The other day as I sat there looking at my stash of vintage cigar boxes, and my other stash of vintage postage stamps* I couldn’t help but think how they would work so nice together. Eventually, with my old box, stamps, printable cotton fabric sheets, and some digitally scanned images, I created my own fun piece of folk art- a charming little doll bed.
I began with the box, trimming away the lid. 
Digging into my box of vintage game pieces, I found the perfect bed legs and attached them to the bottom of the box. 
I trimmed off a bit of the box lid and attached the large section to one end of the box as a headboard. I used E6000 adhesive for both the headboard and legs.
I gathered a load of colorful stamps, laid them out in a grid and scanned them. Here are the digital images made from the stamps, feel free to use them for your projects (just please don’t sell the images- they’re supposed to be free.) Click on each to snag their slightly larger images.
I printed the red stamps and the multi-colored stamps to printable cotton sheets. I sewed the two pieces fronts facing in, leaving an unsewn section open to turn the piece right-side out. Once turned, I pressed the piece at the seams, stitched closed the hole, then stitched between each row of stamps vertically and horizontally.
Here is my tiny two-sided postage stamp doll quilt.
I created a pillow from a vintage envelope image I shared HERE and addressed to Little Miss Dolly. I printed the front and back envelope images to fabric and stitched them together complete with flap and stuffed with fill.
I printed a handwritten letter image that I shared HERE to the dimensions of my cigar box and used it as the top of a little mattress sewn and stuffed with fiber fill.
I tucked the mattress into the cigar box and made up the bed with the quilt and pillow.
If you create a similar project, you may need to do a bit of sizing of your images in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or other image editing software to get them to the dimensions needed to fit your own cigar box or for other projects. Be sure to let me know if you make something with the stamps, I’d love to see it.
*A very special thank you to JSIM reader, Tracey Ireland, that sent me all the beautiful stamps used in this project (and also in THIS fun project a while back!)
I’m always amazed with your creativity and ability to give simple to follow directions but I’m in awe of your willingness to share all you do!
Thank you for your generosity,
Maria C.
This just made me laugh out loud…what fun! We have TONS of old stamps around here and, while I’ve printed photos and ephemera on cotton, it never occurred to me to do the same with stamps. And the little letter pillow! Clever girl, you!
OH. MY. GOSH! That is soooo stinking cute! I used to love to make doll furniture when I was a girl…that really took me back. Thanks for all the vintage downloads you post, also.
I love it all, but especially the “linens.” Your creative mind amazes me always.
Lovely! I like your different take on cigar boxes. They are great for so many things.. my father used to organize hand tools in them. I have made sewing kits as gifts with a place for needles, marbleized paper I made as a liner and all the items you might need for sewing… but I love your idea. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity! Cheers.
I just love this! Thanks for sharing!
you are MAD talented woman!
i want to be you when i go back in time to become a little girl again some day.
thank you for another mighty clever idea.
xoxo. w
this is incredible!! I am just awed by the detail, it’s beautiful!!
What a cute idea. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Cathe, this is amazing! Can’t show my son or he will insist that we make one and I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. All your work is wonderful. (hope you got my email last week or so…we sat together at CHA!)
keep in touch!
Alex
To absolutely cute! I want one-a me sized one!
Oh my that is too cute!! My mom has an old box, but I don’t think she would let me do that too it. Maybe I’ll have to make my own cigar box…..you don’t happen to have a printable for that do you?
Love your site by the way!
Kerry,
You can usually buy cigar boxes in cigar shops for a few dollars. They smell a bit, but will air out quickly on the back patio.
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I love the letter pillow to, so much so i’m wanting it in full size for bedroom. This has great possiblities for such a romantic bedroom. I can feel the creative juices coming. Thanks. Ps I loved the shrinky dink bracletes..fabulous crafting.
ummm….Have I told you lately that I love you???????
You’ve gone and been quadrupley amazing this time, Cathe!
You’re gonna think I’m nutso the diddylio, but I was TOTALLY needing this project. I had it half baked in my head, using an actual old doll’s bed…and it was deffo going to hve the postal theme…but….probably not as brilliant as yours!
So…I do love you…well…so as not to freak you out: It’s a Crafty Crush, Big Time, at least!
I am charmed by this from the top of my head to the tips of my toes! What a wonderful piece of art! Thank you for all you share with us.
How cute is that!?!?!??? What an amazing idea and brilliant execution. You didn’t miss a trick!
