Cute vintage Christmas craft ideas: Start with everyday stuff
Once you’ve started turning out these exciting ornaments, you’ll find a multitude of ways to display them.
Start by decorating the tree, of course. But then string them up and down picture windows — show them off in shimmering mobile units, let them twirl bewitchingly from chandeliers, or wire them on luxuriant evergreen wreaths for the front door.
Hanging ornaments: Sunburst coaster vintage craft
A grand caprice with coasters! Lay in a supply of cardboard and paper coasters, transparent glue, a few paper napkins, a varied hoard of sequins — and you’re ready to turn out these dazzling beauties by the hundreds.
To make stars and sunbursts, cut cardboard coasters into sections and glue to whole coasters. If you’re going to see both sides, glue coasters back-to-back. Some paper coasters are flexible and can be cut into halves and then rolled and glued into cones.
String these cones together for any of the bell-like ornaments. A larger cone made of three-quarters of a circle and glued to a whole coaster makes a three-dimensional ornament, trimmed with smaller hanging cones made of half-sections.
To make a pyramid, fold three coasters in the center and overlap, trimming the parts so the pattern matches on the overlaps and finishing with smaller hanging pyramids made of half coasters. Or cut out the center of a coaster and suspend a mobile made from cutout parts.
Add small sequins and beads at the tips to give more depth. You can use paper fringe from colored napkins to trim outer edges of ornaments.
Aren’t these wild and woody?
If you’re a “wool-gatherer,” you’ll undoubtedly have the makings for these intriguing tassels stashed away in some handy basket. Otherwise buy assorted wools and heavy yarns — then begin!
The wool-wound mobiles scattered over these pages are made over cutout plastic coffee can lids with frosted balls attached to the center rings. Tassels are fashioned with heavy yarn, untwisted at top for a fuzzy effect, and some tipped with tiny beads.
The diamond star has a base of sturdy cardboard. Solid circles with pompon centers again make use of plastic lids for the bases with tassels attached to the bottoms.
Large, fluffy, three-tiered pompon is made from three shades of wool wrapped around cardboard, tied, cut, and strung together. Add extra tiers to fit space!
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The remainder of the circular ornaments are contrived with notion-counter trims: ruffling, braid, rickrack, ribbon, fringe, and lace. Ours are fashioned with a belting base which has been thickly starched, held together till dry with clothespins. (Or you may use slices of paper cores.)
Circles of different sizes may be strung concentrically or glued together at various angles. Scale these dramatic ornaments to your needs — smaller versions for trees, larger ones for windows and outdoors.
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Vintage Christmas decorations: Holiday banner decor, ’60s-style
Strips of felt spell out the season — and look stunning!
For a door decoration, wall hanging, or buffet table trim, cut four lengths of felt 6 inches wide and long enough to hang over both ends of table, or allow a 3-inch overlap at the top of a door.
Make the tassels by cutting slivers of felt inch wide and from 12 to 15 inches long. Sew tassel to end of panels and bind in two places with heavy buttonhole thread.
For the letters, you’ll need four 12-inch squares of contrasting felt. Trace letters from a stencil or child’s drawing book, cut out and machine-stitch to panels. Arrange strips in stairsteps or straight.
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How to make these retro starburst Christmas ornaments
Star-bright trims are made of honeycomb balls, beads, gold seals, and bamboo skewers. For framework, glue pointed sticks to center cardboard disks — 1-1/2 inches to 2 inches in diameter to make rays.
The number of rays varies with the size of the star. When dry, thread glass beads and paper balls on the sticks — keeping points of sticks on outer end.
A drop of glue holds the last ball in place. Decorate the end of each stick with a quarter of a gold paper seal that has been folded in half. Cover the center with a whole gold seal glued on each side.
