Card Table Playhouse

When I was growing up, we had a cover that went over our card table and made a house. It provided so many hours of entertainment for us. I wanted to bring that same imaginative play to my own kids, so I searched pictures of playhouses on Pinterest and came up with this...

(I am definitely what one would call a beginner at sewing. Not much is sewed on this thing straight, but it still turned out pretty well. I have to sew the sides together yet, my felt food is not made, and I  want to add some more finishing touches--a clothesline--to the outside, but I will post when I finish that.)

I started by measuring my card table. I bought 4 yards of blue fabric to be used for the panels. This is just cotton fabric. Then I bought a yard of brown fabric to be used for the roof and the door and the logs in the fire. 

Most of the things I did on the inside of the house is made from the little pieces of crafting felt you can buy at Wal-Mart or Joann's, or places like that. 

I cut four panels for the sides of the house. (I did 1-2 inches more than what the table measured because I know I don't sew straight and I figured it was better to have more that I could cut off later as opposed to making it too small. 

Then I went to work on the panels. The first one I did was the door and mailbox. 

I cut out the size of door I wanted. I didn't even measure, jut cut it out. Then I sewed a piece of the brown fabric at the top of the door hole. The mailbox is a  piece of orange fabric I had. I sewed the two sides and the bottom to the blue fabric. This way the top opens so they can actually put their mail in it. I ironed on the numbers. The kids picked this address because it matches their ages. I wrote our last name with fabric markers. 

These pieces of mail are made from felt. 

I attached this panel to the roof. (I have no idea if this is the best way to sew it together, but I was nervous about it not fitting on top of the table, so I sewed it one panel at a time. I am sewing the sides together as a last step so I can add things to the panels if I find new ideas. 

The next panel was the fire place. I used red fabric to make the mantel. The black is crafting felt sewed together. The logs are made from scraps of fabric from the door, and the orange is also fabric. I used a lot of pins to hold this in place while I sewed it together. I sewed the logs and fire on the black felt before I sewed the whole thing to the fabric. Then I added this panel the roof. 

The next panel, and my personal favorite, is the kitchen. This whole thing is made from felt pieces. I sewed on the back of the refrigerator, then sewed a small door for the freezer and a larger door for the fridge. I added velcro to the doors so they stay shut. Then I sewed a couple of bowls (made from scrap fabric) inside the fridge. This is where the felt food will go when I finish that. There are also felt shelves sewed in here too.  Then I made the stove from pieces of felt as well. I sewed the stove together first and then attached it to the panel. It is so much easier to work with if you sew the pieces first before attaching. The pots have an opening at the top so the food can go in the pot. The baking pan in the oven has some felt cookies on it as well. The stove doesn't open up, but if I did it again, I might try to make that happen. 

The last panel has the feature the kids like the most...the dog door. The panel below is what this looks like on the outside of the house. I made the dog door from felt pieces. Above the dog door is a window. I made "curtains from fabric scraps I had. The curtain can be rolled up and held up with that piece of brown fabric hanging down. (It has velcro on the end of it.) 

The inside of this panel is the bedroom. (The brown square at the bottom is the dog door. It opens like the front door, so it is only sewed on the top. 

The bed frame is made from extra brown fabric. I sewed fabric on the bed for a blanket and white felt for a pillow. Then I sewed the last panel on the roof. 

Here are some pictures of the house while it is on the card table. 

We added a mini Christmas tree for extra light.

The sides aren't sewed together yet, because I want to add a clothesline to the outside panel that has the fireplace. I think I will try to add some accents to the top of the roof too because that sewing looks a little sketchy :) 

I sewed the sides together and added a few more things. I found some fabric that had large panels with Bible verses on them. I sewed one patch above the fireplace. 

I put another panel by the door. I found some precious moments fabric too that I decorarted the bedroom with too. 

And some kitchen fabric panels for the kitchen walls. 

The last thing I did was add a clothesline to one of the outside panels. We have some of Rachel's painted artwork hanging on it to dry already.