh-two).
So Sherry will be back tomorrow with a giant breakdown of what she likes to call “the fun part.” You know, the priming, painting, furniture-ing, and decorating (there were too many pics/descriptions to squeeze it all into this post, but she’s working on it right now and can’t wait to share). Hilariously enough, I thought the fun part was building it, so I guess we’re a good pair. And in case you’re wondering, Clara is obsessed. As is Sherry. Even I want to play with it sometimes.
So it went over really well. And we all know that a happy wife/kiddo = a happy hubby. So… score! Has anyone else out there built a dollhouse? Or some other fun kid thing? Or been obsessed with hunting down eBay dollhouse furniture like the wife? Let’s chat… about dollhouses. Haha. Oh yeah, I’m man enough to say that.
Update: You can check out Part 2 of this project right here.
Update #2: We finally created this Shop Our House page to help you hunt down any furniture/accessories that you see in our house, along with all of our paint colors.
Suzy says
Wow…John amazes me with his skills. Wish my husband could get some lessons!! Dollhouse so cute. My girls loved playing with theirs for many years. My husbands grandmother saved some doll furniture which was very old but so cool. Lucky Clara…hope she is loving it.
Kate S. says
Hahah, you know there’s an actual word for “furniture-ing” right? Furnishing? LOL.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahah, true!
xo,
s
Laura@JourneyChic says
Oh, so fun! There is so much more you can do with it in the future, too, like adding lighting. My dad bought me a very basic dollhouse when I was 4 or 5, then over time together we added siding, roof shingles, and two more additions. He bought all the electrical supplies and lights, but didn’t get to install them before I decided I was “too old”. Last week the way I told my dad that he was getting a granddaughter was “Dad, you’re going to have to find all those dollhouse lights, because SHE will want you to install them for HER.”
Needless to say, he’s thrilled at the prospect of working on the “dollhouse project” again. :)
Cathy says
Love this. Congrats!
Monica says
I can’t wait to see the finished project!! I’m 34 and I LOVE miniatures. I want a dollhouse!! Lol.
leah says
I have been dying to make one of these for my niece! So adorable. You make it look so easy. I think even I could handle that! Great job. Can’t wait to see how cute Sherry Makes it.
Elizabeth says
Yayyyy dollhouse!!! My dad built the most beautiful elaborate one I have ever seen (with columns in the front and bay windows). I LOVED IT. I can’t wait to see it all decorated!!!
Liz R. says
Aww. Reminds me of when my brother made me a dollhouse for Christmas. (He’s nearly 11 years older). Unfortunately he was a tad ADD so the door wasn’t attached and it had no furniture other than the kitchen and an end table. It did have carpet, hardwood floors and wall paper however, so it was move-in ready.
Bethany says
Clara is a lucky girl! When I was 8 I made a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes turned sideways, wallpaper samples, carpet samples, cut up cereal box furniture, fabric scrap curtains hot glued to the walls…
In my memories it looked awesome, if I actually saw it now it probably looked like a pile of junk. My mom eventually made me throw it away. :P
Heidi says
You two are adorable! I just randomly found this blog a couple days ago and have been poking around since. Both my hubby and I LOVE DIY stuff and remodeling our place, always on a budget! I really enjoy your site, and am definitely going to get my hubby to start reading as well (if I can coax him too)…it definitely helps that it’s not JUST the woman writing your posts, so there will be that “man” part of him that thinks it’s OK to read a blog if it’s about cutting, nailing, gluing, etc :)
Also, if you guys ever get back up to AK, we’ll show you some really, REALLY cool stuff! My dad’s a small floatplane pilot, and we do a lot of camping/fishing/outdoors-ey stuff. I loved your post about your honeymoon!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s amazing! We hope to make it back to AK someday for sure!
xo,
s
Alice H says
Love that doll house! And I love Ashley Ann (Under the Sycamore). We live in the same town! I don’t know if you ever read her blog, but she is freaking amazing!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, I love her blog and her whole sweet family!
xo,
s
Lindsay says
Awesome job!! My Dad built a doll house for my sister and I when we were kids (5&2) for Christmas. He had painted it to look just like our house complete with “shingles”, painted brick fireplace (with little painted flames!), carpet, hidged doors and windows. Not only was it the most beautiful dollhouse, we were so proud to say “Our Daddy made this!”. You guys did a wonderful job, it’s something she’ll love forever!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet! I love that he made it a mini version of your house!
xo,
s
Melanie says
You guys are great!! I love your blog!
