Tutorials

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...

Make Retro Diorama Ornaments filled with Miniatures - Vintage Christmas Craft Tutorial

Published December 8, 2017 I think one of the funnest ways to create handmade Christmas ornaments is to spend some time just collecting adorable miniatures so that I can paw through a pile of suppl...

How to Dye Bottle Brush Trees with Rit - DIY Craft Tutorial

When I started selling the minty bleached bottle brush trees a couple years ago, I immediately started getting requests for other colors.  PINK, in particular, is in high demand.  Dyeing trees is q...

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 ...

Make a Halloween Fairy Pumpkin!

  I have been making Halloween fairy gardens for a few years now.  It's incredibly satisfying to watch the neighborhood kids ooh and ahh over the little village of pumpkin houses and miniature deta...

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

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 clothespins to make som...

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 ...

Giant Paper Flower for a DIY Wedding Backdrop - Craft Tutorial

I recently had the chance to make some wonderful large crepe paper flowers for a friend's wedding.  They were to be part of a backdrop installation, so we needed to make a lot of flowers that fil...

Plants on Pink Easter Eggs - Painted Spun Cotton Eggs

  Today I'm making some handpainted Plants on Pink Easter eggs!   These fun eggs are inspired by the @plantsonpink Instagram sensation.  There truly is something irresistible about that combinatio...

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

  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.  You can use all sorts of min...

How to Make Spun Cotton Pumpkins! DIY Fall Craft Tutorial

This is such a fun fall craft project!  In this tutorial I'm using 45mm spun cotton balls to make adorable little pumpkins.  It's quite simple, and they are so pretty.  I think they would make lov...

Mossy Fairy House DIY Tutorial

This is a darling cottage-style mossy fairy house.  It's simple to make using a paper mache house as a base.  After wrapping it in sheet moss, I'm putting on a rustic roof made out of corrugated c...

Technique: How to Make HOLLOW Polymer Clay Beads Using Spun Cotton Balls

Ever wondered how to make HOLLOW polymer clay beads?   With this technique I'm making some fun marbled beads to string up on a ribbon. They are perfectly round and smooth, and it's great to be abl...

Speckled Spun Cotton Easter Eggs DIY Tutorial

In this tutorial I'm making speckled spun cotton Easter eggs.  These are so darling.  I did a similar project last year, but this time I've added a coat of clear glass glitter. You can paint them ...

Assembling a Wax Flower Hair Comb Tutorial

  In this tutorial I'm assembling a wax flower hair comb with the pretty picks I made in the last tutorial. This romantic hair comb would make a beautiful bridal hairpiece. Instructions for making...

Making a Wax Flower Pick DIY Tutorial

In this tutorial I'm taking the wax flowers and buds I made in the last tutorial, and wrapping them together to make a pick for a hair comb.  You can use embroidery floss or wire to do this bindin...

Wax Flowers DIY Tutorial

In this tutorial I'm making DIY wax flowers with a romantic Victorian look to them.  The buds are made of spun cotton, and the wax-dipped flowers are crepe paper.  You need to make the paper flowe...

Simple Paper Flowers DIY Tutorial

These simple paper flowers are made out of one-size petals applied to spun cotton eggs.  They look like little wild roses or spring blossoms.  These are the type of blossoms that I use to make my ...

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.  ...

Pipe Cleaner Craft: Christmas Garland Tutorial

Here's a great pipe cleaner craft for Christmas! This retro Christmas garland was inspired by a real one from the 1950s that I once had in the vintage Christmas collection in the shop.  What I lov...

Tutorial: Christmas Snow Globe Ornament

I've been wanting to make a Christmas snow globe ever since I started carrying these clear glass ball ornaments in the shop!  This design was inspired by a 1950s German ornament that I once saw ...

Tutorial: Cute Snowman Decorations

  These cute snowman decorations couldn't be simpler to make, and they are so darn adorable! Their bodies are spun cotton, and they have little bump chenille arms, plastic hats, and each one holds...

Tutorial: Fairy Pumpkin Village

Tutorial: Easy Witch Hat Headband

  Here's an easy witch hat headband that you can make in a jiffy just before a Halloween party.  It's super cute, too! I was invited to a festive fall Witches' Tea Party this weekend, and needed t...

Tutorial: DIY Concrete Flowers

  This tutorial is from a few years ago, but it's a goodie!  These concrete flowers are inexpensive to make, and look stunning when they're done.  They look like carved stone, and are really elega...

