quaint little house with some "history"...

Post by **Howard** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 3:53 pm

greetings to all...

i've been looking for a small, simple house project...and finally found inspiration in the "history" section on ted's site...

here's a link to the section...http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papat ... ories.html

the door and "fuzzy windows" i'm going to use are different sizes than the original...so the front openings are not quite the same...

base will measure about 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 3/4" thick...more pix and details later...

my very best regards...howard...

Post by **Lucy** » Sat Nov 21, 2015 4:11 pm

Howard,

My goal in "putz-making" is to make houses that people can treasure for a long time. I have some questions about how to go about doing that. I figure you are one of the people who knows best how to go about it.

One question is - do you use chipboard that you have to buy? I can get a pretty decent cardboard for free at work, but it is clearly not as sturdy as what you use. I usually back the front and sides with the same kind of cardboard so the house itself feels pretty substantial.

The second question is about the fences. The fences are probably the most vulnerable part of the house. Are your fences "routed" in a groove on the base or just plain glued on. If you make a pillar, do you insert the fence into a slot on the pillar or again just do straight gluing.

I see this house looks like it has a rolled paper pillars on the fence, very cool. I also like how you made it a one piece to avoid that seam in the front - nice. I also like how you moved the 2 windows up a little bit; the proportions are very pleasing to the eye. Lucy

Post by **Howard** » Sun Nov 22, 2015 7:41 am

Lucy wrote:Howard,

My goal in "putz-making" is to make houses that people can treasure for a long time. I have some questions about how to go about doing that. I figure you are one of the people who knows best how to go about it.

One question is - do you use chipboard that you have to buy? I can get a pretty decent cardboard for free at work, but it is clearly not as sturdy as what you use. I usually back the front and sides with the same kind of cardboard so the house itself feels pretty substantial.

The second question is about the fences. The fences are probably the most vulnerable part of the house. Are your fences "routed" in a groove on the base or just plain glued on. If you make a pillar, do you insert the fence into a slot on the pillar or again just do straight gluing.

I see this house looks like it has a rolled paper pillars on the fence, very cool. I also like how you made it a one piece to avoid that seam in the front - nice. I also like how you moved the 2 windows up a little bit; the proportions are very pleasing to the eye. Lucy

question one...answer...i used to buy 30" x 40" sheets of cardboard from hobby lobby when i was building larger custom houses...now...since most of my houses are small...i use cereal and cracker box cardboard for the body...and writing tablet back weight cardboard for roofs and fences...i really don't buy much cardboard since there's so much "free" material available...almost forgot...i do laminate a second layer of cereal box cardboard on the inside of the back wall for a stronger light hole area...

question two...answer...fences are not inserted into a groove...just glued securely to the base...i do add a small glue tab at the end of the fence where it meets the post...

speaking of posts...i like rolled paper posts...but roll the paper strips on bamboo skewers...they're stronger than toothpicks...i've also used solid wood dowels inserted into holes in the base...

my very best regards...howard...

Post by **Howard** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:07 am

here's the finished house...not as dark a blue as the original...not a light pastel either...call it "carolina blue"...

the "warm pumpkin" roof color is close to that of the vintage house...went with ground mica flakes only on final finish...no glitter...

i did add a sprinkling of ground and sifted styrofoam on the roof snow that "PutzinVT" (steve) uses on his houses...i like it!...

my very best regards...howard...

oh, yes...happy thanksgiving to all...

Post by **Lucy** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:29 pm

That is so nice. I like Carolina Blue. It's very nice with the roof color. The mica finish is beautiful as well.

One thing I am thankful for is getting to see your works of art. Thank you.

Lucy

Post by **paulrace** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 2:21 pm

Howard, I agree with Lucy, those colors are nice. A very charming project. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Clinton · Post by **Clinton** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 2:46 pm

Love the "Steve-Snow" on the roof Howard! Great little project. Those windows are really nice too. What's your method on that "fuzziness" there? Happy Thanksgiving to all as well...

Holiday Cheers,

Will

Post by **Howard** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:20 pm

will...
regarding the "fuzzy windows"...these were leftover from a previous project...when i use pre-made windows, i usually get a few extras just in case...i may have gotten them from ted "way back when"...not sure if pete has them or not...my memory is "fuzzy" sometimes...
howard...

Post by **PutzinVT** » Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:59 pm

Another masterpiece.

I like the base, nice crisp edges.

Steve

Post by **Lynn** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 11:54 am

This is a great house and I also love the colors. I love the mica and have been using a lot of lately. Thanks Howard for introducing it to me. I have purchased the fuzzy windows from Pete they are really very nice windows.