Dwell in Possibility (let’s make a cabinet cottage for a mouse)
I’m a little compulsive about keeping boxes.. . there are just so many possibilities in almost any box - I started listing some of my favorites and quickly exhausted myself so I’ll spare you my very inclusive (perhaps all-encompassing) list of boxes that are worth keeping, because as it turns out, to me, they almost invariably are (worth keeping, that is :)) I was going to tell you how many I estimate are stacked up on shelves in the basement, and smaller ones squirreled away in old baskets and closets all around the house… but when I typed the number a moment ago I felt distinctly self-conscious, because it seems like very big number, a number that doesn’t make sense if I compare it to how many I actually manage to re-purpose in a year. But then again, when I went to look for a box for this mouse house project, I only managed to find two that I thought would work, and really only one that seemed “just right.”
I might be a little too particular about boxes. I might also be a hoarder. Sigh. I’m working on it.
You don’t need a collection, hoard, or fortune of boxes for this project, though - I do think the size of box I chose is a common one, and actually I think the reason I only had a couple in that Goldilocks size is that they are so common that I don’t always think to keep them - so many things come in an 8 by 11 inch box that I don’t feel apprehensive about tossing them right into the recycle pile. I’ll be keeping a few on hand from now on.
(I prefer a shipping box made of corrugated cardboard for this project because it’s sturdier and won’t bend and warp as much as a thinner box, like a shoe box. Shoe boxes will be about the right size, but you might need to reinforce the sides with pieces of corrugated cardboard so they don’t bow. )
You can watch the video tutorial for this cabinet cottage for a mouse here.
You can make your mouse house - or “cabinet cottage” - any size you want - and you can make it as simple or as ornate as you have time and patience for. It took me a few false starts before I ended up at this size, which is much larger than I originally pictured for our mouse bedroom - but after really thinking about what I wanted to put in the bedroom, and how much space those things would occupy, this seemed like a more practical and realistic scale to work in.
So find your box. Mine is, as I said, is 8.5 inches by 11, and 5.5 inches deep.
Now cut the flaps or tabs off the open end.
If you have a larger box, like mine, you can decide if you want to add a shelf for an upstairs/downstairs. I folded a piece of corrugated cardboard in half and left a half inch “face” in the middle to give the shelf more dimension and visual weight. Use some masking tape to secure the shelf in a few places.
Then I added some thin strips of corrugated cardboard around the front edge of the box to make a frame. This gives the box a nicer look and makes it look more substantial, like an actual piece of furniture. I was trying to replicate an antique folk cabinet I found in an image search.
It was a bit of a stretch goal to replicate this, haha, but I like to start with something I really love. And this cabinet really captured my imagination. The little windows are so whimsical.
Secure your frame to the box face with tape and then you can decide if you want to add the “decorative ledge” at the top. All these steps are shown in the YouTube tutorial so I won’t go into the construction in great detail here - I mainly wanted to share a few still photos of the painting, as well as some links to tutorials for folk flower painting, to supplement the video tutorial.
If you decide to build a door, simply cut a piece of cardboard to roughly fit your opening, inside the face frame. I recommend leaving 1/8 inch gap on each side of your door to allow for the paper mache - in other words, make your door about 1/4 inch smaller in length and width than your opening.
If you’re going to cut openings for windows or add any decorative elements to the door, like I did, you want to do that construction before you attach the door.
You can use my very basic, very sketchy templates if you like - they will have to be modified if you use a box in a different size than mine - but they are quite simple and when you see them, you might feel more confident to make your own designs :) The link above will take you to a printable pdf - or you can try tracing from the image below - or when you see them, you will realize that you can do something better on your own!
I like to make “fabric hinges” for paper mache pieces. I’ve tried several methods, including paper and tape hinges, and also just leaving the cardboard attached and bending it - but I like the flexibility of fabric - it makes a more mobile door and is quite strong.
To attach the door, I first used some hot glue to attach two fabric strips to the door. Then I used more glue and placed a strip of cardboard over the fabric to give it more secure adhesion to the door. Then I did basically the same thing with the other side of the fabric strips to the inside of the box, attaching with hot glue just inside the edge of the box, and then placing another strip of cardboard and glue over that fabric. Again, this is shown in the video :)
Now you just cover everything with paper - any kind of paper you have - though a thinner paper like dictionary pages is ideal for the front of the door if you gave it dimensional details like I did. It won’t flatten out the definition. If you made a more plain door or cabinet, then really any kind of paper will work - and things like brown paper from packaging or grocery bags is particularly strong and will give the structure more strength if you think it needs it.
