Christmas is coming up quickly but we still have time for a few more adorable holiday craft projects! Today I am showing you how to make vintage Christmas ornaments. These cute little pipe cleaner snow people are made of vintage Christmas items and a couple of things that you can snag at your local craft store!
You all know how much I love vintage. In fact, the only thing that I love more than vintage decor is vintage Christmas decor! Today I am showing you how I made my own vintage Christmas Ornaments with some old and adorable people picks that I found.
I will explain more about where and how to find the vintage faces for this project. But know that you can find actual vintage items to use. And they don’t have to be super expensive. I have a few authentically vintage ornaments like these on my tree. But finding the real deal can be hard and costly.
So I figured out how to make vintage Christmas ornaments that look very similar but don’t have to break the bank. So grab some cute faces, your furry pipe cleaners, and let’s get crafting!
How to Make Vintage Christmas Ornaments
As with all the crafty projects that I share with you, there are several ways that you can make these handmade holiday ornaments. You can keep it vintage like I do, or use all new items to make them if vintage isn’t your style. Whatever supplies you start out with, however, the process will be pretty much the same.
Faces to Start with, and Where to Find Them
The star of the show for these ornaments are the little faces that we use. If you want to keep it vintage, you have a couple of options. You will see in the video that I found some really cool little people at a market and I was able to use some of those. But they aren’t always easy to find and they can cost quite a bit.
But I found my Pixie Party Toppers on Etsy. They are authentically vintage items and their price isn’t so bad. You can search from them online and also find them at all the vintage shops and markets this time of year.
Also keep an eye out for other vintage picks or cupcake toppers. You can find old Santas, snowmen, etc. And they will all work for these handmade Christmas ornaments. I have a whole bag of old toppers that I have collected over the years. I love pulling them out for projects like this.
Another option to keep with the vintage look if you don’t have actual vintage items is to turn on your printer. You can find tons of vintage images on line. Some you can find for free, others are for sale on sites like Etsy. All of them are beautiful and will work for these cute ornaments.
All you need to do is get them to the size you want them. Then print and cut them out. I have some vintage Santa faces that I absolutely love and have used in a similar ornament project.
You can also skip the vintage entirely and go with all new supplies. Your local craft store should have cute little faces that you can use. I found some little ornaments that had Christmas themed faces. I just cut the strings off and used them.
Vintage Ornaments Tips and Tricks
The pipe cleaners that I use for these Christmas ornaments are new. And so is the seam binding. Those are the only newer items in the project and I explain in the video how to age them both. I love using seam binding because it has the vintage look I love, comes in a ton of different colors, and is reasonably priced. Which is why I use it in so many of my projects!
To age the seam binding, I just get it wet, crinkle it up, and let it dry again. If I am using white seam binding, I also usually stain it with strong tea so it has an aged look.
The pipe cleaners that I use for this project are the ones that have the larger furry spots along the wire. They make great arms and legs for my snow people. But, when I got them, they definitely looked new. Now worries though, I can fix that!
I took the white pipe cleaners, along with some cute red and white striped ones that I found, and used the strong tea mixture to stain the white. That makes them look much more worn and old so that they fit in better with our project.
I really wanted to use red but I haven’t figured out a way to bleach or fade them yet. They stay their own vibrant shade. Which is fabulous if you are using new things to make these ornaments. But they didn’t work well with the look I am going for.
What to Put in Your Snow People’s Hands
You can use absolutely anything that you want to for this part of the project. If you are and avid vintage shopper like I am, you may already have lots of tiny bells, trees, ornament balls, etc. If you don’t have a collection of small vintage Christmas items though, don’t worry! You still have options.
I love heading to the doll house section at Hobby Lobby for things to use in this project. Little books, whisks or spatulas, anything cute that catches your eye. The doll house items are also a great way to personalize your ornaments according to your interests too.
You can also get ornaments or other Christmas decor items that have small pieces and can be disassembled. Use what you need for this project and then save the rest for a future one!
How to Make Vintage Christmas Ornaments Supply List
- Vintage Pixie Party Toppers (or other faces that you want to use)
- Furry pipe cleaners
- Wire cutters
- Small vintage holiday items (bells, ornaments, tiny trees, etc. Check the doll house section of your craft store for more tiny ideas!)
- Ribbon or seam binding for a bow
How to Make Vintage Christmas Ornaments Instructions
- Start by cutting a pipe cleaner in half. Take one half and fold it so the ends are even. Then twist to top, leaving a loop.
- Then take the other half and wrap it around the loop to make your arms.
- Next, cut the head off its stick. (That sounds so awful, lol) Then use hot glue to attach the head to the top of your pipe cleaner body. Bend the bottom of the legs to make tiny feet.
- Now you can glue a pretty vintage Christmas item in the hands if you want. You can do just one hand holding one item. Two hands holding one item, or each hand holding a different item.
- Then tie a little bow onto each foot to make a shoe.
- Finally, use ribbon or seam binding to make a little hanger for your ornament. Use hot glue to attach it.
The Wrap Up
And that’s how you make your own vintage Christmas ornaments. I love having mine displayed on their own pretty branch. The ones I made fit in perfectly with the actual vintage ornament people that I have. I love how each one is unique and brings their own personality to the Christmas party!
I would love to see how you use these vintage ornaments in your own home. So if you post any pictures of yours on social media, tag me so I can check them out! As always, I hope you love this project as much as I do. Happy crafting, friends!
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