Hi everyone,
This is my most recent project I have completed this weekend. My Gnome House or possible Smurf Type House, not sure yet! I'm excited, I have been working towards having a model that I can make a mold from so I can mass produce at least 50. So I can start a side business selling them at Miniature Shows or on my Blog and see if people would like to buy them as they would a Doll House. But mine would be made out of 100% Paper, and be able to fit virtually anywhere, since they are not to small and not to large.
I wish I could create each house different, but it takes me about 5 hours to make a cardboard frame for the shape of the house, and about 2 hours to add all the paper and carvings. Not to mention the long drying time of a couple of days. I'm hoping if i make a plaster mold of one house that it would only be an hour to press in the paper for the house, which should dry quicker within the plaster, which I could place directly into the oven to dry for a couple of hours or all day to dry. Then pull the house out of the mold and make another. My goal is to make a line of different houses with a limited number of each house. Now the scary part next weekend is trying to figure out how to make a very large plaster mold of this house, and build a would box large than this house to pour the plaster into. I have no idea what to do, but ill experiment until i figure it out. Once the mold is made, then I will complete this house if I don't destroy it when I make a mold from it. I hope you like!
I'll post more pictures soon with progress as I go.
Let me know what you think, I can handle any critizism, I think. :)
Have a Wonderful Week Everyone!
Stan
While the paper was wet I cut a line through the house. This will be where the house is hinged to open, for easy access.
Ya its starting to dry! I let it dry for over 1 day before I could pull out the bolt nuts that made the window openings. It was still very wet.
Just finished pulling out more bolt nuts.
At this point I felt really proud of what I had accomplished, and really liked the look of the house so far. I remember thinking how much it looked like a Smurf house, but in my own creative style. I grew up watching the Smurfs, and remember how fascinated I was with the thought of miniature things living in the woods.
This is right after I added all the paper to the outside of the cardboard frame.
I had to end up cutting open the house after a day so it could start drying, since the cardboard frame keeps all the moisture and doesn't let it dry properly.
A closer look at the inside of the cardboard frame.
This is after I used a knife to cut open the house to dry. As you can see, the plastic grocery bags i used to make the shape of the house.
Up close look at the bolts nuts that I hot glued on to make the shapes for the windows and door.
It took me a couple of hours to figure out what to do to make window openings, so I don't have to cut into the harden paper later on. So I hot glued on bolt nuts from the garage to give a basic shape I was looking for, for the windows and door.
The main cardboard base I made out of cardboard and duct tape and painting tape and plastic grocery bags. This way I can get a basic shape I was looking for.
