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!

Make sure you never miss a Live or discount for my website! Sign up here to receive texts and I’ll let you know when fun things are happening! https://my.community.com/tamilovesvintage

Tami’s cell phone number: 740-273-6693

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a video tutorial!

If you love creating vintage treasures as much as I do you can also join my membership group, Tami Loves Creating Vintage Treasures. There you will get exclusive tutorials that will teach you how to create beautiful and unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!

I have such a fun project for you today, friends! I am showing you how to make a whole bunch of adorable DIY fake bake Christmas treats. From faux cupcakes to brownies, with cake balls, and popcorn garland in between! These fake bakes have become one of my favorite Christmas crafts and I can’t wait to share them with you!

Last year I was so excited to be a presenter in the Sparkle Room’s Santa’s Sparkling Workshop event. As Mrs. Claus, I had a blast teaching everyone all about DIY fake bake Christmas treats. Many of you have been asking about these faux treats and how to make them. So I wanted to put the video tutorial, supply list, and step by step instructions all in one place for you!

DIY Fake Bake Christmas Treats

In the video below, Mrs. Claus teaches the art of making fake bakes and some of the fun ways you can decorate and use them. You will get lots of tips and tricks in the video. But if you want to see the list of ingredients and instructions for each fake bake treat, I have those here for you too.

That way you can watch the video and then glance back at the steps for reference as you’re crafting. The decorating techniques I talk about are just a few of the zillions that you have. If there are other techniques that you love or have mastered, by all means go for it!

I give you some ideas as a jumping off point. But you’re creativity will take it from there! So, let’s click on some Christmas music, grab a mug of cocoa, and get crafting! I hope you love these DIY Christmas sweets as much as I do!

Let’s Talk Faux Sprinkles

When I first started making Christmas Fake Bakes I thought I would be able to reach for some regular Christmas sprinkles and have at it. Thankfully my friend stopped me. Because real sprinkles will bleed their color into the white spackle and ruin your fake bakes.

But there are several options that we can use! The simplest option is to buy clay sprinkles online. They are designed specifically for crafting and come in tons of adorable options. I found mine on Etsy and there are lots of other places that carry them too.

The other option is to make your own. I made some of my own clay sprinkles. And also some fake coconut topping out of a candle. For the sprinkles you just need sculpting clay in the color of your choice. And a tool to make long skinny strings of it. Once they are baked and cut into sprinkle size, they are ready to use!

For the fake coconut, I used a white taper candle and a box grater. I shaved the candle right into a bowl and that’s it! It’s inexpensive and super easy to do. And one candle will give you a ton of coconut to decorate with!

Fake Bake Chocolate Cake Supply List

• Sponges (without a scrubby side)
• Chocolate brown paint
• Paint brush
• Light weight spackle in a bucket (any kind will work as long as it says light weight)
• White paint
• Painter’s tape
• Scissors
• Frosting spatula
• Icing bags and star tips
• Green paint
• Green faux sprinkles
• Faux cherry

DIY Fake Bake Chocolate Cake Instructions

• Start by cutting your sponges into even cake shaped triangles. You want 3 triangles for every slice of cake.
• Next, paint the sides brown. Paint a little ways in from the edges on the top and bottom, just to make sure no sponge will come through. Set your sponges aside to dry.
• Then, use painter’s tape and tape off the edges of your triangles to protect them from the “icing”.
• Scoop some of the spackle into a tub and mix some white paint into it. Then use an icing spatula (or whatever you have!) To smooth the spackle onto the first painted triangle. You do this just like you would frost a real cake. Not too thick, not too thin. Then, place the next layer of cake onto the spackle. And add another layer of “icing”. Place the next cake layer on top and frost it. Then remove your tape.
• Next, frost the back of the cake. If you get spackle somewhere you don’t want it, just touch it up with some of the brown paint. If you see any spots where you need more spackle, just fill it in.
• Now sprinkle some of the green coconut onto the top of the cake. And plop a faux cherry on top.
• In a small bowl, combine some of the spackle with green paint until you get it the color you want it.
• Then put a tip into a frosting bag and add the green spackle. Use this to pipe on frosting to the top and bottom edges of the back of your cake. You can decorate your cake any way you want to. I am just explaining how I decorated mine. Once you are done, set your cake aside to let it dry. This will take about 24 hours.

Fake Bake Christmas Cupcakes Supply List

These are so cute and really easy to do. Plus, you can turn them into ornaments if you want to!

