Now available from my Etsy Store!
Tiny Village 2015 is a set of 8 miniature paper buildings. There are three color choices, white, black and gingerbread brown. There is also a smaller micro size version of this kit. The photos used in the instructions were taken using the lager Tiny size which is 1:220 scale.
The buildings in the set "Tiny Village 2015" begin with number 32 and end with number 39.
Before you begin to assemble this set please refer to the posting located elsewhere on this blog http://glitterhouses.blogspot.com/2014/03/tips-for-folding-tiny-pieces.html for extra advice on making and handling the folds on some of the very small pieces.
You may need to use a sharp knife to remove chads from some of the window openings but don't remove the hinged doors as they are meant to stay attached.
Before you begin assembling a building glance all the way through the instructions so you familiarize yourself with what happens to all the pieces. If you wish to decorate a building with gel pens or felt tip markers it is easier while the pieces are flat. However glitter should be done after assembly as excess glitter will interfere with the precision fit of the pieces.
Tools needed are as follows. A sharp pointed craft knife, a #11 blade is good, I use the knife for removing any hanging chads from windows and for helping to remove excess glue before it dries. It is also good for gently pushing the walls into position. You can use a toothpick or fine point glue applicator bottle for adding just the right amount of glue. Toothpicks can also reach into deep spaces to help you adjust the edges of pieces during the glue steps. Bamboo skewers are also a great tool for reaching inside of the buildings to encourage the walls into proper position. Tweezers with slanted, straight across tips, often called eyebrow tweezers, will help you hold onto the very small parts and help with making bends on them. Your finger are the only clamps you will need. Just use them to gently press the parts together until the glue grabs. When gluing paper a small amount of glue is best as you don't want the parts to get soggy. Clear drying, thick, PVA glues work well but choose one that dries water resistant if you wish to decorate the building with paint or glitter. My favorite glue is Crafters Pick "The Ultimate". See the sidebar of this blog for sources on materials such as glue, glitter and tools such as the fine point glue applicator bottle with a .7mm metal tip. I love these applicator bottles, they make the assembly go super fast! A stainless steel sewing pin makes a great stopper for the metal tip. It is important to only use stainless steel pins as regular pins will rust.
On every building you should always pre-fold the pieces on the bend lines before you start. I fold each section completely back against the adjacent one except for the doors. This will slightly weaken the paper and make it much easier to get the sections into the perfect alignment. You won't have time to fight folds while gluing. Be sure to always protect fragile areas that have a lot of cutout detail with the flat tipped tweezers for pliers when you fold them. It is often important to test out what you are doing to be doing by dry fitting pieces together before you apply glue to them. More than any other tip I can give you this dry fit testing will give you confidence and lead you to success.
You can of course work on more than one building at a time. I often have two or three buildings in progress to allow for glue drying time without waiting around doing nothing.
# 32
Building #32 is a simple cottage with clipped gables.
This type of design can be seen in old paintings of many regions of Northern Europe. The steep pitch helped shed water and snow. They were often thatched but also found with shingles and tiles on the roof.
Your packet for the #32 building should contain
the pieces shown in this photograph. They are labeled here to show you what they are.
I start the numbering of the buildings with those that are easiest to construct so you gain skills as you progress towards making the more complex buildings.
Lets begin by gluing two of the sub assemblies, the roof and also the chimney. Apply glue along the cut edges of the pieces. Then fold and hold with your fingers until the glue grabs.
It is critical that you always allow the glued up roofs, chimneys and other sub assemblies to get fully dry before you install them onto other pieces.
Lets glue and fold the walls and base. Just apply glue as shown by the red lines. You can look ahead at the next photo to see how it looks when glued up. The outside of the walls will be flush to the cut edge of the base. This is typical of all buildings unless the directions state otherwise.
Looking ahead at the next several steps or back at the first photo of the finished building will help prevent mistakes.
The roof goes on next.
