Anyone who knows me knows my love of kitsch. Kitsch is defined as “art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.” Around the holidays I can be found using an excessive amount of glittery doo-dads and other bits in experimentation. With that said, I present to you this year’s updated holiday house scene complete with zoo animals.

For this open-ended project, you will need the following items (pictured below):

an assortment of washi tape
Mod Podge gloss lustre
wood round base
house cut out (cardboard works well, too)
hot glue gun (not pictured)
glue brush for applying Mod Podge
scissors (not pictured)
polyester fill (used for snow)

Begin by wrapping the house and base shapes with washi tape and trim with scissors. Once covered in tape, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge over the washi tape to seal it.

When selecting washi tape, take into consideration color, pattern and texture. I used metallics, florals, and stripes that had similar colors to tie it all together but still allow for that gaudy, kitschy look.

Once the Mod Podge is dry, hot glue to house to the base. If doing more than one house, experiment with the shape of the base. Add polyester fluff around as snow and decorate with any items around the house to create your scene.

Some additional fun extensions for this project are applying glitter to any plastic toys. Shhhhh….don’t tell my child. I use spray adhesive outside and then sprinkle glitter or dip the animals in glitter. Adding glittered and decorated cardboard tree cutouts is another great item to add in to your holiday house scene.

I picture an entire mantel neighborhood of these wash tape houses decorated to one’s personal style. For my little guy, I imagine him incorporating his LEGO mini figures and matchbox cars. Add your fake fluffy snow, and you have yourself a playscape that will be sure to ignite some imaginations.

Holiday Kitsch House How-To