This kit is for personal use ONLY. Please do not copy, distribute, or sell any part of this design or the instructions without my permission. Pre-Cut Hiorne Tower @2023 Jacqueline Smith
Please read all instructions prior to beginning the project. If you are new to making houses, make sure you read and understand each step before placing your glue.
I consider this an intermediate kit.
Before you start your new kit, think about how you will want to decorate it. You can paint the house, paint the house and glitter it, glitter just parts of the house like the roof, use the kit pieces as a guide to cut out decorative paper that you can glue onto the house, or just leave the building white for a modern look. If you leave any portion of the house as unpainted cardboard, I suggest spraying with a matte acrylic sealer like Krylon or Modge Podge Sealer.
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Suggested Material List . . .
- Pre-cut kit has been cut from White Kraft Board. This is equivalent to 120 lb cover cardstock or cardboard. Some of the pieces with tight folds may be cut out of 100 lb cover cardstock when the Kraft Board is too thick to make sharp folds.
- Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue. I put it in a bottle with a thin metal tip. If you are new to making kits, you may want to use Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue as this allows more time for you to reposition your pieces if you make a mistake.
- Bone Folder – A bone folder helps you make sharp folds when you are using cardstock or cardboard. While the kit comes pre-scored, I strongly suggest you make the scoring deeper with a bone folder.
- Multi-surface satin finish acrylic paints in your color choices. Two coats are usually required.
- To glitter the house: Extra fine glitter or extra fine iridescent glitter and Spectra Glitter Sparkling Crystals (mixed 50/50) and Modge Podge. I like to apply the Modge Podge with a foam brush to one side of the building at a time, glitter, then move on to the next side. You may like your building glittered with only the extra fine glitter, but I liked adding a slightly chunkier glitter to it too.
- To make the snow: For a smooth coat on the roof, I use Woodland Flex Paste, Woodland Soft Flake Snow, and Hemway White Ultra Sparkle Glitter. Apply the flex paste and sprinkle a combination of the soft flake snow and Ultra sparkle glitter over it while it is wet. For rougher snow on the ground I like to use SnowTex, then sprinkle with the mixture of soft flake snow and glitter. If necessary, use a little Modge Podge on a brush to add more of the snow mixture once the flex paste is dry.
NOTES . . . (read before starting)
- This building needs to be glued together in a specific order. I suggest reading through all of the instructions once before you start gluing.
- Due to variations by each builder you may find a trim piece a tad longer than needed. If this happens, simply trim it down to fit.
- DO use the cutting guide below to identify all of the pieces! It’s always a good idea to lay out all of the pieces before you start so that you have everything in the correct place. I include a few extra window frames in the kit.
Cutting Guide for Hiorne Tower …
Your kit will include either the Regular Back and Regular Bottom Insert, and 6 windows and trim, OR the Putz Back, Putz Bottom Insert, 3 windows and trim, and a strengthening ring for the Putz hole, depending on which option you chose when you purchased the kit.
Let’s get started . . .
The following instructions are to show you how the building should be constructed. I list the order of construction without discussing paint or glitter. Think about how you will finish the building and if any parts will need to be painted or finished before being glued in place.
There is no wrong way to paint, glitter and glue. Personally, I like to paint the trim and walls when flat, then glue the trim onto the building, add the vellum, and then glue the building together. I then glitter the completed building. However, I know people who glitter the building while flat before gluing it together. I suggest you try different methods until you find out what works best for you. Tutorials for various ways to decorate your house can be found on this website.
Make the Cental Tower
1. Above the top and middle arched windows there are score lines where there are decorative grooves in the real building. These can either be left scored or you can use a pen to color them in. I used a silvery-grey glitter pen to color mine.
For Hiorne Tower, the windows and doors are recessed, like they are in real life. Hence all except the horizontal trim will be glued onto the inside of the tower and turret pieces. Glue on the inside arched pieces first.
2. Glue the vellum and the door on the inside. You can glue the horizontal trim onto the tower front, but do not glue it onto the back.
3. Find the score lines and fold on them. Glue the Tower back to the Tower Front. You can now glue the horizontal trim onto the back. It will wrap around onto the front.
4. Check the fit of both the tower bottom insert piece, and tower roof piece, adjusting any of the fold lines as necessary. You may need to trim the corners. Glue the pieces into the top and bottom of the center tower. I found it easiest to glue the roof in, and then the bottom insert. The roof should be glued in just below the cutouts for the top entry to the turrets. Align the notch in the bottom insert with the door.
Make the Turrets
5. Each of the turrets are made the same way. Only 2 of them have a door on the bottom. Glue the trim piece inside the turret, then the door inside that.
6. Find the score lines and fold on them. Note the different score and fold vs placement lines in the diagram below. You do NOT fold on the placement lines.
7. Carefully glue the turret together. Note that the two sides that glue together are flat until about 1/2 inch from the top, where the top of the tower juts out to make the last hexagon point. Glue the black vellum into the inside of the turret.
8. Check the fit of the turret roof piece, adjusting any of the fold lines as necessary. You may need to trim the corners. Glue the roof into the top to the turret.
9. Check the fit of the turret bottom insert, adjusting any of the fold lines as necessary. You may need to trim the corners. Glue the bottom insert into the turret, aligning the notch with the door, and the flat side with the flat side of the turret.
10. Glue the crenulation around the top of the turret, using the placement line. Make the other two turrets the same way.
Assemble the Building
11. Glue each of the turrets onto the Center Tower, aligning the cutouts for light and the cutout with the black vellum at the top of the turrets with the corresponding cutouts in the Center Tower. None of the doors in the turrets should been seen from the front. I like to glue on the left and right turrets first, and then the back turret. You may need to reach up inside the hole in the bottom insert to press the walls together. I use a long wooden knitting needle, but anything will do.
Use the included cardboard to make a base.
This building can be finished with any method you are used to. Don’t worry about it being perfect. Just have fun and enjoy the process!
Enjoy making your Hiorne Tower!! I would love to see your finished buildings. Please share a photo with me by emailing me at Jackie@acottageintheforest.com.
Examples for Inspiration
