Book excerpt: Capture the Charm of Cottage and Village Scenes Bring the storybook cottages and towns of your dreams to life. Ten step-by-step projects show you how to paint a variety of architectural styles from a Victorian "gingerbread" house, to an English Tudor cottage, to a Cape Cod and a classic farmhouse. Two nostalgic village scenes take you back to simpler days of main streets lined with merchants, dress shops and tearooms. Dozens of quick mini-demonstrations show you how to embellish your scenes with quaint details, including porch swings, lace curtains, fountains, old-time lampposts, picket fences and quilts fluttering on a clothesline. You'll also learn how to add the seasonal touches of fall foliage, spring flowers and winter snows. Each project is painted with acrylic paints. Full-color photos, traceable patterns, color swatches, detailed materials lists and a techniques section make each painting easy to do. Use your paintbrush and these projects to create your own quaint getaway cottages today!