Ellen says
This reminds me a lot of the dollhouse I had as a kid – except mine was made from a lot of cardboard boxes duct taped together and then “decorated” with different types of contact paper. May favorite part was that we used the little space on the back of the house, well, the back yard you might say – we put down a strip of astroturf and then affixed a string to each corner of the house which acted as a “clothes line” where we could hang all of the doll clothes for storage. Thanks for bringing back the memories!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo,
s
Chloe says
Ahh, this brings back memories of my dad making me a dollhouse! He took me to a bookshop to buy a proper DIY dollhouse guide and let me pick out the style I wanted. He bought loads of tiny windows and working doors. I remember choosing lots of paint testers and fabric samples and being allowed to decorate it myself. So much fun! I feel like ringing my dad and thanking him for all his hard work!
Ally says
There are some men who are just born to be “Daddy’s”…your sweet John is one of those men, $herdog :)
Such a loving example of a true “gentleman”. You, Clara, and any *future* bambino’s are blessed :) xox
YoungHouseLove says
Don’t I know it! I’m so thankful for John. Best daddy/hub ever! Along with my dad of course, haha.
xo,
s
Tracy says
When I was little, maybe about eight or ten, my parents build me a dollhouse (and one for my sister too). I think my dad bought a kit and put it together, I’m not sure, but I loved it. When I was around 18 we sold it at a yard sale, because I figured I would never play with it again and right after it was sold, I regretted it. I can’t believe I let them give it away. Now I will have to make one for my little girl and at least you have given me some inspiration (we are building a teepee and small kitchen for Christmas presents this year for my two kids).
Just something fun, my dad built the whole house and my mom actually made all the furniture. It must have taken a lot of hot glue and it was amazing…truly amazing in all its victorian style. I’m so happy for Clara to always have one that she will cherish for years!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, I can’t believe your mom made all the furniture! That’s awesome!
xo,
s
A Wife and her Carpenter says
I’m loving this post. My grandpa made me a doll house when I was younger. It had real windows, a front door, window boxes with flowers in them, and even a wall that could be moved around. He even sided the house with something that looked like the side of a barn and carpeted the floors! It was the best thing ever. I wish I knew where he found the furniture. It was FABULOUS!
I can’t wait to see more details tomorrow :)
Carrie says
How awesome! Love this! My father built my sister and I one – similar to this style. Hard to explain, but he only put one side of the roof on, the other was supposed to be an outdoor deck – complete with a Barbie grill, picnic table, chairs and I think a plant. Between two of the rooms he put in two little eyehooks and then hung some fishing string – we’d hang our Barbie’s clothes on little plastic Barbie hangers.
Side note – remember when Pizza Hut pizza used to come with those little plastic white picks to hold the pizza together? We always used those for Barbie side tables – sorry, random thought.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes! I loved making those pizza box things into Barbie tables too! Too funny!
xo,
s
Meredith says
Oh, we TOTALLY did that! I remember being hugely disappointed when they switched to the little tripod with no plastic circle.
Sherry from BC says
Love it and I am sure Clara does too. Great descriptions make it seem easy. My ex and I built a big mansion for our daughter years ago. It is 3 stories Barbie size so it is almost 4 1/2 feet tall on big furniture rollers. She kept it as a bookcase after she stopped playing with dolls. My daughter’s current house doesn’t have space for it so it isis now in my basement play area for my grandchildren and they love it. My grandson is 5 and my granddaughter is 2 1/2. They don’t really play with dolls but love rearranging the furniture. Some I had some was from friends and some from ebay. They especially like the Kitchen littles kitchen with the fridge, stove and cupboards that all open and close. I have some bits of dishes and food that move in and out of the cupboards all the time. The dolls, including a NY fireman, sleep a lot. It really needs redecoration as I just slapped a fresh coat of white on so they could start playing about a year ago. That will likely take place this fall when things get dark and I stay indoors. I will definitely be looking for ideas from you guys on how to spruce up the place.
Amiz says
Man this came at the perfect time! I’ve actually pinned those same dollhouses haha. But I think I’m more excited for the Part II post. I’m more of a decorating lover and the man is more the construction lover. I can’t wait! The suspense is killing me haha
John says
Looks great! How about a small worm house with holes for windows and doors, you could even have holes in the floor. This would be her pet’s home.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahaha- the dollhouse needs a tiny worm house inside! I love it.
xo,
s
Rebecca says
My father made a dollhouse for my sister and I. It was the most special gift ever. We loved being able to get new tiny things for our house.
Kim says
John, the house looks great! When I was 6, my grandfather built me a dollhouse for Christmas. He used a kit, but I’m very impressed that you winged it. That makes it more personal and special.
