Folkloric Valentine House Boxes ~ A Painting Tutorial plus Free Template

We absolutely love Hungarian embroidery, especially the Kalocsa style, known for its bright and cheerful floral designs usually stitched on white fabric. With those gorgeous folk art flowers in mind, we've hand-drawn our own version to transfer to small paper house boxes. Designs can be painted or filled in with marker pens or colored pencils; either way the result is a colorful and charming little box to house a few specialty candies and delight someone sweet. Assembled houses measure 3" tall to the roof x 2-1/4" wide x 1-1/2" deep.

Supplies: Paper House Boxes, Various Colorful Paints (or Pens or Colored Pencils), "Liner" Paint Brush (size 00), Clear Drying Craft Glue like Alleen's, ballpoint pen, pencil with eraser, tape, template.

Template: Click here to download a free pdf of our Folkloric House Template. (Print at "actual size.")

A Paint Note: We used FolkArt paint in Apple Red, Fire Coral, Look At Me Blue, Lavender, Bright Pink, Daffodil Yellow and Bright Green, plus Craft Smart Paint in Wine.

Step 1: Print out Template and Pop Out Houses. Print the template out at "Actual Size" and set aside. Pop houses out from their sheets, including heart and windows -- these elements will be useful later for template alignment. Ensure the template aligns with the house properly by placing the template over the house and holding it up to light.

Step 2: Prepare for Design Transfer. On the back side of the template use the pencil to mark over the design areas. We are creating an artist's version of carbon paper so make sure all design elements are marked over.

Step 3: Align House and Template. The design is detailed and the house is small, so alignment is important. Place the template over the house and align the design. Use the outline of the house as well as the windows and heart to determine placement. Tape in place with 1-2 pieces of tape to secure house to template.

Step 4: Transfer Design. Trace over the design with a pen to transfer the design. We used a blue pen to see traced vs. un-traced design elements.

Step 5: Paint or Color in Design. Color can be added with paints, pens or colored pencils. We used crafts paints and a tiny liner brush. Water the paint down with a couple of drops of water to encourage better flow. Paint all design elements and let dry.

Step 6: Erase Pencil Marks. Once completely dry, use a soft eraser to remove any left over pencil marks. You'll be delighted with how your design pops!

Step 7: Assemble the House Box. Apply glue to the side tab, align, and glue in place. Apply glue to the four roof tabs and top semi-circle, align, and glue in place. Let dry then fill with a couple of small candies or other sweets.

Tips and Notes:

-- Don't be intimidated by the intricacy of the design. If you don't want to transfer every last design element, pick a couple of areas to focus on: for example, skip the roof designs and paint the roof a solid color instead.

-- A tiny size 00 liner brush seems very small but gives quite a bit of control for painting details as well as filling in more solid areas.

-- Turn these house boxes into ornaments by punching a hole in the top semicircle and stringing through a velvet ribbon.

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