Save the offcuts - they make the cutest Scandinavian Village Scrap Wood Houses! When building the rustic farmhouse wood frame for our dining room earlier this year I noticed the pile of offcuts scattered about the sawdust-filled floor. Looking at those angles I was reminded of the wooden Christmas villages that are so popular during the holidays.

Once that seed was planted, you know I couldn't let that lumber go to waste. Fast forward several months later to our November Int'l Bloggers Club Christmas challenge and finally, I get to play with those pieces of scrap wood.

Rustic Scrap Wood Scandinavian Village

Today is our last challenge of 2020 as we'll be taking a break in December but we have some unique ideas in store for 2021. If you haven't heard of our Int'l Bloggers Club, we are a group of blogging friends from around the globe who come together on the third Monday of every month to share a themed DIY project.

We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the USA, and Canada. We're excited to introduce you to our newest member, Meegan from the USA who blogs over at What Meegan Makes. Please give her a warm welcome and you'll find her Christmas project along with the other members further down in the post. Last month our challenge was Halloween where I repurposed a figurine display shelf into a Spooktacular Miniature Diorama.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make the Scrap Wood Christmas Village, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

This is the pile of scraps I found on the floor - do you see the Scandi house potential?

Those angles were just waiting to become a rustic Christmas village!

Once we decorate, the Nordic village will welcome guests in our front entry. To add ambiance I decided to backlight the village and have it on a set and forget timer.

Let's take a closer look at the Scandi Christmas houses and trees, shall we? Scandinavian wooden houses have a simple, minimalist look that focuses on shapes like circles, hearts, trees, and stars. Typically the traditional colors are red, green, yellow, blue, gold, and silver.

I chose to go neutral with a pop of traditional red and green. Because this is a keeper, the traditional yellows and blues don't go with my Christmas decor but red (my favorite color) sure does.

Perfection is not the goal when making Nordic-style houses because the charm is in the hand-painted style. You'll notice I have holes cut out in each house so the light will reflect from the back.

The new lumber houses have been aged and distressed for rustic charm.

How To Make A Simple Nordic Wooden Christmas Village

The salvaged lumber used to make the village is fence boards left over from the farmhouse mirror in our dining room. The tallest building in my village is the church which stands 12-inches tall and the tallest house stands 7 1/2-inches tall.

The wooden houses are mounted on a white 34-inch long by 3 1/2-inch deep MDF board, which works with the cabinet the village will be sitting on. You can make your village as long or short as you like plus you can change the scale of the buildings to what suits your home best.

Cut The Scrap Wood Into Houses

The boards will likely need to be trimmed into the appropriate angles and heights for your display. To cut the boards we used a sliding compound miter saw.

Once the houses AND trees (not pictured above) are cut you'll want to sand the rough edges with 150 grit sandpaper.

Staining The Scrap Wood Houses

This step is completely optional, staining them first will provide a rustic base for the paint. If rustic is not the look you're going for then move onto the next step to just paint your houses instead. The houses are stained with a water-based gel stain by Dixie Belle Paint Company that I had on hand in the color Tobacco Road and the trees with Bayou Moss.

The nice thing about using a water-based stain is that it dries fast and you can paint right over it with a chalky or latex paint.

Painting The Scrap Wood Houses

I use three different paint techniques for the houses as follows...

Dry Brush Technique

Once the stain is dry dip just the tips of a paintbrush into white paint. I used Behr Chalk Decorative Paint in the color Tin White that I had on hand. Dab the excess paint onto a paper towel - hence the term drybrush. With little pressure swipe the brush in one long brushstroke with the grain of the wood. You want the paint to hit just the surface of the rough wood.

Paint Wash Technique

The red houses are painted with red chalky paint thinned to a milk-like consistency that I had on hand. Apply just one coat of color over the stain giving it just a wash of color. You can see how the brown stain is showing through the paint.

Wet Distress Technique

The church is painted with the same white paint but before it dries it is distressed with a lint-free rag to remove the paint in some areas.