Incidentally, I’m now 28 and I still have that dollhouse. I’m single, but when I get married and if I have a little girl, I’ll pass that dollhouse to her. If I don’t have any girls, it will go to a niece or something. I can’t stand the thought of getting rid of it!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cute! Keep it! We wish we had one in the family to “renovate” but we came up empty! Haha. You’re lucky!
xo,
s
Lisa in Seattle says
Can’t wait for the full reveal! Hurry up, Thursday!
The comments on this post are so sweet. It sounds like a lot of people may be revisiting their old dollhouses soon or planning new ones for their own children. Wish we could tell what Clara was thinking while she plays, if she’s re-enacting the type of decor changes she sees going on in the “big house” around her.
I predict that you’ll be slipping little seasonal surprises into her dollhouse, like maybe a little jack-o-lantern or a Christmas tree.
YoungHouseLove says
I love that idea!
xo,
s
Megan says
I love it! My husband and I built one for our daughter for her 4th birthday. It wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it would be. Turned out great. We ended up adding hinged doors to the front to keep pesky little brother from ransaking the place (and choking on those tiny little pieces of decor). We used popsicle sticks to make a little fence on the top and painted it like a rooftop deck. She puts her Barbie swimming pool up there. LOL I don’t know if this link to a picture will work but we’ll give it a try: http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=9998a843bcacfad1c9f3edf1ebadc1fb
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, the link didn’t work but it sounds awesome! I for one would love a roof deck with a pool of my own! Haha.
xo,
s
Wendy says
Not a dollhouse, but my husband’s father made each grandchild a cradle by hand, each different for the new grandbaby.
Unfortunately his Parksinson’s has kicked in and my mother-in-law has taken away all of his wood working tools so our wee one in November will be the first grandchild to not have a Grandpa-made cradle.
The skill and love of what he did and what John did wows me!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh that’s so sad but such a sweet thing that he did for so long! I’m sure those cradles are treasured heirlooms!
xo,
s
Megan says
um yah, I don’t think that link worked. Here’s a picture on our blog…
http://williamsfamily7.shutterfly.com/2658
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!!!
xo,
s
Andrea says
1. LOVE. I’m a little jealous of Clara that I don’t get to play with it. 2. My Dad also built me a dollhouse when I was young. But I was older than 2 when I got it and it was a pretty large undertaking in both construction and decorating. (Plus, it’s Victorian. I was obsessed with that style when I was about 7-10.) Needless to say, I didn’t get to enjoy it nearly as much as Clara will with hers. 3. I agree with Sherry, decorating is the most fun part. 4. My unfinished (both in construction and decorating) dollhouse still sits in my parents house. 5. Sounds like my honey has a future project on his hands. Maybe by the time we have a daughter and she turns two it will be done! Ha.
Kudos to you for actually finishing it…and making it look so darn lovely! =)
Lynette says
Awesome! Our little one has just turned 2 and we were lucky enough to be given a dolls house from her older cousins so we decided to do it up for her second birthday. Hubby totally excelled himself by carpeting all the rooms with spare carpet and putting lino in the bathroom and kitchen. The furniture and dolls that came with it were looking a bit sorry for themselves but I managed to pick up cute wooden sets from The Early Learning Centre all with 50% off – bargain! The funniest part is that her two older brothers (and their friends) have speZnt more time playing with it than she has so far!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that!
xo,
s
Keri Beth says
One of my first woodworking projects was a dollhouse I made my sons last Christmas. I love the way it turned out! I picked my favorite parts of a few dollhouses on the Ana White site and combined them. I made simple furniture for it, too. Here’s a pic of the empty dollhouse: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keribeth/6477259849/
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh- that’s adorable!!
xo
s
stacy says
Where did you get all her furniture? I may be jumping the gun and that might be in your “part 2” post!?! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, that’s all in Part 2!
xo,
s
Evie says
Check the second last paragraph, first sentence… words are in the wrong order!
LOVE the doll house!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Evie! All fixed!
xo,
s
Sayward says
Also, the house John built is TOTALLY. AWESOME!!!
katchen says
I love this! Might try & tackle for Christmas. When I was little my mom & I made all our doll house furniture! We used jewelry boxes different sizes and glued fabric over them. Cut out the headboards out of cerial boxes and glued fabric over them as well and attatched to the boxes. We then used to put trim of lace or ribbon and put little pillows on them. Maybe you could diy some with Clara!
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! Love that!
xo,
s
Megan says
Love it! I’ve been wanting my dad to build one for my daughter (he’s already made a three piece play kitchen like Pottery Barn and a two sided easel, and working on phase 2 of the giant swing set play yard outside. So what’s one more little thing?! I do like the idea of one similar to Pottery Barn, and also from the looks of yours, where it could be turned into a book shelf later on once dolls are out of the question.
