Paper Halloween Houses

I don't know what it is, but I really like making these little paper Halloween Houses.   I guess I have always been attracted to little miniatures, dollhouses, train displays etc.  There's something magical about imaginary scenarios.  

When I discovered years ago that I could cut out simple patterns for little houses similar to traditional Putz houses with my Wishblade, I was hooked.  

Here's a step by step process for the assembling of a fairly simple one.

After selecting the papers I want to use, I cut out the basic shape.  This design is a Silhouette file that can be found on the Silhouette Design Store website.

 I make sure to glue any embellishments such as window frames, decorations on before glueing the house together while it is still flat.  I glued on the tiny orange boards before I glued the sides of the house together.  It's much easier this way. Trust me, I know from experience.

What's a haunted house without boarded up windows?

Another step I like to do before I glue the sides is to crease all the creases so that I'm not trying to do so on an almost completely glued house.  It also helps to see edges and bends on the black paper a lot better.

Here's the roof piece.  I've creased the score lines to help making the attachment a lot easier.

For this design, I wanted to break up the color by adding another touch of orange.  So, I picked out this cute orange and black star print that looked very Halloweeny to me.  I  glued the printed layer to the solid-colored roof so that it adds another layer of strength to the house.

Here are the two roofs layered together.

Now for the really challenging part.  Adding the roof to the structure, making sure its even and centered before the quick-drying glue dries!  My preference for quick drying glue is Art Glitter Glue.  It dries fast and can be used with a narrow applicator tip,  But, I have to work fast.

Here's the completed house.

Now to paint the Styrofoam base. I try to use biodegradable materials whenever possible, but these little disks are sturdy, lightweight and just the right size of a base for my little 4"-5" houses.  I tell folks that when they are ready to trash their houses, make sure to recycle the parts that are recyclable and trash the base.

Now for the fun part - decorating the house.  I first added some grey colored spackle for the look of a textured path/walkway.

Then I added touches of white ink highlights to the house itself with a sponge.

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Now for all of the "natural" embellishments: twigs, stones, seeds etc.

I always make sure to add enough glue to the twig-trees so that they stay firmly in place.

Trees in place.

After glueing my seed-pod-pumpkins in place, I added a splash of purple with a little natural moss.

And here's the final project as pictured on my Etsy site:

PaperPasteAndGlitter - Etsy

I hope you enjoyed this little demo of my house making process.  It looks like it's just one-two-three, but it takes more time than you think.  I have to pick he papers, cut the pieces glue and let the pieces dry, paint the base, let it dry. add any spackling I might add and let it dry then glue all the rest of it together.