thatching tutorial

I love these little Irish cottages. The thatched roof on the Putz shown here is my own creation and design. Every time I thatch a cottage, I learn something new and tweak the process to make it better than the last time.

Mini Irish Cottage Putz with blessing on the base
Irish Cottage Putz House
Irish Cottage Putz House

The first time I thatched an Irish cottage, I used rafia. I like the look of the sisal much better for an Irish cottage than the rafia, though the rafia does has a look that I think would be great on a fairy house or other woodland cottage. If you find other fibers you like to use, please share!

thatched Irish cottage Putz house

Following is a tutorial for making a thatched roof using sisal. This is the way I do it, though it’s not the only way, I’m sure. It’s just my way. Give it a try! If you have any questions about the process, please ask in the comment section, below. I am always happy to help others learn the skill of Putzing.

Supplies List

  • twisted sisal rope (I use 1/4″ wide roping.)
  • Scissors
  • Cutting mat
  • Carding / Combing tool
  • Chipboard or poster board
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Paper folding tool (also called a bone folder)
  • Acrylic ruler
  • X-acto knife or box cutter
  • spray bottle of water

NOTE: The first time I bought twisted sisal rope, I bought this one: Wellington Cordage. When I ran out of that, I bought SGT KNOTS. The one I just purchased (SGT KNOTS) hasn’t had the knots the Wellington had, and is easier to work with. I haven’t used much of it yet, but am liking it better than the first brand. The second brand has three stands to make the rope and each of those stands is made of two strands. I bought these on Amazon.com, but you can purchase this kind of rope at any hardware store. Be sure it is labeled “sisal.” And be sure it isn’t coated with anything.

Glue a roof to your Putz to use as a base for gluing down the thatching strips. I use a medium-weight poster board. I painted and glittered it to match the sisal, but that isn’t really necessary. After you’ve thatched a few houses, you will have a feel for how thick the thatching should be so the roof base doesn’t show through the thatch. Painting it just insures that any places that do show the base are much less noticable than if the chipboard or poster board is left plain.

To make the strips that the sisal is glued to, find a piece of poster board (or cardboard) just a bit wider than the width of the roof. It will be trimmed before it is glued to the roof.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Cut the poster board into 1/2″ wide strips. I used a box cutter to do this because the sand in my paint mixture is hard on the X-acto blades. I should have painted it without the sand mixed it, but didn’t think about that until I had it painted.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

The sisal rope I used is a 1/4″ twisted rope of three strands, each of which are made up of three strands. Those strands need to be separated.

I have found that three rows of thatching works well for most of my cottages, but this pattern, which I drew recently, needed an extra strip on top. More about that later. Cut at least six strips to start with.

NOTE: The thatching could be made on one long strip, then cut as needed. For reference, I made 15 inches of thatching with 30 inches of rope. Fifteen inches of thatching made three strips for the front of the cottage. Length needed depends, of course, on how big your cottage is. This particular one is five inches wide.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

I originally drew the pattern for this cottage so that the sides of the roof extended 1/4″ past the walls of the house.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

I decided later that the house would look better if the side walls were not obstructed by those overhangs. I cut the 1/4″ overhangs off and was happier with the cleaner look. I think it shows off the shape of the chimney better than it had before. I changed the pattern to reflect that. I mention it here, so there is no confusion about overhangs in some pics and no overhangs in others.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Cut a 10″ length of rope. This is a comfortable length for me to work with. As you work with the rope you have, try different lengths to see what works best for you.

Separate the strands that make up the rope.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Depending on the rope you are using, the strands that make up the rope may be made of two or three stands themselves. Those need to be separated, too.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

You could even leave the rope on the roll, unwrap a section that is comfortable to work with and cut it off the roll after it has been combed. Find a way that works for you.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

The next step is to “card” or comb the strands to separate the individual fibers. I have what I assume is a carding tool. It came from my mother. I don’t know what it’s use is supposed to be, but it works great for this process. I am not sure what else would work, but perhaps a felting tool? Or a wool or flax carding tool? If you’re handy, you could possibly make your own carding tool using a board and long nails. If you have other suggestions, please post them below.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Pull the tool through the strands of sisal. You can work with as many strands at a time as you are able to comb through. Sometimes sisal rope has lumps or knots in a strand and those have to be worked out. Be careful. Work slowly until you get the hang of it. It’s not fun to bring those spikes down on your thumb or fingers. Also, this is hard on your cutting mat. Use an old one if you have one handy.

