New - Tim Holtz Village Collection Thinlits!

Hey everyone, it's Sizzix designer Josh Griffiths! I have created a blog based on the New Sizzix Tim Holtz Village Collection Thinlits, I hope you enjoy it and feel inspired!

These Thinlits Dies are incredible! Something amazing can be cut from this Thinlits Die Set and reproduced over and over. I have had so much fun making different styles of houses in different themes whether it is making a festive village for your Christmas crafts, a haunted Halloween house or in-fact any time of year.

Here is just one of the simple alterations I made using these Tim Holtz Village Collection Thinlits Dies, to create a different style of building.

You will need:

• Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray) w/Standard Platform (660200) (or any other Sizzix Die Cutting Machine!)
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies Village Collection by Tim Holtz (665564)
• Sizzix Accessory - Glue Gun UK (662301) or Sizzix Accessory - Glue Gun US (663550)
• Sizzix Accessory - Glue Gun Sticks, 6", Clear, 20PK (664821)
• 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder Mini Cobblestone by Tim Holtz (665461)
• Sizzix Acrylic Paint (various colours)
• Sizzix Sticky Grid: 6" x 8 1/2", inspired by Tim Holtz (664928)
• Black Cardstock
• Paint Brush

Step 1.

From black cardstock, use the Sizzix Big Shot Machine to die cut all the parts of the house you will need. All elements are pictured below. You may notice I have die-cut double the elements needed to build the structure of the house. This will make sense in the next step.

Tip: Use a Tim Holtz Sizzix Sticky Grid Sheet to register the windows inside the house dies. This will allow you to accurately position the windows and doors with correct spacing.

At this point it is a good idea to fold along the embossed folding lines on your structural elements, this will make them more visible after they have been embossed in step 2.

Step 2.

Use the Sizzix Cobblestone Mini Embossing Folder to emboss each of the outer house elements, creating a cobbled effect in the black cardstock. The detail in the Embossing Folder gives you the perfect surface for using a dry brush technique later on.

Step 3.

Fold along the embossed folding lines mentioned in Step 1 on all of your structural elements. Use the precision nozzle of the Sizzix Glue Gun (UK or US) to apply glue to the tabs on the Die Cut elements to assemble your houses.

Attach one element on top of the other by inserting the roof elements of the bottom house inside the one above. This will create a tall, thin house, ready to add the roof.

Step 4.

Cut the corresponding roof base element from black cardstock. This element looks like a large rectangle with an embossed folding line running through the middle and a short rectangular cut-out on one side. Also cut the smaller protruding dormer roof element.

Die Cut the roof tiling elements from black card. You will need to cut these enough times that you will have enough pieces to alternate when adhering to your roof base, so that the tiles do not line up, but create a tiled roof effect.

Step 5.

Now it's time to adhere the roof element onto the tall house element using the Sizzix Glue Gun.

Step 6.

Now that your house is assembled, choose colours for the roof and house elements. Choose three shades of your chosen colour one dark, one medium and a light. Starting with the darkest take a small amount onto a flat paintbrush, then take the excess off onto a craft mat.

Lightly brush over the gritty surface created using the crystal paste, brushing over the same areas multiple times until you see some of the paint transfer to the cobblestone details. Repeat this technique with the medium and light paint, building the colours from dark to light. Make sure there is not too much paint on your brush as the colour should be very subtle in each stage.

Voila! Perfect for your Halloween crafts, your haunted house using the New Sizzix Tim Holtz Village Collection Thinlits is finished and ready to flaunt to your friends. Remember to tag us in your makes using the hashtag #mymakingstory for a chance to feature on our social channels!

I hope you enjoyed this blog and enjoy crafting with the New Tim Holtz Village Collection!

Crafted by Sizzix Designer Josh Griffiths