1920s Style Paper Mache Halloween Pumpkins

  I love the old paper mache Halloween pumpkins that were made in Germany back in the 1920s and 30s.  They were made of pressed paper pulp that was put into molds, dried, and then painted in vivid...

Painted Paper Mache Halloween Cat

  Make a painted paper mache Halloween cat to guard your candy stash!  This 1920s style kitty has a folky face, and a charming ruffle of crepe paper around his neck in classic orange and black.  I...

Tutorial: Halloween Candy Corn Trees

These Halloween candy corn trees are so simple to make, and look so *sweet* on a windowsill or mantel.  This is a really easy Halloween craft, and would be a great rainy day activity for kids.  A...

Tutorial: Miniature Spun Cotton Fruit Craft Project

Make your own tiny spun cotton fruit!  I'm sharing techniques for making a pineapple, pears, strawberries, plums, oranges, and cherries in this fun fruit craft project. I've been wanting do a fru...

Paper Mache Easter Egg Diorama

So I kind of feel like this is the year of the diorama. I'm pretty much obsessed with them at this point. This paper mache Easter egg diorama would make such a lovely display on a side table or bu...

Tutorial: Spun Cotton Quail Eggs

I love the look of quail eggs, and I love all things made of spun cotton, so here I'm combining the two! These spun cotton quail eggs would make the most wonderful spring decorations. They would b...

Retro Spun Cotton Birds

These adorable retro spun cotton birds were inspired by some Christmas ornaments that were made in Japan in the 1950s.  I've sold a bunch of them, and they often came in blue, teal, and white.  Th...

Tutorial: Make Giant Paper Flowers

Back when my Storybook Rose tutorial went viral, I started experimenting with different materials for flower-making.  I found that the same rose technique could easily be scaled up, and so I start...

DIY Advent Wreath with Painted Rocks

This is a really simple and rustic DIY advent wreath centerpiece, and it costs next to nothing to make.  You'll need a good assortment of rocks, and smooth ones work the best.  Beach stones or riv...

How to Make Spun Cotton Mushrooms

Here's a great way of making whimsical antique-style spun cotton mushrooms with loops for hanging up as ornaments. These would look adorable on a woodland Christmas tree, and make super unique gif...

Festive Halloween Cocktail Recipe and Spooky Punch Bowl

I'm hosting the party this year, so I decided I'd better come up with a festive Halloween cocktail to serve.  To keep things simple I wanted to do a punch bowl set-up on the console table.  This i...

Paper Oak Leaves and Acorns Tutorial

For this year's fall decorations I wanted to expand on the style of my Paper Bag Pumpkins with their muted colors and rustic, crinkly texture.  I'm really on a Kraft paper kick right now.  I love ...

Tutorial: Paper Pumpkin Luminary Halloween Decorations

During the daytime, these paper bag pumpkin luminaries make great halloween decorations with their neutral colors and rustic textures.  At night though, they take on a whole different look, flicke...

Tutorial: 5 Minute, No-Sew Lace Lavender Sachets

For this project I'm using vintage lace trim to create simple lavender sachets.  You can also use lace fabric cut into strips.  It's a good opportunity to use scraps and remnants of things you hav...

Tutorial: Deer Diorama Ornament

These vintage-inspired Christmas ornaments are just the sweetest little treasures! You can collect all kinds of miniatures to put inside and craft your little worlds.  I make some with little spun...

Tutorial - Glowing Crepe Paper Waterlily Luminaries

This is a tutorial I originally produced for 100 Layer Cake, which you can view here. These waterlily luminaries are a real showstopper! Great decoration for dinner parties or outdoor events.   De...

Tutorial: Plaster Fairy Mushroom Picks

It seems that so many amazing crafts originated in Germany.  These plaster fairy mushroom picks were inspired by some vintage German-made ones, and would make great embellishments for lots of proj...

Paper Flower Tutorial: Storybook Paper Roses

I originally did this tutorial for 100LayerCake.com, and it remains one of my favorite projects.  Here I'll share the original post, plus some extra photos and details about how I make paper roses...

Tutorial: Crepe Paper Easter Baskets

Lovely crepe paper Easter baskets! These frilly pails look lovely grouped together for a centerpiece, and make sweet packages for gifts.  Imagine walking into work and seeing one of these on your d...