The following picture shows the results of the beginning of the combing process. The fibers on the end of the strands are becoming unraveled from each other.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

I work on each end, and when they are done, I work out the middle. It’s easier to comb the strands in two or three-inch sections than to try to do the entire length at one time.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

When the entire length has been combed, put all the strands in a tray or on a cookie sheet. Spritz the strands with a light mist of water. This will quickly relax the sisal and the strands will become straighter than if not misted.

When it is completely dry, I fold it in half so I have a nice chunk to work with. Don’t trim the ends yet. The trim is more even if the entire length of thatching is trimmed at the same time.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Put enough hot glue on the chipboard strip to match the width of the fiber bundle. Cover the area completely.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Set the fibers on the glued strip, leaving plenty to trim later.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Trim the looped fibers along the strip of poster board. Continue gluing down fibers until the strip is covered. I use the paper folding tool (bone folder) to hold the fibers down as the glue hardens.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Moving it back and forth slightly as the glue cures keeps the folding tool from sticking. Any glue that does adhere to it comes right off the plastic.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

If you look closely at the photo, you can see the pressed line where the folding tool was used.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Trim the fibers to a straight line.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

The back of the strips will look like the following. Note that since I took this picture, I have learned to trim the top of the fibers very close to the strip. It will help the strips fit together more tightly when glued to the roof. Fewer gaps.

putz house thatched roof tutorial


Trim each end of the strip so it is about 3/8″ short of either side of the roof. Glue the strip to the bottom of the roof. Set the poster board strip just above the edge of the long side of the roof.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Make more strips. 🙂 Glue the second strip so the trimmed thatching on strip #2 overlaps the thatching of the first row. I find the 1/2″ strips can be glued right up against the one below it. But the placement will depend on how high the roof is and how thick the thatch is. Sometimes you have to eyeball it.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Thatching row #3 may need to be trimmed a bit shorter to fit against the chimney.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

You can see the raw edges that were left when I trimmed the extra 1/4″ overhang off the sides of the roof.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

I painted and glittered them. All better.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Time to do the back of the Putz.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Here is the first strip for the back, prior to trimming.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

And now, trimmed and glued down.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

To finish the edges of the roof, I use intact rope, cut to length. Use sharp, heavy-duty scissors and cut slowly to get a clean cut that doesn’t unravel the rope.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

This piece of rope will give the edge of the thatching a finished look. The 1/4″ wide rope works very well for this step. Just the right size. I haven’t found it necessary to put glue on the ends of the strands on this piece, but that can be done with white glue if it looks like the rope may unravel.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Check the top of the roof. If a piece of rope will cover the remaining gap and the glue line, you can glue that piece of trim down. If the gap is too wide to cover with one piece of rope, you can fill it with more thatching.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Cut a piece of poster board to fit inside the remaining gap. Glue thatching across it, so it extends the same width on either side of the post board.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

It will look like this from the bottom.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Glue the strip into the gap, poster board down, thatch on top.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Glue a piece of rope on top the thatching.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

putz house thatched roof tutorial
putz house thatched roof tutorial

Any spots that don’t look their best can be covered with dried moss, artificial foliage or flowers.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

If you have a cottage with the chimneys set on the ridge of the roof, you will need to make some adjustments to thatch around those chimneys. In this example, five separate pieces of thatch were used: to the outside of each chimney, between the chimneys and under the chimneys.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

When the first three patches were on, I went back and set a bit of thatching under each chimney.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

When all the pieces are glued down, trim the bottom of the thatching row to a clean, straight line.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

To add the rope trim, I glued it next to the chimney before I cut it.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

putz house thatched roof tutorial

Because the trim piece is so short, it unravels less if already glued to the roof before cutting.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

A short piece in the middle and the trim along the sides of the roof, and it’s ready for landscaping.

putz house thatched roof tutorial
putz house thatched roof tutorial
putz house thatched roof tutorial

How cute is that?? I find them so appealing. And the landscaping is so much fun.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

If you look closely, you may be able to see that I brushed the thatch with gold glitter glue for a light shine and a tiny bit of glitter. It IS a Putz house, after all! I didn’t want a heavy hand of glitter that might mask the charm of the thatch, but I did like the effect the glitter glue gave it. Just a nice shimmer that ties the thatching to the rest of the glitter on the Putz.

putz house thatched roof tutorial

For a very light glitter finish, I like this brand. I have it in gold, silver, green, red, blue and opalescent. It contains a very fine glitter. They all flow well from the bottle except the silver. I think I’m on my third bottle of silver, and they’ve all been thicker and more sluggish than the other colors. I just use a paint brush to dip out the silver glue and apply it.

glitter glue

I hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial. I would love to see pictures of what you create! If you have any questions about the art of Putzing, please ask. I am happy to help.

