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.
Vintage crafts & hobbies
Here’s how to stencil a tray – transforming an inexpensive metal accessory into a family heirloom, with paint and these included vintage stenciling patterns.
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!
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!
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!
Create your own distinctive beaded jewelry – bracelets, necklaces, belts, headbands – by weaving it on a basic box loom! Here’s how to do this retro bead craft.
Garden delights! Here are some old-fashioned backyard flower carts made of metal (often wrought iron) and wood.
This vintage playhouse from the ’60s is a real house, with a Dutch front door and hearts and flowers dormers and a white picket fence.
Here’s a look at a few dozen type styles from the first part of the 20th century – including a few old-fashioned fonts that have stood the test of time.
With a couple dozen clothespins – the flat, springless, wooden ones – you’ve got the raw material to craft some really original clothespin trivets!
Made with crepe paper and a few simple craft supplies, these glorious crepe paper flowers are easy to make and inexpensive, and will flourish in any room at any time of year.
Looking for some DIY ’70s clothes? Here are some quickie, kicky young wearables to make out of this and that for next to nothing!
Here’s how you can make vintage stained-glass style Christmas ornaments from hard candy! This crafty project is probably easier than you’d think.
Make some retro ornaments for your Christmas tree with these crafts from the ’60s: they’re fanciful birds and butterflies in inexpensive, easy-to-sew felt.
You can create new fashions from old clothing! Here, see how a moth-eaten bathrobe and skirt, an outgrown blouse, knee-worn slacks were converted into sparkling new accessories.
Here’s a creative pineapple treasure chest filled with a delicious fresh fruit salad. It’s easy to make this stunning party centerpiece! Here’s how you can do it.
Trimmed with good-to-eat Oscar Mayer tidbits stuck on with cocktail picks, this Christmas tree with meat ornaments is sure to be the center of attraction at any holiday buffet.
The Dorothy Dot “Around the World” paper doll series ran in newspapers (such as the Los Angeles Herald and Salt Lake Tribune) in 1909. As much as some
Here are several cute paper doll sets – as well as clothing and furniture for the doll – that were published in newspapers back in 1911.
Shortly before her clothing line debuted – and back when her son, Anderson Cooper, was 8 years old – the multi-talented heiress Gloria Vanderbilt came out with her own print magazine: Gloria Vanderbilt Designs for Your Home.
Today, when space-saving is so often a must that a piece of furniture is given houseroom almost grudgingly if it serves only one purpose, hassocks needn’t be merely be footrests. Here’s how to make your own!
Here are vintage Victorian directions for a Marie Antoinette dress sewing pattern for a little girl, trimmed with bias ruffles, and headed with a bais band of satin.
Remember the game of ‘dots’ or ‘boxes,’ where you joined the dots to complete squares, and the person who made the most squares was the winner? Print out these two versions to play at home.
Try this easy Valentine’s Day craft for a fun, heartfelt project that’s quick, simple, and perfect for adding a personal touch to the holiday.
This embroidered Owl Whoo’s Pretty Square is covered with squares, in fact – but wisely covered with terry too, and oh, such a soft pillow.
