Here, look back at the rediscovered art of stenciling, plus see dozens of examples of traditional stencil patterns from throughout history!
Vintage crafts & hobbies
Here are a few authentic old-fashioned ways to make homemade soap, with directions from the olden days in Nebraska back in 1908!
The old-fashioned Dymo label maker was easy to use and affordable – which meant that these colorful plastic sticky labels used to be seen almost everywhere and on everything.
Vintage oilcloth, a durable material traditionally made by coating canvas or linen with linseed oil to create a waterproof surface, has a storied history for household use, and was especially popular back in the 1940s and 1950s.
Below, in this vintage collection of 1970s kitchen decor ideas, come with us to explore the lively and diverse styles that existed back when bold
Find some elegantly vintage Easter egg crafts and artsy inspiration right here! The ideas may be old, but they’ll probably seem new to you.
How did these Easter egg shrink wraps and egg decorating sleeves work? Find out here and see a retro collection of Disney decorations & other holiday designs!
Learn how to macrame with the 70s technique to create vintage-style projects – a macrame plant hanger, a belt, basket-style coasters and a macrame owl.
That characteristic mid-century modern flair — with an abundance of color, clean lines and geometric patterns — translated perfectly in these examples of 1950s Christmas wall decorations
Having a retro party for the holidays? Here are lots of crazy kitschy vintage Christmas appetizers you may want to serve… at your own risk.
Back in the late sixties, a small company started selling these vintage Make-A-Plate kits, which were a huge hit with kids, parents and teachers. What better gift for mom or grandma than a one-of-a-kind melamine plate featuring a child’s artwork?
The melted plastic Halloween decorations popular in the ’70s were ‘delightfully different’ and ‘captured the happy Halloween spirit.’
Flash back a few decades to see the Kodak Instamatic camera – which defined amateur photography for a generation & inspired the digital photography of another!
See several 1960s sewing machines here. Turn the knob and automatically do straight stitching, fancy embroidery, mending, button-sewing and much more.
This collection of vintage Girl Scout uniforms, badges and insignia represents a century of tradition, friendship and — most of all — girl power.
Who remembers when these vintage 1950s Singer sewing machines were new? One big seller was the Swing-Needle SINGER Automatic, which came in black or beige, in lovely cabinet or portable style.
As long as antique buttons have adorned our clothing and shoes, people have been collecting them. Made from a multitude of materials – from metal to bone, wood to plastic – buttons are miniature pieces of everyday history.
Try this beautiful melted bead suncatcher DIY! These decorative plastic crafts can even be embedded with foil, glass nuggets, marbles, shells, and more for countless interesting designs.
The best part of this collection of vintage calendar towels is remembering the ones from years ago – just like our moms, aunts and grandmothers used to have in their kitchens.
These retro Christmas ornament craft ideas may be more than 50 years old, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less festive than you’d expect to see today! Take a look at how easy they are to do.
Hot on the heels of the flower child era, back in 1974, Mattel introduced a set of toys that were sort of the anti-Barbie: The Sunshine Family dolls.
Here’s a collection of gingerbread houses to inspire you this holiday: a fairy-tale cottage, half-timbered country house, marvelous Victorian mansion, and many more – along with details on how to make your own classic gingerbread house.
Want to have a holiday get-together with a little retro charm? Check out these creative and colorful 1960s Christmas party decor ideas!
People of all ages will love these cute vintage Christmas cookie houses, which can be made easily and inexpensively. See examples and get directions here!
A Rice Krispies gingerbread house – or Christmas cottage – made from crispy rice cereal is easier and faster to put together than most conventional gingerbread houses! Here’s how to do it.
Here are some crafty fabric Christmas ornaments you can make yourself. There are five different designs using an inexpensive patchwork design.
Here’s how to craft creative salt dough ornaments for Christmas! It’s easy to stir up a batch, and makes getting into the holiday spirit extra fun.
Take a look at these beautiful sequined ornaments and beaded fruit crafts from the 1960s & 1970s for a little DIY inspiration!
As an alternative to paintings, drawings and sculptures, antique bust silhouettes like these – hand-cut from paper – were a relatively affordable way to remember loved ones.
What was one of the hottest style trends of the seventies? It was the shawl, y’all! See several vintage 70s shawl styles here, straight from age of disco.
Adapted from an article that ran in Better Homes & Gardens print magazine back in December 1970, this cute craft how-to for “colossal Christmas balls”
The chance to take a trip through the aisles of Toys R Us in the 1990s is over forever, but you can join us in reminiscing with this collection of the toys and games kids wanted back then!
Back when cheap Halloween party decor was a distant dream, people had to make their Halloween decorations the old-fashioned way: by getting creative. Ghoul School 1919 is now in session!
Billions of 80s stickers were collected by millions of kids – and appeared on everything from binders to books, cassette tapes to sticker collection albums. Do you recognize any of these vintage stickers?