I really love my cooked flour paste, which is just half a cup all purpose flour mixed with a few cups of water and then cooked just until it starts to thicken and bubble. It’s not an exact science and you can do flour and water without cooking too - I just prefer it this way. There are other options that add glue to the flour mix or use just glue and water, or you can use other types of starch or flours… I’m going to leave that up to you.
I used some tissue paper to go over very fine details and not lose definition.
One note - if you have made a door and done fabric hinges, I recommend NOT covering over the hinge area (outside or inside) - the paper will just get crushed and crinkled and the hinge works better if it’s left uncovered. So just try to use a straight edge of paper on the edge of your door, right up to the edge of the door.
Of course let things dry and maybe check your piece periodically as it dries to see if any parts of the box or cardboard is warping or bending in a direction you don’t want. This can be remedied to some extent by pushing it back into shape, or using objects to apply pressure or weight.
Now you can start painting - I wanted my cabinet cottage to look aged so I did an undercoat of two brown acrylic paints - a lighter brown and a dark umber brown. I did one coat on the outside and the inside of the door - it didn’t quite cover the paper in all places but it was close enough for my purposes. Let dry an hour or so and then if you want to attempt the crackle coat finish, you can apply a coat of school glue (pva glue) over all your brown paint or whatever your undercoat color is. You should do a fairly thick coat, thick enough that it doesn’t start to dry immediately - but not so thick that it’s opaque and white. Let that dry 5 or ten minutes, but don’t let it dry completely - you don’t want the glue to be cured or it won’t make the crackle. (you might do an experiment with the glue on the back so that you have an idea of how thick the glue needs to be)
Now apply your top coat - I did a mix of a pale robin’s egg or duck’s egg blue and a sage green acrylic paints. I didn’t mix it thoroughly because I like variations in color. The crackle will appear as the paint dries, not instantly. I get the most crackle in areas where the glue was thicker and not quite dry when I applied the topcoat.
When your box is dry, you can also use a fine grit sanding paper or sanding sponge to carefully remove more of the top layer of paint.
Now is the really fun part, or I think so - decorating your cabinet door (or the sides of your box if you didn’t make a door) … I’m not experienced at all with folk painting or folk designs and patterns but I do love them. So don’t look to what I did as your guide unless you like it - I always intend to practice painting folk flowers and patterns but never seem to follow through - but I’ve been looking for some resources for you, in case you’d like to try some simple designs on your box or cabinet, and I really feel inspired to be intentional about developing this skill.
I used a mix of watercolor and gouache paints for my decorative elements for a couple of reasons - one is that I wanted to be able to wipe it off if I really hated anything I painted - and the other is that I wanted the designs to look soft and faded and aged like the background we created, and this way I can control the thickness and brightness of the paints. You can definitely achieve that look with acrylic, you will just need to water down your paints.
I will of course have to find a way to seal at least the front door of the cabinet because of this choice, so bear that in mind. I will most likely use Alene’s matte finish sealant spray or a water-based polyurethane product.
I’ve put some close-up photos here for you to see more clearly what I did.. but here are some real resources for you, from people with lots of experience and skill in this area:
I really recommend this YouTube tutorial for painting folk flowers with acrylic paint --this artist has such a lovely personality and is so encouraging, I subscribed to her channel and hope to practice with her soon - she uses acrylic paints and tries to make painting folk flowers “for everyone” and doesn’t consider herself an artist, or started as a very green artist who didn’t think she could paint. This is a great one to watch, it’s only 5 minutes but will give you confidence.
Here’s a YouTube tutorial for painting folk flowers with watercolor
This is a really clever YouTube tutorial (there’s no talking, just captions) that shows how to print out a design you like and transfer that design in graphite to the surface you want to paint on - you could also draw out your own design and transfer it using this technique - I don’t know how easily graphite will transfer to a small cabinet door but this was very fun to watch and would be great for other applications!
(Also, just please bear in mind what images you choose to trace or transfer — there is most likely no harm in taking a design from an artist your really love and trying to duplicate it yourself, for YOURSELF — but please do not share it (particularly on social media) without crediting the original artist for their design, and it’s never okay to sell something you make using another artist’s work. The lines of art and craft can sometimes seem blurry, but I know from experience that it feels terrible when someone does their best to make an exact copy of your work and then sells it as their own or takes credit for the idea. Be thoughtful about where you take inspiration and while we’re all influenced by art we love, we should try to give credit to what and who has directly helped or influenced us.)
And lastly, here is my folk art pinterest page I have that features quite a few folk art painting designs, some of them show step-by-step how to form a flower or leaf, like this one below
I hope you’re inspired to pull out a box and see what happens - let yourself dwell in possibility again as you did when you were a child, no pressure, no expectations…. it might take a few tries to get where you want to go - it did for me - but I enjoyed the process and learned some things and I’m excited to see what we can make together next.
Wishing you very happy making,
Rosanna
