Make a Simple 4-Sided Paper Castle

Grey castle with 4 towers and 4 sides on hills

Let's make something fun and easy - a simple castle with 4 sides and 4 towers. It's so easy to put together since you make each component separately and they are all rectangles or square shapes. You also have options for different doors to the castle including a drawbridge.

And you can choose to make it out of cardboard or cardstock - whichever suits your crafting style best.

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What do you need to make this Simple Paper Castle?

GENERAL SUPPLIES FOR MAKING THIS SIMPLE CASTLE

Self-healing cutting mat if cutting by hand
Glass mat for painting, stencils. etc. - I LOVE my glass mat
Craft knife - X-acto is the classic brand - for cutting by hand or trimming bits
Craft knife - blades (It's recommended that you change blades for each project when you cut out the patterns by hand)
Painters Tape - I use painter's tape for almost all my projects
PVA Glue - for lighter materials I use Bearly Art Glue
PVA Glue - for thicker materials like cardboard I use Quick Dry Tacky Glue

CUTTING MACHINES TO MAKE THE SIMPLE CASTLE

Cricut Joy with a Foil tool for scoring (use the smaller pattern with the Cricut Joy)
Cricut Joy Xtra with a Foil tool - the Cricut Joy Xtra cuts the regular pattern all
Cricut Explore Air 2 or Cricut Explore Air 3 with Scoring Stylus
Cricut Maker (original) or Cricut Maker 3 with a Scoring Stylus or Scoring Wheel (I think a scoring stylus is much simpler to use though it does not score as deeply.)
Fine Point Blade - it works with my 22 pt cardboard

Cricut is the brand I am most familiar with, but there are other cutting machines - the Silhouette Cameo and the Brother Scan N Cut.

MATERIALS FOR THE CASTLE STRUCTURE

Card stock - 65# card stock (176 gsm) and 110# (300 gsm)
Cardboard - 22 point cardboard (0.5588 mm), 50 point cardboard (about 1.27 mm)
Poster board is an option - most poster board is about 22 pt (0.5588 mm)
Cereal box cardboard - also about 22 pt (0.5588 mm)
Corrugated cardboard - for bases
Single face corrugated cardboard - makes great trim for your castle

WHAT TO USE TO DECORATE YOUR SIMPLE CASTLE

Stencils
Embossing folders like this
Grit Paste - this is my favorite
Texture Paste
Inks
Paint - My favorite is Ranger's Distress Paint, but any acrylic craft paint will work
Optional Acetate or vellum for window background if desired (I left my windows kind of naked so you could see into the castle.)

How do you make this simple castle?

Here is an overview of the steps to make the Simple Castle - Design No. 184.

Download the Make a Castle pattern - Design No. 184 - in the January 2025 section of the Paper Glitter Glue library
Choose what kind of opening you want to your castle such as the drawbridge or the more formal door opening or both
Cut out the Castle pattern in either card stock or cardboard
Decorate your Castle pieces - stencil or paint stone, glue on windows and the door
Optional - glue on window backing, if desired, before assembling the castle. I think the castle looks better with out windows.
Assemble the 4 rectangular sections for the castle.
Make the 4 square towers with steeples.
Glue the steeples to the towers.
Make the front facade of the castle with the central piece and tower on each side.
Assemble the back of the castle with a central piece and a tower on each side.
Connect the front and back of the castle with rectangular piece
Make a cardboard base.
Glue the castle to the base.
Decorate the base as desired

One of my favorite things is when someone takes my designs and elevates it. Irene's version of the Simple Castle is a great example of that. I am so impressed with her version. In addition, her niece painted the vines on each side. I think it's an incredible detail to add to the castle.