How to Make a Putz House - Windows Tutorial

Everyone who makes putz houses or glitter houses is faced with one particular challenge - cutting out windows and doors. If you want windows that let the light shine through, you have to make interior cuts on your house.

So this post has tips on how to make Putz house windows, specifically how to cut them out when you cut them by hand (meaning without an automatic cutting machine like a Cricut or a Silhouette).

Abandoned Italianate Mansion Halloween House LED lights — Abandoned Italianate Mansion Glitter House shining with LED lights. I think I had to cut out 27 openings in this house. It's still one of my very favorite houses.

MIddleburg Netherlands Putz house version front view — Putz version of an ancient building in Middleburg Netherlands.This house had 18 interior cuts for windows and the door.

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Mark the location of windows and doors with a custom template

One of the best tips I've learned about cutting out windows and doors is to use a specific template to mark the opening. I have several templates of doors and windows in various sizes that I use to mark where I want the door or window to go.

Window template for cutting putz house windows #putzhouse #paper #pattern — Use a template to accurately mark the location of your windows in your putz house or glitter house

Best way to hand cut windows and doors accurately

This method on the Cardboard Christmas forum described by one of my Putz-making friends works by using a push pin to mark the corners. You then make several passes with a craft knife to complete the cuts. It's very impressive and quite precise.

Mark the corners of your windows and doors on your putz house with a push pin #putzhouse #paper #craft — Use a push pin to mark the corners of your windows and doors on your Putz house

Windows and door cut out on Putz house |How to make a Putz house #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — Here's the Putz house with all the windows and the door cut out using the push pin marking method

Use Leather Punches (Dies) to cut out windows and doors

These dies are leather craft dies. They come in a set of 39 (which helps you know that it is the right thing to buy). Here is a link for the leather crafting dies on Amazon.

The Amazon description also describes how to use the dies with a mallet so you don't need an arbor press like I describe below.

Use Arbor Press to cut out windows and doors

Before I got my Cricut cutting machine, I used an arbor press to cut out the windows. It seemed a little like cheating because I didn't cut the windows out by hand. A reader asked me about the set-up and I thought other Putz house makers might benefit from seeing how to cut out the windows and doors using this tool.

First, here is the set-up of the arbor press and the stand. My brother made a plywood stand to surround the base of the arbor press which supports the white polyethylene cutting board effectively. It also has 2 cubbies where I can store the dies I use and toss the cutouts that I might use later on some other paper craft.

Anatomy of an Arbor Press

The 2 main pieces you need to know on an arbor press are the rotating lever arm on the right and the ram - the square vertical piece that applies the pressure. This particular arbor press is a one ton arbor press because it applies one TON of pressure - clearly sufficient for cutting through a couple of layers of cardboard.

You can find the arbor press online or at a tool store like Harbor Freight tools. You can also use a drill press, but the ones I saw were more expensive and my brother won't let me use his. The dies I use come in a set of 39 dies which can be purchased inexpensively.

Arbor press set-up for cutting out openings in cardboard for crafts #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — Arbor press with the plywood stand that my brother made.

Use a plastic cutting board to cut on

Arbor press with polyethylene cutting board to cut on. #papercraft #tutorial — My arbor press with the cutting board on top of the stand. It's stained because it gets used A LOT.

Choose the size die you want to cut out a window or door

Line up the die with the markings on your project #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — Place the die on the location where you plan to make the cut.

Apply pressure by rotating the lever arm of the arbor press. The force is transferred to the ram and then the die to cut through the cardboard

Apply pressure to the die to cut the cardboard #putzhouse #tutorial #paper — Rotate the lever arm to apply pressure to die and cut through the cardboard

The arbor press makes nice cuts through the cardboard

Cut out a small circular window from the Putz house #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — First circular window cut out of this Putz house. The cut out piece of cardboard can be easily pushed out of the die.

These dies are leather craft dies. And they come in a set of 39 (which helps you find them). Here is a link for these leather crafting dies on Amazon. One thing nice about this Amazon photo is that it shows you how to use them with a mallet so you don't need an arbor press like I use.

Cut out the windows with an arbor press and various dies. #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — This rectangular die cuts out the window easily with the arbor press. Sometimes you have rotate the cardboard so it will fit under the ram of the arbor press.

Various window shapes fit nicely on the standard rectangular window cutout of putz house #putzhouse #paper #tutorial — I like this particular sized die because it works perfectly with my favorite Tim Holtz Village dwelling window frames.

Arbor press dies with cut outs and Tim Holtz windows — Comparison of the dies with their cut outs and some varieties of Tim Holtz windows

How the Tim Holtz windows fit on the cutouts from the dies — Here's how the Tim Holtz windows fit on the cut outs from the dies. You can see a little bit of rim of cardboard visible, but it's not a huge deal.

Here's a list of the Tim Holtz windows from the Village Dwelling series:

That's the overview of using an arbor press to help you with your putz-making process. If you are making lots of houses or have arthritis in your hands, I think it is clearly worth the investment. But if you only make a few every year or you make your houses from card stock, it's probably not worth the money. In any case, I hope this gives you some information you can use.

Stay safe. Drink lots of water. Sunscreen always.

Happy Fourth of July.