Here are some vintage tips for how to tie-dye clothes, right from the 60s & 70s. The results are vibrant patterns, from geometric to lush organic effects.
The vintage screen made of circles could work as a DIY project – this eye-catching retro room divider was simply made with craft hoops and oak strips.
This beautiful boho bathroom decor was created by none other than Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper back in the 70s, using a collection of flower prints she designed.
If you’re looking to make a bedroom look a little retro, take a look at these DIY headboards with a vintage look! They may be just the inspiration you need for some old-fashioned home decor.
As this girl’s interest and sewing expertise grew, she asked her parents to transform a tiny, unused back room into a super-efficient, light and cheerful sewing room just for her.
Beaded curtain comeback? They’ve been here for years Beaded curtains have been in use in Asian culture for over 2,000 years, gracefully partitioning spaces with
Remember apple head dolls – the early American craft with folk art roots that became popular again in the ’60s and ’70s? Find out how to make these shrunken apple dolls, and more about the art of dollmaking.
The best way to gift-wrap a bulky or odd-shaped kitchen appliance or utensil is – don’t! Give it a fanciful shape, instead – with Christmas paper, ribbons, ornaments and more.
When you were a kid, there was nothing else like the joy of old-fashioned treehouses or forts: a little getaway that you built (maybe with some help) that could be a clubhouse or castle or spaceship or simply a place for a little peace and quiet.
Here’s the ’80s way to use everyday corn syrup and tissue paper to make non-toxic face paints for Halloween or a school play!
Incredible Edibles, the candy-making Thingmaker counterpart, said that their Sooper Gooper would mold sugarless liquid Gobble Degoop into chewy gumdrop-like morsels in 4 flavors. Here’s how it worked.
Based on one of the many traditional needlework crafts, these vintage needlepoint designs might just inspire you to get creative in all-new ways!
What better use to make of those big, clumsy cartons that once held ar new refrigerator or range? Make a fun toyland for the kids with these creative DIY cardboard box fort & playhouse ideas!
By the early 20th century, materials were more readily available to make picture jigsaw puzzles – and the novelties were soon found in households across the country.
Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? They were DIY crafts that could be made by coloring on a plastic sheet, cutting out the various shapes, and then shrinking them down using heat.
This easy-to-make vintage cardboard dollhouse is a project that can grow with your children! Here’s how you can make it – along with tips for cute ways to decorating the little play house.
Antique scrapbooks have been made for generations – each era having their own creative styles as well as unique subject matter. Here’s a look back at how and what people were scrapping long ago.
Creativity is not something you are either born with or not: it needs to be discovered, nurtured, and expressed for it to grow. Here are 12 tips from the 1980s that are just as helpful today as ever, plus a look at some creative visions from the past.
These vintage Rig-a-Jig toy sets were popular back in the fifties, and were sort of a hybrid of TInkertoys, Lego and an Erector Set. See how they worked, and what you could create with them, here!
Put together a half dozen pieces of this DIY fun furniture for kids, and your child will have endless play ideas. Made from just one simple box construction, the pieces are great for pretend games, the right size to use as table and chairs.
Folk-art painted furniture: Upcycle & renew furniture with tips from famed vintage artist Peter Hunt
For decades, artist Peter Hunt specialized in upcycling furniture and found objects by renewing them with colorful peasant designs. Here are examples of his work, and tips for how you can create your own folk-art painted furniture!
Artist Peter Hunt was known for his colorful peasant-style folk-art paint designs. He insisted that everyone – even people who couldn’t draw a straight line – could create these whimsical designs, using the simple techniques he explains here.
The basic concept hasn’t changed much in 100 years, but vintage Erector Sets like these are still popular, still inspiring creativity, and still being used to build everything from mini roller coasters to motorized robots.
These vintage zodiac cross-stitch designs could be used as-is, interspersed and contrasted with plain squares, or the designs adapted to many other uses — such as cross-stitch embroidery for table linens.
Here’s a cute way to upcycle an old milk carton (or even a similar juice carton). See how you can build it with this craft idea from the 1960s!
Have you ever thought about using some of the millions of pine needles that fall off the trees to make something useful? Here are more than 20 vintage pine needle crafts & decor ideas!
With this easy vintage DIY puffy happy face pin project, it’s easy to put on a happy face, a funny face, or any kind of face you fancy with soft, cuddly cotton creatures!
These pretty and old-fashioned paper Christmas ornaments are so easy to make, kids and adults can work on them together! As a bonus, they’re very cheap to create. Get directions and diagrams here.
This flip-over chair – in the original Hudson Valley version of the 1870s or a colorful adaptation – offers the fun of choosing between two seats with a quick flip of a finger.
This creative collection of ideas came from Crayola, the famous crayon maker, back in the 1950s. They suggest some simple old-fashioned ways for kids to have quiet fun at home with crayons and paper.