Pro-Tip

If you want this project to move along quicker use a blow dryer or heat gun set on low to speed up the paint drying process.

Painting Windows And Doors

Time to draw doors and windows on the houses. Instead of free-handing them, make some window and door templates with cardboard (pictured above). It's so much easier this way! Trace the templates with a pencil and go over the pencil lines with oil-based Sharpie markers in white and black. Once the Sharpie ink is dry use small artist brushes and acrylic craft paint to fill in the doors and window panes.

Distressing The Painted Houses

This step is optional if you'd like your houses to have time-worn charm. Once the paint is dry distress them with 220-grit sandpaper. You can see the difference between the house on the top (pictured in step 5 above) that hasn't been distressed and the undistressed one on the bottom.

Adding Some Sparkle With Faux Snow

I had planned on using Snow-Tex to add freshly fallen snow to the tops of the houses. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough nor could I find any at local stores. So instead I used a small artist-fan brush to paint wispy snow with white craft paint. Once it was dry I brushed over the wisps with Mod Podge and sprinkled them with white glitter. I love how it added some sparkle to the houses!

Drilling Holes In The Scrap Wood Houses

Now it's time to drill holes into each house for the light to shine through (pictured in step 1 below). If you don't plan on backlighting your village, then move onto the next step. With Forstner drill bits drill holes into the circles. On the church, I use a small drill bit to drill holes in a circular pattern at the top of the steeple.

Adding Snow To The Wood Board

Also optional is adding glitter to the front of the board (pictured below in step 2) to look like snow. Applied the same way as the snow peaks on the houses with Mod Podge and glitter. First, run a piece of painter's tape 1-inch from the edge of the board. This will also provide a clear line for where to line up the houses when mounting them on the board.

Mounting The Village Onto The Wood Board

Set the board upright on the worktable so the bottom is facing towards you (see step 3 above). Lay the houses and trees down on the worktable and line them up how you want them mounted on the board. Draw two pencil marks per house on the bottom of the board to mark where they will be attached with screws.

Drill a small pilot hole in each pencil mark and then use a countersink drill bit so the screw heads are recessed into the base. Drill small wood screws into each hole so they pierce through the top of the board (pictured in step 3 above). Press each house firmly up to the board and tighten the screws into the bottom of each house and tree. Go slowly with the drill during this process and hold tight onto the house.

Lighting The Scrap Wood Houses

These are the LED lights I used to backlight the village. I found the cute pine cone lights at the dollar store for $3. They come ten on a strand, just the right amount of lights for the houses. Plus I don't mind if you can see them behind the houses at center angles because they're so darn cute!

Alternatively, you could use small fairy lights, a short strand of white LED lights, or battery-operated tea lights instead. The only drawback to tea lights is that you'll have to manually turn each one on. Ideally having lights with a timer function provides a convenient set and forget light function.

Staple the lights so they rest just beneath the holes on the houses so the light reflects through them. Find the optimal placement for the lights and staple them onto the back of the houses. Be careful not to pierce through the wires.

That's it, you now have a cute Nordic style alpine village to enjoy during the holidays. But it could be enjoyed after the holidays too as winter decor. Resting miniature skis and ski poles against some of the houses would be so cute too.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today. I hope you were inspired by the handmade Christmas village. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this Christmas village display idea, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your DIY Christmas ideas or Scrap Wood Christmas Projects board on Pinterest.

Now let's see what my talented friend's made for our Halloween challenge by clicking the links below.

Steampunk Christmas Tree - Unique Creations By Anita

Bottle Light Swappable Art Insert - A Crafty Mix

DIY Christmas Sleigh Decor - Birdz Of A Feather

Scandinavian Village Scrap Wood Houses - Interior Frugalista

Easy Wooden Farmhouse Christmas Ornaments - Raggedy Bits

Vintage Style Christmas Wreath - What Meegan Makes

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.