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  • January 24, 2021
Gardening Recipes
 
Craft Projects Photography

Movie Inspired Craft: The UP House Pincushion

January 19, 2012 By radmegan 29 Comments

The movie, UP came out in 2009 and it’s funny how often I still think about it. The last time I posted a movie-inspired craft, I was already thinking about this one. I knew I wanted a miniature version of the house that carried Carl and Russell away on their adventure. AND I knew I had to use my colorful glass head pins as the balloons that played such an integral role in this heart-warming film. I considered building a miniature version of the house out of clay or wood but still struggled with making it a tutorial that many people could follow. 

And then… I found THIS. That’s right, Disney-Pixar actually made a paper house pattern available for alllll of us UP fans! Here’s a direct link to the PDF pattern.

I do suggest printing out one full-sized PDF as-is (to actually see where all of the fold lines are), however, I opened the PDF in Adobe Photoshop and shrunk the image down to 1000 pixels wide at 350 DPI. (Making the main part of the house only about an inch wide when printed.) By shrinking it down so dramatically, we create a paper house small enough that the pins will look proportional and pass for the hundreds of balloons that carry the house away to new lands! 

Additional items you will need to make your own UP House Pincushion are:
– The house pattern printed out
– Scraps of upholstery or other foam (even a new kitchen sponge would work)
– A very sharp Xacto knife and cutting board
– Ruler or straight edge 
– Mod Podge
– Rubber Cement
– Old Paintbrushes
– A slice of tree branch any size (this becomes our “Tepui”) 
– A few bits of dried moss
– A small container of dried Dillweed
– Toothpicks
– LOTS of glass head sewing pins

After printing out a few color copies of my mini house pattern, I used a ruler and Xacto knife to carefully cut out all of the paper house pieces. I then assembled them using rubber cement; dabbing a little bit of glue on all parts of the paper patten that would be touching, and letting them dry for a few seconds before pressing the paper together. This creates a MUCH stronger bond. 

Next, I used my Xacto knife again to cut thin pieces of foam to fit in each compartment of the house. I glued the foam bits inside the house using the rubber cement as well. 

When the house was completely assembled and full of foam, I used a generous amount of rubber cement on the center of the branch slice, and on the bottom of the house. Since the bottom of the house has so much exposed foam, and the slice of tree branch is quite porous, I applied the glue liberally.

Next, I sealed my entire house and the top of the wooden platform with Mod Podge. I wanted to increase the structural integrity of the house and begin creating the plant-rich environment of the Tepuis!

To create a miniature plant-scape around the house, I used tiny bits of dried moss and dill weed (from my kitchen cupboard!) and sprinkled the various greens around the surface of the wooden disk. Be careful not to sprinkle any on the house itself!

The addition of the green “plant-life” really seemed to bring the piece to life.

I *should* have let the house dry completely before jamming it full of pins, but I was so excited to see my pincushion in action, couldn’t help but start jamming them in!

While I don’t own QUITE as many pins as I would need to create the exact same look the movie poster has, I’m pretty pleased with my new, miniature, magical pin cushion!


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Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: movie inspired, paper crafts, pattern

Comments

  1. Helen Dooley says

    January 19, 2012 at 1:40 pm

    ADORABLE!!!! this is too awesome!

    Reply
  2. thezenofmaking says

    January 19, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    Too cute!

    Reply
  3. Danielle says

    January 19, 2012 at 2:03 pm

    That is so stinkin’ adorable!!

    Reply
  4. Cait says

    January 19, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    What a cute idea. Two of my favorite things– Crafting and Pixar!

    Reply
  5. radmegan says

    January 19, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    Thanks so much you guys! So glad you like!!!
    xoxo
    radmegan

    Reply
  6. Tabitha says

    January 19, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    Loooove that!!! Pinned it! 😀

    Reply
  7. seesue says

    January 19, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    This is priceless! Love it!

    Reply
  8. Andrea M says

    January 19, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    This is absolutely BRILLIANT! I am honestly so impressed, by this project, it shows such ingenuity and creativity! :)

    Reply
  9. Devon from Miss Make says

    January 19, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    this turned out so cute!!

    Reply
  10. Cassandra of Pooknflip says

    January 19, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    Again, so darn cute! One of my absolute favorite movies. Love this! Rad Megan is Rad!!!

    Reply
  11. radmegan says

    January 19, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    Thank you Tabitha & Seesue!!

    Awww Andrea! That is so darn nice of you! I’m blushing!!!! I appreciate it!

    Yay! Thanks Devon :)

    Cassandra I love it too!!!!! Thanks pal :)

    xoxo
    radmegan

    Reply
  12. LauraBee says

    January 20, 2012 at 8:02 am

    My daughter will L.O.V.E. this !

    And in our house, “Up” quotes are a daily, if not hourly, thing. An instant hit & instant classic.

    Reply
  13. Elizabeth says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:07 am

    This is so incredibly cute, great job!

    Reply
  14. Georgina says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Just found you over at Pinterest…this is just too adorable and “Up,” is one of my fav movies…watched it with my grandsons…we still occasionally will say the random “squirrel” during a conversation. Many laughs!!

    Reply
  15. Sharyn says

    January 20, 2012 at 10:02 am

    Oh, that’s so cleverly wonderful!

    Reply
  16. Kathy says

    January 20, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Wonderful tutorial! and I like your use of dill.

    Reply
  17. nibsnabsandknots says

    January 20, 2012 at 10:13 am

    LOVE this! Great work and very inspiring! :)

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    up house

    Reply
  19. Sara Eaker says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    Cute! I love that movie and this is such a creative way to capture that image.

    Reply
  20. Anonymous says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    This is so cute, I believe I will try and make this not just for myself but also for my grandchild who likes to sew with me. I am going to try and print the house design out on fabric, then sew it together. Thanks for the inspiration. Suzanne

    Reply
  21. Kris says

    January 21, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    That’s adorable! Like Anonymous, I was sitting here thinking how it would work out with fabric instead of paper…

    Reply
  22. radmegan says

    January 21, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Thanks for all the comments! If anyone makes one out of fabric, I would love to see it!!! I’m honestly not that great at sewing, so making a house that tiny out of fabric was something I thought a lot about, but when I found the paper pattern… ahhh! All my tiny sewing worries vanished! :)

    So glad you enjoy!

    xoxo
    radmegan

    Reply
  23. Rorey Risdon says

    January 21, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    This is so creative and amazing. It makes me happy just looking at it. You should sell these on Etsy!

    Thanks!
    Adventures From Dar

    Reply
  24. Kanchan Karai says

    January 22, 2012 at 7:59 am

    This is so beautiful. What a brilliant idea!

    Reply
  25. Angypants says

    January 23, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Awesome. Very inspiring/inspired!

    Reply
  26. Anonymous says

    January 25, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    Making this for my daughter who’s a Disney fan.

    Reply
  27. Heather says

    February 7, 2012 at 7:47 am

    Just found this pinned and had to come to your blog. I HAVE to make this! Up is our favorite Disney movie of all-time! We still quote it almost daily. When it came out, my daughter was 4 and she had the entire scene memorized where Russell first comes to Carl’s door to ask if he can help him. Thanks so much for posting this!

    Reply
  28. eileensideways says

    April 25, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    cutest pincushion ever!

    Reply
  29. Noa says

    June 7, 2020 at 5:04 am

    It’s been a long time and I can’t find the house pattern. Can someone help me track it down?

    Reply

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