A mum who had the genius idea of making her daughter a Barbie house spent just £20 creating the heart-warming gift - and the results are stunning.
Faith Sheppard, 31, decided to take on the DIY project after spotting similar designs costing £250 online.
The mum-of-two, a beauty therapist from Bristol, used a free pine cabinet on Facebook Marketplace to create the main frame of the home.
Faith then furnished it with recyclable products around her home, including everything from a used sushi box to an old packet of ham.
"I came up with the idea when I wanted to get my daughter a Barbie house for her fifth birthday,” she told LatestDeals.co.uk
"I looked online for hours and I couldn't find what I wanted without it costing hundreds of pounds and everything was mostly plastic.
"Looking at the images of the Barbie houses I decided that I thought I could make one that would be bigger and last longer.
"I started to watch YouTube videos about miniature interior design and it gave me so many little tricks.”
Faith started her project by collecting the free pine cabinet, which was being flogged by a seller around three miles from her home.
She then had to figure out how she wanted it to look inside and made use of what she already had around the house, as well as seeking out more freebies.
“My husband made some shelves from wood that we already had in the garage,” she explained.
"I went to a hardware store and got some wallpaper samples to decorate the walls.
“I also went to a local carpet shop where they allowed me to choose whatever I wanted from the skip for my flooring.
"So far, it had cost me nothing. We already had primer and paint at home so I used that to paint the cupboard.”
Once she had painted the whole thing, Faith ordered some vintage style handles from eBay that cost just £4.
She then used a hot glue gun to make all the handles and taps, and nail varnish to paint them.
In terms of decoration, lollipop sticks were used in almost every room of the Barbie house, while the shower is made from a plastic sushi box and the shower screen is from a packet of ham.
"I was kindly given some Barbie house accessories and furniture that someone I know was getting rid of,” continued Faith.
"I made the rest myself from anything we had lying around.
"I used fairy lights to create the lighting, washing up sponges covered in old fabric for cushions, tin foil for mirrors, and boxes for the kitchen.
"I added images of my daughter and family to give it a personal touch.
"It took me about two or three weeks of spending every evening from about 6.30 until 10 doing it.”
Faith is delighted with how her project has turned out, especially considering how much she could have spent buying a brand new one.
Have you ever created a present for a loved one? Let us know in the comments.
All in all, she estimates it cost her around £20 to complete.
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: “It’s estimated that every single year, the UK generates more than two million metric tons of plastic packaging waste.
“This is an unimaginable amount of waste, and it can often seem like such a huge problem that we don’t even know where to start when it comes to helping the crisis.
“However, taking small steps can really make a huge difference.
“Faith’s project is a wonderful example of reusing and recycling rather than buying new and throwing away.”
