"Buy Nothing" Member Transforms Free Plastic Dollhouse Into Amazing Christmas Decoration

We absolutely love seeing how people use their creativity to give old, discarded items a second chance. Upcycling things you find cheaply at thrift stores is great, and some of us can turn to our local Buy Nothing chapter to score amazing finds for free. One woman did just that with a free plastic dollhouse she decorated for Christmas.

Find out exactly how Beckett Graham, who's a member of a Buy Nothing Facebook group, transformed an old plastic dollhouse into a gorgeous decorative piece styled much like a gingerbread house for the holidays.

In the Facebook group "Weird (and Wonderful) Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared," someone posted side-by-side images of the same plastic dollhouse. However, it's undergone a major redesign worthy of a holiday "Fixer Upper" episode. One photo shows the original house, which is mainly pink with white window trim, and in the "after" photo, it's been repainted in browns and reds with plenty of holiday decor.

People loved the creativity used to make this beautiful Christmas house for decoration, commenting on the work:

• "That is fabulous! Great job and a lot of fun I bet too. Family heirloom!"
• "OMG wow! That looks so cute, but ALOT of work! Nice."
• "Now I have to go find me one of those houses!"
• "I did a Halloween house with a Barbie dream house. Was thinking of doing a Christmas one if I found a cheap enough house."

Others shared images of their own fun dollhouse makeovers, some with Halloween decorations and others with Christmas themes and decorations like wreaths, Santa, and reindeer.

Now, it's unclear exactly who did this crafty miniature "renovation," as identical photos are posted in multiple Facebook groups by different users. However, overlooking that, you can read the step-by-step instructions included in the comments by Beckett Graham. The first step is, of course, to obtain a dollhouse by scouring Buy Nothing groups or secondhand stores.

This person said they cleaned the dollhouse well with alcohol first, then taped the white soffits to keep them white. They spray-painted the dollhouse with Krylon color max paint and primer, using the color "satin brown boots," even painting the interior of the house because it was visible from the outside.

For the "icing" on this gingerbread house, they used Tulip puff paint in the "shiny white" shade. "You have to do each side separately because it has to be flat when you’re doing the puff paint or else it runs. Let each side dry overnight before flipping to do another side," stated the post.

Here's how this person created other details of the gingerbread dollhouse:

• Door: green craft paint
• Front steps: brown craft paint
• Bushes: white craft paint (non-puffy)
• Stripes on windowsills: striped pipe cleaners
• Gingerbread man and Christmas tree: ornaments
• Wooden beads: seem to have been purchased (post doesn't specify)
• Wreaths: sold as ornaments for tiny trees
• Glittery snow: clear plastic bags "cut up really small"

This house is proof of how much fun you can have fixing up things you might have no other use for! Instead of buying a pre-made house decorated for Christmas, why not get crafty and change up something you already have or find for free?