Free 1966 Easter Bunny Craft Printable

Need something to keep the kids busy tomorrow?  This 1966 Funny Easter Bunny project from Jack and Jill magazine is the perfect craft to keep the kids busy this Easter. 

FREE 1966 EASTER BUNNY PRINTABLE

I had so much fun putting this guy together digitally!  But then again, I loved cutting stuff out and gluing to together as a kid too.

Easter Headlines from 1952

Have you decided on what hat you'll be wearing this Easter?  If so, then you're probably starting to think about different hairstyles conducive to hat wearing.

Easter Headlines 1952

This pin curl set from 1952 is designed specifically for wearing hats, but also looking equally pretty sans hat.  The pin curl set also includes how to comb out and style the look.

While the look is best on short hair, I could see this working on longer tresses too.  Either pin under to create a faux bob or comb the bottom back U section as instructed for the back of the bobbed look.

*This is a free download provided by liven-vintage.com.  Please do not redistribute, repost, or sell this download in whole or part*

3 Hairstyle How To's from 1969

I just adore late 60s hairstyles, so I am really excited to see what direction Mad Men moves this season in regards to hairstyles.  From all the studio stills that have been released, it seems that Peggy's character is moving towards less big bouffant hair and more straighter, flatter styles.  Conversely, Megan and Betty, seem to still be rocking the big hair, both wearing some of my favorite looks from the era.

Here are three 1969 hair setting patterns sure to make even the most modern girl look her swinging' 60s best.

Get Megan's Look

I think this setting pattern work work well with hot rollers too!

Get Betty's Look

This is one of my absolute favorite 60s hairstyles and January Jones wears it SO well!  It's a perfectly polished late 60s politician wife look.

 Plus! A Super Easy Late 60s Look

While she wasn't in much of last season, this is a style I could totally see Trudy wearing during Season 7.  Her character tends to wear her hair half up and this is a much more updated look compared to last season.  This is look I could also see Sally wearing.  Regardless, it's a great simple style that is easy to accomplish with either a hot or cold set.

I'm most looking forward to seeing where they go with Joan's hair.  From the beginning, we see her look dominated by a classic up do, and while I don't think much will change, I am hoping for some more winks and nudges to late 60s up dos this season.

Click on any of the images to enlarge.  All setting pattern images found here.

Looking Towards Spring: a gardening tray from the 1950s wordless workshop

A few years ago, I bought a HUGE lot of vintage magazines from a local estate.  In the lot were several "What to Make" magazines put out by Popular Mechanics and it wasn't until the other day when organizing all my periodicals that I rediscovered these gems.

The wordless workshop was a regular feature, depicting a ridiculously easy project that required no written direction to make.  This feature seems to echo what many vintage seamstresses are very familiar with: the lack of detailed directions due to the general knowledge most people possessed back then.  Like this feature, many vintage sewing patterns have little construction direction, banking on the fact that most people already had training in these areas.

This gardening tray, while lacking directions, still seems to be a relatively simple project even by today's standards.  Now if it can just stop snowing so I can start planning my spring garden!

Storing Vintage Magazines

Storing collections in a fun creative way can often be a challenge.  My vintage magazine collection is bursting at the seams and I needed a way for me to store, organize, and somewhat display my collection without taking up too much room and still being able to access them easily.

In walked these vintage fruit crates.  I was in the basement of an estate sale and there was a giant pile of all different sorts of these crates at $2 a pop.  At the time, I wasn't sure what I was going to use them for, but they were stupid cheap and I've aways lusted after fruit/veggie crate decals.

These crates work great for storing magazines.  They are designed to hold the weight of heavy produce, so they can withstand the weight of magazines.  You can also fit a whole year of a title all in one crate and label the end, so it's easy to find the magazine you want when you need it.  What I also love, is these are stackable and pretty compact -- fitting well under a bed, in a bookcase, next to a desk.  Plus, because of their cute graphics, they are pretty too!

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?

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: 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.

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.

Make a Turkey | a vintage craft for the kids

Jack and Jill, 1963

I recently acquired some vintage Jack and Jill magazines and this little gem was among them.  It's a perfect craft to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving morning while you are busy in the kitchen!  And, as the mini blurb above suggests, you can decorate the Thanksgiving table with your kids' creations.

There's still time to take the Etsy Shopper Survey and have a chance to win $25 to Livin' Vintage Shop!

How To Get Custom Tags on a Shoestring Budget

One of the things I love about doing shows it meeting my customers in person and reaching new people.  Some people believe that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers, meaning that a great majority of sales come from repeat buyers.

I've noticed at shows that many people buying your goods don't often take your card which has all of the info on where to find you outside of the show.  In order to capitalize on turing these customers into repeat buyers, I decided that customized tags was the way to go.  However, I didn't (and still don't) have oodles of extra money laying around to have custom tags printed.

So what was my solution?  

Investing in a custom stamp.

Places like vistaprint.com (where I got mine) and fedex.com offer custom stamps starting at just $10.  I opted to get the self inking kind so the stamp is portable and can be utilized easily on the go.

This small investment provides a big bang for your buck -- something all us small business owners and thrifty gals alike can appreciate.  The ink pad can be replaced for a small fee and the stamp itself can be used on a lot of other things besides just your hang tags.  I use mine on receipts, paper bags, etsy orders, etc.  

Buying tags is a necessary part of doing shows, you're already spending the money on the tags, so why not invest another $10 or $20 for custom tags that will direct your customers to your online or brick and mortar -- reaching more customers and more traffic to your site.    

Freebie Friday: Retro iPhone Case Insert

As mentioned last week, here is the Livin' Vintage reader exclusive free printable retro iPhone insert!

  

Depending on your printer, you might need to resize.  If that's the case, the image should be 4.5 X 2.25 inches.

*this is an original vintage image and is being shared here for your personal use.  it may NOT be used for any other purposes, including being sold in anyway*

How to Make a Retro Phone Case

I had a few requests from one of my Lately posts that shared the retro iPhone case I made.  This is a super quick, easy project that will certain add that extra retro flair to your vintage outfit.

Here what you need:

1. vintage paper clippings 

I have a bunch of scrap vintage magazines that have the covers and multiple pages missing, so I don't fee bad cutting into them.  You could also scan in the images and print, so you don't cut into your magaizne.

2.  clear phone case

I found mine at Joann Fabrics.  Find some online HERE and HERE

3. pencil/pen

4.  scissors 

Step 1

Find an image you like and see how your insert will work.  My iPhone case came with these inserts, but you could easily make one of your own by tracing the outside of the case and the hole for the camera.

Step 2

Trace around the insert.

Step 3

Cut out the image.

Step 4

Place your new retro insert in the case.

I'd love to see what you come up with if you make one too!

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Don't have vintage images, but want to make your own?  Starting in September, I will be offering a slew of vintage graphics and images for instant download in my shop.  In the meantime, I will be offering a reader exclusive free iPhone insert here on the blog.  Check back next week for the freebie.