Custom Window Frames
When people want to restore cardboard Christmas "putz" houses, the first need is almost always windows. The cellophane windows that came in most putz houses became fragile with age, became distorted or unglued by attic heat, or were punched out by little fingers.
Instead of recreating cellophane windows per se, the solution on this page involves gold foil windowframes in all the patterns that were popularly used. These are created with a special die-cutting stamp that we created just for this purpose.
When you install these windowframes with the tinted mylar that we provide, the effect in the finished houses is almost indiscernable from the original. Better yet, it is much more durable and resistant to damage from little fingers than the original cellophane.
Though we also offer replacement cellophane-style windows, there are at least two uses for which this solution is superior:
If you need another window color. A few classic putz houses used blue windows instead of red. If you want to replace one of those windows or to use another color altogether, all you have to do is substitute a different color of mylar (translucent plastic).
If you need flocked ("fuzzy") windows. Yes, you can make "fuzzy" windows by painting lines of glue on the mylar then shaking your flocking material over it. But spreading a thin layer of glue over one of our windowframes instead gives you a much more precise effect. In fact, putz restorer Tom Hull just showed his method for doing this on the CardboardChristmas.com forum.
How to Order
Because these window frames are made to fit the same houses as the cellophane windows we offer, you can use the measurements and examples on our Cellophane Replacement Windows page to determine what sizes you need. In addition our Replacement Door and Window Order Form to order our die-cut windowframes as well.
Please Contact Us if you have any questions at all. It's a lot easier to fix orders before they're filled than after.
