Pictures don’t do this little putz house justice. This is a bright and cheerful autumn house.
The base is made from a beautiful autumn card. On the back of the putz, a tiny, flat, black cat is playing in the shrubbery.
The fence is made of poster board, cut with decorative scissors. Puffs of smoke are included, in case the evenings are cool.
The autumn garden is packed with paper and velvet flowers. There are a couple of handcrafted pumpkins, too. The fallen leaves add a soft touch to the scene.
So very cute.
If you have any questions about creating putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
Today, I’m talking about pip stems. If you aren’t familiar with them by name, you may recognize them when seen below. These are my drawers of pip stems, mostly organized by color. There are two sizes of pip stems. The larger size is most often found. The mini size is harder to find. You can see the sizes side by side in the picture on the right. I can find red and pink mini size pip stems in the Etsy shop Silky Blossom.
TIP: I divided the pip stem drawers with boxes I made from foam core with a poster board bottom. I cut them to fit the width snugly so they wouldn’t slide up and down the drawer. I put them together with hot glue. Because I didn’t make enough boxes to fill the drawer, I can move the boxes so I have various size spaces between them. They stay where I put them because they fit snugly.
To see more examples of how pip stems can be used to make budding trees and budding vines, check out my blog post about storing floral supplies. Pip stems are discussed at the end of the post.
I ordered teal pip stems to make a spring budding tree for this spring church. In person, the darker color of the church roof is more green and does look like a dark teal.
The teal ones I ordered were not the right color. Teal / turquoise / aqua is a hard color to find in the right shade online. The pictures may not show the true in-real-life colors. I didn’t want to order another batch and find them incorrect as well, so I decided to paint the teal ones the right color.
To paint pip stems, spread the attached stems apart to make them easy to access. Use a small, soft brush that will smoothly slide over the pip. Using acrylic craft paint, paint one side of the pip, dry, then paint the other side. When dry, inspect the pips and touch up as needed. If the brown stem has paint on it, use a brown to match the stem and cover the paint. When dry, the individual pips can be gently moved to allow access for touching up spots that were missed.
When the pips were painted, inspected, and touched up as needed, I applied water soluble, clear varnish to give them a bright gloss.
This tree was made with three stems. Each stem had four stems of pips, as you can see in the above picture. I cut the bottom of each pip stem to make the tree the height I wanted. I glued the three stems together, then glued the tree to the base.
The last step was to add the necessary embellishments to finish the landscaping.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
I cut the pattern for this house yesterday. I painted and assembled it, and did a little bit of landscaping. I finished the landscaping today, It went together quickly because it’s a fairly simple pattern. There aren’t as many pieces to paint as some other patterns have.
The base measures 5 1/2″ wide by 3 1/2″ deep. The Putz is 5 1/4″ tall as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the chimney.
The base is made from an upcycled greeting card featuring a garden bench with pumpkins. The card reads “Give thanks with grateful hearts.”
A hole in the back allows the use of a small LED light string for lighting this and other glitter houses in a glitter house village.
Three tiny, handcrafted pumpkins can be found in the yard. Four steps lead to the front door. The doors on my Putz houses are open, so guests know they are always welcome to stop by. Wish them a gratitude filled Thanksgiving!
A puff of smoke is included. Autumn evenings can be chilly. The small tree-like shrubs are from a bouquet stem I found on Etsy. I pulled it apart and cut the “trees” to the length I wanted. I really like the way they look. The final touch is leaf litter. The tiny fallen leaves lend a softness to the landscape.
If you have any questions about creating putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
I set this little house aside because it needed something extra. I knew it needed sunflowers, so I ordered those. I also thought it needed something above the second floor window over the door. I added a decorative beam, and called it good. I photographed the needed shots and posted them to the blog on Sept. 22. Later, when looking at the photos, I realized I had neglected to add the “leaf litter.” Here’s the before and after.
Leaf litter is made from the dried, dyed scales of birch tree seed pods. They make great tiny leaves. Check different sources for different shades of green, brown, red, orange and yellow. Some are brighter than others. If you have a silver birch, you can make your own. I don’t know if all birch trees make the same kind of seed pod. Silver birch is the only one I’ve seen mentioned online for making leaf litter.  Making Miniature Leaves from Birch Seed Pods I made the mix shown below by adding yellow, red, and brown leaves together.
Following are some pictures to demonstrate how much difference the addition of fallen autumn leaves can make to a putz house. To apply them, I use a 1/4″ paintbrush to cover the area with white glue, then sprinkle loose leaf litter over the glue. I don’t press the leaves into the glue. I want a soft look, without matting them together. I add them where I think they would pile up naturally. Along the side of a walkway, against a fence, or against shrubbery.
In the second picture, you can see the fallen leaves on the doorstep and along the sidewalk. Little details like that can make a big difference in the overall appeal of your putz house.
The leaves add a softness to the lines of the house and yard.
It doesn’t take a lot. A subtle touch of fallen leaves, even on the outside of the fence below, can add an extra touch of the season.
If you have any questions about creating putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
A sweet autumn house, with a yard bursting with flowers and littered with fallen leaves.
A beautiful card makes the perfect base for the autumn / Thanksgiving house. The back of the house is fitted with the traditional hole for the use of an LED light string to brighten the house after the sun goes down.
The picket fence was handcrafted from wooden, coffee stir sticks. These fences can be made in many different designs. This one has double pickets.
I made the pumpkins from Fimo clay, then painted them in various hues of orange, white, green and yellow.
