Tutorials

Make Your Own Detached Garage

Cottages, Free Patterns, Houses / May 27, 2023

I received a request to make a garage, and due to this being a very busy month for me, decided a small building like a garage would fit into my schedule nicely. I may well end up making more than one garage pattern, but for the first garage I decided on a detached single car garage with a side covered walkway.

I decided that I also wanted to make the garage door operable, so that you could have the garage door open or closed depending upon whether you want to show off a car in your garage.

3D Beach Accessories

Free Patterns, Village Accessories / May 17, 2023

I finally made a few 3D beach accessories to go with the Beach House pattern I published last August. I began by thinking about what items I would take with me if I was to go hang out at the beach. A towel, sunscreen, and my phone loaded with an audiobook is probably all I would need, though I would search out a palm tree to sit under as I burn easily. The audiobook isn’t really necessary as the sound of the waves at the beach always lull me to sleep within minutes. Ack, that wasn’t enough, so I threw in a beach chair for my husband, a beach umbrella in case there weren’t any palm trees to sit under, and then a couple of surf boards just because I knew they would look good leaning against the Beach House platform, not because I have ever surfed. I am sure if I had ever tried I would have needed the life preserver.

Guest Designer Gerard Van Kerckhoven: Make Your Own Sears House

Cottages, Free Patterns, Guest Designers / April 30, 2023

It is past time for me to share a pattern from another guest designer. I first became aware of Belgium designer Gerard Van Kerckhoven when he shared several of his designs in Facebook groups in which we are both members. Like me, Gerard is often inspired by pictures of actual buildings. For this design, Gerard used an ad for a 1916 Sears catalog home.

How to Carve a Foam Base

Technique Tutorials / April 3, 2023

I have been wanting to carve a foam base for one of my models for a long time, but I have been very intimidated. I bought an electric foam carving kit over a year ago and hadn’t even opened the package. Recently one of my subscribers sent me a picture of a base she had carved and when I asked her what she used to carve it she explained that she uses only a pencil and craft knife to carve her bases. Well, I can do that!

Make Your Own Village Church

Cottages, Free Patterns, Shops and Village Buildings / March 24, 2023

I had promised Lucy Foxworth that I would make a church pattern with a tower during her Make A Castle Challenge. I know Lucy is working on a cathedral with towers, but I was more interested in making a church that would fit in with the rest of my village.

Having explored designing with hexagonal, octagonal, and round towers, I was ready for a nice simple square tower. I found several churches that I could have used for inspiration, but settled on the Waiʻoli Huiʻia Church in Hanalei, Hawaii. There are two fabulous snorkeling beaches on the north shore of Kaua’i that we really enjoy when we visit, and we drive past the Waiʻoli Huiʻia Church every time we go snorkeling at those beaches.

How to Re-Stick Your Machine Cutting Mats

Technique Tutorials / February 24, 2023

The question of how to keep your mats sticky comes up over and over again. This is of particular interest to those of us who use cardboard or cardstock to make our 3D houses. One of the reasons I prefer to use white Kraft Board or Cover Cardstock is it sheds less than kraft chipboard, but all paper products leave a little bit of residue on the mat every time we use it.

Over time I have developed 3 steps I use to keep my mats sticky or to re-stick my mats. I’ve tried many other suggestions I have read about online, but these three steps work for me consistently. I no longer have to throw away my mats, except when they are so old and I have used them so many times that they begin to crack.

Make Your Own Marques Tower

Cottages, Free Patterns, Houses / February 16, 2023

This is the second and last of the castle patterns I am making at Lucy Foxworth’s request for her Make A Castle Challenge. I had known that I wanted to explore hexagonal and octagonal towers, and had a chance to do both when I made Hiorne Tower. Exploring making round towers was next on the list, so I looked for a castle for inspiration that had a round tower. Once I saw pictures of the Marques Tower at the Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley, France, with its round turret attached to a round tower, I knew I wanted to try to make it. This one was not easy to design, as the main roof of Marques Tower is designed to fit exactly on top of the tower without any overlap. I’ve always been good at math, but found myself particularly challenged, even with an online calculator helping me with the circumference, diameter, and arc lengths. Difficult as it was to design, however, it is easy to make.

Make Your Own French Bond Stencil

Decorating Tools, Free Patterns / February 10, 2023

I just started my model for my next free building pattern, the last of the castles I am designing for Lucy Foxworth’s Make A Castle Challenge. It has some stonework, and there are several ways I could make the stonesk, using either my texture folders like I showed you when I made Villa Torre, or using a debossing tip, like I did with Hiorne Tower. I also have the new stencil I cut when I made my version of Lucy’s Chateau. However, I decided it was time that I make and share a new stencil pattern.

Make It With Me: Make A Castle Challenge Chateau

Cottages, Make It With Me / February 3, 2023

Have you made my Hiorne Tower? Ready to make another castle with me? While I am still working on my next castle pattern for Lucy Foxworth’s Make A Castle Challenge, I decided I would take a little time to make Lucy’s Chateau pattern. I am struggling a bit with the round turret of the pattern I am designing, so thought that making Lucy’s turrets might help me.

Make Your Own Hiorne Tower

Cottages, Free Patterns, Houses, Technique Tutorials / January 16, 2023

This is the first of the patterns I am making at Lucy Foxworth’s request for her Make A Castle Challenge. Time permitting, I will release three patterns: Hiorne Tower, a tower or castle with a round tower, and a fancy church. Lucy will be sharing her trick for making round towers during her video this week and I didn’t want to get ahead of her, so I decided this first pattern would have hexagonal or octagonal towers. After an internet search, I decided on both.

Subscribe To My Newsletter AND Get Free Patterns!