How to Make a Medieval Castle with Working Drawbridge - Upcycle Crafting - Demo

I always dreamed of living in a castle, as a little girl, anyway. As an adult, I have remodeled enough homes to know it would be a job I would work on for the rest of my life in vain and bankruptcy.

So, I did a mini version to incorporate into this season's Halloween decor. It's not finished yet. This is just the main wing. I plan to add a maiden tower and a few other things as time progresses. Think of it as a doll house with a twist, or ten by the time I'm done.

For Halloween, I'm thinking to set up some paper dolls or action figures of maidens and knights. Then, I'm going to zombie them up. Fun! I'm taking it right through Thanksgiving and Christmas by changing up the paper dolls or actions figures.

I imagine this will take me several days all told.Tag along to check out how this, the first part of my castle came to be. It's made of an empty laundry soap box, some shelf paper, doilies and bling. It's all very common stuff, really. Mine is of course, girly. The directions will work for a much more macho version, too.

The doll figurine is older than I am. I got it from my grandmother when I was little. She had it for years before passing it on to me. God rest her.

This was instigated by a challenge. Mr. Vix declared I could not craft something that was not girlish, something boys would like to play with, too. Well, drat. It looks as if he is at least half right. He often is. Sh!

Don't you dare tell him I said that.

Anyhow, back to the castle. Okay, fine. I had to girl it up. I just had to. I got into it and while an insanely intimating fortress of War castle of mega doom is great for Halloween, how the heck am I going to take that into Christmas I ask you?

Yes, yes. I know. I owe him one. Fortress of doom next, after the completion of my sweet little princess tower of power additions. But first, let's scope on what will become the main hub of my castle, with draw bridge of course, moat and alligators optional. And, coming soon.

Just click through the pictures to see how to build your own.

This product, the non adhesive shelf liner, is amazingly easy to work with. The traditional contact papers are fun, but they can be really hard to work with. They tend to wrinkle and bubble and are not forgiving in the slightest.

This product is different. For one thing, it's thicker and stronger. It stretches and actually clings to the surface allowing us crafty types to get a perfect line and no bubbles. This is the first time I have tried to build a doll house, much less one with shelf liner walls, but the more I worked with the stuff, the more possibilities I could see for it. I can't wait to try it again on some other projects.

The doilies steal the show, no doubt about it. I love the way they came out considering they came in a pack of 30 for a buck and usually wind up in the trash bag.

While made of paper, it's a pretty tough brand considering how thin they are and how delicate they look. After coloring on the alternating five colors, I went back over the entire thing with the lightest brown color used, then Mod Podged.

I really like how it kind of all run together softly. It's almost a foil look.

_{Mirror, mirror, on the wall}

_{Why on you do they all call?}

_{What do you know and how do you see?}

_{Where did you come from?}

_{How can you be?}

_{Were you fashioned by dwarfs deep in the mountain,}

_{or transmogrified by Merlin deep in the keep}

_{sounding charms, incantations and magic mutterings thrown about?}

_{Born in a mist of dark sorcery there can be not a doubt.}

_{Mirror, mirror, hanging there on the wall,}

_{are you my friend, or engineering a fall?}

_{Your history is plainly recorded, there for all to see.}

_{Every queen has fallen that ever conversed with thee.}

_{Get thee hence you possessed glass of deceit,}

_{or so help me, dragon flame you shall meet!}

_{Vix a.k.a. Rhonda}

Back in the day, there were not near as many princesses as there are now.

Use a pill box filled with shiny beads to make a tiny, ornate treasure chest. This one was another gift, this time from my mother, a long time ago. It's not as big as my finger, but I love it. Normally it hangs out on my dresser, but today it's coming to the party, to

o.And what's up with the crystal ball? Something is trying to come through. See the shimmer? Don't know what yet. We'll have to wait and see.

This is a temporary standard at best. Being such a newly constructed castle, it seems there has been no time to put proper thought upon the matter of the house crest.

Basically, I haven't picked one.So, a temporary flag must suffice. It's made by putting a sticker between two pieces of shimmer ribbon. After snipping off the ends to make a point, glue it to a Sharpie painted toothpick pole and voila.

Your kingdom is up and running.

Coming soon. It's almost done, now.

Brought to you by imagination.

Someone has to feed the dragon. He gets cranky when kibbles are late. The fairies are just in the next room. Can you imagine the carnage if he decided to munch on them? It's best we let the princess be about her task.Have some fun and be creative. What have you got to lose, a box that's headed for the trash can? Try building a castle for your imagination to roam about. It's fun!