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Vintage Christmas Matchboxes! Holiday Papercrafting

Vintage Christmas Matchboxes! Holiday Papercrafting

Vintage Christmas Matchboxes! Holiday Papercrafting

Vintage 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...

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How to Make Nostalgic Waxed Moravian Stars

How 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...

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How to Make a Pine Cone Snowman on Skis!

How to Make a Pine Cone Snowman on Skis!

  Today's craft is very much based on some wonderful 1950s skiing figurines! There were many types- some were elves, some were snowmen, some had spun cotton bodies, and some had pine cone bodies. ...

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How to Make Spun Cotton Angel Ornaments

How to Make Spun Cotton Angel Ornaments

It's the holiday season! I love making angels of all sorts. This variety is made using 20mm doll heads paired with 60x45mm spun cotton cones, and they have little loops added to the tops of the hea...

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New Craft Kit! Vintage Elf & Toadstool Decoration

New Craft Kit! Vintage Elf & Toadstool Decoration

It's the holiday season! I have a great new craft kit this year.  If you like a holly jolly vintage Christmas you'll love making this elf with whimsical toadstools! You'll just need a low temp gl...

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How to Make a Foraged Witch Broom for Halloween

How to Make a Foraged Witch Broom for Halloween

This is a super easy project, and nearly free!  Treat yourself to an autumnal nature walk, and bring along a bucket or a box and some snippers to collect some items.  The materials you collect wil...

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Victorian Figural Ornament Made with Roving and Cotton Batting

Victorian Figural Ornament Made with Roving and Cotton Batting

Hi ho, and Merry Christmas!  Earlier this year I shared a start-to-finish spun cotton snow baby figural ornament tutorial using cotton coil or medical cotton.  Today, I'm doing a version using rovi...

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Snow Cap Christmas Ornaments - Embellishing Mercury Glass Balls with Paint and Glitter

Snow Cap Christmas Ornaments - Embellishing Mercury Glass Balls with Paint and Glitter

Today I am dressing up some thrifted glass ball ornaments with a festive snow pattern. I like the brushed-on snow design of Shiny Brite ornaments from the 1950s, so that is the look I am going for...

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Make a Spun Cotton Santa!

Make a Spun Cotton Santa!

This is a variation of a project from my book Spun Cotton Crafts. Get your copy here. In my book I share four different 'recipes' for crafting vintage elves.  Today I'm making a bearded elf, but d...

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How to Preserve Fall Leaves with Glycerin

How to Preserve Fall Leaves with Glycerin

Through all my years of crafting, I'm surprised I never tried preserving fall leaves with glycerin before! So when the fall colors hit their peak here in the Pacific Northwest, I tried it out.  The...

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Making a Halloween Doll with a Vintage Hanky!

Making a Halloween Doll with a Vintage Hanky!

In the last tutorial I shared how to make clay Kewpie doll faces from a vintage figurine.  You can find that project here. Today, I'm using the face to make a little 1920s ghost doll for Halloween!...

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Making Clay Doll Faces from a Vintage Figurine

Making Clay Doll Faces from a Vintage Figurine

I recently found a really cute figurine, kind of Kewpie style, and I wanted to use the face for making some Halloween dolls!  I share this technique for making craft faces in my book Spun Cotton Cr...

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Snow Baby Project Demo - Making a Spun Cotton Doll from Scratch

Snow Baby Project Demo - Making a Spun Cotton Doll from Scratch

Today I'm excited to share a video demonstration of one of the projects in my new book, Spun Cotton Crafts!  The Snow Baby from page 106 is an easy-to-make spun cotton doll.  The design is not com...

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Make a Crepe Paper Flower Instead of a Bow! Vintage Style DIY Gift Topper

Make 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...

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Making Vintage Style Clothespin Dolls! 1960s Kitsch Craft Project

Making 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...

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Vintage Christmas Pine Cone Pixies! Fun DIY Holiday Craft

Vintage Christmas Pine Cone Pixies! Fun DIY Holiday Craft

Here's a fun project to use up those extra pine cones you've collected!  These adorable little pixies can sit on the edge of the mantel or a windowsill, or can be arranged on the presents under th...

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Retro Paper Christmas Candles made from Cardboard Tubes and Paper Rolls!

Retro 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...

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Winter Cottage Snow Globe Ornament - Sweet Christmas Craft

Winter Cottage Snow Globe Ornament - Sweet Christmas Craft

In this project I am creating a snowy winter wonderland inside a glass snow globe ornament to hang on a Christmas tree.  The empty glass ornaments come in round globes, bell shapes, and domes. To m...

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Vintage Craft: Pine Cone and Felt Victorian Carolers

Vintage Craft: Pine Cone and Felt Victorian Carolers

These pine cone and felt carolers are 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 a...

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Braided Bread Dolls with Hard Boiled Egg Faces

Braided Bread Dolls with Hard Boiled Egg Faces

Today I am creating a pair of lovely braided bread dolls inspired by a baking project I did with my mother when I was small. I can't remember now what kind of bread we used then, but I do remember...

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Vintage Craft: Tissue Paper Festooning! DIY Easter Garland Tutorial

Vintage 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 ...

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Snow Day Ski Friends - Vintage Style Spun Cotton Figures

Snow 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 ...

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Beautiful Acorn Ornaments with Pine Cones and Glitter - DIY Christmas Craft

Beautiful Acorn Ornaments with Pine Cones and Glitter - DIY Christmas Craft

To welcome the fall season I thought it would be fun to share my technique for making these sparkling and gorgeous acorn ornaments!  I made and sold these in my shop for years, and they were a bes...

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Making a Retro Glam Agate Slice Epoxy Resin Table

Making a Retro Glam Agate Slice Epoxy Resin Table

Every summer I try to learn a new creative skill, or make something with materials I've never used before.  Making this agate slice table with epoxy resin was an ambitious project, and I wasn't rea...

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Spun Cotton Spring Birds with Coffee Filter Bonnets and Ruffs

Spun Cotton Spring Birds with Coffee Filter Bonnets and Ruffs

I love combining spun cotton with pipe cleaners. It immediately makes a decoration look vintage!  For these happy spring birds I picked out paint colors that matched some pastel pipe cleaners, and...

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Vintage Style Spun Cotton and Paper Lantern Ornaments

Vintage 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...

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Fall Pumpkin Crafts: Turn a Pumpkin into an Autumn Fairy!

Fall Pumpkin Crafts: Turn a Pumpkin into an Autumn Fairy!

In the spring I made crepe paper flower fairies to welcome the season, and so with fall approaching I thought I would do a variation using pumpkins!  I think they would make such a darling centerp...

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How to Make a Sugared Orange Spun Cotton Ornament

How to Make a Sugared Orange Spun Cotton Ornament

  In this tutorial, I am sharing my process for turning a plain spun cotton ball into a beautiful orange ornament.  Spun cotton ornaments of this type were popular in the 1920s and 30s, and fruit t...

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Make a Crepe Paper Flower Fairy - DIY Craft Tutorial

Make 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...

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DIY Paper Shamrock Corsage for St. Patrick's Day

DIY 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...

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How to Dye Pipe Cleaners for Crafts - DIY Tutorial

How to Dye Pipe Cleaners for Crafts - DIY Tutorial

Extreme crafters rejoice: you can dye your own pipe cleaners!  I was wanting some pipe cleaners in various pastel shades for my spring craft projects, but I was disappointed by the limited selecti...

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DIY Celestial Lighted Witch Hat Headband

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 ...

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Macrame Plant Hanger - Craft Tutorial with Easy Macrame Knots

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...

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Basic Macrame Knots: Simple Square Knot Tutorial + Adding Beads

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 ...

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Giant Paper Flower for a DIY Wedding Backdrop - Craft Tutorial

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...

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Plants on Pink Easter Eggs - Painted Spun Cotton Eggs

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...

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Christmas Craft Tutorial: Make a Retro Cake Pan Diorama!

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...

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Tutorial: Retro Spun Cotton Sugar Bell Ornaments

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...

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Make Minty Bleached Bottle Brush Trees for Christmas!

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...

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DIY Snow Globe Ornaments - Fun Christmas Crafts

DIY Snow Globe Ornaments - Fun Christmas Crafts

  Published November 2, 2016 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.  Y...

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How to Make Spun Cotton Pumpkins! DIY Fall Craft Tutorial

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...

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Mossy Fairy House DIY Tutorial

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...

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

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...

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Speckled Spun Cotton Easter Eggs DIY Tutorial

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 ...

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Assembling a Wax Flower Hair Comb Tutorial

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...

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Making a Wax Flower Pick DIY Tutorial

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...

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Wax Flowers DIY Tutorial

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...

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Simple Paper Flowers DIY Tutorial

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 ...

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Tutorial: Retro Silver Bells

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.  ...

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Pipe Cleaner Craft: Christmas Garland Tutorial

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...

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