Alas, I have sons, 18 and 22, who would have no interest in doll beds and a 4-month old grandson, ditto on interest, and a 9-year old nephew, his interest in doll beds – also zilch. Not a girl in the bunch. *sigh* I’ll have to remember this idea if there is e-v-e-r a girl in the family.
That is really cute and clever!!!! Love it! Thanks for the stamp images too!
It’s so sweet I can’t even stand it! Thanks for sharing the stamp images. I have some old stamps, but not near the number to make the grids that you made.
This is amazing…WOW, what a wonderful, unique, well-executed idea…LOVE and ADORE it!
WAY awesome!!!
Thank you. This is so creative, I love it. Thanks for the stamps too. -Marlene
I think that is absolutely brilliant! Very impressive. x
this is GREAT!! Thank you for sharing the stamps with us
LOVE IT
Vera
What a fantastic idea! I love the bedding, especially the envelope pillow. That would make such a lovely gift filled with lavender!
Love your projects! Thank you for stamps
I love it…I really like your creativity!
You have an idea and hups…you make it, I am also! haha
It’s the crazy creative mind i guess.
Anyway, I think I’m gonna make a barbiebed voor my daughter.
I have already made a house for a hamster(toy)
If you want to see it, here is the link
http://heidi-laflotte.blogspot.com/search/label/creative
greetings Heidi
this is fantastic!
What a beautiful and imaginative little dolls bed – I LOVE IT!
I love, love, love it! You really let your creative mind flow here. Just super!!!!!
Amazing!!!!!!
Do you know the book series The Borrowers? http://www.readingmatters.co.uk/book.php?id=108 I loved that series as a kid and your wonderful cigar bed reminds me of them!
this is so adorable!!!
Hi Cathe,
I just wanted to thank you for the hours of inspiration I have gotten from your blog. I found your site this morning and I’ve been reading your posts since then, so pretty much all morning. I’ve been inspired in so many ways.
All the best to you
Karoleen from Sweden.
Adorable.
Beautiful.
That is adorable! I could see that pillow sitting in a dish someplace too… I love that !
Thanks for sharing!
Susan
Cathe, It’s wonderful. Clever, creative, and just plain neat. Thanks for the inspiration!
Cathe,
You are amazing…I love this. Believe it or not, I was working on a bed for my dollhouse yesterday…now you have inspired me to be much more creative about how I finish it out. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!
Cheryl at My Sister’s Cottage
This is ADORABLE!
I just love this! What is really fun about it is that you carried the theme all the way through every item you made. And the letter pillow is perfect! It’s more a keepsake that a toy to be played with.
Wow-
Did the this bed ever stir up some emotion in me. My paternal grandparents wer precious people who love to creat and o encourage their grandchildren to do the same. They saved bits and pieces that we were free to use in our projects and the often jumped in with ideas and suggestions.
This looks like a project they might have come up with!
Thanks!
This is the cutest thing I have seen in quite a while, I want a life size one!!
cutest thing ever!
Charming!
Now you’ve got me trying to figure out how to make a bed like this for the Grands’ Barbies…maybe a shoe box..Cathe I love you and your generous sharing spirit! Thank you so much!
wow!! you are amazing…..i am not having a great day and you just brought a smile to my face and i am excited to do this project this weekend. You are my hero!
What a great idea! Love it!
That is so cute! Love the stamps!
This is just about the neatest project that I have ever seen. Now I know what I can do with the cigar boxes that I have been hoarding for so long! And I love the quilt. I am going to download the stamps for sure. Great job. Love the envelope pillow too!! Can’t quit bubbling over this.
Beautiful! What a cozy little bed for Miss Dolly. Thanks for the stamp images, too.
ack! that is the cutest thing ever!!
Genius! I’m blown away at your creativity! This rocks!
This may be the cutest and coolest thing I have ever seen. I am fainting from the adorable-ness. You are a genius.
wow this is so gorgeous! what a great idea and fanstastic execution. thanks for sharing the process!
Cathe, you are amazingly creative! I love this doll bed. It reminds of when I was little and my darling father made me a dollhouse and together he and I made the furniture for it.
Oh Cathe! I see a bunch of delightful old stamps….fun to look at and collect….. and you see a doll’s bed! Just brilliant! You never fail to knock my socks off!
Cathe -
This is awesome! I can’t get over all the detail you’ve put into this little masterpiece! Love it!
Elaine Allen
OH My Gosh! Cathe what an incredibly cute and creative project! I’m so glad you are enjoying the stamps, it makes me smile that they are being used! Thanks for sharing!
