Rustic Pallet Wood Cabin Ornament

Christmas has been on my mind lately since it's my favourite time of year. And I have been busy crafting for it. Today a few of my fellow bloggers and I who like to repurpose will be sharing with you some projects made with "junk" to turn into Christmas Ornaments and decor. Another of my favourite things are miniature buildings. (This is my way to be an architect ;o)) Last week I shared a barn ornament and today I am adding to my mini building ornaments by sharing with you how to create a simple log cabin.

What you will need for this project...

• pallet wood (flat and without nails)
• thin balsa wood (optional for the door and windows)
• straight branches (for the roof)
• stain or glaze for wood (watered down brown paint would work also)
• faux snow (recipe below) (optional)
• glue stick and hot glue gun
• mini bottle brush tree (optional)
 

 

Steps...

1) Cut a simple shape for the cabin out of the pallet wood.  2) Stain or darken the wood with stain. glaze or brown colorwash.  3) Cut 4 pieces of branches the same length and hot glue them to the top of the roof line. I also added a funky twig chimney covered in snow. 4) With white paint draw some horizontal lines to delineate chinks between the logs.  5) Paint roof white and if you want to make it look more realistic add faux snow with glitter. 6) Cut a rectangular piece of thin wood for the doors and square pieces for the windows. You could also just paint the door and windows directly onto the pallet wood.  7) Add some white paint into the corners of the windows where snow would naturally fall.  

8) Hot glue the door and windows onto the cabin body.  9) And I added snow covered mini bottlebrush trees to finish it. I cut them in half to make them more like bushes.

I had always wanted to make fake snow to use for Christmas decorations and found a great recipe on Pinterest via Amy of Stow and Tell U. 

Recipe...

• 1/2 cup Baking Soda
• 1/2 cup White Glue
• 2 tbsps. White Chalk Paint or Craft Paint

 
Directions...

Using a container of your choice add the first 3 ingredients. (I mixed mine in a plastic container that had a lid so that I could store it when not in use). Mix well with a whisk or fork, or hand held blender. The consistency should be like that of cream cheese frosting. Do a drip test on a piece of scrap wood. It should pretty much stay put. If it is too runny add more baking soda, if it is too thick, add more glue. It can be stored for a few days. The glitter is also optional, but should be sprinkled on top soon after. (Wash out your brushes when you are done with soap and water.)
Make sure to have the snow covered pieces dry vertically so that the drips will have gravity help to make them look more realistic. Make sure to add the glitter before the snow dries completely. Leave to dry overnight.

I chose to paint the door red to tie in with the barn that I had already painted.

I think it would look great on a wreath or as an ornament hanging on a tree...

Or simply on a shelf with some vintage mini bottle brush trees. I love how it looks with the barn. You can find the details for the barn HERE.

Last year I made another ornament with pallet wood as well... a little country church. You can find the details on how to make it HERE. I enjoyed making these ornaments so much that I think I will keep adding to the emerging town by make a different building next year.

Blessings, 

Lucy

Make sure to check out the rest of the Christmas projects by my fellow Junk visionaries

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