Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

craft storage / picket fence supplies

One of my favorite storage systems are small, three-drawer, plastic containers. They work well to contain supplies that are needed only for one particular project.  These drawers are stored in the island in the middle of the craft room. I can turn in my desk chair, grab a drawer, and turn back to my desk […]

tutorial / making picket fences for Putz houses / 2024

I have written a few posts about making fences for Putz houses, but as time goes by, experience lends a hand. This post contains instructions for my latest method. I find this method easy and fairly quick, considering it involves many small pieces. I can make a five-inch section of fencing in about twenty minutes. […]

putz house construction…on the inside

I have cut this pattern from poster board, affixed the window panes, and am ready to construct it. This is pattern 090319. I always add a base to each putz house pattern I draw. The base is attached to the main body of the house. The walls are glued to the flaps on the base […]

i’m baaaa…aaack…i think.

It has been three years since I have posted to this blog. At that time, I had thought about changing to a different format. I had some help from one of my kids (all my “kids” are grown and gone from home), but I had a lot of trouble trying to change over. So, I […]

putz house sidewalks

There are many ways to make sidewalks for Putz houses. I’ll post some of my favorites here. I use foam-filled nail files as sanding sticks. When they are too worn and smooth to sand any longer, I use them to make steps and sidewalks. A single largish piece can be used to make a landing […]

tutorial: heart-punched fence

The fence shown below was made with a heart-shaped, hand-held punch. This tutorial will make two 1/2″-tall fence sections. If taller fences are wanted, only one side of the poster board strip should be punched, then the strip can be cut to the height desired. Supplies needed to make the fence: 10″-12″ long piece of […]

drawing a roof for a putz house bumpout or porch

If you have questions about this process, please ask. I will edit the tutorial to reflect points that clarify the instructions. Following is a picture of the simple pattern I drew to illustrate the process. On the pattern, dotted lines are fold lines and solid lines are cut lines. Brown = The depth of the […]

green putz barn

This sweet, ORIGINAL size, Putz barn started with the card I used for the base. The card depicts a winter orchard. The picture is covered with very fine, iridescent glitter. A strip of seafoam green runs along the bottom of the picture and the word “Peace” is colored with the same green. I knew I […]

spring / Easter putz church and a house

I drew the pattern for this church last week. It started as a house, but when I was looking through my stash of Easter cards for one to use to make the base, I found one that would be perfect for a church. I drew some additional pattern pieces to make the bell tower, and […]

mini size Easter putz church

I just finished this MINI size, Easter church. It was a lot of fun to make and I am very happy with the end result. I thought about keeping it in my own collection, but decided to list it in my Etsy shop instead. The base measures 4 1/8″ wide x 6″ deep. The Putz […]