THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE

VILLAGE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE

The Little Red Schoolhouse is the 4^th structure in my Little village series of  tiny printie, cut & glue buildings.  It can be used as a stand-alone piece displayed under a glass dome and such, or it can become a toy in a dollhouse or toy store, etc.  It can also be transformed into a glitter building (as described for the church in this series) or become part of a snow village.

To construct the Schoolhouse print out a copy of the pdf file at the very end of this post onto matte presentation paper using your printer’s best settings. This will give you a true to scale, true to color, detailed printie.  When the ink has set, use small sharp scissors to cut out the building.

Using a pointed stylus & a straight edge, score across all tabs, sides and bottom lines.  Fold the side and bottom tabs in at right angles. Using glue stick applied with a small stiff-bristled brush glue sides and bottom together to form the shape.

Cut out roof.  Score across both lines.  Fold & glue stick in half so that the underside of the roof as marked is on the bottom.  When glue has set, fold in half again.  Use a gray watercolor pencil to color white edges.  Fold the top tabs of the building in at right angles.  Using glue stick adhere the roof to the top of the building so it sits evenly.

Cut out the steeple and glue it together as for the schoolhouse.  Glue it evenly to the top of the schoolhouse.  Prepare the steeple’s roof as for the schoolhouse roof.  Before you glue it in place, use a needle to poke a hole in in its center.  Glue the roof in place on the steeple. 

Cut out windows and glue stick over matching images on the building. 

Roughly cut out door and glue to a double thickness of a scrap of the same paper.  Cut out and glue over its image on the building.

Glue the triangle overhang to 5 layers of scrap of the same paper.  Cut out and glue in place on the building.

Rough cut the school sign and glue it to two layers of scrap of the same paper.  Cut out.  Color edges with a watercolor pencil in a tint close to the color of the schoolhouse.  Glue in place on the building.

Cut out the flag & score in half (this is probably easier to do before cutting it out).  Cut about a 3/8” long piece of very thin brass wire.  Fold the flag in half on the score line and glue it around the wire, tops even.  Poke the other end of the wire into the needle hole in the steeple roof, adjusting its height to your liking.

To create the tiny Schoolhouse Vignette as scene here:

The school sits on a base of a 1-7/16 sq. matboard.  To prepare the base paint the top a grass green.  

Cut a piece of lightweight gray paper to shape shown on diagram and glue (gluestick) it in place for the walkway & sidewalk.

Trim the edges of the base with a fine gray cording such Bunka using  a craft glue such as Crafter’s Pick The Ultimate.

Glue the schoolhouse in place on the base.

Using a fine model railroad turf/grass such as                                         http://www.amazon.com/JTT-Landscaping-Material-Blended-Autumn/dp/B002PP0GNE sift it with a fine mesh strainer to get the finest of the material.  Using a small stiff-bristled brush, apply a light coating of glue stick to the green area of the base.  Immediately sprinkle on your prepared grass and lightly tamp with a dry small bristled bush.  Tap and shake off excess grass.

For hedge use a green pipe cleaner -these are narrower than the usual chenille stems.  Paint with green acrylic paint to covering any exposed wire.  When the paint has dried t trim about half of the “fur” off all around the wire. It should be no thicker than the space in back of the schoolhouse.  Sharply bend and cut two pieces, each to fit across the front of the lawn/down the side/and to center back.  It may take a while to get the exact fit with sharp corners but keep tying on until they fit.  Using craft glue put them in place on the base.

For interest I added a white “post” on either side of the entrance  that sits a bit higher than the hedge.  A section of round toothpick, especially one with a carved top, can easily be sanded down and shaped a bit to use here.

http://www.peoplescale.com/

 http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com

Seven school children with back packs are in front of the school, (N Scale from PeopleScale,  http://www.peoplescale.com/ ). There is also one dog  ( n scale Dogs and Cats from Woodland Scenics (these are oh so tiny…one is forever lost on my workroom floor)  http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com ) who followed its master to school & is being told to “GO HOME!”

“School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days…”

PDF FILE TO PRINT OR DOWNLOAD: