Tutorials

How to Clean and Restore Putz Houses

Today I'm fixing up some vintage putz houses that are in fairly rough condition.  The idea here is to tidy them up and make some gentle home improvements without really changing their designs.  Ma...

How to Make a Feather Tree

Feather trees were a late-19th century German invention- a creative alternative to wasteful, messy, and exceedingly flammable real Christmas trees from the forest. They were most popular in the ye...

Let's Make a Halloween Village! DIY Putz Houses

The flat-pack putz house kits are not just for Christmas! Today I am using them to craft a spooky gothic village.  If you missed the tutorial for assembling the DIY putz house kits, you can find i...

Putz House Assembly

These chipboard houses are the perfect blank slate for a Christmas village of your own style.  The kits come flat, with the pieces already cut out and scored, and each one comes with a translucent ...

Nostalgic Cotton Batting Santa Ornaments

If you have ever wondered how to make spun cotton figures from scratch, this is a great introductory project to the nostalgic art of spun cotton. For these small-scale antique style spun cotton dol...

Bump Chenille Ornaments

Let's make some vintage bump chenille Santa ornaments!  This is a classic vintage Christmas craft.  Sometimes called Clay Face Santas, you could buy Made-in-Japan chenille ornaments like this at t...

Tips for Drawing Vintage Faces on Spun Cotton Doll Heads

Every now and again I find vintage Made in Japan spun cotton doll heads, and I find them to be so charming.  The faces were clearly done by hand so no two are alike.  It used to be that you could b...

Vintage Christmas Matchboxes! Holiday Papercrafting

Are you giving a candle as a gift this Christmas? How special would it be to include one of these Christmas matchboxes for the recipient!  You can get a pack of 10 matchboxes at Dollar Tree, and e...

How to Make Nostalgic Waxed Moravian Stars

  If you long for a simple, old fashioned Christmas like the ones from long ago, this is a wonderfully nostalgic craft to learn.  These traditional Moravian stars are made from strips of paper wov...

How to Make a Pine Cone Snowman on Skis!

  Today's craft is very much based on some wonderful 1950s skiing figurines! There were many types- some were elves, some were snowmen, some had spun cotton bodies, and some had pine cone bodies. ...

How to Make Spun Cotton Angel Ornaments

It's the holiday season! I love making angels of all sorts. This variety is made using 20mm doll heads paired with 60x45mm spun cotton cones, and they have little loops added to the tops of the hea...

New Craft Kit! Vintage Elf & Toadstool Decoration

It's the holiday season! I have a great new craft kit this year.  If you like a holly jolly vintage Christmas you'll love making this elf with whimsical toadstools! You'll just need a low temp gl...

Victorian Figural Ornament Made with Roving and Cotton Batting

Hi ho, and Merry Christmas!  Earlier this year I shared a start-to-finish spun cotton snow baby figural ornament tutorial using cotton coil or medical cotton.  Today, I'm doing a version using rovi...

Snow Cap Christmas Ornaments - Embellishing Mercury Glass Balls with Paint and Glitter

Today I am dressing up some thrifted glass ball ornaments with a festive snow pattern. I like the brushed-on snow design of Shiny Brite ornaments from the 1950s, so that is the look I am going for...

Make a Spun Cotton Santa!

This is a variation of a project from my book Spun Cotton Crafts. Get your copy here. In my book I share four different 'recipes' for crafting vintage elves.  Today I'm making a bearded elf, but d...

How to Preserve Fall Leaves with Glycerin

Through all my years of crafting, I'm surprised I never tried preserving fall leaves with glycerin before! So when the fall colors hit their peak here in the Pacific Northwest, I tried it out.  The...

Making a Halloween Doll with a Vintage Hanky!

In the last tutorial I shared how to make clay Kewpie doll faces from a vintage figurine.  You can find that project here. Today, I'm using the face to make a little 1920s ghost doll for Halloween!...

Making Clay Doll Faces from a Vintage Figurine

I recently found a really cute figurine, kind of Kewpie style, and I wanted to use the face for making some Halloween dolls!  I share this technique for making craft faces in my book Spun Cotton Cr...

