Yesterday, I deviated a bit from my woodland Christmas decorating theme to make
some glittery Putz Houses.
some glittery Putz Houses.
I wondered where the term putz came from, so I did a bit of research. Now don't quote me, but I think the word putz when applied to these pretty shiny houses may come from the German word putzen, which means to brighten and/or from the Yiddish word puts, which means ornament.
However they came by their name, I've always loved the magical quality of these little paper maché or cardboard houses decorated with glitter. They invite my imagination to visit a snowy sparkly miniature world of enchantment. Happily, I found out Putz Houses (just like this pretty one offered at Pottery Barn) are really easy and fun to make.
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You can make your own Putz Houses from cardboard and patterns found on the internet or even design your own patterns. You can also purchase houses like the ones above at craft stores.
This year, I found these cute little wood houses for a few dollars at the thrift store. They're pretty cute as they are, but I wanted them to really sparkle for Christmas decorations.
I mixed up some homemade chalk paint in a jar (a heaping tablespoon plaster of paris mixed well in a little water, then added to about half a cup of latex paint) and gave the houses a couple of coats of white to make an easy base for the glitter to cover. Regular old craft paint would work fine
for this, too.
They're already beginning to look more wintery with white paint, but look how the glitter transforms this little house to magical.
When the base paint was dry, I used large and small paint brushes to apply undiluted white glue (poured into a small jar) to the roof and trim. I sprinkled on lots of silver chunky German glass glitter, catching the extra glitter on a paper plate to reuse. I let those areas dry overnight, and the next day I painted more glue onto the sides and sprinkled them with fine white glitter. It was super easy!
I glittered all my little houses and put them in my dining room corner cabinet. Lit up with candles at night, they're transformed into a magical twinkly winter wonderland. I'll share them on my blog soon when I have the rest of the dining room ready, so I hope you'll come back to see. But today, I wanted to share how easy and fun it is to make a Putz House of your very own.
{Note: I just posted my Christmas dining room, so click here to see the rest of my Putz Houses.}
Thanks for coming by, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
It's time for a party!
