Happy December everyone! All hearts come home for Christmas! What is sweeter than a beautiful little vintage Christmas house ornament for your Christmas tree?

DecoArt has the perfect solution for you! Their wonderful DecoArt Media line of products coupled with fabulous “faux snow” Snow-Tex work perfectly together to give you that gorgeous vintage look of old.

I decided to combine DecoArt's Media line products, Snow-Tex and one of Tando Creative's cottages from their Mini House Trio. This kit includes three houses made from a lightweight greyboard. The houses are pre-cut, scored and ready for you to decorate. 

From start to finish, these little houses are such a fun way to decorate your Christmas tree with your own originality. Let's get started!!

Items Needed:

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Modeling Paste - White (DMM21-71)
• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Clear Matte Medium (DMM20-71)
• Snow-Tex 4oz - Snow-Tex (DAS9-4)
• Tando Creative Mini House Trio Kit
• Small Holly Greenery Garland (any Type Of Greenery)
• Small Red Bow
• Fine Glitter
• Silver Wire (for Hanging The Ornament)
• Baubles (to Hang Under The Mini House)
• Silver Tinsel (to Tread Onto The Wire Above The House)
• Small Candy Canes (to Add To The Trees And Window)
• Little Christmas Angel Post Cards (or Other Images For The Rooftop)
• Paintbrushes
• Small Palette Knife
• Baby Wipes, Paper Towel, Or Cloth
• Exacto Knife

Instructions:

Step 1: Begin with one of the mini houses from the Tando Mini House Trio.

Step 2: You can simply paint over the greyboard and decorate if you're in a hurry but I chose to cover the greyboard with a sweet vintage style cardstock. The thinner the cardstock, the better for this step because thinner cardstock will “give” more on the scored line when you need to bend the house to shape it. To add the cardstock, lay the house on top of the cardstock and trace around it. Then cut it out.

Step 3: Apply DecoArt Media Matte Medium to the greyboard house and also to the backside of the cardstock to get a wonderful “bond” between greyboard and paper. Matte Medium dries clear and works as an excellent glue and sealer. Brush a coat of DecoArt Media Matte Medium over the house as well to seal the paper for future products you will be adding. You may heat set or air dry the Matte Medium.

Step 4: To give an even more worn and vintage appearance, use a brush or a baby wipe and add a layer of DecoArt Media White Antiquing Cream over the cardstock. Wipe away any excess or add more, as you prefer. As long as you don't heat set the antiquing cream, you can manipulate it with water to remove the cream. When pleased with your house, heat set it.  Add double-sided tape to the fold in flaps for when you join the house together to make it 3D.

Step 5: I cut out a window on the back of the house using an Exacto knife and add shutters and sashes using excess greyboard. It was painted red with DecoArt's Media Fluid Acrylics Cadmium Red Hue before I glued them in place. I also painted a little door on the front of the house using the same red and adding DecoArt Fluid Acrylics Titanium White for the center of the door.

I LOVE DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide! It is that lovely sepia tone that instantly warms up any surface and gives that beautiful vintage effect. For this step, simply add a little bit of water to some Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide and randomly wipe it over the surface of the house using a baby wipe, paper towel or cloth. Remove any excess or add more as you wish.

Step 6: To cover any stress areas of the paper on the corners of the house once it's folded together and held in place with the double sided tape, I added DecoArt Media Modeling Paste to the corners of the house to make it look like cobblestone edges. I simply used a small palette knife to apply the Modeling Paste and cut into it to create the stone effect. You can heat set the Modeling Paste or let it air dry. It will dry semi-transparent white and it takes paint beautifully to colorize it.

Step 7: I added DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titanium White onto the shutters of the window on the back of the house. This really helped it stand out.

Step 8: Using a small brush, I added DecoArt Fluid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, without any water, over the DecoArt Media Modeling Paste to blend the cobblestone edges into the house. 

Once the back of the house was complete, it was time to add some greenery and trims to the house to really bring it to life. I added small little bits of holly greenery trim as well as a stick on pine cone image to the window. 

Step 9: To really give the roof its own personality and a real vintage appeal, I painted it red using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cadmium Red Hue. Once dry, I cut a couple of little vintage Christmas Angel postcards I had in my stash of stuff down to fit the sides of the roof top. Any little picture would do or you could just leave the rooftop painted red or add little shingles made out of greyboard..maybe add some faux “snow." The possibilities are endless. To attach the Christmas angel postcards, I used double-sided tape. 

Here you see what the angels attached to the rooftop look like at this point after the hanging mechanism wire has been added in the next step. 

Step 10: I created a little holly wreath out of the same holly garland, added a tiny red bow and glued it to the front door. I also trimmed off the back side of some tiny bottle brush trees and glued them on either side of the front door.  

Now to create the hanging mechanism so that my little house can become a Christmas tree ornament. I found the center of the bottom of the house and the top roof of the house. I punched a hole in both. Next, I fashioned a little dangling bit of baubles to hang under the house. I attached it to a long piece of silver wire and ran it up through the center of the house and out the center of the roof. Leave enough wire to create a loop that can hang on a tree branch. Attach the roof in place with the double sided tape that is on the fold in flap edges at the top of the house.  

Once this is complete, simply add a piece of Silver Tinsel Trim or whatever you have on hand to hide the wire. Bring the now covered wire edges together and give them a twist. Apply a dot of clear drying glue to secure in place. 

Step 11: The basic construction of the house is complete. Now for all of the finishing touches that will really give your house your own personality! I used a small palette knife to apply DecoArt Snow-Tex randomly on the rooftop to hide any seams and also create the vintage snowy cottage effect. Once I applied the Snow-Tex, I sprinkled a small amount of fine glitter over it to really bring out a glistening snow look. I added DecoArt Snow-Tex to the trees, the wreath, the window, the rooftop and along the bottom edges of the sides of the house. Glitter was added to each section as I worked it and before the Snow-Tex would dry. Just let this air dry. Then I added the small candy canes to the front and back of the house using a couple of dabs of clear drying glue. In this photo, you can see all of the transformations using the Snow-Tex, adding the candy canes and how lovely the Christmas angels are on the snowy rooftop of the house. 

In this photo, you can see the other Christmas angel on the snowy rooftop.

And finally, here is the finished back of the little snow cottage. 

I had so much fun making this little ornament and it is now proudly hanging on my Christmas tree. Imagine giving this as a gift to a loved one or making a village for your own Christmas tree.  

Thanks for stopping by. I wish all of you a blessed holiday season and renewed LOVE of crafting and exploring your creativity in 2019!