• Cupcake liners
• Foam insulation (in a can)
• Spackle mixed with paint in your choice of color (I used green).
• Cup cake toppers of any kind (optional)
• The eye part of a hook and eye latch (to turn your cupcake into an ornament. This is optional)

DIY Fake Bake Christmas Cupcakes Instructions

• Take a cupcake liner and squirt a little bit of foam insulation into it. The insulation will rise so don’t add too much at first. You won’t be able to see the insulation so don’t worry too much about how it looks. You just want to get it fairly even so it looks like a cupcake when you add your “frosting”. Let the insulation cure over night.
• Then use the “frosting” that you made to frost your cupcake.
• Add some sprinkles and any cupcake toppers that you want to use. I found some cute little ornaments at Hobby Lobby to use on my fake bake cupcakes. But you can use anything you have or find!
• If you want to be able to hang your cupcakes, stick the eye hook as far down into your wet spackle as you can while leaving enough still visible to add a string to.

Fake Bake Brownies Supply List

• Green foam floral blocks
• Chocolate brown paint
• Spackle mixed with brown paint
• Paint brush
• Toothpicks
• Meat tray for drying, if you have one
• Icing bag with star tip filled with red spackle.
• Icing bag with star tip filled with

DIY Fake Bake Brownies Instructions

• Cut the foam block into squares. Then put a toothpick in each one so you can hold it as you paint and frost.
• Paint the bottom of the square (where your toothpick is) brown.
• Now frost the rest of the square with the brown spackle. Then stick the toothpick into the meat tray so it stands up.
• If you want your brownies to have a matte finish you can move onto decorating. But if you want them to have a little sheen to make them look more tasty, give them a coat of clear coat finish. I had Country Chic on hand. But any clear coat will work.
• Add a dab of white frosting then a smaller dab of red on top of it. Then sprinkle on a few green sprinkles. Then leave your brownies to dry.

Faux Cake Pops Supply List

• 1 3/4 inch Styrofoam balls
• Sucker sticks
• Caulk
• Paint (I used green, white, and red)
• Bamboo skewer
• Faux sprinkles
• Meat tray for drying, if you have one

Faux Cake Pops Instructions

• Put some of the caulk in a small container and mix in the paint color of your choice.
• Use a skewer to poke a whole in the bottom of your ball. Then insert the sucker stick.
• Use a paint brush to paint on the colorful caulk.
• Then add your faux sprinkles and stick the stick of your cake ball into a meat tray to dry.
• Once your fake cake balls are dry, you can tie some pretty ribbon in a bow beneath the cake part.

The Wrap Up

And that’s how you make Christmas Fake Bake treats! They are so easy to make and absolutely adorable to display. For those of you who wish your pretty baking would last longer. Or for those who don’t like baking but love the beautiful look, this project is perfect!

I would love to see how you use your Christmas fake backes in your own home. So if you post any pictures of your them 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!

Make sure you never miss a Live or discount for my website! Sign up here to receive texts and I’ll let you know when fun things are happening! https://my.community.com/tamilovesvintage

Tami’s cell phone number: 740-273-6693

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a video tutorial!

If you love creating vintage treasures as much as I do you can also join my membership group, Tami Loves Creating Vintage Treasures. There you will get exclusive tutorials that will teach you how to create beautiful and unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!

The snow has been flying this week. It’s the perfect time to stay in and craft away! So today I am showing you how to make vintage lace Christmas trees. They are a beautiful holiday craft idea to work on when you’re staying cozy indoors!

Anytime that I get to craft with vintage lace, I am a happy lady! And showing you how to make vintage lace Christmas trees has really put me in a good mood. I love that I get to enjoy and admire so many gorgeous laces in one place. Add in a beautiful vintage tree topper, and I am just plain smitten!

How to Make Vintage Lace Christmas Trees

I first shared this project a few years ago in my membership group, Tami’s Making. All of us girls loved the way they turned out. And I think that enough time has passed now that I can share them with all of you. You don’t need much for these lace Christmas trees. Your stash of vintage lace, a styrofoam cone, and your glue gun.

Don’t have vintage lace, that’s ok! You can also stain any new lace or ribbon with tea. I do it all the time to age new materials. And if vintage isn’t your style, that’s ok too! Use new laces and any colors that you love. Make your tree with whatever lace or ribbons that fit your style.

Vintage Christmas Tree Tips and Tricks

These DIY Christmas trees are pretty straight forward. But I did learn a couple of things in the process that might help you out.

If you are nervous about how and where to layer your laces, remember that you can lay it out before you glue. You can practice it a few different ways and then decide what you like best where. This is especially handy when you go to add your “garland” lace. If you aren’t sure which laces will work best together, try out a few together and then decide.

