Holiday Magic
Transform everyday household goods and vintage wares into whimsical decorations.
Take away novel ideas for turning household goods and vintage wares into whimsical decorations.
Yes, we need a little Christmas right this very minute.
Raid your kitchen cupboards or seek out kitchen and houseware collectibles to combine with craft-store components for distinctive decor for your holiday home.
Glassware Globes
Miniature winter wonderlands glisten from underneath stemless glassware. For these upcycled icy vignettes, glue decorative knobs to the bottoms of old glasses, and turn them upside down atop dessert plates, candleholders or compotes onto which you’ve placed little holiday figurines.
Canning Sieve Christmas Tree
Flip a vintage cone-shaped canning sieve upside down and it instantly takes on a tree shape. Remove the sieve’s handle and attach various metal scrapbooking charms all over the sieve to serve as ornaments. Glue the charms to tiny metal brads and poke the brads through the holes in the sieve to secure the charms in place. Or, simply glue the charms directly to the sieve. Build the base of the tree by screwing a wooden spool to a starshaped tart pan; glue in place for more stability. Insert a dowel into the spool and set the sieve atop the dowel. Tap a nail through the hole in the tip of the sieve and into the dowel to secure. Glue a metal star to the top for the finishing touch.
Lunch Box Diorama
Bring the season to life in a vintage plaid lunch box. Set the lunch box on its end with the door open. Cut pieces of black scrapbook paper to line the back and inside edges. Use a white colored pencil to scribe your holiday wish and then attach the paper with double-sided tape. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the bottom and then cut a slightly larger piece of white felt to cover the cardboard. Cut foam balls in half and tuck them underneath the felt if you’d like to create hills. Arrange a little glittercovered cabin, brush trees, a snowman, sled and packages on the display, gluing them in place. Finally, adhere scrapbook snowflakes all around.
Stocking Kitchen Caddy
Swap out your everyday utensil holder for this festive one. Hang a Christmas stocking from a rolling pin by stitching two long loops of ribbon to the inner sides of the stocking and then sliding the ribbon loops over the rolling pin handles. Tie a wider decorative ribbon to the rolling pin, and hang your holiday utensil holder on a cabinet door or wall.
Cookware Garlands
These kitchen garlands are easily made with raffia ribbon, wooden spoons, red and green cookie cutters and wooden beads. Cut and drill the spoons yourself, but then let the kids string the actual garlands to make it a family affair.
Cookie cutters come in such fun shapes that they practically beg to be turned into delightful garlands! Start by threading raffia ribbon through a large wooden bead about 12" from the end, then run the raffia through a cookie cutter and back up through the bead. Snug the bead up against the top of the cookie cutter. About 5" farther, repeat with another bead and cookie cutter, and continue threading on beads and cutters until about 12" from the end of the raffia. Be sure to alternate the beads and cookie cutters so you have red beads against green cutters and vice versa. Thread a single bead onto each of the raffia ends, make a loop in the raffia, and then thread the ends back through the beads and knot them to form hangers.
Wooden spoons strung together with colorful wooden beads form another merry garland. Trim the handles of several wooden spoons so each spoon measures 7½". Next, drill a small hole from the side through each handle just above the bowl. Thread a spoon onto raffia ribbon and slide it to the middle of the raffia length. Thread on a natural-colored bead, a solid-colored bead and another natural bead. Then, slide on another spoon and three more beads. Continue to fill out each side of the garland, alternating the color of the middle bead as spoons are added, and ending with several alternating beads. Thread a single bead onto each of the raffia ends, make a loop in the raffia, and then thread the ends back through the beads and knot them to form hangers.
Soda Crate Calendar
Since it’s already divided into 24 compartments, an old-fashioned soda crate is an ideal piece to transform into a vintage-style Advent calendar. Turn the box on its end so the small cubbies face outward. Adhere circular wood bingo numbers under each compartment, making the top of the box be number 25. You can often find bingo numbers at craft or hobby retailers online. Fill each cubicle with a treasured family ornament, and set aside special family time each day for one member of the family to take out the ornament for that day and place it on the tree. Or, if you’d rather have your box fill up to create a nice display by Christmas, keep the ornaments in a decorative basket next to the wooden box, and every day, place another ornament in a cubby until the box is completely full by December 25.
Shining Swag
Create a small, sentimental banner to grace a chair back, mantel, mirror or window.
Materials
• Medium kraft round metal-trim gift tags
• Pencil
• Red fine-point metallic marker
• Green fine-point metallic marker
• Small paintbrush
• Craft glue
• Red glitter
• Green glitter
• Thin decorative ribbon
Instructions
1. Select a type font for lettering and print out “Merry Christmas” or other holiday phrase at desired size.
2. Trace a letter in the center of each gift tag. 3. Plan on alternating the colors of the letters to recreate a vintage feel. Outline each letter in appropriate marker.
4. Using a small paintbrush, coat inside the letter with glue and add the matching color glitter. Let dry.
5. Trace around the letter’s edge with the opposite color marker, tracing the red glitter letters with green marker and the green glitter letters with red marker.
6. Tie your finished letters onto a thin decorative ribbon, spacing them evenly.
7. Arrange the knots so the tags will lie flat.
8. Tie the swag onto the back of a chair or mantel with bows at each end. The 2017 issue of Country Sampler Christmas Decorating (see the ad on page 47) is currently available where
Country Sampler is sold or through our website, www.samplermagazines.com. The 2014, 2015 and 2016 issues are also available on the website while supplies last. H