Last week my friend Kat came over for the late night version of the crafternoon: crafter hours. Like me, Kat has an affinity for midcentury homes and oddly specific decor. This means that when she sent me over to Retro Renovation to check out some putz houses, I knew we had to give these a try.
To get us in the Christmas spirit, we cranked up our favorite Christmas jams and poured a few hot toddies. Then I pulled out a heap of craft supplies. Since this is so customizable and detailed, I won’t call this a DIY post (you can check out Retro Renovation for a complete tutorial) but maybe some inspiration/an intro to putz houses (because now I’m obsessed).
I will say that if you are looking to make these little honeys, grab all the things. Between the two of us we used:
- Cardboard – cereal boxes, shipping boxes, anything you can get your hands on
- X-Acto knife and mat
- Paint
- Glitter, obvi
- Hot glue
- Craft glue
- Pipe cleaners – metallic, duh
- Felt squares
- Tissue paper
- Craft foam – I picked up some glittery stuff with adhesive on the back
- Mini pine trees – you can find them in the Christmas village section of your craft store
That’s a lot of stuff, I know, but chances are you avid crafters have a handful of it already.
For this project Kat used one of the templates in the links because they are adorable and classy. Because I am a fool, I insisted I make a model of my own home. Word to the wise: it will take you five times longer and test your geometry skills. But either way you go with this project, straight lines and careful cutting are key. Kat was very deliberate about her house and I was – despite my perfectionist nature – less interested in straight lines and more interested in getting the proportions right.
You can also see that I was not interested in a clean workspace. We both needed every possible thing at any given moment. In the end though, I was very pleased with my rendition. Cedar siding? Check. Tiny windows everywhere? Got it. New roof? Done and done.
Kat’s turned out so perfectly. I loved the nontraditional coloring on hers and how petite it is! I can’t get over it. Right now we each only have one lonely house, so I think we might need a second session to build up the neighborhood.
Hope this got you in the holiday spirit! Let me know if you’ve mad these before (or are planning on making one). I’d love to see!
Leave a Reply