How to Make a Fire Screen for Your Dolls House

Firescreen made from card and paper

In the past I have used many things to make fire screens for my dolls houses - a belt buckle, an ivorine (synthetic ivory) brooch from the 1930s, a floral painting edged with wood, and a framed embroidery. But this one in the photograph is my favourite and was the easiest to make. It is in my Edwardian dolls house dining room.
 You will need:

• matboard
• a suitable picture or pictures
• embroidery cotton in a toning shade
• gold pen
• pencil
• craft knife
• glue
• ruler

To make the fire screen in 1:12 scale, here is what you need to do:

1. Decide on the shape of your fire screen. Mine has the top edges of the three panels gently rounded but you might like to keep yours square.
2. Measure the height of the fireplace opening.
3. Measure the width of the fireplace opening and add half an inch. Divide this measurement by three.
4. Mark with a pencil and then cut out three pieces of matboard. Each will be the height of the fireplace opening and 1/3rd of the width measurement.
5. Glue the picture to one side of the matboard pieces to make the three separate panels. Make sure the edges are stuck down well.
6. With the gold pen, ink round the cut edges of the panels.
7. Using a small amount of glue, stick the embroidery cotton around three sides of each panel (not the bottom edge).
8. Starting with one panel as the central piece, glue another panel to each side of it. Attach them on a slight angle so the fire screen looks realistic and will stand easily without support. 
9. Leave to dry.

The picture I used for mine was from a large sheet of paper used for decoupage that I bought at a craft shop. It has a suitably olde-worlde appearance. You could use pictures cut from a magazine, a piece of wrapping paper, miniaturised photographs or even, if you are particularly artistic, a scene you have painted yourself.