Glitterati!

"Bavarian City Of The Rockies"

A few weeks ago, I saw this picture of my home town posted to a social network,  to be named sometime later in the company of good friends and to their faces (cough), and I thought to myself "Did I REALLY grow up in a Christmas village?!!?". Sometimes it is amazing how the familiar just disappears -I lived there for so long, this just ... blended into the background.  It was a unique childhood, if I think back - some forward thinking city leaders realized that the town's main industry was not going to last forever, and turned their hopeful eye on tourists seeking out a quaint "Bavarianized" townsite, replete with such features as a babbling brook with several little arched footbridges, gazebos, fountains, cobblestones,  "old world" buildings with fretwork and vibrantly  painted walls, a wandering accordionist or two, and the world's biggest cuckoo clock - and all this was normal to my eye.  In retrospect,  I blame my adventurous colour choices and love of all things sparkly entirely on this childhood experience. 

The "Platzl"

World's Largest Cuckoo Clock

 Anyway, enough blatant self-promotion. 

Today's topic, and you knew I would get there eventually, is glitter houses. What is a glitter house, you say? You always ask the best questions!  Here is a sweet example...

Glitter House Village at Big Indoor Trains

"Ah!",  you say now, "I know these!". They appear mostly at Christmas, although train enthusiasts have used these little houses as backdrops for their train set ups over the years. I notice they are enjoying a bit of a popularity this year, given how many I have seen - or maybe now I am seeing them because I wanted to make one - half dozen of one, 6 of the other, I suppose.  For a better history of the glitter houses, go to Big Indoor Trains. They also have some absolutely wicked patterns and tips on making your own house. They tend to be more 1/4 scale "ish", but a clever chicken might print them out and then reduce them to the size they need. As well, About.com   also has printies for an entire village - again, fairly large but reducible. Experiment with paper choices, though, some details don't come out as well on cardstock as they do on photo paper.  Or, you could do as I did, and find gingerbread house templates. Member Marnie made a gingerbread village at one point in time, from the templates she got from Member Rosemary's long ago workshop, and I decided I was going to do something similar, but with a glitter house flare. 

Template from Rosemary's Gingerbread House workshop

 I started out with cutting out and assembling the little houses.  

Two houses I assembled

  Next was a trip to a craft store, where I picked up some exceptional fine glitter, Martha Stewart brand. I have nothing but good things to say about this glitter, it is amazing for small projects like this. However, it can be a tad steep for some budgets, so make sure you buy it when you have a coupon - its a good thing. 

Glitter and Paint!

I may have gone over the top with glitter, but then again, can you have enough glitter? Possibly, but I haven't found my limit yet. Black would have been handy, in retrospect, in both paint and glitter. I went for the pastel paints, which I used as a base to add to the colour of the glitter. In the end, it doesn't matter if you choose subtle or bold for colour, it only matters that you kind of stay in the same colour "family", and then you will always have a pulled-together look.

The base coat goeth forward

 The problem, although minor, with the gingerbread house was - the gingerbread houses used candy as windows and doors. I tried to do some printie doors and windows, but in retrospect all I would have had to do was to either cut these openings before I happily glued everything together, or made small rectangular pieces  that I could add later on (either out of coloured paper, or from a painted piece of cardstock).  Simple shapes are the best for these houses, as they are not "true to life".  Once you start glittering, you don't have to be so careful about crisp edges - after all, it is a frosty winter house, you will see blurring of lines. I started out with my printie door,  changed my mind and ripped it off again in favour of the cardstock rectangle door. Unless you are really steady of hand, painting on a door is just going to lead to tears, or at least paint boo-boos - explaining the blob of red paint on the base that looks not unlike a mini-crime scene.  I wasn't so worried about the paint on the base, though - I was going to cover it up anyway <cue sinister music>. 

Glitter is being applied!

The glitter technique is very easy. Use a toothpick to apply glue to the surface you want glittered, choose your colour, and gently sprinkle the fine glitter on, and then knock the excess off. Try not to get too frisky getting the glitter airborne though, you don't want to be the first patient on your block described with the condition known as "glitter lung".  I did one colour at a time, in small areas so the glue wasn't drying faster than I could glitter. I glittered over a little dish, so when I was done, I could put the excess glitter back in the bottle. When I was finished one colour I would clean the dish, and then I could go to the next colour. You don't have to do this, but I don't want to waste glitter, and the glitter hues remain separate this way. For the base I applied gesso and then - as you might suspect - I glittered it too.  I used gesso only because I happened to have gesso already in the house, but one could also use the textured snow paint that is available, or <insert favourite technique here>. 

Glitter house finished

 After everything was dry, and I was happy with the glitter job, I started to decorate. Note I put in a chimney. This started out life as a little rectangle that was folded in half and then in one-quarters (so it folded into a square shape which I glued together), notches were cut out of two sides to accommodate the roof,  and the whole thing painted and glittered. It was an after thought, but it turned out well, I think. Of course, one could think of these things first, but where is the fun in that? 

Closer view of glitter house

 My finishing touches included snow on the roof, trees (made out of teeny pieces of fake florals I had, dabbed with glue an dipped in glitter - the Christmas tree was potted in a gold bead from my stocks). There is a tiny Santa over by the corner too, left over from last week's project. I glittered him too. 

So, that is one down, a village to go! As I finish, I will post. Eventually I want to do as Member Marnie has done, and make a village in a clear plastic chocolate box. Yes, the chocolates will have to be eaten first, but that is a sacrifice I am prepared to make for my art...

Sweet glittery dreams, everyone...

Glittery and Pink!