Archive: Vintage

December 16, 2011

Vintage Bulb Wreath

The Thompson Family blog shows us a great Christmas wreath idea using retro colored bulbs. I love this look!

December 15, 2011

Project: Sparkling Thread Spool Ornaments

The staff here at Craftzine must be hitting the eggnog a little to hard, because with 12 days until Christmas, we decided we would all swap ornaments with each other! That meant quickly creating a handful of stunningly beautiful ornaments, befitting my fellow Craft bloggers. Behold, these vintage thread spool ornaments- they are quick, sparkling, and of course, crafty.

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October 24, 2011

How-To: Vintage Spool Necklace

Who says that craft tools can't be beautiful? When Mollie from Wild Olive came across this lovely antique spool of thread, she couldn't help bringing it home. But, instead of displaying it on a shelf or hiding it away in a drawer, she used her lovely vintage find to create a unique necklace that she could wear anywhere!

Are your vintage spools collecting dust? Head over to her blog to see the complete tutorial, and make a necklace of your own!

October 1, 2011

Hanging Wooden Display Shelf

LOVING this DIY thermos display shelf by Ashley from Design Sponge. As a vintage lover and collector, I have a few vintage thermoses that would look so sweet on one of these.

August 5, 2011

Psychedelic Rocking Camel

Former CRAFT author Lindsay Brown recently acquired her childhood camel rocker from her mother's house. I like how the curves on the camel body are portions of concentric circles, drawn with the help of a nail and string, radiating out from the camel eye.

Psychedelic rocking camel by B.C. artist/novelist Jim Willer, handmade in the late 60s/early 70s. It was one of a series (our cousins had one too). When we were kids it used to have a blue wooden knocker on a wire that hung inside and clopped when you rocked, but the noise drove us crazy so we removed it (so did our cousins). As you can deduce from the small hole in the centre of the eye, Willer used a nail and string to make a simple compass with which he drew the concentric circles (they radiate out from the eye, quite accurately).

August 2, 2011

Taxidermy Die-Hard Dioramas

Who doesn't love a little anthropomorphic taxidermy? These dioramas from lovedtodeath actually pay tribute to animals through the lost Victorian art form dating from the 1850s. The attention to detail with period furnishings, miniature artwork and even replaceable lighting within the frame make these pieces pretty special, with an edgy steampunk flair. Rest assured, the animals used in these pieces died of natural causes, but are made immortal with each lovingly crafted scene.

June 9, 2011

Stop Motion Film Starring Buttons

Stephanie of Bonkers About Buttons points us to this most delightful stop motion short film with a cast created almost entirely of buttons.

Russian animator, Anastasia Zhuravlena created & directed this fabulous short film dedicated to all the buttons lost in the metro. The film features performances by all kinds of magnificent buttons; round ones, squares one, wooden ones, plastic ones, colourful ones and toggles. Starting with a rush-hour scene, where the trains are made from zips, the story unfolds of button love found on the escalator, love lost and love rediscovered. There are also some great little scenes of a button taken ill and then the usual drunken buttons on the last train home!

I particularly love the skein of embroidery floss that's apparently a tour guide. This little film is worth watching several times, as you'll find something new with each viewing.

April 18, 2011

How-To: Spring Doily-Sleeved Top

By Jessica Wilson

It being spring and all, I find myself window shopping more and more. Living with most of my belongings in boxes and on a super tight (aka zero dollar) budget, I have found that creativity is a must for adding some fling to my spring wardrobe. Thank goodness for my magic fabric bin that unveiled an armload of store bought and thrifted doilies. So, grab some scissors, a doily or two, and a glass of powdered drink mix if you like, and hop along for this nifty T-shirt revamp.

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April 12, 2011

How-To: Vintage Doily Easter Basket

By Jenny Ryan

Right now our minds are on upcycled projects and the Easter holidays, so why not attempt a how-to that involves both? Read on and find out how to turn vintage doilies and assorted sewing box scraps like ribbon and buttons into a ridiculously sweet bird's nest-inspired basket you can use to hold candy or anything else your heart desires.

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March 29, 2011

Seriously Stellar Supermarket Sarah!

It is impossible to resist the charm of Supermarket Sarah. If you're not already familiar, Sarah Bagner's "walls" started in her home as an alt online shopping experience, and have since bloomed into collaborative public spaces, overflowing with inspirational eye candy. I've included some of my favorite walls after the jump. And for all you Londonites, you can just meander over to Selfridges for a real-world peek. Meanwhile, I'm getting all kinds of ideas for a rotating display in my own house ...

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March 25, 2011

Heartbreak Sweater

Harry Nilsson is rocking this bandage-pattern knitwear! This retro look is inspiring to me; I want to make one on my knitting machine.

March 11, 2011

I Dream of Jeannie-Themed Bathroom

Debbie Schoop-Wilson, our friend and colleague over in the accounting department, shared with us some photos and the story of how she transformed her plain old bathroom into a fabulous I Dream of Jeannie-themed room, inspired by Jeannie's plush retreat inside her bottle. Tramaine de Senna, a MAKE/CRAFT alum and talented artist, helped Debbie bring her idea to life by painting the walls with a pattern, palm trees, and Jeannie's bottle.

My husband and I love everything vintage. We have vintage cars, clothes, collectibles, and we've decorated our house 50's style. So it stands to reason that we also love older TV shows. One of our favorites growing up was I Dream of Jeannie.

I love the scenes that show the inside of Jeannie's bottle. It's beautiful and yet comfy. I turned to my husband one night and said, "Wouldn't it be great to have a room decorated like the inside of Jeannie's bottle?" Several weeks later it came to me - why not decorate the bathroom to look like that?

I have a co-worker who is an amazing artist, and just knew that she would be able to make that vision come to life. I knew in my head what I wanted it to look like, and after one meeting with her, I knew that she understood it. She made a template out of cardboard from an empty cereal box and used it to make the designs on the "jeweled wall." Everything else was painted freehand, including the wall with the sandy beach, palm tree complete with a washed up Jeannie bottle, and two little black palm trees in the distance.

My husband used the cardboard templates that were used for the jeweled wall to make shelves out of 1/4" plywood. I painted them gold. Groupings of Jeannie-type bottles that I have collected sit on the shelves. I also painted a wooden frame gold to frame the picture of Barbara Eden. The finishing touch was to hot glue vintage jewels onto the purple wall. I already had several pieces and found some broken vintage jewelry to add to the wall. The wall is not complete, as I am still searching for more pieces.

I made curtains out of gold fabric and some purple braid. I am going to hang a mini chandelier from the wooden valance above the window. Some great purple and pink towels, and my vision is complete! My husband and I love it and think it looks tasteful and whimsical.

Tramaine, busy painting!

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