It’s been a while since I did a make-along of another designer’s building, but with Easter fast approaching I wanted to remake a cottage I had made once before that is just perfect for the holiday, the Spring Egg-Centric House by Sandy Stark of Simply Crafty SVGs. This one does require purchase of the pattern, but it is so unique, and so perfect for Easter, it is well worth it.
Sandy makes a wide variety of different SVGs, not just houses. One of them is a gypsy caravan, a Vardo, that I am just itching to make next.
Join along with me as I make the Spring Egg-Centric House. As usual I will be scaling the Spring Egg-Centric House to fit with the Tim Holtz Village dies.
This Is How I Made the Spring Egg-Centric House
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Spring Egg-Centric House Materials
- Sandy’s pattern for the Spring Egg-Centric House from the Simply Crafty SVGs website.
- Decorative Cardstock, Cardboard or Aluminum Cans – your choice! Sandy’s house is made of decorative paper over cardstock. I made mine from aluminum cans. While separate files to cut out the glued-on paper are included, I only cut out the main house files since I was using aluminum cans. If you want to make the house out of cardboard, paint and glitter, you would do the same.
- Pink Vellum Paper
- Glue – If using cardstock, I suggest Art Glitter Glue. For aluminum cans, I use Aleene’s The Ultimate Glue. For cardboard houses, I recommend Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
- A Cutting Machine like a Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore
- An Embossing Machine and folders. I used the Damask embossing folder by Darice for the body, the Cherry Blossom embossing folder by Darice to texture the roof, and both the discontinued Kitchen Weave folder by Cuttlebug and the Crackle folder by Darice for the base.
- Double sided adhesive tape – 1/8″ (optional)
- Bone folder (optional) A bone folder helps you make sharp folds when you are using cardstock or cardboard. I have found it even helps with aluminum cans. I now use my bone folder to deepen score lines all the time.
- Decorative Easter papers (optional – for cardboard)
- Multi-surface satin finish acrylic paints or Ranger distress inks (optional – for cardboard or cardstock.) Having finally used both on a cardboard house, these work very well. I had trouble finding some of the colors I needed in the FolkArt paints and used the Craftsmart brand instead. They went on just as smoothly. With the distress inks, make sure they dry thoroughly before handling the pieces or you will have stained fingers. I speak from experience.
Steps to Make the Spring Egg-Centric House
- Download the Spring Egg-Centric House pattern from the Simply Crafty SVGs website.
- Size the pattern
- Make any adjustments to the pattern
- Cut out the pattern – I use my Cricut Maker
- Texture the pieces (necessary if using aluminum cans.) I use my Sizzix Bigkick
- Glue on window frames, then attach vellum windows
- Assemble the building structure
- Make base and decorate as desired
How To Make The Spring Egg-Centric House
Download the Spring Egg-Centric House Pattern
First, download the Spring Egg-Centric House pattern from the Simply Crafty SVGs website. Don’t forget to unzip it. The pattern is available as a SVG (scalable vector graphics.) There is a lovely assembly video on the product page, so my instructions below will be abbreviated.
If you are using a Cricut machine, you will need to change the solid scorelines in Cricut Design Space from cut to score and attach them to their shapes before sending them through your cutting machine. Here is a great tutorial from Jennifer Maker’s website on attaching score lines.
Size The Pattern
Please see my blogpost Make It With Me: Halloweenie Town Dead Inn where I show you the steps I take to size a pattern. In this case, as I have made the pattern before, I have already done all the hard work. To fit with the Tim Holtz Village dies, I liked 59.7% of the original SVG files. These pieces, which import together, were originally 7.373 x 7.651, and are now 4.402 x 4.568.
You can scale each of the items separately, or instead drag them all together and highlight all of the items you want to change. When you want to scale both the height and width the same amount, make sure the little lock between the width and height bars is locked. Then multiply one of the measurements by the percentage you want to change.
Make Any Adjustments To The Pattern
I decided that to fit in with the rest of my village that I wanted a larger yard and smaller stairs, so that I could fit a tree and bunnies into the yard. I suggest you cut both out of scrap cardstock to see how much you wish to scale each.
Cut Out the Pattern
Cut out all of your cardstock, cardboard or aluminum can pieces using the pattern. If you are using cardboard and don’t intend to paint it, you can use the included Panels files to cut decorative Easter paper or cardstock which you can glue to the cardboard.
Refer to the PDF instructions included with the SVG pattern for the names of each of the pieces you need to cut out.
Texture The Pieces
If desired, texture each of the house shapes using your embossing machine and texture folders. I used the Damask embossing folder by Darice for the body, the Cherry Blossom embossing folder by Darice to texture the roof, and both the discontinued Kitchen Weave folder by Cuttlebug and the Crackle folder by Darice for the base. I use the Crackle embossing folder frequently. Unfortunately, these companies retire the embossing folders all the time, so if you see one you think you will use a lot, snap it up while it is available.
Glue On Window Frames, Then Attach Vellum Windows
Glue on all of the window frames and shutters and attach the door. You can add all of these after you put the building together, but it is much easier to add while the walls are flat.
Use glue or the 1/8″ double sided adhesive tape to attach the vellum window pieces to the inside of the building pieces. Once again, this is much easier while the walls are flat.
Assemble The Building Structure
Fold along the score lines. Glue the tabs of the 6 sides of the house together. There is a hexagonal piece that is glued to the top tabs of all 6 pieces that gives the building extra structure.
For the roof, once again there is a hexagonal piece that is glued onto a six sided peaked piece that holds the roof in place. Glue the 3 roofs of various size together and stack one on top of each other.
Glue the roof to the top of your egg building. Add the stairs.
Make Base and Decorate As Desired
For the Spring Egg-Centric House I started with an octagon shape of aluminum 4 1/4 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches deep. I cut a small circle under where the building will sit, then textured the base with the Kitchen Weave folder several times and then the Crackle folder once to get the look of grass. Then I turned under 1/4 inch on each side. This allows me to string fairy lights under the bases of the different buildings in my village. In this case I have ironed emerald green HTV (heat transfer vinyl) onto my base. Though a file for a fence was included, I used a different fence cutting die I own as I liked the egg-shaped rails.
I’ve added some bunnies from a cutting die I own, but there plenty images in Cricut Design Space If you want to add some to your house.
Enjoy making the Spring Egg-Centric House! I would love to see your finished design. Please share a photo of it with me by emailing me at Jackie@acottageintheforest.com. I really enjoyed making the Spring Egg-Centric House, and it looks great with my other village houses.
