Little Village Home Decor Piece - by Claudia

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by! Claudia here today as it's my turn again to share some artsy inspiration with you and - despite my love for everything weathered, textured or grungy (actually I can't do anything else...somehow everything I create turns towards at least one of these without me even aiming for it) - this project turned out almost clean and simple...well, as clean and simple as a grunge-lovin' girl like me can get. There's still a grunge feel to it though I think - and the use of thick cardboard, one wooden house shaped block and a wooden tray as a base also adds cool texture - even though it is rather subtle. 

 

My husband and I have just bought a house in the countryside and it has come as quite a surprise to us that we found one that we truly love that fast and in a spot we couldn't wish for to be any better! We had always planned (or hoped) to spend his retirement in the country with our beloved mountains, forests and lakes nearby - and now our dream has come true...which makes me feel utterly blessed and thankful - and happy of course! 

The project was done during the hard time of waiting for the seller to accept our bid. I tried to not think too much of the house (in case some competitor would snatch it away) - but that of course was almost impossible - somehow I just found myself over and over again thinking and dreaming of it. So I decided to put my "house-thinking" into houses right in front of my nose and create a home-decor piece in industrial-grungy style. Either I was going to put it up in our new home soon...or at least I had spent some relaxed time distracted from the stressful thoughts and insecurity. A kind of win-win situation ;) 

The style of my project was inspired by the many beautiful concrete home decor pieces and I wanted my houses to look as if they were cast from concrete - kind of massive, with simple straight lines and shapes. And I wanted the base to look as if it was done from concrete, too. So I went for colours that all have warm grey and grungy beige and white tones. The use of rough cord and an old book page for the clothes line adds even more texture and interest to the project. 

My aim was to have the designs from the used stencils to be the stars - so there was another reason to keep the shapes of the houses and clothes as simple and straight as possible. 

I've used the "Tiny Houses" Sizzix die to cut my houses from thick cardboard leftovers from packaging. The picture also shows the balsa wood tray (looted from the sales section of a home decor store) that was going to be the base for my village scene (in the upper left corner). 

I also like to use little wood houses (also from the home decor store's sales sections) - the grey one became the largest house in the village - the other houses were all done using the cutting die. 

As the die cuts give projecting roofs...

...I shortened these so their ends lined up with the houses' edges. Remember - simple, straight lines! 

StencilGirl stencils used: 

- Building Perspective Italy - designed by Chris Cozen

- Gaol Doorways - designed by Tina Walker

- Totally Triangular - designed by Wendy Aikin

- 1700s Building Stencil - designed by Carolyn Dube

- Large Hall Stencil - designed by Mary Beth Shaw

But first I primed the die cut house parts using DecoArt Americana and Americana multi-surface satin paints Lamp Black, Charcoal Grey, Zinc, Pewter, Cotton Ball, Mushroom and Dolphin. 

Once that had dried I used the same colours (contrasting the ones used before on each house) with the stencils. The paint was applied using a cosmetic sponge. 

I love how beautiful the awesome stencil designs look on the house shapes! 

Time to assemble the houses! I've used Tacky Glue this time as it dries really fast. 

The wood tray was flipped over to form the "faux concrete base" and painted with DecoArt Chalky Finish paint "relic". 

All I needed to finish off my little village was some laundry for the clothes line. I cut that free hand from an old dictionary page. 

Again I used Tacky Glue to fix the clothes to the (thin packaging cord) line. 

Done!

With my additional new home in the countryside (and close to the beloved lake since my childhood days) I will have both - the pleasures and drive of the lively city of Vienna and the stillness and beauty of nature in one of Austria's loveliest holiday spots! I am sure commuting will be quite a challenge at first but also a great adventure - and I will always be remembered of these exciting times and of how blessed we are when looking at my home decor piece. :) 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx