How To Make Vintage Paper Ornaments
Vintage-style paper ornaments are relatively easy and inexpensive to make. Adults and children of all ages can make these ornaments together and customize the look to express their creativity. Adapt these ornaments to represent any bygone era. Use a variety of paper and craft supplies to create your ornaments, and make them as simple or detailed as you like with various collage and decoupage techniques.
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Things You'll Need
- Sturdy card stock
- Scissors
- Vintage-style papers
- Vintage-style paper motifs (e.g., cherubs, bells, sepia photo images, etc.)
- Decorations (doilies, tissue paper scraps, foil scraps, tinsel, etc.)
- White glue
- Hole punch
- Pinking shears (optional)
- Narrow ribbon
Instructions
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Cut out the basic shape of your ornament from sturdy card stock--a circle, square, triangle, star or any other shape you like. The size is up to you, but consider where the ornament will be displayed. If you want to hang it from a tree, then keep the ornament on the small side.
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Select one or two vintage-style papers to use as the background for your ornament. Use antique-looking sheet music, regular brown paper or any classical patterns with muted colors. Paint the card stock shape with white glue on one side, cover it with the paper and trim the excess paper around the edges. When the glue is dry, repeat for the back of the shape, either with the same paper or a different kind.
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Select one or two vintage motifs for the center of your ornament. Cut them from appropriate greetings cards or gift wrap, print clip art from your computer, or draw something if you are artistic. For a Christmas ornament, you have many options--choose nutcrackers, angels, birds or Nativity images. Place the cut-out motif(s) over the ornament but do not glue it/them yet.
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Take some small pieces of tinsel, doilies, foil papers, pretty tissue paper etc and arrange them around the motif. Rearrange the items until you are happy with the look. You could add a border of tinsel around the edges, tuck a piece of doily underneath the motif so it pokes out around the edges, use foil star-shaped stickers or whatever strikes your fancy.
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Glue all of your motifs and trims to the backing. When the glue is dry, punch a hole in the top of the ornament with a hole punch. Trim around the outer perimeter of the ornament with pinking sheers to create a decorative edging (optional). Thread a length of narrow ribbon through the hole and tie it into a loop for hanging the ornament.
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Tips & Warnings
To make regular paper, whether plain or patterned, look more “vintage,” brew some strong tea or coffee, allow it to cool and soak the paper in it for a few minutes. Carefully remove the paper when it is saturated and allow it to dry.
Scrapbooking supply stores are a good source for both the backing paper and motifs.
For a different-looking background, tear the backing paper into narrow strips by hand and glue them to the background so that they overlap.
