Christmas Houses

2 smaller paper mache houses I did last year, and promptly forgot about

Stuck in the process

Cathy's suggestion

Complete

Side view

I enjoy taking a wood or paper mache object and decorating it. I think the process reminds me of the good times when we had a wood craft business. This was in the mid 1990's with my husband. A lot of hard work, but fulfillment as well.

The house is from Hobby Lobby and they are not that expensive, especially if you use the coupon. I did a base coat of gesso all over, including the inside. Starting with the roof, I used Liquitex Basic tube paint in gold. It has a lot of shine. That was 2 coats. The peaks that are red are Folk Art Regal Red in Metallic. Also 2 coats. The stripes on the roof are from a sheet of Graphic 45 scrap book paper that is old. How old? I have no idea. I just start to pull papers out and grab what matches my colors. After completing the roof I was stuck on how to proceed. I had painted the body of the house with Michael's Basic white in metallic, and didn't like the contrast. So that pic went to Cathy, who came back with the suggestion of a light gold. I used Ceramcoat's Antique Gold with water, to create a wash. The base became black.

Back to scrap book papers, and found an old sheet of Cosmo Cricket. I used my square dies to cut out the squares around each window. The wreath was made with the long strings of greenery you can buy. Trees and stars are from Hobby Lobby. Added a touch of gold paint to each star on the windows, but painted the 2 stars in the peaks and let dry completely so the paint would not come off.

The Artisan Market at Palette and Paper has been cancelled. The above houses will be at the Artisan Marketplace in Plainfield, IN. this week. Come by and see us.
Linda