Sparkling fireworks highlight this Fourth of July putz house. Sit back and enjoy the celebration!
I handcrafted the picket fence from coffee stir sticks.
The fireworks fit into plastic tubes on the back of the house. When the season is over, remove the fireworks and store them with the house for next year’s celebration. The putz comes with a protective sleeve for storing the fireworks.
My hand for scale. This putz is made in the size I call ORIGINAL. Putz this size range between 4″ – 6″ tall. ORIGINAL size churches are an exception in height, as they may have steeples that measure 8″ – 9″ tall.
In process. The first picture shows the house after it has been painted, assembled, and glued to the base. The fence and flag are added. The second shot shows the house and landscaping done except for the addition of the fireworks.
If you have questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
This year, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday! In celebration, I plan to make a few special barns for the occasion. The following barn is one of my favorites from 2024.
Hard working farm families seem to embody the spirit of the Midwest, where I have lived all my life. This Fourth of July barn celebrates that spirit. It comes with its own fireworks display! I love this card. The setting reminds me of my childhood. Both sets of grandparents were farmers.
I made the post and board fence from coffee stir sticks and craft matchsticks. A corrugated cardboard roof simulates a ridged metal roof.
The barn proudly displays the flag of the United States. A mama cow and her calf graze in the barnyard, which is embellished with red, white and blue flowers.
Small clear tubes are glued to the back of the barn to hold the fireworks.
If you have questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
I had planned to make a summer church, but, while looking for a card to use for the base, I found this pretty spring card and decided to make a spring church with it.
Poster board, cut with decorative scissors, make the churchyard fence. The fence posts are made from 1/8″ square, wooden rods.
I painted the stepping stones directly on the base and outlined them with faux moss.
Periwinkle, white and green flowers embellish the churchyard. Yellow vellum covers the windows.. I cut all the window frames by hand.
If you have questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
I’ve been in my craft room for almost three years now. Time has flown by. The craft room is in an addition added to our home a year after we moved in. We were downsizing from a large brick home built in 1867. Tons of room there to store stuff. Even stuff we no longer needed. It was a chore to declutter that house, but well worth the effort.
A shout out to Dana K. White and her wonderful, life-changing book Decluttering at the Speed of Life. I couldn’t have decluttered our previous home without the steps I learned from Dana. She turned my overwhelming job into easy steps.
Back to the subject of this post. I’ve been in the craft room for almost three years. It is time to sort the drawers, declutter, organize and make it fit the stage of life I am in right now.
I previously decluttered the two top drawers to the left of my desk. You can read about those here: Decluttering drawers
The drawer shown below is the third one down on the left side of my desk. “Before” on the left. “After” on the right. This drawer holds some office supplies. Pen and pencil refills, tape, stapler, staples, cord organizers, pins and clips, a scale, and a collection of jump rings in various sizes. Looking at those, I realize they should be stored in a drawer farther away from the prime real estate of my desk area. I rarely use them, but I know exactly where I can store them.
I admit, I don’t always make a final decision about every single item. In this drawer, a small glass bowl holds little odds and ends that don’t have another home. Yet. Among a few other things, the bowl holds the keyring my father gave me when I turned 16 years old. That was in 1970. So, yah, that kind of stuff.
The drawers shown below are in “secondary real estate.” These drawers hold items I don’t need every day.
The first drawer holds supplies for making Christmas ornaments. I classify them as decoupage ornaments, diorama ornaments, and shadow box ornaments. The “before” picture shows a jumbled mess. Projects in progress and supplies needed to make the ornaments have no clear separation.
In the drawer to the right, across the top of the drawer, are spool ornaments, supplies for diorama ornaments, and shadow box ornaments. Across the lower part of the drawer are supples for diorama ornaments, decoupage supplies, and an out of place box of large berry sprigs. They are there temporarily until I make space in the proper drawer. Or decide I can let them go…
The “before” drawer shown below held soldering supplies, finished ornaments, and miscellaneous supplies. I took out the ornaments to give to my children, I donated half the heart boxes, and I kept the vintage Christmas wrapping paper and two rolls of printed craft paper. I also kept a box of pop-dots which I would need if I ever get around to a project I’ve been wanting to make for some time. If I didn’t have space, I would have donated them because it would be easy to buy another box of them, if needed. But I have the room so I decided to keep them. And look! There’s the room I need to store the jump rings!
Life is so much easier after decluttering and organizing the spaces we live in. I feel freer, more in control and more motivated to use the supplies I have when they are at hand, stored so I can quickly see what’s available.
Making putz houses
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
The summer barn features a cow and her calf and a barn cat. The card used for the base shows two little boys on the way to their favorite fishing hole, accompanied by their furry companion. I used the colors from the card for the putz barn.
The barn is red and the corrugated roof is navy blue. Sunflowers and forget-me-nots brighten the barnyard.
