The Count’s Keep – Newest Bat Wing House

I decided to do some “home improvements” on the previous Bat wing house:

1. More prominent spiderweb design
2. Rounded wings
3. Door to open easier to show the Count inside
4. Wider base.

You can see them side by side below. I always like to change the houses up a little bit, but since the basic design was so similar I decided to change the color scheme. Purple is a little more Halloweeny, I think. I don’t really like the color as well because it doesn’t show up as effectively. I’m just a blue person – that’s all there is to it.

I was able to make the spider web embossed design standout so much better by using some advice I got on the Creative Carte Blanche Facebook page. Anne suggested using a gilding paste, but I don’t have any white paste like that. It gave me an idea though. I first painted it with my finger like I would rub on gilding paste. It was a little messy so I decided to paint the white on by pulling a brush that had just a little white paint on it parallel to the surface of the house – just enough to catch the embossing and paint it. It worked. Now the question is – does it make the house look better? I think the subtle design of the first one is my preference. Maybe the windows make it look too busy, because I do like the way the painted spiderweb on the back looks as opposed to the one distressed with white paint.

I reinforced the door with bookbinder’s tape so the door can be opened and closed repeatedly without falling off. I forgot to do that on the first house.

The bat wing is longer on this house and the back part of the wing roofline is curved. I think it looks better, though I don’t know if it is worth the trouble to do that.

I really like this base with the inset stairs. I wrote about making it in this post.

I painted the rocky base and then went over it lightly with black paint to make striations to look like stratified rock layers.

The wall is made with a Tim Holtz stone stencil from Stamper’s Anonymous. I made caps for the posts and stuck a bead in the middle. It is anchored in the post with a wire through it so it is not easy to pull off.

That’s the latest House for Habitat. My next crafty project should be some graduation cards though I am currently lacking in design inspiration.

Next house might have round turret or two. That’s the plan, anyway. Thank you for reading. Have a good day.