Create: {Adorable Christmas Houses}

I started collecting these adorable putz houses a few years ago.

I have been seriously obsessed with them.

I found some that I knew would look cute in Stella’s room, but I have struggled to collect enough for Tessa’s.

There are lots out there to buy online, but I like to buy things at a bargain.  I guess you could say that I had a hard time finding any at a bargain.

I decided to try making my own version.

It was such a fun project, that I thought I would share a quick tutorial with you.

Please do not judge that many of these photos are just the regular iphone pics, but they get the point across; and hopefully will help you create something of your own.

The first part of the project is bleaching and dying your bottle brush trees.  These can be found at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, and you can find a tutorial for that here.

While your trees are drying, you can begin your houses.

I found the houses at Hobby Lobby.  They were really inexpensive. They can be found down the chipboard isle.  There are 3 sizes.

The roofs come off, so you can work on them in two pieces.

I started by choosing the colors I wanted them to be, and spray painting them.

I painted all the roofs white, and the houses a color.

While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled them with fake snow and glitter.

(well, Stella sprinkled them with snow and glitter)

I found the bag of snow at Hobby Lobby. 

 

Once you add the snow and glitter, then it’s good to spray them with a clear spray paint.  This will hold the glitter and snow in place.

Once your houses are dry, it’s time to start putting the fun finishing touches on the houses.

I collected all the trinkets at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.  I found them near the Christmas village sections and the mini-tree sections.  There is so much to choose from, so just buy what you love and would want on your houses.

The first step is adding this fake snow paint to the roof of your houses.  This makes your roof look like it has real snow on it.  This can also be found at Hobby Lobby.  The jar looks like this:

You just use an old paint brush, and dab it on thick.

The next step is adding your now dry bottle brush trees to the houses.  I did this by pulling the base off.

Then using a nail I pushed a hole into the base of the house where I wanted the tree, and made a hole for the stem of the tree.

Make sure to decorate your trees first.

Then using hot glue on the stem, I shoved the trees in the holes I made.

Once you have your trees secure, then it’s time to decorate your houses.

I used this cute gold trim for the trees, and for the roof line.

I added this fun reindeer to the roof.

You can also make wreaths using chenille trim.

Get creative.

This is left up to your own creativity and devices.  I used other houses for inspiration. 

There is a lot of inspiration here.

I love how they all came together. I loved them so much I made some for my basement family room, and for Tessa’s room.

Once you get all your trinkets on, add some more snow paint to the base of trees and the bases of houses.

You could also use velum paper behind the windows if you wanted to fill that part of the house in.  I think I will do that for next year.

I really enjoyed putting some lights on the houses.  I used led lights that are connected with wire.  The only place I have found these is at Walmart.

I found the big star lights at the dollar store.

I have loved walking into all the rooms at night and seeing all the fun, glowing, putz houses.

I especially love seeing the ones that I made.

Often times, I find that creativity comes at a cost.

It’s hard to sit down and work on a project when you know that other things are going to suffer.

My house, my ability to shower and get ready, and just about every daily responsibility certainly fell apart the day that I put this project together, but it was worth it.

It is so important for me to let those creative juices out sometimes; even if I don’t get to shower.

I can put the pieces back together later, and then add my new project to the pretty little pieces of my life.

Take the time to create.

For more on the importance of creativity check out this little gem.