I made the post and board fence from coffee stir sticks and craft matchsticks. I sliver the stir sticks to make the boards and use the matchsticks as the posts.
The cow and calf browse the barnyard, while the barn cat watches them from a stack of hay bales.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
You can find this summer putz house in my Etsy shop.
The card inspired the colors of the house with its sunny yellow flowers and softened teal birdhouse. Small flowers provided the lavender color.
The hole in the back allows the use of an LED light string to illuminate the house.
I used poster board to make the fence, cutting it with zigzag scissors.
Foam core made a great birdhouse. I punched an 1/8″ round from black cardstock to make the hole on the front. I save the wood stands that I remove from bottle brush trees. My husband drilled a hole in a small one to hold a wooden manicure stick that I cut to the length I wanted. I glued the stick in the base, painted it and glued it down to the putz base. An armature from Woodland Scenics was the perfect base for the tree. The “leaves” are made from foliage fiber clusters. This link will take you to my tutorial for making trees. Make leafed trees using armatures, part 1
The yard is embellished with velvet forget-me-nots and mulberry paper flowers in colors to match the house.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
This quaint house has five steps up to the small porch. I used an upcycled greeting card to make the base. It features a beautiful wood thrush surrounded by violets and marsh marigolds.
The back of the putz has the traditional hole for the use of an LED light string to illuminate the house. The putz is 6 1/2″ wide by 4 1/2″ deep. The putz is 5 1/2″ tall as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the chimney.
A puff of smoke is included just in case your spring is chilly. A poster board, picket fence encloses the yard. The fence posts are made from 1/4″ square, wooden rods.
I painted the bottle brush trees green and sprinkled them with very fine, green glitter. Pictures never do the glitter justice.
Shown is an autumn house from the same pattern, #090823. If you see a putz in my shop and like the pattern, but would prefer it is another color or another season, I can make one just for you.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Would you like to create your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog is searchable, as well. You may find turorials that aren’t listed on the tutorial page.
The greeting card used to make the base set the tone for the colors used to decorate this spring church.
The fence is made from white poster board. I cut the design with scallop scissors. Square balsa wood rods make great fence posts.
The hole in the back allows the use of an LED light string for illuminating the church.
I used mulberry paper flowers and velvel forget-me-nots in the churchyard. I found the taller white flowers on Etsy. Called “lily of the valley millinery stems,” they are available in other colors. Depends on the shop you find them in. If you look for them, compare prices and shipping from shop to shop. I cut the stems in half to make a shorter flower stalk.
I usually make each piece of a putz from poster board, but had my son 3-D print these steeple tops for me. They are solid and perfectly shaped. Because they can’t be crushed or crumpled over time, they will extend the life of the steeple.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Want to try making your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog can be searched, as well. Some of the turorials haven’t been listed on the tutorial page.
I found this little putz house in a drawer while decluttering. It was constructed and painted. The base was completed and dated 2025. I have forgotten why I set it aside. I pulled it out, put it together and landscaped it. The base is made from an upcycled greeting card. I am guessing the size of this small card is why I chose to make the putz house in the MINI size. It fits the card perfectly. It is listed in my Etsy shop.
From the top, there is a view of the garden and of the vine that grows over the house. From the back, the view is of the traditional hole for the use of an LED light string for illuminating the house.
This is a TINY size putz. It is 75% of the ORIGINAL size pattern that I make. Smaller, more compact. So cute! I made the picket fence from wooden, coffee stir-sticks.
Paper and velvet flowers embellish the garden. The bottle brush trees were ivory. I painted them pink and used a very fine, iridescent, pink glitter on them.
A gold, flattened bead cap covers the small round window in the gable over the door.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Want to try making your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog can be searched, as well. Some of the turorials haven’t been listed on the tutorial page.
The Easter card used to make the base inspired the colors of the putz house. As soon as I saw this beautiful card, I knew I would make an Easter house with it. My thanks to the friend who donated the card to me! I appreciate donations!
The base measures 4 7/8″ wide by 7 3/4″ deep. The hole in the back allows the use of an LED light string to illuminate the house.
If your Easter is chilly, pop in the smoke puffs to warm it up. We hope, thought, that it’s warm enough for the egg hunt in the front yard. I made the tree from paper-covered wire. The green “leaves” are made from faux moss and the yellow buds are made from tiny styrofoam balls.
I made the 1/4″ nest from paper-covered wire, tucked a bit of faux moss inside and used three faux, candy sprinkles as the eggs. At the top of the tree, you will find a tiny butterfly.
From above, you can see the path that leads to the front door. I set the putz house on the windowsill and snapped a picture with the last of the daffodils.
If you have any questions about my posted putz houses, or about creating your own putz houses, please ask. I am happy to share what I have learned about the art of putzing.
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. KMM works 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!
Want to try making your own putz houses? Check out my putz tutorials for more information. My blog can be searched, as well. Some of the turorials haven’t been listed on the tutorial page.
