Tami Loves Vintage

Creating Keepsakes With Vintage Treasures

How to Make Vintage Wall Art

by

I’m really excited to share this project with you, friends! I was recently a guest in the Savvy Sisters Facebook group. I showed them how to make vintage wall art and I want to show you too. Grab your vintage treasures, this is a fun one!

One of my favorite things to do is to help people get their vintage treasures out of boxes and on display. This project is that perfect way to do that! In the video below I show you how to make vintage wall art using your small vintage items. I also use a beautiful variety of laces for this project. Vintage laces are so varied in their detail and I love mixing several of them together. And, if you have long flat pieces of lace this is the perfect spot for them. Just bunch them up before securing them to your board. It will add more great texture and detail!

How to Make Vintage Wall Art

I can’t wait for you to dive into this project! It is so fun to paw through all your vintage items and then bring them together in such a unique way. You really can’t go wrong when it comes to creating these pieces. Just keep on layering to add depth, detail, and dimension. It only gets better and better with each additional layer. All that texture is beautiful and interesting!

Painting your Old Frame

how to make vintage wall art

If you know me, you know that I love to use my Chalk Couture paints to get a vintage look on my pieces. That is what I did with the frame I used for this project. The frame itself has so much detail and character, I just love it! To get a similar vintage look you will want to distress your frame a bit after painting it.

You can use a sanding block to rough up your painted frame. Or you can use antiquing wax to highlight some of the raised designs. If painting and antiquing items is new to you you can check out my YouTube Channel. I have several videos that show you how it’s done!

Once you’ve painted your frame the way you want it let it dry. Then it’s time for the fun part! Pull out your vintage laces and treasures and get ready to be creative!

What Items to Use

how to make vintage wall art

You can use absolutely any vintage items that you have and love for this project. I used quite a bit of old jewelry and lace for my project and I love the way it turned out! I was fortunate to have an old tea towel to use as the backing on my frame.

If you don’t have an old tea towel, use any fabric that you like. You probably know how much I love muslin; you could use that for this project if you want. I just wanted a bit more texture and color this time so I used the towel. Burlap could be a really fun background too!

Along with the jewelry and lace, I also used old keys, metal tags, and even a doll’s head. There is no right or wrong way to make this vintage wall art though. Use whatever you have on hand! If you need some vintage treasures to craft with you can browse my shop and snag some.

Or you can let me do the work and just grab one of my Vintage Treasure Boxes! Each box is unique and filled with vintage items that I have hand picked. The boxes have a great variety of treasures that you can display and craft with!

how to make vintage wall art
https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media/?thread_id=1325968753&attachment_id=2950999991833961&message_id=mid.%24cAAAAAGwqvsmBuXlJNF7iC9iHEfI8

Vintage Wall Art Supply List

  • Vintage frame (painted)
  • Foam core
  • Box cutter
  • Spray adhesive (I like Super 77)
  • Vintage tea towel or other fabric
  • Hot glue gun
  • Lace
  • Old jewelry and other small vintage items (keys, clock faces, buttons, metal tags, etc.)

Step by Step Instructions

  • Start by painting your vintage frame and allowing it to dry. I love Chalk Couture!
  • Next, use the box cutter to cut your foam core to fit the frame. Then spray the back of your foam with the spray adhesive.
  • Next place the foam, adhesive side down, onto your tea towel and press it into place. Then fold the tea towel over the foam and use the glue gun to secure it in place. Then use the hot glue to secure the fabric covered foam into the frame.
  • Now choose the lace you want to use. Then use the spray adhesive and/or hot glue to secure it in place where you want it.
  • Next start adding in your old jewelry using hot glue to secure it in place. Keep adding lace and jewelry of different textures. You can also add in things like buttons, keys, and other fun vintage items.

The Wrap Up!

And that’s all there is to it, friends! This is a really fun project to do. No two will ever come out the same and each one will be treasured for different reasons. I have found that people really stop to look at these pieces and appreciate all of their elements. I hope you love creating your own piece of vintage wall art as much as I did!

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!

Creating Vintage Tassels

by

This week I am sharing one of my favorite projects! Creating vintage tassels is something I’ve been doing for quite awhile and I just love them. I wanted to show you how I do it so you can make your own!

I wanted to show you how to make vintage tassels because they are so much fun. Not only are they fun to make but they are a great way to incorporate lots of your favorite vintage pieces! I use muslin shreds, fabulous laces, tiny craft pearls, and some fabulous vintage treasures to make these tassels beautiful. In the video below I show you exactly how I make these wonderful pretties!

creating vintage tassels

Creating Vintage Tassels

There are some craft projects that I come back to again and again; and each time I make them I love them just as much as the first time. This is definitely one of those projects! I love these tassels hanging on their own on knobs or lamp switches. I also love to incorporate them into other craft projects as a finishing touch. These tassels are a beautiful addition to any vintage lovers home!

creating vintage tassels

The supplies you need to make these tassels may be things you already have on hand. If you are like me (always on the look out for pretty laces and tiny vintage trinkets) you’re already half way to having a completed tassel. If you don’t have the supplies on hand though, no worries! What you need can either be found at your local craft store or in my shop. And the muslin shreds I use for this project are really simple to make yourself. I have a whole post about how to make muslin shreds if you want to learn how to make your own!