Also, decide how what you are going to do with your seams before you start. On my first tree, I purposely didn’t try to keep all of my seams in the same spot on the “back” of the tree. I thought it would add to the ratty look of the design. But it turned out that there were a few seams that bothered me.

So, for my second tree, I decided to make a “back” where all the seams lined up together. If you keep all of your seams in the same spot on your tree, you can easily cover them when you are done. A line of buttons would be a cute way to disguise them!

Or, you an do like I did on my first tree and not really pay attention to them. I was able to cover many of the seams with my tree trimmings but there were still a few that I could see and they bothered me a bit. I still love the first tree though! My advice would be to decide which way you want to do your seams before you start and just go with it.

Vintage Lace Christmas Trees Supply List

• Styrofoam cone for your Christmas tree base
• Paint for the base (This is optional. If you are using thick lace that you can’t see through, there is no need to paint your tree. If you have lace that is see through or has large holes, you will want to give your cone a base layer of paint. An off white or cream color would work great!)
• Vintage lace (or new lace!)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Tree topper (spindle or other vintage item that you have/love)

Vintage Lace Christmas Trees Instructions

• First, cut the point of the cone off with a knife.
• If you need to paint your cone, that will be the next step. Give it a coat of paint and then let that dry.
• Next, decide which lace you want at the bottom of the tree. I try and use a larger and interesting lace here. I had a beautiful vintage lace collar that I used for one of my trees and it was perfect!
• Play with the lace to see where you want the bottom to hit before you begin gluing. Then cut it to the size it needs to be to circle your cone.

• Add a line of glue where you want the top of your lace to be. Then put the lace in place, gently pushing it into the glue. Continue around your cone, adding glue and placing the lace.
• Then repeat the same process with your next piece of lace. On this second tree, I kept all of my seams in the same spot so I could cover them more easily.

• Continue working from the bottom up, adding more layers of lace as you go.
• I like to add as many varieties of lace as I can. And I put a really interesting piece right towards the top. You can choose to add whatever laces you want, however you want. I just love the contrast of the different textures and designs.

Trimming Your Vintage Lace Christmas Tree

• Now it’s time to dress up your lace tree! Choose a smaller lace to work with. I chose a pretty eyelet for my tree. Start at the top and wrap the lace diagonally toward the bottom, gluing as you go.

• Then use another small lace to wrap diagonally the other direction. Continue until you are happy with the overall look. Think of these bits as the garland draped around your tree. I used pompom ribbon that I had tea stained for one of my garland layers. I think it really makes the whole look of the tree.

• Now we get to add our tree topper! You can use anything you want for this. Just hot glue it right to the top of your tree. Spindle tops would work great as toppers. Or decorative knobs from vintage furniture.
• I painted my topper with with cream colored chalk paint. Then went in with a wet rag to wipe some of it away and distress it. The paint covered areas that were pretty rough. The distressing re-aged it. And the color blends really well with the lace. So it worked really well for me. You can go the same route or leave your topper piece as is. It’s totally up to you!

The Wrap Up

And that’s how you make vintage lace Christmas trees! They are simple to make and make such a unique beautiful addition to our vintage Christmas decor. I kept my trees pretty simple because I wanted the vintage lace to be the star of the show. But you can add anything you want to dress them up! Buttons, keys, jewels…whatever you have and want to add.

I would love to see how you use these vintage lace Christmas trees 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!

Make sure you never miss a Live or discount for my website! Sign up here to receive texts and I’ll let you know when fun things are happening! https://my.community.com/tamilovesvintage

Tami’s cell phone number: 740-273-6693

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a video tutorial!

If you love creating vintage treasures as much as I do you can also join my membership group, Tami Loves Creating Vintage Treasures. There you will get exclusive tutorials that will teach you how to create beautiful and unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!

d unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!

Many of us who love vintage have a special place in our hearts for vintage books and journals. Today I am showing you how to make a DIY vintage journal that makes a beautiful gift or vintage display item.

The gift giving season is upon us and many of us are thinking about what to give the people we love. Handmade gifts are my favorite to give and I know many of you feel the same. Today I am showing you how to make a DIY vintage journal that makes the perfect gift for the vintage lover in your life.

They also make the perfect addition to your own vintage decor! I use them as risers in my vingnettes, and mix them in to other decorative displays. These gorgeous handmade journals also make beautiful guestbooks or photo albums for vintage themed weddings. However you decide how to use your handmade vintage journals, I hope you love them as much as I do!

DIY Vintage Journal

Many of you know that I love working with old book pages and antique sheet music. Anything that I create with them is as unique as the vintage pages that I use. Because I will likely never find that same pages twice. Or use them in the same exact way.