Before you install the roofs you always need to look at the building and be sure the walls that have peaked points are standing up nice and straight. It is not that easy to adjust them after you set the roof on but if needed it can be done by putting the point of your #11 knife into the gap and pulling outwards or by inserting a tooth pick into the hole in the base and pushing outwards. After you set the roof on look at it from all sides and make sure it sits level.
You will always need to look at the chimneys from several angles to be sure you have them nicely vertical.
Install the chimney. I have shown the approximate location in yellow. That fold line on the roof will be at the lower edge of the chimney.
You can see it installed in the photo below.
Congratulations you have completed #32
# 33
Building #33 has a twin peaked roof line. The only tricky part is getting the small roof over the door on nice and level.
Your packet for building #33 should contain the parts shown in this photo.
Lets begin by gluing up the chimney and setting it aside to dry while we work on other pieces.
Now we will glue up the main structure.
The roof goes on next
The roof has several folds that need to be made as shown in this photo. Do a dry fit of it before you apply any glue to the walls. Doing a dry test fit first makes it so much easier to work quickly when placing the roof into glue. In that center fold area of the roof between the gables peaks there are small hooked points, those will lock the roof in place evenly from front to back.
Next the cross roof section in the middle is installed. You need do a dry fit of this piece as well. The two narrow ends of it will rest right against those two hooked points at the front and back of the main roof. Those points act as a locating stop for the narrow ends of this diamond shaped roof piece to keep it perfectly positioned.
The small roof over the entry goes on now.
If you wish to do so you can lightly sketch in a guideline onto the wall of the building to make sure you install it perfectly horizontal.
You need to fold down the end of the roof to create a little bracket as shown in this photo. It has to be folded so that the tiny 45 degree slope is glued to the building. Check and double check with a dry fit to be sure you folded it right. The micro size bracket is pretty hard to see as it is very tiny.
Install the chimney as shown in this photo. When you look at the building from the front the wall of the chimney will be directly in line vertically with that side wall of the building. I center the chimney in the middle of the roof from front to back.
Congratulations you have finished building #33!
Building #34 is a small structure with an overhanging upper story (called a jetty) and a little shed roofed room on one side. It has a tapered chimney against one side. The roof has a clipped gable front and back.
This one reminds me of a toy shop.
The tricky part of this buildings is getting the front wall flush to the sides of the building before the glue starts gripping the papers. So be sure to read the assembly instructions before you apply the glue in that step.
Your packet for building #34 should contain the pieces shown in the photo.
Its a simple building but there is a narrow Z fold to make in the front wall that needs careful support when folding to prevent distorting it.
Fold up and glue the roof and the chimney and set them aside to dry.
Now the walls fold up.
The front wall of the building will be sitting over the top of the cut edges of the side walls. You will fold up and glue the sides of the building before you start on the front wall. It is important to make sure that the edges of the front wall end up flush with the outsides of the side walls of the building. There is no doubt that some nudging of the side walls will need to happen. I use the flat side of my #11 knife to make those nudging moves. Work quickly on this so the glue does not set up before you finish the adjustments.
Be sure you look at the roof from all sides as well as from underneath as you install it to make sure it sits nice and level from side to side.
The chimney is now glued to the side of the building.
Congratulations, you have completed #34!
# 35
Building #35 is a low T building. The basic structure is not complex but care does have to be taken when installing the roofs as some of the roof edges do slide underneath an adjacent roof. Just do a dry test fit before you apply glue on those roofs and everything will go smoothly as you will know in advance the moves you need to make.
Your packet for #35 should contain the pieces shown in this photo.
Glue up the chimney and set it aside to dry
Now we will assemble the building. Do a dry fit fold up first so you understand that when you wrap the walls around the end of one side will extend past the corner of the wall coming in from the other side. This small amount of extension helps to close up any minor gap that might happen at that intersection.
The back wall of the building will have the chimney on it. There is a notch in the roof for the chimney to pass through. The edge of that roof notch should be flush to the back wall of the building. This is important as the locations of the other roofs are dependent on your getting that right.
