3DHouses

I started playing with paper a few years ago and really love making cards and other things. I have a Sizzix Manual Die cut Machine that I love and also a Cricut electronic machine that I really enjoy too - especially with the software that gives me the ability to create my own designs. I have added lots of punches, stamps, stamp pads, inks, embossing folders and embellishments along the way. These little 3D houses were inspired by a post on one of my groups and also by the house tryptich I made as a class project a few years ago. The finished houses feature Distress inks, dry embossing, Embossing powders, punched flowers, stamps, dimensional paint, and other embellishments. You can find the a PDF version of the pattern for the houses here. The houses measure approximately 6 1/4"Hx4 1/2"wx1"D.

	Print out the pattern on card stock or cut out on regular paper and transfer t cardstock. Cut on the solid lines. Using a scoring tool, add score lines on the dotted lines and crease. Clip the folds as shown in the pictures and also the corners. As you can see, I printed the patterns directly on card stock. Make sure you cut directly on the printed line. I also added suggestions for a window and a door that opens on the house.
	Embellish the outside of your house. First I added color with Distress ink pads and Ink applicator. I kept the paper as dry as possible to avoid any distortion. After applying color, I placed an embossing folder over the house front, folded the other sections behind and put it though my Sizzix to add texture. The swirls on the sides and back are done with a stamp. I embossed the raised area of the swirls on the house front with Ranger Princess Gold embossing Powder. I stamped and embossed the door and the roof ornament then glued them in place. The door knog is a brad as is the center of the round ornament. On the Birdhouse (not pictured, sorry!) I stamped with a sun stamp, embossed with the gold Embossing powder around the opening then cut out the opening. Then I added color with Alcohol inks and distress inks and applicator. I put the front in an Embossing folder then colored the raised part with Distress inks. Make sure you decorate the inside of the birdhouse and the regular house if you make the door open.
	Glue the houses together by applying glue to the tabs only. The houses will stand by themselves. Now you are on your own to embellish. Below is the finished houses - notice the change from a medallion to a heart on the house.
	Birdhouse: The birds were cut from a Tim Holtz Sizzis die, the folded flower on the roof is also a Sizzix die. The under roof and side border is a punch by EK Sucess. The 5 petal flowers and the floral garland are Martha Stewart punches. The Adage Ticket is also Tim Holtz and the rose is made using a Uchida punch. House: The fence was cut using a Tim Holtz on the edge Sizzix die and the Heart is a Martha Stewart punch. I also added separate roofs with an overhang by cutting a piece of cardstock 1 1/4" wide x 7", rounded the corners and colored top and bottom with Ranger Gold Paint dabber and Distress inks.
Here is another version of the bird house. I set it in a shadow box that was actually the discarded packaging of a child's toy from the dollar store. It had an opening in the front to show the toy and was the perfect size. I colored aluminium duct tape with gold and copper paint dabbers and Distress Ink. This house was made by glueing a page from a romance novel to the card stock using gel medium, colored with Distress Inks, dry embossed then the raised areas were embossed with Distress Embossing powders. The Trees are a Tim Holtz Sizzix Die, as is the heart and wings. The roses were made by cutting a circle in a scalloped spiral and rolling. The "mum" over the door is more book paper cut in a strip, acordian folded and fringed. The center is a rolled ribbon rose. The door opening is part of a baroque plaque (also a Tim Holtz Sizzix die), colored with Distress inks, stamped and embossed with Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder. The roof of the house is also covered with the metal tape. The small leaves were cut with a Marvy punch from patterned paper and then shaded with distress ink. The edging on the house is cut with an EK Success punch.