good afternoon...

for many years i have been keeping pix of houses that maria and others have been sharing...i spent some time looking and found something that i really liked...and in a look i hadn't done..."mid-century modern"...

you can tell from the colors that i'm trying to get away from the lighter pastels and go with something darker and deeper...

this house is textured with ordinary bird cage gravel mixed in the primer coat...i added some white glue to the primer to help the gravel stick...the final coats are the usual craft paints...

there are a few random areas where i brushed on white glue with a worn out old fan brush and sprinkled on mica and glitter...

the base measures 4 1/4" x 6 1/4"...overall height is 3 1/2"...the santa figurine is one i found on ebay...it used to be sold by lionel trains...the bottom of the base has their signature "L"...

my very best regards...

howard...

Very nice, as always.

Awesome house Howard! I'm a huge fan of Mid-Century Mod!! Do you make your own windows? The gold bars on them almost looked raised in the pic.

Nice touch with the snow on the window sills too!

brian...

regarding "windows"...a talented member of the forum sent me details on the technique he uses earlier this week...i understand he is working on a tutorial that he plans to post it on the forum in the near future...all i can tell you is that his method works beautifully...

my very best regards...howard...

I look fwd to reading it! Once again, great house!

Howard,
I love this house and the colors you used.
I am sure this has been asked before, but what type of cardboard do you usually use on your houses? The three I made were out of mat board which was really too thick. I also tried doing on with chipboard but that seemed too thick as well. I guess I am not sure of the durability of cereal box cardboard. Any advice you could offer, I appreciate.
Lee

Actually the window method article is on my computer at this moment being converted to HTML. Hopefully you'll see it tomorrow.

- Paul

lee...regarding cardboard...

probably 95% of the time i use cardboard that is the same as writing tablet backs...it's available from hobby lobby craft stores in 30" x 40" sheets...most art supply stores also sell...note...i prime one side with flat white paint before use...makes a nice surface to start with...pencil marks show up well...

cereal boxes are fine for small parts...you can also laminate two layers together with white glue...glue the printed sides together...i suggest you rough up the slick printed sides with medium grit sand paper so that the glue will bond better...

walmart also sells a nice premium, heavy duty poster board...it's not that thin stuff...i keep a sheet on hand all the time...

howard...

Howard,
Thank you very much for your input.
Lee