My grandmother has promised me her little odd that was built like the ones you are afraid of… all the little replicas and what not. I couldn’t imagine building one like that! Can’t wait to see the “fun” stuff!!!
Carli says
Cute project!!
alison says
I was impressed with the play kitchen and adore this too! I have a three month old daughter and am dreaming about making these things for her instead of buying them at the store. They seem more meaningful. Thanks for sharing.
Kim says
I love this! Ya’ll are such an inspiration!
Christine says
So cute! I love the idea of Clara being obsessed with her house! Do I see wallpaper in that last photo? Please, can’t Sherry post Part II today? Pretty please? Maybe a sneak peek?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I wish! Still working on it but it’ll be all ready for tomorrow am!
xo,
s
Laura says
Aaah, this brings back great memories. My parents were somewhat DIYers back in the 80s. Dad made me and my three sisters several dollhouses. They were very similar to yours with the three stories and angled roof. I remember them being very tall and the rooms were really deep (but everything was big when you were little, right?). Mom decked them out with wallpaper samples on the walls and we loved them. My girls are finally old enough to play with them now! Clara will have LOTS of good memories.
Lindaroo says
I was sad to learn my sister trashed the dollhouse our dad had made for us after her kids outgrew it. True, the painted Grape-Nuts on the roof (to mimic the quartz gravel roof on our childhood home) were kinda gross, but still! LOL
Playmobil makes some really great dollhouse furniture, and you know it’s sturdy and safe. My daughter loved the details on the bathroom fixtures, and the piano that plays music.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaah, painted Grape-Nuts! I love it!
xo,
s
Shannon says
That is the cutest! Clara is a lucky girl on so many levels. Just seeing the doll house reminds me of mine growing up. Of course, my mother pretty much took it over! I remember her spending hours and hours shingling the roof..
Emma says
Clara’s dollhouse is AMAZING. Seriously, you both rock.
A year or so back, I decided that a major advantage of adulthood is being able to buy myself toys. So I bought a kitset dollhouse, and have been slowly decorating it since! It’s not done yet, but I’ve tiled the kitchen and bathroom floors, wallpapered one room… And found a fantastic set of kitset/plywood furniture online that I’m gradually setting up and decorating. I never had a dollhouse as a kid, and I’m having so much fun!!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like so much fun!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
Scoff at Euclid! Good one, John!
Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says
Wow, great job, John! It is fantastic. And, you make it sound easy enough that I’m thinking maybe I could build one for my niece. Although, I don’t have a saw so that would crimp my style.
Any way you’d consider posting a plan of your specific measurements, cuts, etc.?
YoungHouseLove says
Ugh, I’m terrible at that (I didn’t write them down and I just tweaked things as I went), but check out anawhite.com since she has awesome dollhouse plans with cuts and measurements and stuff over there! Hope it helps!
-John
Alana @ Domestic Bliss Diaries says
Can’t wait to see the dollhouse! I wish I could make one for my kiddo but we only have one son right now, so a dollhouse is a no-go until we get add some more estrogen to the mix {according to the hubs, anyways}.
I do have a question [unrelated to the dollhouse}: I noticed that one of your post suggestions {“Like this post? Might we suggest…”} is linked to an outside source. I was wondering how to set this up and if it is a paid feature {as in, you get paid for having it on your site}.
Thanks a million!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s just a free plug-in we use called NRelate, which auto-links a post to four related ones by us and one outside sourced one (which is labeled as a sponsored link, sort of like how labeled google ads live on the sidebar and automatically fill/rotate). If you search for the NRelate plug-in it’ll have more info for ya I think! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jenn @My Southwestern Life says
I wish I had parents like you guys! All of the gifts that you make for Clara are so cool, and they mean so much more because they’re handmade and one of a kind!
r8chel says
Very nice, John. The design is just right – simple, classic, and sturdy.
When I was growing up, my sisters and I had a metal dollhouse that didn’t have much of anything handmade in it, but we enjoyed it and spent many hours exercising our imaginations with it. :)
Sarah says
My Grandfather built the most amazing Victorian doll house. It has 2 sides that open and when you close them it closes the whole house up, very “3D” when you’re playing with it because you can “walk” your dolls through one side of the house to the other. It’s absolutely beautiful, every detail on the house is there, siding, windows, shingles, a wrap around porch with railing. It has 3 floors and is fully furnished, no detail was spared. Reading this tutorial really shows me the time and effort he devoted to it. Can’t wait to see the decorating post…hands down the most fun part about building a dollhouse!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that sounds awesome!
xo,
s
Summer says
I bought a Victorian dollhouse kit on a whim two years ago. I took one look at the tiny pieces, panicked, and closed the lid. It’s still in the box hiding in the basement.
I think yours is a much better option! And so cute!