I was so inspired by Shape's 1/12 scale Hobbit Garden ( The thread "1/12 scale Hobbit Garden" in Miniature Gardening forum ) that I had to make one for myself. Shape’s was made from rigid insulation board. I used the insulation board as a papercrete mold for mine. The painted papercrete house front can be mounted to a regular 8x8x16 concrete block. An 8x2x16 cap block can be mounted to the other side of the block for a complete 1/24 scale dollhouse.

The house is made from recycled materials. The decorative window panes were created from the hardware cloth that runs throughout the papercrete for structural support. It is backed with two layers of soda bottle plastic, one clear, one green. The door was cut from a salvaged wooden shelf board. The porch is an old ceramic tile. Leftover asphalt roof shingles and tar paper will be installed over the block once the house is in place and covered with soil.

The rigid insulation board mold for the Hobbit House front:


The individual pieces for the mold.


Assembled mold. Sorry I didn't get a pic of the hardware cloth in the mold.


Another angle of the mold. Note the split in the smaller disk for the window where the hardware cloth would be sandwiched in to keep the papercrete out.


Papercrete house front fresh out of the mold.

Pretty impressive work! Does Papercrete hold up outdoors?

Yes, papercrete holds up very well.

Do you have to spray with any kind of acrylic clear spray to better preserve it? And I am assuming it handles painting it, too?

Papercrete accepts paints and stains very well. I do apply a clear sealer to preserve the finishes, especially for outdoor use.

Thank you for sharing that info!
Just one more question .... where do you get Papercrete at? I've never seen it here locally. Do you have a photo of the bag/box?

That's fantastic! Great job & TY for sharing!!

Becky,
You can make papercrete from shredded paper, Portland cement, and Perlite (or other aggregates). Here's a friend of mine's blog explaining his papercrete process:
http://thepapercretepotter.blo...

Tiffany,
You're welcome!

I created a series of smaller fairy homes using the same method as the block house fronts , too. I just need to create the doors and apply the clear sealer.

The Butterfly and Hobbit house fronts have screw-in canning jars that will have operable doors. The Flower Fairy (left) will have a non-operable painted door.


Here are two of the molds and a mock up showing the jar in the back.

That is amazing! You make it look so easy!

Becky, It's easy NOW, lol. It took me a while to figure out the molds. I still have to get the hinges made and attach them to the canning jar rings that are embedded in the papercrete. I hope to get them finished this week and I'll post pics of the completed house fronts.

Yeah, the mold part is what looks like a LOT of work to carve out.

Sorry, I forgot to post a pic of the finished House Fronts!


Finished Block House Fronts: Fairy Duplex & Hobbit House


Finished Jar House Fronts: Flower Fairy, Hobbit Hole (sold) & Butterfly Fairy

A D O R A B L E !!!!! I love those Hobbit Houses!!! Too cute!

Thank you, Becky. I sold the Hobbit Jar House Front the other day. It was bittersweet.

Then I suppose you need to make more!

I may create a few more if I have some time next year.