Let's Make a Halloween Village! DIY Putz Houses
The flat-pack putz house kits are not just for Christmas! Today I am using them to craft a spooky gothic village. If you missed the tutorial for assembling the DIY putz house kits, you can find it here. The process for building these houses is the same, we'll just be swapping the festive paint and glitter for matte black.
I have also made a few extra sets of these houses, if you would like to just buy the village ready-made. You will need to get your own fairy lights, which you can choose in the color of your choice, with battery or plug to suit your needs. The lights I used here are from Michaels in an Amber color, and were under $5 with a coupon.
For a festive display, I am also sharing below how to make a fall leaf scatter.
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Supplies:
- 4-Piece Putz House Kit
- Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
- Bone folder or Plastic Scraper
- Powdered Tempera in Black for the Houses, Red, Yellow and Orange for the Leaves
- Mop Brush
- White kraft paper
- Leaf Punch in Small and Mini
- Fairy Lights
Step 1:
Assemble the putz house walls and roofs. The kits come with their own directions for assembly, and you can watch the assembly video here. Use a bone folder or scraper to help fold along the score lines, and glue the components with fast drying glue like Beacon 3-in-1 or Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue.
Leave off the bases for now.
Step 2:
Mix powdered tempera with water. The directions suggest mixing it 50/50, using a little less water will produce a thicker paint. This will allow you to paint the houses in one coat, without using any primer.
Use a soft, full brush, like a Mop Brush, to apply the paint all over the exterior of each house and roof. Push the brush up under the eaves, and also around the edges of the window and door openings to achieve full coverage. Let dry.
Step 3:
Cut the included windows and doors just larger than the openings for each house, and apply with glue to the interior.
Step 4:
Attach the bases. Apply glue to the lower edge of each house, and press onto the bases. If the walls have bowed out from the paint, you can gently squeeze them back to square while pressing them onto their bases. Let dry.
Step 5:
Finish by applying black paint to the bases.
Illuminate:
Coil up a few fairy lights for each house, and insert through the holes at the back.
Miniature Fall Leaves:
Mix powdered tempera in Red, Yellow, and Orange. Water the paint down so that it is runny.
Paint stripes of the different colors on a piece of white kraft paper, roughly 12 x 12 inches. Allow the painted stripes to mingle and run together. Set the paper outside until it dries, flip it over, and then paint stripes on the other side.
Once dry, use a mini leaf punch to cut out several dozen leaves. Sprinkle them around your village for a pop of autumnal color.
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