Putzing around with putz houses

There are some crafts that just require the right tools for success.

You know this kind of project. It's the project you may have been feverish to start and while falling short rummaging for a glue gun -  you settled for a small ball of masking tape, or when tiny knitting needles where used because you only packed one set and wanted to start on the project immediately.

I find in these crafting scenarios usually the end result can suffice - I mean it is a craft after all - let's not take this shit too seriously. However, you never quite get that sense of crafting satisfaction when the masking tape inevitably falls off or the toque you made for your handsome significant other ends up on the head of a reluctant toddler.

So from that long winded description, back to my first point - sometimes you just need the right tools for the job - and for the following project I was in the rare crafter's sweet spot where I happened to have all of them.

For this project you will need:

1 sheet of white poster paper (thickest I could find - made about 3 houses with some scrap)
1 cutting mat
1 small crafting knife (with extra blades)
1 ruler, pencil, eraser, small paint brush
Glue (school glue worked fine for me)
Paint ( I used a rose gold acrylic)


These little houses were a joy to make! They were very simple but I really see the possibilities being endless with additional painting, glitter and other details. As the subject suggests, this project was first inspired by the traditional 'putz' houses and all of their sweetness.

I didn't take any pictures of the templates but here is a rough sketch of what I sketched onto the poster board.

For the roof I just eye balled it - cut a piece I thought would fit the house folded in half and then trimmed it till I thought the eaves looked about right. The windows and doors are where the crafting knife was used and then you just fold along the lines to create a standing structure. I finished them with a bit of paint around the windows and door and a dab of glue to adhere the roof (hold till the glue takes). A battery powered tea light or string of lights behind the house lit them up for pure viewing enjoyment.

Happy crafting.