Now the second roof piece goes on. At the rear of the building the edge of this roof will slip under the first roof at the area where there is a notch in the edge of the first roof. Do a dry fit and look at the photo below where I have shown a closeup of that fit.
Here you can see where the roof on the right has been slid underneath the edge of the upper roof on the left.
Do a dry fit of the small roof that is over the entry door before you apply any glue.
The has to slip under the other two roofs at each end. You scroll back in the instructions and take a look at the first photo of the #35 building to see what this completed roof piece looks like.
Apply the chimney to the rear of the building.
Congratulations you have completed building #35.
# 36
Building #36 is a fun shape, its a little hexagon. There is always someone in a community who likes to think outside the square box. This one was inspired by a toll road house in England. A little room was added to one side and of course it also has a fireplace too. I think I would enjoy living in it myself.
Your packet for building #6 should contain the parts shown in this photo.
Glue the three sub assemblies shown in this photo. Don't forget to reinforce the joins on the roofs with a small fillet of glue applied to the underside. Be sure the glue is completely dry before installing the roofs.
The small room at the side needs to be folded up first. The side walls on it extend a little was into the building so that when the tall walls of the building wrap around they will rest on top of those shorter walls. This was done to prevent having visible gaps at those joints.
The joint up at the top of the tall walls does not overlap, it is a simple butt join with edges touching. You can put a fillet on the inside of all these joins after they dry to strengthen them.
Roofs go on next. Its very easy to get a hexagon roof on crooked so be sure to inspect it from all viewing angles to make sure you get it sitting on level.
Install the lower roof first and also inspect it for level.
The chimney is the last piece to go on. Look at the next photo so you can see that it sits right on top of a joint in the roof panels.
At the lower edge of the roof it will be positioned so that the chimney sits just inside of the walls.
A closeup to show how the chimney is installed.
Congratulations you have now finished building #36!
#37
Building #37is a little larger than some in the set. Every village needs buildings for school houses, town halls and such so this is one suitable for that kind of function.
The only slightly tricky bit is getting that projecting bay installed but I have added some built in features to make it easy.
Your packet for #37 should contain the parts shown in this photo.
There are four sub assemblies to make and set aside to dry before you start on the main walls.
The base of the bay window will fold up and sit perpendicular to the walls. Its easy, I know you can figure it out by looking at the first photo in this set of instructions.
The walls are a basic wrap around assembly
At the top of the bay window sides are projection which will rest on the top of the building's walls. This controls the height of the bay window so it does not slide down the side of the building. You do want those projections to be resting on the top of the wall. The tabs on the building help control the location of the sides of the bay and a dab of glue on the tabs helps secure the bay against the building.
Now the roof is installed on the wall. Fold the sides of the dormers in towards the center before putting the roof on. As with all other roofs check to see that it is level from side to side and make any adjustments before the glue sets
The dormer roof is installed in this step.
First put a dot of glue on the cut edges of the roof where the dormers sides are. Then spread open the sides to rest against it.
Apply glue to the upper edges of the dormer and to the underside of the dormer roof right against the top edge.
Center the roof on the dormer, lower it onto the dormer and look at it from underneath to be sure it is touching the top of the dormer walls and not slid too high up the main roof.
The bay roof is installed now.
Apply glue as shown in the photo and set it into place being sure it is level across the front.
There is a particular order in which you fold the walls up and install the roofs so be sure to scan through the directions before you begin.
The bay window on this piece has a lot of cut out detail. This makes it somewhat fragile so it absolutely needs to have the support of flat tipped tweezers clamped across the sides when you fold them. The directions for doing this are found in this blog at this link: How to Fold Tiny Pieces
The bottom of the projecting front over the bay needs to have the bottom folded in and glued.
The bay window needs to have the walls folded up and in and glued.
Now the upper wall above the bay folds around.
Fold the sides of the dormer in towards the center before you begin. On all these roofs you do need to look from underneath to be sure they sit properly against the top of the walls.