So many design options…

These tassels have so many options! You can make them big or small, intricate or simple, neutral or colorful. If you like the more rustic look then go for tea stained muslin shreds. If the clean look is more your taste then stick with the white shreds. You can have a specific theme like rusted bolts, nails, and springs. Or mix up your little trinkets and make it eclectic. Sometimes I like to add some bling with a small piece of vintage jewelry and other times I leave those off. It’s all up to you how you want to do these!

Vintage Tassel Supply List

  • Muslin shreds
  • Laces (vintage and/or new)
  • Tatting (if you can find it)
  • Seam binder
  • String of tiny craft pearls
  • Small vintage treasures to tie on (skeleton keys, cabinet keys, tags, rusted bolts, springs, pins/broaches etc…)
  • Vintage pieces for the top of the tassel (spools, knobs, insulators, dowels, etc…something with a hole in it that you can thread onto the top of your tassel)
  • Scissors
  • BBQ skewer (optional) for helping to thread your goodies on.

Vintage Tassel Instructions

  1. Start by deciding how big of a tassel you want to make. For the size I normally make I usually make my strips of material about 14″ inches long. This does not have to be exact though. I start with a handful of my muslin shreds and then add a couple strips of pretty laces and seam binder. I also add a couple strips of craft pearls. When you have all of your materials laid out together you’re ready to move on to the next step.
  2. Lay out your collection of materials horizontally. Now take a strip of lace and lay it vertically at the center under your collection. Now use the lace to tie your materials into a bundle. Trim any ends that you feel need trimmed.
  3. Now it’s time to add the top. Use anything with a hole in it (spools, insulators, etc.) and thread both pieces of lace through it. You can dress up your top piece if you want to or add a pretty knob on top of it. Whatever you want to do!
  4. Next, choose the vintage trinkets that you want to use. I usually use 3-4 but you can use however many you want. Take your trinkets and tie them to the bottom of separate muslin shreds.

The Wrap Up…

And that’s it friends! This is a simple project but the results are beautiful! using the different materials adds so much texture and depth to these vintage tassels. They are a lot of fun to create and even more fun to look at. I love this project and I hope you do too!

Looking for more decor inspiration? Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

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!

How to Make a Vintage Putty Knife Frame

by

I absolutely love heartfelt and handmade gifts. With Valentine’s Day coming up I thought I would share a loving gift idea with all of you. Today I’m showing you how to make a vintage putty knife frame and they are so special!

One of the things that I specialize in is helping people go through their vintage family treasures and decide how to display them. It is a privilege and an honor to be invited into someone’s home and treasures and I love every minute of it. I got the idea to figure out how to make a vintage putty knife frame when I found one of my own grandpa’s putty knives. You know I love all things vintage but I especially love pieces from my own family. I wanted to be able to display some of my grandpa’s tools and thought this was the perfect way to do it!

How to Make a Vintage Putty Knife Frame

These putty knife frames make a sentimental gift that is perfect for Valentine’s Day or any occasion. I made mine for myself (my family members don’t love vintage things like I do) but these would be wonderful to make for a parent or sibling. I loved going through our old family albums to select the photos I wanted to use. This project is very simple, the most time consuming part was narrowing down which photos I wanted to use.

The other thing you’ll need to find is a putty knife. You can ask to go through some of your Grandpa’s or Dad’s old tools. It’s so wonderful to use those if you can get your hands of them. You can also try finding the putty knifes at vintage markets. One of the knives I used for this project wasn’t vintage at all but one I found on my job site that had paint on it. To distress a newer putty knife just prop it up outside for a while and let it sit through a few rain showers. It will be rusted and distressed in no time!

Some Other Options…

There are a few other things you could add to these frames to dress them up too! I like the way mine are, simple and wonderful. But, you could also add some muslin shreds to yours or some buttons or keys. You could also frame the back of the putty knife with vintage lace or add some around the handle. There are so many ways you could go with this project to really make it your own!

Supply List

  • Aged putty knife
  • Old family photos
  • Old book page (or one you’ve aged with a tea spray)
  • Photo tags
  • Twine
  • Tea spray

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Select the photo(s) you’d like to use and photo copy them. Carefully tear the edges of the photo copies and the edges of your aged book page.
  2. Use paint brush to apply Mod Podge to the back of your torn book page and attach it to the putty knife. Next do the same thing with the photo copy.
  3. Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the top of both papers to secure them to the putty knife.
  4. Take your tags and spray them with a tea mixture to age them, label them with the personal information about the person or people in the photos. Then use twine to attach them to the handle of the putty knife.

The Wrap Up…

That’s it friends! This is a really simple project. You only need a few supplies and you will be on your way to the perfect gift for any vintage loving family member or friend! I hope you enjoy making these. Finding the photos and putty knives are the most fun part in my opinion. I have another suggestion too: if you have old family photos that aren’t labeled make that a priority project too. We never know when the members of our family who hold that information and the stories that go with it will pass on. That collective family memory is another priceless gift that you can give to one another!

Tami Loves Vintage…

My name is Tami Neff and I would like to thank you for visiting my website. I hope you found many unique items to inspire you.  I love bringing you found vintage items to use when creating your treasures.  I have picked some of the nicest greenery around for you to use in your decor.  Please stop back often as we are always adding new items just for you.

tami

Get in Touch!

phone    (740) 273 - 6693
 
email Tami Loves icon    contact@tneffdesigns.com

 
 

Connect with Us

Tami Loves Vintage