Christmas Notebook

This past Friday, I made the base for my new Putz / little glitter house, the Christmas Tree Lot. This is the bottom of the base. I like to add a Christmas card surprise on the bottom.

Because I want to add trees and a sign and wreaths and roping, etc., the base needed to be larger than I usually make. It turned out to be eight inches by five and a half inches. That’s the largest base I’ve made for my Putz houses.

I did find a Christmas card I liked for the bottom of the base, but I had to frame it because it was smaller than the base.

I used deckle patterned scissors to trim the edge.

I used a five inch square ruler that has 45° angle lines on it to miter the corners. The X in the middle of the ruler are the 45° angle lines.

I lined the edge of the paper with the straight line on the ruler, then cut the angled edge with a craft knife.

After making sure the miter fit well, I marked the other end of the frame piece.

I put a pencil mark at the point where the mitered cut should meet the corner of the base.

Then I made another pencil mark to show me the angle I should cut the paper, to the left of the frame piece. Just a reminder to me of how the cut should be made, so I don’t cut it at the wrong angle.

The glue should completely cover the back of the frame piece.

Applied, edges matched, and pressed well.

All the way around. Looks good! When I paint the base, I will put a couple of coats of clear sealer over the Christmas card and the frame just for a little added protection.

The next step is to paint and glitter the base. I’m going to clear my craft counter first. It amazes me how quickly my counter gets too cluttered to work at!

And later this evening, we get to FaceTime with Youngest Daughter who went off to college yesterday. I’m looking forward to that!

If you’re interested in making bases for Putz houses, here’s the link to my tutorial. tutorial for making putz house bases

~~Rhonda