Make Your Own Sparrow House

Cottages, Free Patterns, Halloween, Houses /

I had a bit of a challenge in deciding on a Halloween building for this year. I am teaching another class locally in October, so I wanted to design a building simple enough that a beginner could finish it in 3 hours. I also wanted to make a building that could be used for multiple seasons. Since I like basing many of my patterns on actual buildings I tried a Google search and decided on the Jack Sparrow House in Helston, Cornwall. This cottage is one of Airbnb’s most wish-listed properties in the UK. With seasonal decorations it could be a witch’s cottage, a fairy house, or a building that could fit into Whoville.

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Make Your Own Stacked Stone Wall Stencil

Decorating Tools, Free Patterns /

I just finished my pattern for the Village Pub, based on the Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin, Ireland. Since the pub had a stacked stone wall front, I decided I wanted one too. There were several ways I could make the stones, using either my texture folders like I showed you when I made Villa Torre, or using a debossing tip, as I did with Hiorne Tower. I really love the look of stenciled stones made with grit paste, however, so I decided it was time that I make and share a new stencil pattern.

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Make Your Own Village Pub

Cottages, Free Patterns, Shops and Village Buildings /

This month I decided to make SVGs in Inkscape of one of the early buildings I originally designed in Cricut Design Space. This building is based on Gus O’Connor’s Pub in Doolin, Ireland. From TheJournal.ie: “SINCE 1832, GUS O’Connor’s has been a fixture in Doolin, Co Clare. Over the years, it has garnered a reputation as one of the best regarded traditional music pubs in Ireland.”

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Make Your Own Retro Ice Cream Stand

Cottages, Free Patterns, Shops and Village Buildings /

For a while now I have been receiving requests to make more buildings that would fit in with my Mid-Century Modern House. The house tends to be one of my most popular downloads as well as a best selling DIY kit. There are other places to find free Mid-Century Modern house patterns, however. It is clear the dearth of patterns is for shops for your Retro Village. With how hot it has been outside, a Retro Ice Cream Stand seemed perfect.

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Make Your Own Barn with Stables

Cottages, Free Patterns, Houses, Snow Village /

I had plans for a different design this month, but my friend Lucy Foxworth emailed me while I was on vacation to ask if I would make a barn pattern for her June Challenge. Of course I didn’t realize that I would be so busy on my vacation that I wouldn’t find a minute to design, but I have been working on it since I got home. Like with my pattern for my Detached Garage, I wanted operable barn doors.

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Make Your Own Detached Garage

Cottages, Free Patterns, Houses /

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.

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3D Beach Accessories

Free Patterns, Village Accessories /

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.

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Make Your Own Village Church

Cottages, Free Patterns, Shops and Village Buildings /

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.

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Make Your Own Marques Tower

Castles, Cottages, Free Patterns /

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.

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