The house is supplied with puffs of smoke, in case the autumn evenings are chilly. In the back, a tiny black cat can be found, playing with the fallen leaves.
If you have any questions about creating putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
These autumn putz houses are listed in my Etsy shop. Two autumn houses, two looks. One with an autumn tree, one without.
The bases on both houses are made from vertical greeting cards, rather than horizontal cards. If the house isn’t more than three inches wide, it should fit well on a vertical card. Wider houses usually need a horizontal card. That is the general rule of thumb. There are always exceptions, of course.
The cards I use are donated to me by family and friends. Sometimes I get an oversized card. Love those! Sometimes a large card will have room for two buildings, but it doesn’t happen often. Shout out to everyone who has donated cards for my projects! You are very much appreciated! If you’re wondering, yes, I can always use more cards. They are a constant source of inspiration. They are made into bases for my putz houses, and many are used to make Christmas ornaments.
The house on the left has a fence made from poster board, cut with decorative scissors. The house on the right has a wooden picket fence. There are a lot of ways to change up a putz house. Fencing is one way. I’ve used cinnamon sticks and twigs from the yard as fencing. Also, I’ve made stone fences, using foamcore board.
If you have any questions about creating putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
This winter putz house is listed in my Etsy shop. It features a large bottle brush tree, decorated with faux snow, vintage red mercury beads and clear glitter. Puffs of smoke are included for those chilly winter evenings.
The base measures 6 1/2″ wide by 4 1/2″ deep. The Putz is 5 1/2″ high, as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the chimneys.
The base is made from an upcycled Christmas card featuring two chickadees perched on a branch of red berries. A hole in the back allows the use of a small LED light string for lighting this and other glitter houses in your glitter house village.
A light brown poster board fence, cut with decorative scissors, bounds the yard. Note the curved corners at the front of the fence.
Two steps lead to the front door. The large bottle brush tree is decorated with red, vintage mercury beads.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
I reversed this house pattern by folding the cut pieces backwards. On the left, the door is on the right side of the house. The autumn house has the door on the left side. Reversing the pattern can give different looks to the same pattern. Other changes can be made, too. On the left, the upper story on the front has a window. On the right, that window was not cut. While landscaping, I added a decorative framing piece to the gable of the fall house. That can be seen in following pictures.
This cute autumn house features a handcrafted, wooden picket fence and handcrafted pumpkins. It is listed in my Etsy shop.
The stone sidewalk is made with embossed paper. The walk is lined with moss, flowers and pumpkins.
The greeting card used to make the base provided the inspiration for the pumpkins and sunflowers decorating the putz house. Behind the house, a tiny black cat is exploring the autumn shrubs.
I handcrafted the wooden, picket fence, using coffee stir sticks. Puffs of smoke are included with the putz house. Just in case the autumn evenings get too cool.
Landscaping the yard is one of my favorite parts of putzing.
I use new poster board to construct my putz houses. I draw all my own patterns and cut each piece by hand. No die cuts are used in the process of creating my little glitter buildings. Greeting cards are used to make the base and the colors and decorations of the putz house are inspired by the greeting card.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
This pale orange and dark coral, autumn church is listed in my Etsy shop. It features a handcrafted wooden, picket fence, handcrafted pumpkins and a handcrafted autumn tree.
The base measures 4 7/8″ wide by 7 3/4″ deep. The Putz is 7 3/4″ tall as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the steeple.
The base is made from an upcycled greeting card featuring the words “Wishing you JOY at Thanksgiving” and a short verse. The word “JOY” is highlighted with copper foil. The traditional hole in the back allows the use of a small LED light string for lighting this and other glitter houses in your glitter house village.
I handcrafted the wooden picket fence from coffee stir sticks. Handcrafted fences can be made in many different patterns. The autumn tree is made with a tree armature, artificial foliage, and tiny leaf litter.
The churchyard has autumn shrubs made from sponge flock, five pumpkins, and tiny leaf litter.
My Putz houses are constructed of white poster board, from patterns I draw myself. Currently, I don’t sell patterns. I cut each piece by hand. No diecuts are used in the creation of my Putz houses. The base is made from an upcycled greeting card. Landscaping the yard, after the building and fence are glued to the base, is one of my favorite parts of creating these little Putz buildings.
If you would like to see more of my Putz houses, as well as Christmas ornaments I have made from upcycled holiday cards, please visit my Etsy shop.
All proceeds from my Etsy shop benefit Kenya Mercy Ministries. They work with the urban poor of Nairobi, Kenya, particularly the children and their families who live in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!
The weather the past weekend was beautiful. REC and I took the opportunity to take a country drive. We went out to Old Salem Cemetery where family members rest. It is a quiet and peaceful place. Care is taken to treat it with respect, keeping it in good condition. Recently, the tombstones were professionally cleaned and they gleamed in the bright sunlight.
REC visited with family…
…and did a bit of birdwatching on the side.
The cemetery is bounded by woods on two sides and corn fields on the other two sides.
Childhood memories pop up when I’m taking a leisurely drive on the back roads. Not sure why. Maybe because we took country roads almost every Sunday to have dinner at my maternal grandparents’ house or for a visit at my paternal grandparents’ home.
Dad always drove. Mom always talked about what she saw out the car window. She loved any wooded area and she’d talk about what was blooming in the woods, how beautiful the leaves were in the fall, how tall the goldenrod was growing along the road, how peaceful a fresh snowfall looked in the woods.
Country roads link me to my childhood. They link me to my mother.