If you have suggestions or other supplies you like to use for this process, please share!

~~Rhonda

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree

Last year, beginning in December and going forward about six months, I had a lot of trouble with my blog. Many things weren’t posted last Christmas, including the chalkboard tree for 2018. After posting the start of this year’s tree, I realized I never posted last year’s tree. I’ll fix that now!

The theme for last year, 2018, was “I’ll be home for Christmas.” This was our seventh chalkboard Christmas tree and may have been our most ambitious tree yet.

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

I began the process of finding pictures we could use. I searched online and found printable coloring pages that I thought would work. My sister Genny and I laid them out in the order that made sense to us.

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

Then the tracing began. We use white graphite paper to trace the pictures onto the chalkboard. And it all takes time…!

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

The tree was going to tell the story of a family gathering for the holidays, using the song “I’ll be Home for Christmas” as our inspiration.

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

Beginning at the bottom of the tree, the story unfolded, one panel at a time. By the lamp post, in the front yard, children are building a snowman and a young boy greets you from the gate, along with our cat Clark.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

The next level up the tree features the car, piled with gifts and holiday cheer, as they head home for Christmas.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

There’s the excitement of arriving home, with all the joyful greetings!

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

The children are counting down the days with their Advent calendar.
I thought the branches, with the multiple kinds of greenery, were particularly pretty on this tree.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

And Dad is putting up the lights!

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

Grandma is baking our favorite Christmas cookies!

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

Everyone pitches in wrapping the special gifts.

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

The Christmas Eve service puts the focus where it should be…the birth of Christ, our Savior.

Chalkboard Christmas Tree 2018

Everyone enjoys the children’s Christmas program.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

And then it’s Christmas morning and time to unwrap the presents!

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

Our cat Winston enjoys the warm fire while the snow piles up outside.

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

This year, along with the lights around the chalkboard, we added popcorn and cranberry strings to each branch. They are a tradition in our family!

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

The ceilings are 12′ high. The chalkboard is about 8 1/2′ tall.

Christmas 2018

We hope you have the joy of going home for Christmas!

2018 chalkboard Christmas tree`

You can find the other chalkboard Christmas trees we’ve made by searching this blog for “chalkboard Christmas tree.”

Merry Christmas! ~~Rhonda

2019 Christmas chalkboard tree

It’s that time of year at our house…we begin prep for the holidays, including baking cookies for the freezer to serve at our annual Christmas Open House and we also start some decorating the first part of October. Too soon for many, I know, but we have our open house on the first Sunday in December each year and that means starting early so we are ready for the big day.

Last weekend, my sister came down to begin work on this year’s Christmas chalkboard tree. I decided to use the song “C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S” as the theme for this year’s tree. I searched online for coloring pages and clip art of the images I wanted for the tree. The pictures can’t be too detailed as that makes them difficult to execute in chalk.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

We use white transfer paper to trace the designs onto the chalkboard.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

I do the design work and my sister does the chalking. Here she is making the first strokes of what will be hours of chalk work.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

Winston is our most sociable cat and he likes to be where the action is. He is also partial to ladders, so takes an opportunity to inspect our work when he can.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

The color is off in this picture, but here’s a preview of what’s to come.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

We will chalk in the branches as we go along. And there will be other additions…stars to fill in space, candles, etc.

2019 chalkboard Christmas tree

Stay tuned for updates! ~~Rhonda

snow angel putz house

The pattern for this Putz was drawn with inspiration from the house pictured on the Christmas card that I used to make the base.

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

The card features a snowy front yard, perfect for making snow angels.

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

To make the snow angels for the Putz house, I used a thin nail file, cut straight across on one end. It was about 1/4″ wide. I pivoted it to make fan shapes for the arms and legs, then used a blunt wooden pick to make the head. I brushed the snow angels with barely-there, pale periwinkle to suggest shadows and to make the angels easier to see. When the faux snow dried, it shrank a bit, so I outlined the angels, using a syringe filled with faux snow. It took some practice, but I was happy with the way they turned out.

