How to Make Old Fashioned Christmas Decorations from Vintage Cards

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Looking for ideas for old fashioned Christmas decorations to make? These vintage homemade ornaments are fun to create and a great way to use old Christmas cards.

If you love old fashioned Christmas decorations to make and are looking for unique handmade Christmas ornaments with that nostalgic charm, you’ll love today’s project. These vintage style Christmas ornaments were made from real old Christmas cards and bits of lace and fabric I’ve collected over the years.

You know that moment when you open an old box from the attic and the scent of Christmas past comes rushing out?

A tangle of ribbon. A bit of lace. A stack of cards with handwritten wishes that make you whisper, “They just don’t make them like this anymore.”

That’s where today’s story begins.

Because this Christmas, I wanted to create something that felt like those memories — something simple, handmade, and touched by time.

So I gathered a little pile of old Christmas cards, scraps of fabric, bits of twine, and a handful of buttons that have lived a few lives already… and I made my own old fashioned Christmas ornaments.

They’re perfectly imperfect: torn edges, frayed threads, and just enough sparkle to catch the glow of a twinkle light.

If you’ve been dreaming of vintage style Christmas ornaments or looking for unique handmade Christmas decorations that tell a story, pull up a chair and pour a cup of cocoa.

Let’s make something wonderful together — one paper scrap, one memory, and one vintage Christmas ornament at a time.

How to Make Old Fashioned Christmas Ornaments from Vintage Cards

For these vintage style Christmas ornaments you will need mostly scraps of paper en fabric, and some vintage Christmas graphics. You can use real vintage Christmas cards, new Christmas cards with pretty vintage scenes, or you can look online for images that you like and print them out on cardstock.

I started out with thinking up a bit of a theme. Like my base is going to be this piece of canvas, and I’ll add mostly fabric scraps. Or I have this paper star made from vintage music paper what background would go with that.

Gather some materials and lay them out together to see how they match. If there is harmony among the materials go with it. Otherwise keep changing them out until you like the collection.

Materials for Unique Handmade Christmas Ornaments

The materials I used for making these unique handmade Christmas ornaments are very basic. Gather some papers like a bit of cardboard for the backing, pages from old books, music paper, pretty (vintage) Christmas cards or photographs, and some old Christmas cards you can cut the good luck wishes from.

Then rummage through your stash and collect bits of fabric, ribbon, lace, burlap, and twine.

For the extra decorations I used buttons, some broken pieces of jewelry and some evergreen Christmas twigs I cut from a garland.

If you have the following in your general craft supplies gather them too

• sharp craft scissors
• craft glue (preferably a fast drying one)
• pinking shears
• circular punch

And now you are all set to start putting it all together.

DIY Tutorial: Vintage Style Christmas Ornaments Step by Step

Step 1 – Gather your supplies

Collect a few scraps of cardboard or thick paper for the base, pages from old books or sheet music, vintage Christmas cards, lace, ribbon, buttons, twine, and little trinkets. These will become your old fashioned Christmas ornaments.

Step 2 – Plan your design

Lay everything out and mix textures until you like how it looks. Don’t worry about perfection. Rough edges and worn paper give that vintage style charm.

Step 3 – Build the layers

Glue your background pieces first, then add your favorite images and embellishments. Keep layering until it feels right, then remove one thing, simple always shines best.

Step 4 – Finish and hang

Trim the edges with pinking shears or add stitching for texture. Glue a loop of ribbon or twine to the top, and your unique handmade Christmas ornament is ready to hang and admire.

Making these diy vintage inspired Christmas ornaments is all about having fun in the process. Working with old and tattered materials means there is no need for perfection. In fact making sure the edges are a bit rough is all the better. Tear your bits of paper to size, ruffle the edges of your fabric, crumple the paper you use for the base and hide your lack of cutting skills by using pinking shears.

Simple layer it all together and when you like the look glue it all together. Keep adding little details until you are satisfied.

And then subtract one thing. Trust me you usually need to take away one thing you added to really finish it off without overcrowding your design.

I used plain old craft glue for just about all off the assembling of the cards. With the exception of the last one. I stitched some vintage pipe cleaners to the edge of the card with a blanket stitch.

And there you have it. A fun way to make Christmas decoration out of paper and to use old vintage greetings cards. You’ll never have to wonder again what to do with old Christmas cards that are too beautiful to throw out.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS? SAVE THESE VINTAGE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT IDEAS TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!

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