When you make your own vintage journal, you get the chance to display several examples of vintage books pages. Each one unique and interesting in its own way. And the best part is, we get to bring those pages out in the open where they can be appreciated. Instead of laying hidden away somewhere.

Let’s Talk Muslin Shreds

I use muslin shreds in so many of my crafts. They give texture and add to the beautiful aged look of my projects. I just love them! And they are so easy to make. I sit in front of the T.V. and just snip and tear away until I have a good sized pile of shreds.

Then, when I have a few extra minutes, I stain them with strong tea, let them dry, and they are ready whenever I need them. Want to learn exactly how I make and stain my muslin shreds? Check out my post Making Muslin Shreds!

DIY Vintage Journal Supply List

• Any book (use a neutral color book if you can. If you have one that is a dark color, just paint it along the edges where some of the book color may peak through.)
• Mod Podge
• Paint brush
• Vintage book and/or music pages
• Scissors
• Exacto knife or box cutter is handy to have too
• Hole punch
• Muslin shreds
• Small vintage treasures (metal tags, buttons, skeleton keys, etc)
• Nice paper for your journal pages

DIY Vintage Journal Cover Instructions

• Start by removing the dust jacket from your book, if it has one.
• Grab the vintage pages you will be using. I like to have a small pile of options to work with because covering the book is like a puzzle. And I don’t always start out knowing which pieces are going to go together.
• Play with the pages you have until you have an idea of how you want them to go onto the book. I always tear the edges of my pages. This gets rid of the straight lines as well as the blank area around the words and images.
• Now give the front of your book a coat of Mod Podge. Then start placing your pages where you want them. Don’t be afraid to wrap your pages around the spine and. This continuation helps the pages to blend together more naturally.
• You also want to wrap pages around to the back of the front cover. We want the whole cover covered, (hehe). Including the edges.
• Continue adding Mod Podge and pages until the entire outside of your book is covered. Then give the whole thing a final coat of Mod Podge to seal it all in place.
• For the inside of your covers, add a coat of Mod Podge to the whole thing and then stick the first/last page of your book to it. That will make everything look clean and even. You will still see the pages around the edge but it will look crisp and clean.

Decorating a Vintage Journal Instructions

• Once your book is covered with vintage book pages and music sheets, it is time to work on your journal pages. Grab about 10 pages in the front of your book and punch 2 holes through them.
• Then feed a muslin shred through the hole and tie it in a knot. Trim the ends if you need to. It is easier to start with a longer shred and trim it then it is to tie a short shred.
• Gather the next 10ish pages and punch a couple of holes this time. Tie them both with shreds. Continue on through the book, punching 1-3 holes through 10 page sections and tying them with the muslin shreds.
• When your pages are all tied, it is time to add your vintage treasures. I glued little button piles to the cover of my book. You can also tie small vintage items to the muslin shreds. Cabinet keys, skeleton keys, and vintage metal tags are all perfect for this.
• If you are going to use your vintage book as a photo album or strictly as a decor item, you can stop here. If you want to use your book as a vintage journal, there are just a couple more steps.

Making Vintage Journal Pages

• To turn your book pages into ones that can be written on you just need to add clean paper to each tied section in your book. You can use any paper you want for this but I like to look for paper with a parchment or aged look. Your local craft store probably has some great options.
• Cut your clean paper to the size you need it for your book. I like to let some of the actual book pages peek around the edges of my clean paper if possible.
• Using a paper cutter is ideal so you can cut several sheets at once. But most of us don’t have access to one. A slide cutter used for scrap booking is useful for getting your pages cut to exact dimensions. Or, good old fashioned scissors will work too!
• Once your pages are cut, use the Mod Podge to glue them into place in your book. Let the glue dry and your vintage journal is ready to use!

The Wrap Up

And that’s how you make your own DIY vintage journal! Whether you use if for vintage journaling, mix them in with your vintage decor, or give them as gifts. I hope you get as much joy out of them as I have.

I would love to see how you use your handmade vintage journals in your own home. So if you post any pictures of your them 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!

Make sure you never miss a Live or discount for my website! Sign up here to receive texts and I’ll let you know when fun things are happening! https://my.community.com/tamilovesvintage

Tami’s cell phone number: 740-273-6693

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss a video tutorial!

If you love creating vintage treasures as much as I do you can also join my membership group, Tami Loves Creating Vintage Treasures. There you will get exclusive tutorials that will teach you how to create beautiful and unique pieces that will fit perfectly with your vintage decor!