More houses here

You will need: a computer, a colour printer, a piece of wood 1/4" x 1/8" and an inch or two long, felt markers (see below), and perhaps a tiny strip of wood 1/32" square and a small piece of green paper.  First, print out a trial copy of the little house.  The house itself, finished, should not be more than about 1/4 inch wide or high.  I think ordinary good quality paper will work best, but you could try cover stock, which is a little heavier.   Check your stock of felt-tipped pens to see if you have good matches for the brick and roof colours of the house.  If not, you could change the colours on your computer to match your pens, or buy new pens, or manage with paint or coloured pencil.  Having altered the picture as necessary, print out several copies.  To experiment, coat some of them with Mod Podge or spray acylic fixative or whatever you think will give a little strength and a nice finish without making the ink run.  Leave some uncoated. Start with an uncoated picture.  Cut it out, including the little V's in the roof.  When cutting the roof, err on the side of "too big," leaving a narrow white margin rather than cutting off some of the green.  Don't worry if you cut the chimneys off.  I left them on just to show you where the real chimneys will be glued later. Fold neatly on the four grey lines, and wrap the paper around your 1/4" x 1/8" piece of wood.  If the house doesn't fit around exactly, with a tiny overlap, shave down your piece of wood or get a bigger one or stick a layer or two of thin card where necessary.  Don't glue the paper down yet. Note the angle of the roof, remove the paper and with a sharp X-acto knife cut the end of the piece of wood to the same shape.  Check the fit again. Get your brick-coloured and roof-coloured markers, and gently colour in the cut edges of the paper.  If you have put a coating on the paper already it may not be possible to use a marker, but you could try a light touch of paint.  If you haven't put a coating on, you could do it now. The piece of wood is of course much longer than the house.  You can leave it like this for now, using the extra wood as a handle, but then you will have to be very careful cutting the house free.  Or you can cut it off to house size right away, and try not to mess up the house as you handle it to add the last details.  Or you can compromise: mark with pencil or knife where the bottom edge of the house will be, and cut partly through all round with a knife, leaving some wood remaining as a  handle.  Then when you do cut it off, you're less likely to damage the paper cover. Now glue the paper round the stick, doing the walls first and then the roof.  If the chimneys will stay upright, well and good, but if not, cut them off. Does it look all right?  If not, start again.  If the roof displeases you, you can use your own green paper to cut another, just a simple rectangle that when folded overhangs at the eaves a tiny bit.  Glue it on top of the present roof. If you want to add new chimneys, use your piece of 1/32" x 1/32" wood, or cut a piece that size (from the end of a toothpick, perhaps).  Colour it brick colour with your marker. You will cut tiny chimneys from this, first making a V-shaped dent at one end of each chimney so it will fit on the ridge of the roof.  Alternatively, cut off each chimney at about a 45 degree angle and glue to the one side of the roof. If you still haven't put on a coating of fixative, Mod Podge, etc., do it now if you want to. The house will probably look best with an added base cut from card or thin wood, especially if you make the base big enough to allow some landscaping.

Toys in Miniature: Frances Armstrong

Tiny houses Dollhouses for dollhouses for dollhouses 1/1728 scale (1/12 of 1/2 of 1/12)

It's easy to see how this fits together, and you could get quite good results by simply printing it out on sturdy paper, and folding and gluing here and there.  But with a bit of extra care you can get much better results. So here are some instructions for those willing to go the extra mile.  It's not really a very long mile.  In the process you may make several less-than-perfect houses, which you can probably find a use for in the back row of a mini store or half-hidden by a Christmas tree.

A project for perfectionist beginners

More houses here

A different design For this house, the roof slopes on all four sides.  Cut your piece of wood accordingly and then when you've glued the walls, fold and glue the roof as if you were wrapping a parcel.  Trim with scissors if necessary. Add a central chimney.

Note the difference between the two roofs

And another one This has a simple roof like the first house, but the upper storey juts out in front (see diagrams below).  You'll have to cut your wooden base to match the side view, carving away the lower front (coloured grey in the diagram below on the left).