This carefree tie-on poncho is cut in just four identical pieces and put together with simple straight sewing. Best of all, it has a dozen uses, can be made in any number of different fabrics, and cut to any length you like.
Looking for a fun and creative holiday project that’s a little different? Check out these crafty and cute vintage Christmas decorations, based on ideas popular back in the sixties.
Old-fashioned orange pomander balls made with cloves first became popular around the 17th century, and have been in use ever since. Here’s how to make your own fragrant decoration!
Find out how to make these colorful Christmas decorations: Translucent Tissue paper stained glass art panels to make your rooms blaze with jewel-toned light.
Here are a few ideas for antique-style Christmas embroidery you can use to create small gifts. We have also included some bonus patterns, also from the early 1900s.
Want some retro-style holiday decor? Find out how to make some vintage Christmas crafts from the ’60s: a burlap wreath, tabletop Christmas trees, a starburst decoration, papier mache ornaments and more.
You can make these super easy wax & tissue paper flowers for Christmas or any time of year! This vintage craft uses basic supplies, but creates a surprisingly beautiful result!
As long as there have been kids, there have been _bored_ kids. For parents in the ’60s, one magazine offered these great old-fashioned ways to have fun.
Here are some easy, clever & cute vintage pasta crafts that you can make, including a pineapple that would make a great centerpiece, and some pretty dried noodle trees.
This retro-style DIY bulletin board framed by satiny stars, clouds, and moon crescents promised to add a soft touch to any 80s teen’s bedroom.
Here’s a whole year’s worth of cute printable retro calendar icons that you can even print or save to use to make your own planner or calendar!
Don’t toss your old metal cans – make them into something delightful, like these retro-style night lights with your own punched patterns!
These beautiful antique silhouettes were cut by hand by artist Eveline Maydell, whose portrait clients included many of society’s wealthiest men and women.
Take a look back at these creative handmade vintage quilts from the ’70s. These are the 51 prize winners out of almost 10,000 entries.
One little piece of felt, cut in a simple shape, a few quick stitches – and, presto! – a hat! Here are some simple vintage one-piece hats you can sew.
Want to make some simple retro ’50s style jewelry? If you’ve got the gift for DIY crafts, we have the how-to guide for you, direct from the fifties.
Here’s how to stencil a tray – transforming an inexpensive metal accessory into a family heirloom, with paint and these included vintage stenciling patterns.
Bake an overnight bag for the Easter bunny, and something to put in it: An adorable retro-style salt dough Easter bread basket!
These sweet bandana baby clothes are wearing tops made from the kind of cotton scarves you can buy anywhere. Here’s how to make these outfits from 1977!
Try your hand at these traditional patterns for Americana quilts – the pride of America’s past, and adaptable for many uses today.
Find out how to make some sweet vintage Easter egg crafts for spring – everything from bunny-decorated eggs to lacquered lace eggshells.
Here’s a sweet and pretty way to celebrate spring – with this vintage-style Easter egg tree craft! Here’s how you can make your own.
Here’s a collection of beautiful classic vintage stencil designs from the ’30s and earlier, along with patterns inspired by Greek, Roman, Persian and other classical designs.
Make bedtime wonderfully wild with these lion and elephant quilted comforters for kids, that can turn nights from hassle to heyday. See how to make them here.
A terrarium is not only easy and fun to put together, it’s a snap to care for. Here are several vintage ideas to help you make your own!
Stitch your own American folk patchwork and make a beautiful wall hanging for your home with the help of these patterns & style ideas from the ’70s!
Old-fashioned Granny squares are easy to do and multiply so fast, you can turn out an afghan fast. And since you crochet a square at a time, you can carry them anywhere.
This invisible floating Christmas tree decoration from the ’60s – made with shiny and colorful ball ornaments – is so simple, but an absolute showstopper. See how to make your own here!
Although L’eggs doesn’t make their egg packing anymore, you can still make adorable egg-shaped ornaments with the help of these vintage craft instructions!
Model kits: Build guided missile ships… jet planes (1956) with Revell Authentic Kits from Woolworth’s U.S.S. BOSTON, first Guided Missile Cruiser, built 1955. Revell model
Use an old milk or juice carton, wax and ice to make a fancy-looking DIY milk carton candle! It’s inexpensive, and the directions are easy enough for a kid to follow.
Aren’t they fabulous – these tissue paper poufs from the 1960s to cover your presents? They said, ‘We’ve never seen a more exciting gift wrap idea, or a more impressive one.’
Vintage Thingmaker toys were pretty basic – but so fun. Fill a mold with colorful plastic goo, then heat it up. The result: rubber bugs… and flowers, dragons, monsters, cars and more.
The vintage Spirograph toys let you create millions of colorful, startlingly beautiful extraordinarily intricate designs in infinite variety – all you needed were pens, paper and the kit’s plastic gears and wheels. Take a look!