Snow Baby Project Demo - Making a Spun Cotton Doll from Scratch

Today I'm excited to share a video demonstration of one of the projects in my new book, Spun Cotton Crafts!  The Snow Baby from page 106 is an easy-to-make spun cotton doll.  The design is not com...

Spun Cotton Boats: Handmade Cotton Batting Ornaments

These darling little boats were inspired by the sparkly Sebnitz ships of the late 19th century.  The small German town of Sebnitz was known for its marvelous handcrafted Christmas ornaments which ...

Make a Crepe Paper Flower Instead of a Bow! Vintage Style DIY Gift Topper

With Mother's Day coming up, and wedding season back this year, you might be wrapping some lovely gifts this spring!  A few years ago I designed these giant crepe paper flowers for a friend's wedd...

Making Vintage Style Clothespin Dolls! 1960s Kitsch Craft Project

 Today I'm making these retro ladies, inspired by some clothespin dolls my mom picked up at a holiday bazaar in the 1970s. I like the quaint look of the long dresses and hand-drawn faces. For this...

Spun Cotton How-To: Making Vintage Style Champagne Bottle Ornaments

Today I'm making some entirely hand-built spun cotton champagne bottle ornaments inspired by some antique factory-made versions from the 1920s.  Because the silhouette is fairly simple, I am build...

Vintage Christmas Pine Cone Pixies! Fun DIY Holiday Craft

Here's a fun project to use up those extra pine cones you've collected!  These adorable little pixies can sit on the edge of the mantel or a windowsill, or can be arranged on the presents under th...

Retro Paper Christmas Candles made from Cardboard Tubes and Paper Rolls!

Collect household paper tubes to make these whimsical vintage style candle decorations for Christmas! In this paper craft project I am upcycling tubes from paper towels, toilet paper, aluminum foil...

Winter Cottage Snow Globe Ornament - Sweet Christmas Craft

In this project I am creating a snowy winter wonderland inside a glass snow globe ornament to hang on a Christmas tree.  The empty glass ornaments come in round globes, bell shapes, and domes. To m...

Vintage Craft: Pine Cone and Felt Victorian Carolers

These pine cone and felt carolers are part of my vintage craft series: wonderful projects found in vintage craft books brought to life!  I collect vintage craft books, and flipping through them I a...

Braided Bread Dolls with Hard Boiled Egg Faces

Today I am creating a pair of lovely braided bread dolls inspired by a baking project I did with my mother when I was small. I can't remember now what kind of bread we used then, but I do remember...

Vintage Craft: Tissue Paper Festooning! DIY Easter Garland Tutorial

This tissue paper festooning is part of my vintage craft series: wonderful projects found in vintage craft books brought to life!  I collect vintage craft books, and flipping through them I always ...

Snow Day Ski Friends - Vintage Style Spun Cotton Figures

  These whimsical figures are made from spun cotton shapes and colorful crépe paper, and are the perfect indoor activity for a cozy snow day.  In this project, crépe paper is used as clothing for ...

Retro Felt Angels - DIY Vintage Style Christmas Craft

I recently got a shipment of these wonderful spun cotton angel heads from the Czech Republic- in PINK!  This project was inspired by this wonderful display of bohemian angels that I found in a 196...

Beautiful Acorn Ornaments with Pine Cones and Glitter - DIY Christmas Craft

To welcome the fall season I thought it would be fun to share my technique for making these sparkling and gorgeous acorn ornaments!  I made and sold these in my shop for years, and they were a bes...

Making a Retro Glam Agate Slice Epoxy Resin Table

Every summer I try to learn a new creative skill, or make something with materials I've never used before.  Making this agate slice table with epoxy resin was an ambitious project, and I wasn't rea...

Spun Cotton Spring Birds with Coffee Filter Bonnets and Ruffs

I love combining spun cotton with pipe cleaners. It immediately makes a decoration look vintage!  For these happy spring birds I picked out paint colors that matched some pastel pipe cleaners, and...