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

I also like the front porch on this house. The doors of my Putz are always open, so visitors know they are welcome to drop by any time!

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

The two bottle brush trees are decorated with faux snow, periwinkle pearl beads, and iridescent glitter flakes.

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

Lots of windows let the light shine through!

ORIGINAL size Periwinkle and Brown Putz House

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

new putz: two houses, a church and a barn

I made this MINI Putz house a few weeks ago. It just sold and is on its way to a new home in Michigan. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. I have always liked this card and decided to make a base from it, then see what I could do with it.

MINI Santa house Red and silver

I decided to make a “Santa house” and had the perfect polar bear to add to the Putz. The bear sports a red scarf that, thanks to being wired, can blow in the breeze. Santa stands nearby, with his arms full of Christmas goodies. This is the first time I used faux silver leaf on the roof. I will be doing that again.

MINI Santa house Red and silver

I love this MINI church. The ivory color is one I like to use. The light green is a mixture I made myself to get the shade I wanted.

MINI Ivory and pale Green Putz Church

Another sweet card.

MINI Ivory and pale Green Putz Church

Two lambs frolic in the church yard, giving a hint to what’s pictured on the Christmas card I used to make the base.

MINI Ivory and pale Green Putz Church

This TINY MINI house was fun to make. I decided to add an arch of evergreen to give the house something special. The arch is lined with a green bead string for some subtle sparkle.

TINY MINI Red and Black Putz House

Another card I loved and wanted to use as a base.

TINY MINI Red and Black Putz House

The arch over the door and the decoration under the gable eaves, as well as the fence, are made from wired candy canes. I added plenty of trees to the front yard. They are made from pieces of the same garland used to make the arch that frames the house. I cut the garland to the height I wanted for the trees, then trimmed the pieces to a point at one end. Instant trees that don’t take up as much room as bottle brush trees do.

TINY MINI Red and Black Putz House

The barn is an ORIGINAL size. I haven’t made a barn for a while, so decided it was time.

ORIGINAL Red and Green Barn

All the barnyard animals are ready for Christmas!

ORIGINAL Red and Green Barn

The horse and the cow are animals meant to be used for the HO scale in model railroading. Perfect for the barn.

ORIGINAL Red and Green Barn

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my new Putz. You can see my Putz houses, churches and barns and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

tiny mini putz church in gold and blue

Another TINY MINI church for my Etsy shop. The base measures 4″ wide x 2 3/4″ deep. The Putz is 4″ tall as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the steeple.

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

The base is made from a beautiful, upcycled Christmas card with my favorite shades of blue on it. It features a little country church.

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

The back of the Putz has the traditional hole that allows for the use of an LED light string for lighting the house.

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

With the lights on, the church comes to life.

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

The door is 3/8″ wide and 3/4″ tall (to the top of the window over the door).

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

The church building is 2 1/2″ wide, 1 1/4″ front to back and 3 3/4″ tall.

TINY MINI Buff Gold and Blue Putz Church

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

mini ivory and periwinkle putz church

I love the way this Putz church turned out. The white, bottle brush trees are the perfect setting for it.

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

I had a stack of church-themed Christmas cards that I was considering for use as bases. I asked my middle daughter to choose one and she liked this one. She’s partial to the color purple.

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

I love the ivory background and the periwinkle shade of purple that are featured on the card. With a spark of red for interest!

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

This is the first time I made a forked path on a Putz . This came about because I had the red fence already made. Maybe left over from another project, or made and then rejected for a previous Putz house. Anyway, it was in my stash of fencing and was right for this church. But I had a limited supply of it. The church had to be orientated in a particular way to the base and that led to a particular placement of the trees. Which caused the opening of the fence to be placed in a particular spot. That caused a blank spot in the lower right-hand corner. A forked path made best use of the space. That gives you a glimpse into how my mind works when I’m creating a new Putz. One decision leads to another and to another and to another.

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

The covering of the round window is made from a flattened bead cap. The door knobs are 2mm beads.

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

The white bottle brush trees were made by painting and glittering white plastic bottle brush trees. I painted them with white, acrylic paint and, while they were still wet, I sprinkled them with glitter.

transforming plastic bottle brush trees

The white trees make a winter wonderland setting for the church.

