five sided piece. The one without the peak will glue to the other side.
rubber stamped bird on top
Sitting pretty on this paper craft barn
tempera paint
All the pretty little horses want to live here!
Make a doll sized barn with craft sticks, hot glue and paper bags or butcher paper. This paper craft barn is sturdy enough for preschool play. Kids learn about construction as they build the paper barn, making this an intriguing project for school age kids, groups, camps or families. Ready for a barn raising?
Cover your work area with newspaper. A scrap piece of laminate shelving, wood or a metal tray protects your work space from hot glue drips. Let the drips dry and they roll right off with a gentle rub of your fingers.
Plug in your craft size hot glue gun. The glue is ready when it starts to drip from the tip.
Start by making L shapes by attaching two craft sticks. Use a dot of hot glue and hold for 10 seconds. You will need eight of these to make the barn in this example.
Next, assemble into rectangles, alternating tops and bottoms to make a flat piece. This project needs four rectangles.
Lay two craft sticks on the table. Glue on a rectangle on each side. Hold for 10 seconds to allow the glue to dry.
Turn the assembly over and hot glue on the bottom craft sticks to complete a rectangle prism. Make a second one just like this one.
Draw a template for the rafters on a piece of paper.
Glue together three craft stick rafters.
Assemble the rafters onto the rectangle prism. Put the hot glue dots on the rafter and quickly set the prism on it. Two of the rafters will be on one prism and one rafter on the other.
Now hot glue the two assemblies together. Add bracing and a loft on the back if desired.
Measure the butcher paper to wrap around three sides with an inch or so of overlap. This overlap becomes the hinges for the doors. Cut this piece out and crease the corners. Butcher paper is shiny on one side and has a matte finish on the other. Put the matte finish on the outside to allow for painting the paper craft barn. Set the wall piece aside.
Fold and crease a roof for your barn. Note how this example has a bit of overhang and also has the side edges folded over for additional strength and to prevent paper cuts. Make sure the matte finish is outside. Set the piece aside.
Cut out a gable for the front of your barn. Tip your barn up for easy gluing. Watch your fingers as the heat of the glue goes right through the butcher paper. Use gloves or a craft stick to press it on if needed for a few seconds. The back gable on this barn is left open to allow playing in the loft.
Now glue on the walls, one side at a time.
Cut out a strip of butcher paper to fit across the front. Cut the strip in half to become the doors. Crease 1/4 inch to become the handles and glue a craft stick on the edge.
Glue a craft stick on the hinge side of the doors and glue on an X.
Add the doors to the paper barn, carefully placing so the doors do not overlap. Glue on the roof after the doors are in place. Glue one side at a time and press for 10 seconds.
Cut out a cupola from the butcher paper. Fold and cut the bottom flaps as shown. The bottom flaps will attach to the roof of the barn.
Glue the cupola together on the sides. Make a weather vane out of a cut up craft stick. Blunt the edges to avoid getting poked.
Slide the weather vane into the top and use a dot of glue to hold the cupola roof together. Glue onto the roof of the paper craft barn.
Paint the barn with tempera paint and allow to dry.
Add some animals and you are ready to play! The back of this paper craft barn was left open to allow access to the loft.
Tips:
Assembly of this barn took about one hour. Painting took about 1/2 hour, including clean-up.
49 craft sticks made up the framing, 8 for the doors and about 12 more for the loft.
A rubber stamp was used to make the weather vane bird. A magazine picture would work too.
Always use caution when using a hot glue gun. Never leave the glue gun unattended.
Supervise young children as they play with the barn.