Note that there is a notch in the side of the roof. This must be located towards the center as it provides clearance for the next roof piece installed so be careful when you fold this roof to get that location right.
I have also show the chimney in this photo. It is installed next. It is to be centered on the top of the main roof ridge between the two gable roof when viewed from the front of the building. Look at it from the front of the building while you position the chimney. Refer to the first photo in the #38 directions for further clarification of its intended position.
Congratulations you have completed building #38!
# 39
Building #39 is a great one to use for Santa's Workshop in a snowy Christmas village scene. Its form was inspired by the stave churches in Norway. Its plenty large to house an army of elves working steadily away.
But as with most villages there are often mills, barns and other types of larger buildings near the village so it is equally suitable for that purpose. It would also make a great fire station with the double wide doors on one side for the trucks and tall tower for drying hoses on the front. Lots of room for the fire fighters to live upstairs. What you decide its purpose will be in your village is up to you.
The micro size version does not have sides on the dormer. Not a problem as they would not be visible.
We will begin by making the 5 subs assemblies that are shown next to a completed building.
There is the lower floor, the upper floor, a top piece to the entry tower and two chimneys.
First glue up the two chimneys
Next glue up the entry tower top.
The two sides meet in a butt join just touching each other at the tops.
The triangular front will be glued against the cut edges of the sides, it will over lap the sides but be flush with them for a smooth surface for the roof to rest on..
The first floor is next.
The walls of the front entry tower wrap around and get glued first.Then entry side walls extend in towards the center of the building further than the sides walls coming in from the left and right of the main building. This will help prevent unsightly gaps at those joins.
Next wrap the rest of the walls around.
First step is to add small doubler pieces to reinforce the steep pointed tips of the walls. They are a bit too floppy without a doubler. You can glue them to the inside of the buiding for an invisible look or to the outside as an extra trim detail. Its up to you, they are fine either way. There is also a double to glue on at the tip of the dormer peak.
The second step is to fold up the sides of the front and back walls and then fold in and glue the pointed end walls over them. Be careful the end walls need to rest on the cut edges of the front and back walls and end up flush with them along the side edges. If they are not flush the roofs won't sit right.
Here the lower back roof is glued to the upper wall section. Just spread some glue across that surface as indicated. The roof piece is centered so that it extends and equal amount at each end. The top of the roof section should land exactly at the bend line where the wall changes from being sloped to being vertical.
It has to be located in exactly the right place in order to fit around the entry tower. To make that easy I have cut a small rectangle in the roof and in the sloped wall where it installs. Use your #11 knife against the inside edges of that hole to make sure the line up perfectly. Also sight along that top edge of the roof and the bend line of the wall to make sure they are exactly parallel with each other.
Install the upper wall assembly onto the lower wall assembly. Do a dry test fit first before applying glue. You will see that there is a tab and slot arrangement so that they easily located together in the correct position.
Be sure you do a dry test fit before you apply any glue. Be sure to check and see that those peaked walls are nice and vertical before the roof goes over them. Fold in the dormer sides to clear the roof.
The micro version of the kit does not have dormer sides as they would be too small to fold. They would not be visible anyway.
Unfold the dormer sides and secure them to the roof edge with a little drop of glue.
Now apply glue as shown and attach the roof.
The top of the entry tower is ready to be installed.
Near the top of the tower secure the walls of the tower to the walls of the upper floor with a small fillet of glue being sure to press and hold the tower to the building until the glue grabs to close any small visible gap in that area.
Dry fit check the tower top onto the tower. if you need to do a minor tweak to the walls so the tabs and slots align then do so. Then glue in position applying glue as shown in this photo.
Now the roof over the tower is installed.
Its easy! The simplest roof to install in this whole set.
The shorter of the two chimneys goes on the front of the building. Be sure to check from various sides to ensure it is vertical before the glue sets up.
I have indicated the location of the chimney with yellow.
The rear chimney is the taller one. Its location is shown in yellow.
Congratulations you have completed #39 the final building in the Tiny Village 2015 series!
May it bring you much joy for years to come.
