LITTLE HOUSES

You didn't believe me, did you?

When I said I was going to start Christmas crafting in January .....

I was completely serious...

[You can call them 'Winter Crafts'

or 'Valentines Crafts'

if it makes you feel better....]

here's what I'm trying first....

I fell in love with these houses as a little girl.

My parents had a row of them (the old putz houses) they would put lights in at Christmas
and set up on Angel Hair snow on a shelf.

A few years ago I began picking up a few old ones here and there on ebay.
Being over 50 years old and made of cardboard, they were a little bedraggled,
sometimes in strange colors and missing windows.
Still, they were adorable.

  About that time, I started seeing reproductions by Cody Foster and others - wonderful, glittering reproductions - and they weren't cheap.  The thought came to me that I probably wouldn't be that hard to make them.  How hard could making a little house from cardboard be?

[I may or may not have also fantasized about making gingerbread houses from cardboard - more permanent and less caloric]

wouldn't they be adorable?
Or maybe from that cinnamon applesauce dough that smells amazing....
just need something longer lasting than cookie dough...
but - back to subject...

I found I wasn't the only one loving the little houses and wanting to create them.
 I found patterns, and tips and started collecting materials...

they looked complicated and time consuming, and while I don't mind taking time and exploring

I wasn't sure about which ones to try 

and then wonder of wonders, I found Melissa Frances.  Literally.

I went to the CHA show last week
and met this lovely lady

who has a company that makes these kits

in fact, these houses have all been made from her adorable kits:

aren't they adorable?
ready to assemble
ready to decorate
ready to embellish!

If you are interested in making them with me, let me know.
I will provide the kit
and the embellishments
and if you are nearby, we can make them together...
If you are far away, you can still purchase the kits with the embellishments...
as soon as I have an idea how many of you are interested,
I will put some kits together and come up with a cost.

so, let me know here:  your-nest@hotmail.com
or thehandmaidenblog@gmail.com
 let me know in your email if you are interested in having a kit sent to you,
or if you would like to make them in a 'class'

I think that I will still try using the online patterns I found, but in the meantime...

 this is a great start!