Houses

I have been working on this pattern for several months. I played around with how I wanted it to look, never quite happy, then recently found a picture on Pinterest that pulled together what I was looking for. I knew I wanted exposed stone walls. In February I made a stencil to use to make the stones, although I also just used my paintbrush to paint grit paste stones onto the walls, especially at the edges. I also designed this pattern so that the window trim is on the inside of the walls instead of the outside. You may have to pay extra attention when you glue on the trim.

I started working on this pattern back in January when I joined a Facebook group that has pictures of tiny houses. Every week there are pictures posted to the group of the cutest houses that inspire me to make little models! Two elements appealed to me about this design. The first was the front porch with the door into the house on the side of the porch instead of in the front of the building. The second is the flat roof. Like with the flat roof of my Village Cafe, I have made the roof so that it does not need to be glued down to stay on, and can be removed at any time. If you want to make the Cozy Cottage into a gift box that you can fill with treats for Mother’s Day, use the solid Putz Bottom.

After designing six Halloween houses (and accessories!) in 2 1/2 months, I needed to take a break from Halloween. I decided to design a rustic looking building that reminded me of fall, but that could easily be adapted to add to a Christmas, Halloween or Fairy Village with the right colors and accessories. I started with a picture someone had sent me, then added the exterior chimney to make the building more rustic.

My friend Lucy Foxworth of Paper Glitter Glue decided to have another challenge and asked me to design some buildings for it. This time the challenge is a Whimsical Fairy House Challenge. Lucy is releasing a different fairy house design every day for 12 days. I have committed to making two fairy house designs.

I decided for the first of my buildings to give Sparrow House a fairy remodel. I knew I wanted to add flowers to my roof, and decided on violas as there are so many color combinations to choose from. For anyone who prefers pansies to violas, I include a pansy pattern too.

I wanted to make another easy beginner cottage this month. While looking through pictures of simple houses on Pinterest together for inspiration, my friend showed me this house, as she loved the porch and curved railing. I loved how it was so cheery looking, and reminded me of spring! I named it Rose Cottage not only for the color of the house, but also as I envision roses growing up the side of the house and along the curved railings.

Ever wonder how I get the ideas for the buildings I design? I search both Google and Pinterest for pictures of buildings I would like to build, and save the ones I like in Pinterest boards. While I prefer to be inspired by real buildings, I’ve used sketches and even computer or AI art to inspire me. This month I received a suggestion that I modify Cheryl’s Place to add a bay window in the front on the first floor, with a balcony on top of it.