Holiday Starlets

One of the things I love about the Golden Age of Hollywood is all the fun staged publicity photos.  Here are some of my favorite Christmas themed shots:

| Ann Rutherford |

| Betty Grable |

| Carole Lombard |

| Bette Davis |

| Gene Tierney |

| Judy Garland |

| Lana Turner |

| Anne Baxter |

| Joan Crawford |

This last one isn't a publicity shot, but I just had to include it!

5 things to do with vintage wrapping paper

I have a major fascination with pretty much all vintage paper items.  Something about the graphics really draw me and thus, I have surmised a fairly large collection of things like old cards, wrapping paper, and pamphlets.

I love old wrapping paper and thought I would share 5 ideas on how to use it in crafty projects to display it rather than it sit in a box.

[image source]

1.  Frame it / use it as a photo mat | see a great tutorial HERE

2. Make a card with it

3. Use it for a pocket mirror or pin back button

4. Cover a book in it | would make a great display piece at Christmas time

[image source]

5. Make a Christmas bunting

What other craft ideas do you have for scraps of wrapping paper?

Free Vintage Gift Tags

Got all your Christmas shopping done?  Starting to think about how you're going to wrap your presents?  Then look no further!  The rest of this week I'm posting all about gift wrap.

Today I am sharing a free download for vintage gift tags.  The tags can be printed out on plain paper or you can print them out on THIS inkjet label sheet.

Download the Vintage Christmas Gift Tags

All the tags were created using vintage graphics from cards and other ephemera.  The tags are formatted to fit a regular 8.5" x 11" paper.  Please feel free to link to this page, pin this page, or direct your friends here.  Please do not re-post, re-distribute, or sell this download in whole or part anywhere else.

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26 & COUNTING

Vanessa is the sweet girl behind the blog 26 & Counting.  This lifestyle blog follows Vanessa's journey to explore life through a positive and healthy mindset.  Check out her regular feature, Bright Monday, a great way to start off your week!

Holiday Sale & Last Day for USA Shipping

I'm having a little holiday sale in the shop right now!  

Get your last minute Christmas presents now at a discount!

Also, make sure your get those presents in time for Christmas!

Last day for domestic orders is December 20th.

Vintage Christmas Craft Week: Bottle Brush Tree Santa Planter

I just love these bottle brush tree planters I have seen all over pinterest lately and decided that this year I would finally make one.  This is a great project to use damaged or less than perfect vintage Christmas findings for.

What You Need

-vintage Christmas planter, I used a bank that had been broken and glued back together

-bottle brush tree, I thrifted this later one (probably from the 70s), but you could used a new one from the craft store

-decorations, I used a pick that I got at Michaels last year and some mercury glass beads

Step 1

Unscrew your tree from the base (if the base won't fit into the planter or in this case, the slot opening for the bank, otherwise the base will probably fit into the planter)

Step 2

Place your tree into the planter.  You might need to elevate it depending on how deep your planter is.  Secure with glue.  You can opt to forgo the glue if you want to be able to separate the tree from the planter. 

Step 3

Decorate!  I chose to not glue anything in so I can change the design and add to it once I find the perfect little Christmas ornaments.

This was a very quick and cheap project, since I thrifted pretty much everything except for the pick, which I got on clearance last year at the end of Christmas.  For now, this will do, but I am definitely on the hunt for some smaller ornaments to really fill it up like the ones pictured above.

Vintage Christmas Craft Week: Vintage Felt Owl Ornament

I love owls and when I thrifted this guy a few years ago, I knew he would be easy to recreate.  Many of these came in kits and you can make it 3D like mine above or you can just cut one and make a flat one.

Free Vintage Felt Ornament Pattern Download

| vintage felt ornament lot via eBay |

The pattern is formatted to fit a regular 8.5" x 11" paper.  Please feel free to link to this page, pin this page, or direct your friends here.  Please do not re-post, re-distribute, or sell this download in whole or part anywhere else.  Pattern may be used to make items for sale, but please give credit to Livin' Vintage.
I'd love to see any creations you come up with!

Vintage Christmas Craft Week: Felt Christmas Table Runner

A few years ago, a dear reader sent me this vintage felt table runner as a Christmas present.  I absolutely love it and wanted to create a pattern to share it with all you!

Free Vintage Felt Christmas Table Runner Pattern Download

The directions are on the pattern, but it's pretty easy.  Pick out your felt, cut the runner and pieces, glue, embellish, and enjoy!

Please feel free to link to this page, pin this page, or direct your friends here.  Please do not re-post, re-distribute, or sell this download in whole or part anywhere else.  Pattern may be used to make items for sale, but please give credit to Livin' Vintage.

If anyone makes one, I would love to see it!

Vintage Christmas Craft Week: 1930s Crepe Paper Bells

I've been wanting to do a week of tutorials for a while now and what better time than Christmas to work on some fun crafting projects?  All this week, I will be sharing some holiday themed how to's, patterns, and some retro Christmas crafting project ideas.

To start the week, I am sharing this nifty idea for hanging bells made from crepe paper, circa a 1930 Dennison party book.

9 Vintage Calendars for 2014

Looking for a calendar for 2014?  

Why not try a vintage one from one of these years:

1902  |  1913  |  1919  |  1930  |  1941  |  1947  |  1958  |  1969  |  1975

I really like this one from 1947 and this 1930 one, both found via etsy.

Make a Santa's Sleigh Cookie Centerpiece this Christmas

When I saw this in a 1956 issue of Woman's Home Companion I just knew I had to share it with you all.  Isn't it darling?

1956 St. Nicholas Cookie Centerpiece

The article suggests cutting out the templets and tracing them on cardboard to make it more stable when cutting the designs out around the cookie dough with a knife.  While there was only the sleigh and reindeer templets provided, tree and santa cookie cutters are fairly easy to come across.  Actually, I am willing to bet that all these cookie cutters could be sourced, eliminating the need to use the templet.

If anyone makes one of these, I would love to see it!  Comment with a link to your photo and if I get enough, I will share them all in a future post.

A Brief History of Christmas Lights

The history of Christmas lights begins at nearly the conception of the light bulb itself.  In 1882, Edward Hibberd Johnson, the VP for Edison Electric Light Company,  got the idea to string red, white, and blue lights together and placed them on his tree which was on display in his parlor, visible to 5th Avenue in New York.  While locals weren't too impressed, one Detroit reporter was and the story made it into the Detroit Post.  In 1895, Grover Cleveland decked out the White House Christmas Tree in electric lights -- the first president to do so -- calling attention to this bright and colorful alternatives to candles.

Americans were still slightly skeptical about the safety of these lights and they were pretty expensive too.  However, in 1917 after a tragic NYC Christmas tree fire, Albert Sadacca converted his family's white novelty lights to colored bulbs.  This lights were safe for home use and Sadacca went on to form NOMA, the largest Christmas light manufacturer in the world.  By 1920, Christmas lights had become more affordable leading to a gain in popularity and more creations of light up displays.  

Christmas lights really took off post war, with the introduction of bubble lights, blow molds, and all things Kitschmas!  We've certainly come a long way from candles!

*all images were found via a google search*

Christmas on Main Street

One of my absolute favorite part of the Christmas season is seeing all the small town decorations on Main Street.  I have several "main streets" near my home and they all do something a little bit different.

There's just something about twinkling lights in the dark skies that makes it really feel like Christmastime!

Aren't these photos wonderful?  They were all found with a google search and let me tell ya, that's quite the rabbit hole to fall down on a snowy afternoon!


Tomorrow, I will be sharing a brief history of Christmas lights and more fabulous vintage pictures!