Tutorials
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...
Read moreThese 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 ...
Read moreVintage 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...
Read moreHow 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...
Read moreSpun 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 ...
Read moreMake 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...
Read moreMaking 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...
Read moreSpun 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...
Read moreRetro 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...
Read moreVintage 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 ...
Read moreSnow 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 ...
Read moreVintage 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...
Read moreTissue 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 ...
Read moreMake 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...
Read moreDIY 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...
Read moreGiant 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...
Read moreAssembling 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...
Read moreIn 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...
Read moreSimple 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 ...
Read moreTutorial: 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...
Read more1920s 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...
Read morePainted 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...
Read moreTutorial: 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...
Read morePaper 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...
Read moreTutorial: 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...
Read morePaper 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 ...
Read moreTutorial: 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...
Read moreTutorial - 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...
Read morePaper 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...
Read moreTutorial: 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...
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