Vintage Style Spun Cotton and Paper Lantern Ornaments

  I have always loved the vintage lantern ornaments that were made in Japan for export in the 1950s.  There were several different types made of paper, as well as the heavy painted glass bulbs for...

Tissue Paper Puffy Heart Valentine's Window Decoration - DIY Papercraft

For this Valentine's day project, I borrowed a papercrafting technique that I learned back in gradeschool!  Does anyone else remember applying squares of tissue paper with a pencil eraser to make ...

How to Make a Sugared Orange Spun Cotton Ornament

  In this tutorial, I am sharing my process for turning a plain spun cotton ball into a beautiful orange ornament.  Spun cotton ornaments of this type were popular in the 1920s and 30s, and fruit t...

Make a Crepe Paper Flower Fairy - DIY Craft Tutorial

These whimsical flower fairies are made of some of my favorite materials: spun cotton, crepe paper, and pipe cleaners!  I had some extra-skinny pipe cleaners that I used for the arms and legs, but...

DIY Paper Shamrock Corsage for St. Patrick's Day

Here is a shamrock pin for St. Patrick's Day that's so pretty, you'll wear it every year.  It's simple to make with just paper and pipe cleaners, but the result is very elegant.  You can use any gr...

How to Dye Pipe Cleaners for Crafts - DIY Tutorial

Extreme crafters rejoice: you can dye your own pipe cleaners!  I was wanting some pipe cleaners in various pastel shades for my spring craft projects, but I was disappointed by the limited selecti...

Simple Craft Project: Make a Delightful Pipe Cleaner Heart Garland!

  This is a wonderful low-tech, minimal-supply craft project that has a beautiful end result! By simply forming old fashioned pipe cleaners over a template, you can make a lovely chain of linked h...

DIY Celestial Lighted Witch Hat Headband

This is a variation on the Easy Witch Hat Headband I did a couple years ago.  It's my go-to for a simple Halloween party costume.  This year, I decided to add some lights, and make it sparkle like ...

How to Make Sisal Bottle Brush Trees - From Scratch! DIY Craft Tutorial

Published July 14, 2017 Here's a fun craft project for Christmas: How to make sisal bottle brush trees - from scratch!  In this tutorial I'm using green sisal fiber, some floral wire, and a couple...

Macrame Plant Hanger - Craft Tutorial with Easy Macrame Knots

  This macrame plant hanger uses simple knots to create, and makes a great statement piece! The finished plant hanger is just under 5 feet long. It has some cool chunky wooden macrame beads, and a...

Basic Macrame Knots: Simple Square Knot Tutorial + Adding Beads

 If you lived through the 1970s, you might remember this!  One of the most basic macrame knots is the square knot, and it's actually very versatile.  This tutorial shows how to tie square knot in ...

Christmas Craft Tutorial: Make a Retro Cake Pan Diorama!

These cake pan dioramas are a fun way to display small ornaments or figurines.  I have some little wooden ornaments, pine cone elves, and putz houses that are sometimes hard to see if I put them w...

Tutorial: Retro Spun Cotton Sugar Bell Ornaments

These retro sugar bell ornaments look almost *exactly* like the ones made in the 1940s!  Before styrofoam entered the Christmas market, spun cotton was a go-to material for imported Christmas orna...

Make Minty Bleached Bottle Brush Trees for Christmas!

In this tutorial I am sharing my technique for bleaching bottle brush trees. You will need to use craft trees made of sisal, which can be harder to find than plastic or pvc trees.  I use simple ho...

DIY Snow Globe Ornaments - Fun Christmas Crafts

  Published November 2, 2016 These DIY Snow Globe Ornaments have a great vintage style, and are so fun to make!  There are three style of glass ornaments: a globe, dome, and bell-shaped cloche.  Y...

Tutorial: Retro Silver Bells

Last year I decorated one of my Christmas trees with some vintage paper mache bells that were made in Japan in the 40s-50s, and I just loved how they looked hanging off the tips of the branches.  ...