After perusing the internet for ideas for my next house, I decided on making a Gothic Halloween house - with exaggerated proportions to make it a little more spooky and creepy. This means that I stretched out the proportions to be taller and thinner.
The front of the building itself is 3.25 inches. The depth is only 1.5 inches. I glued an extra layer of cardboard behind each section of the house for stability. It is very sturdy. I painted the house with black gesso because the siding is white with a crackle painted surface on black cardstock. I want the seams between the siding to look black to create more dimension and contrast.
See how exaggerated the chimney is. I will paint the chimney a dark smoke-stained red. The alcove's gable is also extremely tall and thin to add to the Gothic concept. The gable on the alcove matches the gable at the roofline. I plan to cover the front of the gables with what is called fish scale shingles, the same thing that will be on the roof. The door will be recessed in the alcove.
This is the crackle-painted siding. I used heavy black cardstock 110 lb and smeared on crackle texture paste. Then I painted over it with some white paint and accented the cracks with black paint. I like it. I cut the paper on my guillotine cutter being very careful not to cut my fingers while I was cutting such narrow strips.
Redanne
I love the look of this one Lucy, no one would ever guess it is so tiny! I am so looking forward to seeing this finished! Anne x
Lucy
Anne,
I actually think of this house as a big cardboard house. When I first started making houses I made them bigger, but then I thought people might appreciate smaller ones if they had a collection or it would be easier to place them in a small space in their home.
Laney
Hi Lucy. I have read all these posts in reverse order - and learned something interesting in each one! Thanks for sharing the weight of cardstock you are using. Mine is too lightweight - not just for house parts but for some other projects as well. Need to get some heavier cardstock.
Lucy
Laney,
I just found 110# cardstock this week at Michael's in various colors. Usually you can only find it in black, white, and cream.
Thank you so much for looking at my blog and even asking questions. If I have some knowledge to share, I am happy to share it.