A Cottage In The Forest

Home
United States
Orinda, CA
A Cottage In The Forest

Unique patterns, handmade village luminaries made from recycled aluminum cans, and mini wire bonsai

04/28/2026

This is my latest free building pattern, Old French Farmhouse. I have been working on this pattern for several months. I played around with how I wanted it to look, never quite happy, then recently found a picture on Pinterest that pulled together what I was looking for. I knew I wanted exposed stone walls and used a stencil to make the stones, although I also just used my paintbrush to paint grit paste stones onto the walls, especially at the edges. I also designed this pattern so that the window trim is on the inside of the walls instead of the outside. You may have to pay extra attention when you glue on the trim. I glued a couple of pieces onto the outside and had to start over again.

Link to the free pattern is https://acottageintheforest.com/make-your-own-old-french-farmhouse/

09/25/2025

Now that the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular is behind us, I started to look at what other kinds of buildings I want to make for my village. I decided that I have a lot of house patterns on my website and need to make more shops and village buildings. While I was looking at pictures for inspiration, I found one that reminded me of a bookstore near us, so I decided to make my shop into one. Though I include pictures for the inside of a bookshop, this building can be made into any kind of shop, or even a regular house. Wouldn't this look great as a potion shop for Halloween?

You can find the tutorial and link to the free SVG/PDF/Studio3 files at https://acottageintheforest.com/make-your-own-village-bookstore/

Subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the tutorial page and you will get a welcome email with the password to the library of free patterns. If you have trouble entering my file library, make sure you enter the password sent you exactly. The password is case and space sensitive. It is probably best to copy and paste the password, just make sure you don't add any extra spaces at the beginning or the end of the password. I've tested it several times today, and the password is working.

08/31/2025

Today is your last chance to grab two great sales. Purchase my collections Halloween Haunts (https://acottageintheforest.com/product/halloween-haunts/) and Victorian Village (https://acottageintheforest.com/product/victorian-village-collection/) each just $17 (regularly 25!) before 11:59 PM PST on August 31st. This low price will not be repeated!

For just $37 (regularly $59!), buy the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular VIP Pass and grab all 20 workshops, templates, bonuses, and replays — but this deal vanishes at midnight ET on August 31st! ⏰https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-tghs-vip-pass/

08/29/2025

I don't want you to miss this opportunity to get Lucy's Gus the Ghost's House pattern for free. It is available this Saturday only as the last pattern available from the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular. If you haven't done so previously, sign up for your free ticket immediately so that you can download the pattern on Saturday. https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-free-ticket/

Also, last chance to buy Spooktacular VIP Pass before it increases in price. The VIP Pass will be $37 ONLY from August 30 at 9 AM ET through August 31 at 11:59 PM ET. After that, the price will increase to $57. So if you have been hesitating, buy your VIP Pass now. https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-tghs-vip-pass/

08/22/2025

I want to remind you that my 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular project, the Mid-Century Modern Creepy House or Gift Box, will only be available for free today!

If you haven't yet, you have to sign up for the free ticket to the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular, and then you will have 24 hours starting from 9AM EST to download my pattern. So sign up now if you want this pattern for free! https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-free-ticket/

Though I designed this mid-Century Modern house to be part of the Spooktacular, with a change of the scenes or decorations, it can fit into any Mid-Century Modern Village.

08/21/2025

Just a quick note to remind you that my freebie, the Mid-Century Modern Creepy House or Gift Box, will only be available for free this Friday August 22nd.

If you haven't yet, you have to sign up for the free ticket to the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular, and then you will have 24 hours on August 22nd to download my pattern. You will get a reminder email from the Spooktacular with the link, but only if you sign up for the free ticket now. Last year I saw that people who waited to register for their free ticket until the day of the project they wanted didn't always receive their ticket in time. So sign up now if you want this pattern for free! https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-free-ticket/

08/20/2025

I really wanted to share this with you. This was the Day 1 pattern from the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular. The pattern was designed by Lucy Foxworth, but the model below was made by Donna Camacho. Donna is one of my pattern testers and she always goes beyond simple testing and does an outstanding job with all models she makes. More often than not after I see Donna's models, I want to re-make mine using her ideas!

08/16/2025

Here is the Bat House made by my 2nd pattern tester, Cheryl Sablotny. She sent me pictures with a witch in front of the door, but also sent me this one with Batman, and I thought it was so fun I had to use it!

This is the bonus file I am sending out to my followers for buying the 2025 Spooktacular VIP Pass using one of my links. You can buy the VIP pass directly at: https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-tghs-vip-pass/ Forward the email you received with your VIP pass receipt to me at [email protected] and I will email you the bonus file starting today.

08/08/2025

Isn't Donna Camacho's model of the Bat House fabulous? She is calling it "Dracula's Roost." This is the bonus file I am sending out to my followers after you buy the 2025 Spooktacular VIP Pass using one of my links. You can either buy the VIP pass after signing up for the free pass at https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-free-ticket/ , or buy the VIP pass directly at: https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-tghs-vip-pass/ . Forward your VIP pass receipt to me at [email protected] and I will email you the bonus file as soon as my 2nd pattern tester makes the pattern, or at the latest August 22nd.

The VIP pass gives you access to all the workshops anytime — plus crafting goodies like a printable workbook, templates, transcripts, and speaker bonuses. Hurry, as the special price on the VIP pass ends at 11:59 PM ET on August 10th!

08/07/2025

While the first free pattern for the 2025 Great Halloween Spooktacular will not be available until August 11th, there is a virtual kickoff party on YouTube at 2PM ET on August 10th! You'll get a sneak peek at what’s coming and meet some of the magical makers behind the event. There are also fang-tastic giveaways! https://www.youtube.com/live/8XqpT8wxJas

Still need a free ticket to the event? You can find it here: https://cottageforest--paperglitterglue.thrivecart.com/2025-free-ticket/

Address

Orinda, CA

Website

https://acottageintheforest.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when A Cottage In The Forest posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to A Cottage In The Forest:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Interior Service in Orinda?