DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses

Monday, December 15, 2014

DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com

When I was a kid I remember wishing with all my might that it would snow for Christmas. Well, living in California, less than 10 miles from the beach meant that it would never happen, but I still thought there was room for a miracle. Now that I'm older, wiser, and more knowledgeable of weather patterns, I know a white Christmas just isn't in the cards, but us West-coasters can still show our holiday cheer sans snow!

Print, cut, and fold up these cute little paper mid-century ranch houses and add a little California cool to your Christmas decor. We may not have snow-covered conifers, but cacti and palm trees can be festive, too!

Here's what you'll need:

DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | www.vitaminihandmade.com
  • Cardstocks in pink, light blue, and turquoise
  • House Template #1 and #2
  • Craft Knife
  • Cutting mat
  • Tacky glue
  • Bone folder and ruler (or scoring tray. I have this one and I love it)
  • Mini bottle brush trees - learn how to dip dye them with my tutorial from last year
  • Metallic dragees or small metallic beads
Extra decorations:
  • Kraft paper
  • Green paper
  • Floral wire
  • Gold string
  • Silver pipe cleaners 
DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | www.vitaminihandmade.com
Print out the template directly on the colored cardstock. Cut out with a craft knife. Score the dotted lines with the bone folder and fold inwards, all in the same direction (if any of the printed lines remain, fold them so they're on the inside of the house). Glue the side tab to the adjacent wall to make a rectangle and form the walls.

DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | www.vitaminihandmade.com
Glue the bottom tabs to the base piece. Glue a few dragees to the bottle brush tree. Trim off the base of the tree to make it fit inside the house. Glue the tree to the base, right inside the front window.
DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com
Add glue to the top tabs and attach the roof. Let dry. Glue more dragees to the roofline.
DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com

Make some palm trees for the yard! Cut leaf shapes out of green paper. Notch the edges and fold down the middle.
 DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com
Glue to the wire. Cut a triangle of kraft paper, overlap the straight edge around the wire, then wrap and glue the end. Trim the bottom of the wire, arrange the palm fronds.
DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com

Twist a metallic chenille around the trunk and glue a few more dragees to the fronds. Glue to the base around the house. Add some more California-esque embellishments to the yard - tiny cacti, spiky shrubbery. Cut some stepping stones from kraft paper and glue to the front yard. Tie some tiny bows with the gold string and glue to houses if you'd like. Have fun with it!

DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com
These little houses make a super sweet retro scene when set up together. You can also add a ribbon tie to the roof and turn them into hanging ornaments.

DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com DIY Retro Ranch Holiday Houses | Click through for the tutorial and two free templates! www.vitaminihandmade.com

22 comments:

  1. Your little houses are fantastic and I love the bead decorations! It is so nice of you to share your ideas and templates.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ann! I've been thinking about these little guys for say, a year! I'm glad you like them!

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  2. I remember glittered card board houses hanging on the Christmas tree. So fun, love your take on the idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I have fond memories of mini Christmas houses, too.

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  3. Your houses are amazing! Could you please share where you purchased the car and trailer?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much! I won the mini Mini and trailer in an ebay auction a few years back. There some of my favorite props!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love miniatures and these houses are so cute! A great spin on the traditional Christmas village

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  6. These are the cutest thing I have ever seen! :o

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  7. How did I never see these before?! These are AMAZING!!!

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  8. I love these! So adorable and clever! Thanks so much for sharing them, I can't wait to make them! Merry Christmas! 😊🎄🎆

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  9. How cool are these?! At first I had the impression is was a Mid-Century Modern version of Bethlehem... Think I'll do just that with a garage as the stable... Thanks so much for the creativity!

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  10. Wow! This is so brilliant! My kids will love this!
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