We're going to make a wonderfully wonky little art journal that's part book, part house, and eventually... home to a whole collection of strange and delightful residents.

But first, we need to build the Mansion.

In this free tutorial, I'll show you how to turn simple sheets of paper into your own handmade Monster Mansion—with painted pages, windows, doors, pockets, folds, and plenty of places for future surprises.

Don't worry about filling every page or knowing exactly what your Mansion will become.
In fact, leave some room for the unexpected.

Because this isn't meant to be a journal you finish in one sitting.
It's a world we're going to build little by little.

As spooky season unfolds, I'll be drawing new monsters, creating pages for them, adding strange objects and interactive details, and discovering what happens inside my own Mansion.

You can follow along, borrow the ideas you love, and let your Mansion become completely your own.

Maybe there's a portrait gallery filled with suspicious-looking ancestors.
Maybe something lives behind a tiny door.
Maybe a spider takes over an entire room.
Maybe there's a laboratory, an overgrown conservatory, a crooked staircase—or a room we haven't even imagined yet.

We don't need to know yet. That's part of the fun.

For now, we're simply building the place where all of those possibilities can happen.
So gather some paper, paint, scissors, glue, and whatever wonderfully imperfect art supplies you have nearby.

Let's build your Monster Mansion. 🖤

What you'll make
By the end of this tutorial, you'll have your own handmade Monster Mansion ready to fill with characters, collage, drawings, pockets, secrets, stories, and whatever else wanders in.

And when you're finished building?
We'll leave the door open.
Because you never know who's going to move in next. 👀