This is over-the-top clever and pretty!! Did you already know that there are “Postage Stamp” quilt patterns? I think it usually refers to small (like one inch) squares of fabrics sewn together.
Cathe, this has got to be one of the most creative, fabulous things you’ve ever come up with! I just love it! Thanks for the great directions, free images, and most of all, for the inspiration.
Cathe,
I read a ton of blogs, but I must say, this project is the cutest most original piece I have seen in ages! It is brilliant and the theme carried out perfectly from start to finish. It is good, Martha Stewart show good! Just can not stop looking at it…it is just crafting and sewing perfection! A huge congrats!
I love this! It’s adorable!
Cuter than cute! That’s one lucky Dolly!
(and thanks for the postage stamp images)
cathe,
this is a-dore-a-ble! truly, truly charming!
do you know what “natividad” means?
it is spanish for “nativity” and i LOVE
the choice of the NATIVITY BOX for your bed!
sarah
I. Love. You. I love your creative brain, your clever ideas, your thoughtful execution of your ideas, your sharing all this with us. I read this post and slurped up all the images, and found myself saying outloud, “Holy Crap”, which is what I usually say when I am amazed and appreciating brilliance. Sorry, I promise I’m not turning into a crazed stalker, but, good grief, you are sooooo clever and wonderful. Thanks for the fantastic images and inspiration, Cathe!
That is the CUTEST ever! Love it!
IS THERE nooooooooooo end to your FABULOUS crafty thoughts? SERIOUSLY! *Gasp!* YOU are such the cleverest and crafty girl – EVER! BTW! The “Little’s” called: they are doing a home make-over and want YOU to design for them! {Hee Hee} This is a WONDERFUL project, my friend! Yeee Haw!
I am beyond amazed. Seriously. Someone needs to recreate that, the entire ensemble in life size that you could actually use in a bedroom. Soo, soo cool. You are incredibly talented!
I would have loved one like this when I was little !!
I absolutely LOVE this! I just got a doll bed for my Blythe dolls, and I think I am going to have to do something like this for it! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
That is just so filthily cute! You have such amazing creative resources!
What an adorable idea! Now I want to make one, But what does one do with it after? hmm..I will have to think on it
This is so cool! I would like to make them for a few of my granddaughters. What a creative idea…..Thank You!
This is one of the most creative and beautiful things that I have ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing!
One more thing, I saved some of the letters that my great-grandmother wrote to me when she was in her 90′s back in the 1980′s. I don’t have a daughter or granddaughter, but i do have lots of great-nieces and think that this would be an awesome gift to make for them. A million thanks!!!
This is truly wonderful and how clever it is. Annette
What an amazing idea and project-cute as can be!!
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That is absolutely fabulous! What a wonderful combination- it works so well.
So amazing and fabulous ! And a great thank you for sharing your ideas! Congratulations for being in the magazine too.
You are not only VERY generous but so darn clever and talented too. Many thanks for sharing your creativity…all ways!
Saw your magical cigar bed on Paper Whimsey’s Bits n Bobs!
Brightest of Blessings to you and yours!
oxo
Oh Kathe! I love this little bed! My Grandmother made one for me when I was little. Now I have a 20 month old Grandaughter that loves her “babies” just like I did! Guess who is getting a doll bed from Her Meme!!! Thanks Sweetie!
This is just so sweet! How nice that you have shared your materials for all. Thanks!
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Hi Cathe,
Just found your site on PaperWhimsey … love it. The doll bed will be my next project … I too have a stash of cigar boxes waiting for the right moment. Thank you for sharing your ideas and the downloads are a real treat. You have a new follower!
Barbara
I want this quilt for my bed! I want the pillow too! Heck, just shrink me so I can sleep in this bed every night. You Rock!
FABULOUS!
Can’t wait to make two of these beds for my granddaughters. These
are so clever and irresistible I can hardly stand it.
So glad I have come across your website and will soon be back.
Thanks so very much for sharing. Very kind of you.
Have a wonderful day,
Bonnie
Oh, this is so incredible. I love stamps, and I LOVE what you’ve done with them.
I love this!
This is so cute. Hope you don’t mind that I referenced it on my blog. Thank you for sharing so much with us.
I love this idea. It is one of the most creative that I’ve seen in a long while.
Thank you so much for sharing it!
perfect for a ” borrower”, I must try this sometime. sara in oakland
This is really a charming piece! Your attention to all the beautiful little details make it extra special, Cathe, and I’m jealous of the lucky girls who gets to play with it!
