It takes a village, or you could make a village

Last Christmas I began what I have found out is called “Death Cleaning” in Sweden. It’s the time of life when you begin to let go of all the things you have spent your life collecting because your children do not want any of it.
I started in the root cellar with the many boxes of paper accumulated over the years. There were several storage tubes of neatly organized cards and letters dating back to the 1970s. Years and years of birthday cards, Christmas cards, hand written letters and photos documenting the birth and consecutive growing up years of everyone’s children.

It was painful sorting through those memories which included thank you notes from my time as Sue B Weaves when I taught classes and visited my children’s school telling them about weaving as an art.
The hardest part was the beautiful cards people used to send. You remember, the ones that only cost $1.95. I saved the letters. I sorted the cards. I threw the photos (please forgive me). Then, I Googled recycling old cards. That’s when I discovered Putz Houses.

What’s a Putz House?
One of many Christmas traditions was to build a village under the tree for the holidays.
“Putz” is a German word (I am a German-Russian) meaning to put or putter, as in “quit putzing around with those houses.” I guess it stuck.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, about the time my family immigrated to American from Russia, these tiny houses were made from candy boxes and were filled with candy. When electricity heralded the advent of lights on Christmas trees, the Japanese made holes in the back of these tiny houses and the villages came to life with cellophane windows lit from behind.

Eventually the Putz houses were decorated with cotton snow or a coconut coating and then glitter, becoming known as glitter houses. Being difficult to find, today’s collectors began designing and creating their own villages from churches to lighthouse and everything in between. The houses can be made from chip board, cardboard and card stock – yes, a use for those cards I couldn’t throw away.
If you Google glitter houses or Putz houses, you will find many sites have templates or instructions on how to design your own little Christmas village. My background in printing required the use of X-acto knives and rulers before the computer replaced the way printers do their jobs these days. And, I love paper. I have always loved paper. So I’m addicted.

HELPFUL HINTS

1. Save those large cards for buildings. Save the smaller cards for details.
2. If you wish, cut a round hole in the back and set up a village with a small strand of Christmas lights around your tree.
3. Use cellophane, colored or plain for windows in your house. Be sure and install your windows before you begin to glue.
4. Use a new blade for every house you build.
5. Rubber cement is the best adhesive. If you coat each of the sides and allow them to dry for about a minute, the bond is forever, but… you can take your time positioning it and repositioning it if you are careful.
6. Using a sharp needle and fishing line, create special ornaments for your tree or to top off your gifts.
7. Above all – have a great time with your children making a Christmas village.
   
   

Here are some websites that will provide a more detailed history plus patterns and forums for recycling those cards you just can’t throw away. ENJOY.
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This is a great site with history going back to the old country: https://christmasloft.com/blog/all-about-putz-houses/.

What is a glitter house: https://cardboardchristmas.com/html/what_is_a_glitterhouse.html.
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If you are on Pinterest or Etsy, there are many templates available for downloading or purchasing for use on the new cricut machine you got from Santa. https://www.etsy.com/market/putz_house_svg.

Even Martha Stewart created a tutorial with patterns for glitter houses at https://www.marthastewart.com/264225/winter-village-how-to-build-a-house.
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If you are really bored, you can watch me make a glitter house at https://youtu.be/zxSBBS2qBII.
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