- Easy
- 20–30 minutes
- No glue
- about 3.9 × 3.8 in (9.9 × 9.6 cm)
Build the sweetest little cottage right at your craft table with this cozy house featuring a cheerful paper squishy face! It has a red scalloped tile roof, a cute chimney, and blooming flower bushes by the wooden door. Grab the free printable template in US Letter or A4 with 3 versions: full color, a coloring page, and a blank outline. Pair it with a fluffy cloud squishy or a happy flower squishy to create a whole sunny neighborhood!
What you need
How to make it, step by step
1Print the template
Print your cozy house template at 100% scale on plain printer paper, making sure to turn off the “fit to page” setting. Check the line in the top corner—it should measure exactly 2 inches (50 mm on A4). If you picked the coloring page, color the roof tiles, brick walls, and flower bushes now, and let marker ink dry completely.
2Tape the pieces
Cover only the two cottage pieces with wide clear packing tape, rather than taping the entire sheet. Smooth each strip from the center outwards toward the roof and bushes without pulling or stretching, because stretched tape will wrinkle later. This layer makes your house shiny, strong, and extra squishy.
3Cut out both pieces
Cut out the front and the back along the solid outer line. Take your time curving around the chimney top, the overhanging roof corners, and the rounded flower bushes at the bottom, making sure to keep the small white border intact all the way around.
4Add a tape border to the back
Lay the back house piece printed side down on strips of regular clear tape with the sticky side facing up. Cut the tape about 1 cm (½ inch) past the paper edge, then snip this sticky border every 2 cm (1 inch) right up to the paper. These little flaps will hold your squishy together around the curves.
5Join front and back
Put the front on the back with the white sides together, lining up the chimney and roof peaks. Fold the sticky tape flaps over the front edge one by one and press them down. Leave a 4 cm (1½ in) gap open along the side (the pink line in the picture shows where) as your gap for the stuffing.
6Stuff it
Tear your plastic bags, cotton, or fiberfill into small pieces and push them inside through the open gap. Fill the far corners first—especially up into the chimney, the roof eaves, and the bottom bushes. Stop when the cottage feels soft and puffy, since too much stuffing makes the seams pop.
7Close the gap
Fold the last tape flaps over the opening to close up your house, and tape the gap shut with an extra strip of clear tape. Run your finger firmly along all edges around the roof and base to press the tape down well.
8Squish!
Done! Squeeze your cozy house squishy and watch the puffy cottage pop right back up into shape. Want a slow-rising squishy? Gently prick one tiny pinhole in the back piece so the air escapes slowly.
Free Cozy House Squishy Template
- Color
- Coloring page
- Blank, design your own
- Step-by-step guide
One free PDF: the template in three versions (pages 1–3) and the step-by-step guide (pages 4–5). Print the template at 100% on plain printer paper.
Tips for the perfect squish
- My squishy feels too hard. If the cottage feels stiff instead of pillowy, it has too much stuffing inside. Gently open the filling gap, take some out, and tape the edge shut again.
- Tape wrinkles on the roof. Wide areas like the terracotta roof are easiest to cover with shorter strips of packing tape laid on gently without pulling. Smooth from the center outward to keep the surface sleek.
- A corner edge splits open. The curves around the roof overhang and flower bushes take pressure when you squeeze. Simply put a new short strip of clear tape across the split edge, overlapping the old ones.
- The marker colors smeared. When coloring the brick walls and flowers on the coloring page, always let markers dry fully before taping. Printer ink on the color version is fine right away.
Questions
Can I use glue instead of tape?
Not for the edges. Glue doesn’t stick to tape-covered paper, so the cottage seams would open right up. The snipped tape border folded over the edge holds best.
How can I customize the paper squishy face on the blank template?
Use the blank outline version to draw your own cute emoji paper squishy expressions right on the front cottage wall! Just let your marker ink dry completely before adding the packing tape so your custom eyes and cheeks don’t smear.
What paper and stuffing work best for a house squishy?
Use plain printer paper (80–100 gsm / 20–24 lb), because cardstock makes the squishy too stiff. You can stuff it with plastic grocery bags for a light crinkly feel, cotton balls or fiberfill for softness, or small pieces of memory foam for a slow-rising squishy.
What are some fun paper squishy ideas with emoji faces?
Giving everyday objects like this cozy house a smiling face turns them into adorable paper squishy emojis! You can also print the template at a larger scale like 120%—just print the front and back together on the same sheet so they match.
Can I make these with a class or a group?
Yes! Print one sheet per person and cut the tape strips in advance. Kids can color the cottage coloring page while you help with taping, and you should plan about 30 minutes.
More paper squishies to make
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