I got my cigar box today and can’t wait to get started.
This is ridiculously awesome! I am so impressed.
It’s really wonderful an a phatastic idea! Go on with things like this, ruthie
really cute!!
What a great lovely adorable idea, i like what you did with those stamps it gave me lots of new idea’s to do with my stamps
thank you very much for the great tute and the sharing;-D
This is so unique! I just live the postal theme! Thanks for sharing your art ideas! Fab!
A friend at doll club brought a cigar box bed she made from your directions with the postage stamp theme. I was really taken by it and found your site with the complete directions on how to make it, so I decided to give it a try. This little 9″ baby boy doll “Tiny” (from a Diane Effner mold) I made in porcelain doll making class in 1994 seemed to think the theme for this project should revolve around him and jumped right in the box. I printed the words “Sweet Dreams Dear Baby onto fabric for the pillow. I used the lyrics from Brahm’s Lullaby, repeating it over and over on the typed page before I printed 2 pieces for the mattress. For the side of the mattress I used a 1 1/2″ plain white fabric. Fortunately I had two cigar boxes the same size, so I cut the lids off and used them for the head and foot boards, making the headboard a little taller. Four matching chess pieces turned upside down worked for the feet. I found some wood that was intended to be stair railing in my still unfinished dollhouse from 30 years ago. The bed rails may not be up to today’s standard for spacing, but he can’t get his head through it so it’s okay! I used “cheater” quilt fabric for the quilt, backing it with a small twigged fabric for the back and edged the pillow with a bias cut of the “cheater” fabric.
I just love this. My dad made a make shift doll house and my mother and I made furniture for it. She loved to quilt as well, but none for my dolls. Thanks for the memories. She passed in 2006.
You are so creative, Cathe. I would never have thought of turning postage stamps into a quilt or altering a cigar box like that. I love it!
Thanks also for the other fabulous images you share with us.
Keep up the superb work.
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So cute!
Best wishes from Germany!
Steffie
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This is so darned cute. Excellent work-woman-ship, excellent design, very clever, very well done. Five stars.
Linda Vinson, you ARE the girl in the family, smile. When I first looked at this, I thought the blanket lifted up for storage, I think that could be done. Great crafting you did. So cute.
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Very imaginative and creative…thanks for sharing!
Jonesy
Very imaginiative and creative…thanks for sharing!
Jonesy, Victoria, BC
I love, love, love, love, love, love, love everything about this!!!!!
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I have been looking for an idea to make a one of a kind bed for myself. This may be just what I’m looking for. I wonder how it would feel to sleep in a cigar box! 8D
How wonderful!! thank you for sharing these!!
This is amazing! I so want to try it. Wouldn’t it be grand to make a life-sized quilt with these images, and faux paint the headboard?
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beautiful!
This is so darn cute. And clever. Thanks for sharing your brilliant idea.
This gives new meaning to the word Recycling!!!! I love it!!!! Keep up the good stuff I love to recycle!!!Julie
AMAZING!!!!
What a cute and clever idea! Love the stamp quilt and the darling envelope ‘pillow’ Lots of fun ideas on your blog! I am a new follower! Vickie
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OMG That is sooooo cute! I posted a link to this page on my page noted above.
I’d LOVE one of my own but I don’t have extra game pieces lying about.
Do you possibly sell them? If the ‘mattress’ was a bit thinner’ I could use one for my Pen paling letters to store until I write them!
Where / how do I procure printable cotton sheets? They go through the printer?
The funny thing about coming across this, was I was thinking of (upon the many other projects I need to do & have through of) was making an Airmail envelope looking pillow case (& or) a ‘purse’
Just love this. Very creative.
Its good collection. I like it.shopping Brochure printing help
This is SO stinkin’ CUTE!! Such a great idea! Thank you for the images to print!
This beautiful bed has bought back the happiest memories of when I was kid making dolls furniture out of match boxes, however, this is adorable and 532 times better!
This is totally awesome! Thanks for the inspiring idea….here comes a summer project!
Oh this is lovely. Found a link to you on magicjelly blog. Thank you so much for the tutorial this is such a cute object!
I love this idea. Thanks!!!
This is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen!
This is one of the best pieces of mail art I have ever seen….found you on pinterest…..awesome!
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i have been looking at your blog for hours its seems now(I’m sure it hasn’t been that long) your projects are amazing. you definitely gained a new follower tonight.Thanks for making my insomnia better to deal with lol
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