My SIL has a birthday coming up and is a big Halloween fan and appreciator of handmade things. We also don’t know each other really well and don’t have too many interests in common, so when I saw this pattern in my files, I knew it was going to be her birthday gift for TheMisterT and me.
Hoo boy, there are a lot of mats to cut for this and something close to eleventy-seven individual pieces and I embeliished just about every one of them either by inking, embossing & inking, or by stamping/stamping & inking.
The “panels” of the shutters and the window vellum were stamped with a spiderweb to just give them a subtle little something. I added a little bling to the top of the fancy windows for extra fanciness.
The project is designed for the top of the tower to be a gift box with the roof as the lid. But is was just enough bigger that it would sink down below where it looked nice, so I added these beads to hold it up while still giving the house a bit more “gingerbread.” I went ahead and punched a hole in the bottom to connect it to the main body so I could string lights up in there to light up the windows.
The only orange-ish lights I could find were these with plastic maple leaves over the LEDs. I wanted to make sure it had a birthday sentiment on it, but decided to put it on the inside of the back flap instead of outside. Luckily I thought to stamp it before I assembled the house!
Awww, thank you! I think this file is especially suited to the light-up aspect! I’m kind of wanting to have made more… not so much wanting to do the making quite, though.
Wow! I’m impressed! It’s enough to cut and assemble all of the pieces, but to add so much thoughtful detail makes it that much more spectacular. What an amazing gift to give, and I’m sure she’s going to love it!
