The Making of the Abandoned Italianate Mansion – a Halloween Putz House
The Abandoned Italianate Mansion is a Halloween Putz house based on a real house in Pennsylvania. It’s made of cardboard and glue and paint. Now there is a free pattern for it in my library called the “Faded Mansion”. So now you can make your own version of the Abandoned Italianate Mansion.
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The pattern is available as a PDF file and an SVG file if you have an automatic cutting machine like a Cricut or a Silhouette. Just subscribe below if you haven’t already to get my newsletter and updates on the fun things that I made on this blog.
This house was made as a demonstration model to show to Habitat for Humanity to get their permission to sell the houses for Habitat as a fundraiser. Fortunately, they agreed that it was a good fit.
I am going to share it with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is “Anything but a Card”. Thank goodness my house is not a card so it fits well with this theme and I don’t really have to apologize for posting a house – again. I only have about an hour to get it in for this challenge.
Construction of the Abandoned Italianate Mansion Halloween House – Basic Structure
Windows and Siding on the Abandoned Italianate Mansion Halloween House
The bay windows were probably the hardest thing to make because I used on piece of acetate behind them that was hard to bend. It was kind of a pain.
I had to make my own crackle paint because they don’t make my favorite Distress Picket Fence crackle paint any more. I coated a piece of black cardstock with glue then painted it with white gesso, then repeated the process. The paint really does look like old peeling paint on an abandoned house so it worked out, but it took a long time. Then I cut thin strips on my guillotine paper cutter.
Cardboard Base for LED Lights
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great spooky house!
Wow Lucy you have done it again!! This house is out of this world beautiful – a truly spectacular creation! You took me right back to my childhood in Canada where there was an old house just like this in our neighbourhood, you really have captured the scary vibe of that house. You really are a master builder – well done on creating such a life-like building! It's incredible! Anne x
I love it
This is AMAZING !!So many fantastic little details and i love all the texture. I could look at it for ages and I bet it looks so much better in real life…brilliant !
Thank you for sharing with us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge x
Many congratulations you have won our challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with your awesome spooky house ! Please email us at the address in the sidebar so we can explain how you claim your prize ! Please be sure to include your full name in your email.
Happy shopping !
Jo x
Visiting from seeing you won at Simon Wed Anything Goes Ch. This Haunted House is anything but anything; superbly made with wonderful Tim Holtz touches. Congrats!
Melissa
"Sunshine HoneyBee"
I love how this house turned out! I love the lighting!
Can you hear the squeal? That's me! LOVE your house and I read your previous post–go for it! You are amazing and you will raise plenty of money for HFH with your amazing creativity! I see above you won SSS–biggest congrats–you are so deserving! FINALLY! Yippee!
Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving your sweet comment–it made my day!
Hi Lucy, this is Will from the forum. Who do you have make your dies? I am looking to have some custom made myself. Please email when you can at: therealwill65@gmail.com thanks!
Will~
THIS is awesome to the MAX….wow….Love love love Halloween. I can look at these all day seriously. You've done a wild job for authenticity….I can't stop looking and studying them. I hope I can figure out how you put the shapes together from what dies. I have the standard house and also the MANOR is coming. This sure reminds me of my car modeling and construction modeling sets I grew up with as a young lad…..but wow…these are the best. Thanks for sharing with us. I hope I did it right to follow your blog and newsletter.
Ken
Orlando, Fl.
Hello Ken of Orlando! Thank you for your enthusiastic comment. The house itself is not made from the Tim Holtz dies. I used the Manor windows on the house though. Structurally the house is very simple though. It is a regular house with gables on the each side, a gable extension in the front and a square addition next to that. The porch is just an L-shaped piece. See the post on October 20th for the basic pattern – here's the link: https://withglueandglitter.blogspot.com/2017/10/make-your-own-original-putz-house-part-1.html. I'll write a better post about it maybe next week.
Wow! You’re absolutely the queen of paper houses! I’m so glad I found your site. Your homes are works of art and your talent amazing.
Thank you, Dana. I am glad you found this as well. The Abandoned Italianate Mansion really is one of my very best houses. Most of them are not quite as realistic as this house. I don’t know about the queen title, but I do know that the king of little houses is Howard Lamey of the CardboardChristmas.com forum. His stuff is incredible. That’s one person that I have been learning from. Anyway, thank you again for your kind words. Lucy
Absolutely wonderful!!!
Thank you, Marilyn. If my internet comes back on after our recent ice storm, I will post some new stuff. And I do intend to make a pattern for this house, it’s just that I have some specific Christmas ideas I am trying to get done first.
This is pretty neat asy family is from Coudersport, PA.