MINI ivory and periwinkle Putz church

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

original size purple church

This pattern is deeper than most of my Putz patterns. I wanted to have all three windows on the sides. I like the size and dimensions of this church. I think I’ll make more buildings like this.

The base measures 4 1/2″ wide x 7″ deep. The church is 8″ tall as measured from the bottom of the base to the top of the steeple.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

The base is made from an upcycled Christmas card featuring a beautiful church. The card is highlighted with fine iridescent glitter.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

The colors of the Putz are taken from the colors of the Christmas card.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

The bottle brush trees are decorated with faux snow and clear glitter.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

The windows are trimmed with buff gold frames.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

When I made the pattern, I drew the steeple as a six-sided steeple, but didn’t like the way it looked, so I made a four-sided one instead. I think it fits the church better than the first one did.

ORIGINAL Putz Church Light and Medium Purple

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

mini putz church in green and grey

This MINI Putz church is made from a pattern I drew in January of 2012. I’ve made a couple from that pattern in the last few weeks. This MINI version is the latest.

MINI Light Green and Grey Putz Church

The vintage-style card was very inspiring. I love the greens and blues on the card.

MINI Light Green and Grey Putz Church

I like to use greeting cards to make the bases for my Putz houses. They dictate the colors used on the Putz and ocassionally provide other design elements. In this case, I took inspiration from the post and board fence pictured at the bottom of the card.

MINI Light Green and Grey Putz Church

The fence is made from slivered popsicle sticks. You can find the tutorial here: making picket fences for putz houses

MINI Light Green and Grey Putz Church

The church is ready to welcome everyone to the Christmas Eve service…

MINI Light Green and Grey Putz Church

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda

latest putz houses

I’ve made several new Putz houses and churches since my last post. Four of these are TINY MINIs which are the smallest size I make. They are made at 50% of the original pattern size. There’s one MINI (75% of the original) and one ORIGINAL pattern size (100% of the original pattern).

This tiny red and brown Putz sold immediately. The little vintage Santa and the tiny 1/2″ deer make it special.

TINY MINI Red and Brown Putz House

The card for the base is very sweet. A little Santa-wanna-be tries on Santa’s suit.

TINY MINI Red and Brown Putz House

With the the lights on and the fireplace crackling, the tiny house comes alive.

TINY MINI Red and Brown Putz House

This MINI Putz is the same pattern as the TINY MINI, red house above, but in the middle size I make.

MINI Yellow and Blue Putz house

How cute is this card? I love the colors and the way it’s painted.

MINI Yellow and Blue Putz house

The house turned out very cute. Simple, but it has an appealing vintage style.

MINI Yellow and Blue Putz house

This TINY MINI Putz church sold as soon as I listed it. It has a great home in Texas.

TINY MINI Green and Blue Putz Church

The vintage-style Christmas card is one of my favorites.

TINY MINI Green and Blue Putz Church

I made the trees heavily laden with snow to mimic the trees on the Christmas card used for the base.

TINY MINI Green and Blue Putz Church

This white and periwinkle Putz church is the ORIGINAL size of the pattern I drew.

ORIGINAL White and Periwinkle Putz Church with Yellow Trim

I love the colors on the Christmas card I used to create the base.

ORIGINAL White and Periwinkle Putz Church with Yellow Trim

I made the picket fence, using slivered popsicle sticks for the horizontal boards and poster board for the vertical slats. The tutorial for making the fence is here: Picket fences for Putz houses.

ORIGINAL White and Periwinkle Putz Church with Yellow Trim

This church is the same pattern as above, but made in the TINY MINI size.

TINY MINI Grey and Blue Putz Church

I drew the pattern with inspiration from this Christmas card which I used to make the base for the Putz church.

TINY MINI Grey and Blue Putz Church

Every time I make a new Putz house I think it’s my favorite one. I thought that when I made this one, for sure. I love this little grey and blue church.

TINY MINI Grey and Blue Putz Church

You can see my Putz houses and other Christmas ornaments in my Etsy shop.

ChristmasNotebook.etsy.com

If you are interested in crafting some Putz houses of your own, check out my Putz tutorials for more information. Putz House Tutorials

I am always happy to answer questions about the process. Please ask, if you are wondering about the details of putzing!

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 slum in Africa. Thank you for your part in helping these children when you purchase items from my shop!

~~Rhonda