How to Make a Miniature Wooden House

This is a small wood house with patterned boards.

You can create miniature wooden houses from several different types of wood. Creating your own strips of wood may be somewhat difficult unless you’re an experienced woodworker and are skilled at using saws and other power tools. There is a much simpler way to create small pieces of wood using a product that may be in your kitchen or living room: matches. You can make these pieces into one of a kind miniatures for your own use or to sell at craft shows. The number of boxes of wood matches you will need depend on the size of the house you want to build.

Things You'll Need

• Wood matches (small)
• White glue or small glue gun and glue sticks
• Sharp hobby knife
• Fine sandpaper

Instructions

1. Open one box of small size matches (1 1/2 inches long). In open air or a very well ventilated room, strike each match and immediately blow it out. Do not let it burn. Lay them aside as you blow them out.

2. Trim the burned end very lightly, trying to only remove the burned sulfur. Do not cut the ends, leave them darkened. This will create the patterns as you place them on your structure.

3. Glue together 12 matches side by side to create the floor of the house. If you want the floor to have a pattern, cut the matches in half and place them so that the burned ends create a pattern.

4. Glue three matches onto the two longer sides of the floor. Place them one on top of the other so the burned ends are at the corners of the house.

5. Cut the unburned ends of 6 matches so they are only 1 1/4 inches long. Glue three of these pieces to each short side, one on top of the other to start forming the walls. Make sure the burned ends are at the corners of the house.

6. Glue one complete match into the corners of the house in an upright position. Also glue one match into the center of each side. This will form the frame for the walls.

7. Add three more match sticks to each side, gluing them to the frame pieces in the corners and on the sides

8. Trim six matches so they are 3/4 inch long. Do not cut the burned ends. Glue three of these on the left side of the front long end and three on the right side of the same end. The burned ends should be at the corners of the house. This will form the doorway opening.

9. Create windows on the short sides of the house by placing 1/2-inch pieces on the short sides. Again place the burned ends at the corners of the house.

10. Continue building the walls until you have reached the height you desire. Trim the match sticks so they gradually decrease in size as you go up. The top of the short sides should form into a peak or triangle shape.

11. Glue one match from one short end to the other short end to make the ridge pole. Then glue on rafters on a slant. Glue one end of a match to the top of one wall and glue the other end to the ridgepole at the top. There should be 12 matches or rafters on each side. This forms the roof.

12. Smooth all the edges with the fine sandpaper after the glue has dried. You can also create the windows and doors using shorter pieces of burned matches.

Tips & Warnings

• Create and experiment with the burned ends to make different patterns.

• You can paint these houses using acrylic craft paints or just varnish them.

• Experiment with unburned matches by just cutting off the sulfur tips.

• Safely dispose of any sulfur tips you cut off.

• Strike the matches safely; remember they are still very warm after they're blown out.