Vintage Creative Holiday Indulgences

Soon after Labor Day I begin hoarding holiday craft and decorating ideas much like a squirrel hoards acorns.  This ritual has its early roots in my childhood when my sister and I would gather around the dining room table, elbow deep in found objects, glitter and glue, our eyes big as saucers as we followed our mother's instruction on how to create the most magical handmade Christmas decorations, all created from simple objects found around the house.  Fast forward to today,  one will still find me up to my elbows in glue and glitter, surrounded by objects that have lost their utilitarian value,  indulging my vintage holiday creativity.

One of my favorite projects is re-purposing vintage tart tins into unique tree ornaments. Each little tin provides a blank canvas to embellish.  Follow these simple instructions for creating holiday ornaments from vintage re-purposed tart tins:

Materials

• Assorted sized pastry and tart tins.  I can usually pick them up for cents at yard sales and thrift stores.
• Embellishments.  I love using old rhinestone buttons for a bit of bling, broken jewelry pieces, ink stamps with holiday motifs and German glass glitter.  German glass glitter is made from finely ground glass and very sparkly, unlike regular glitters.  Fair warning, once you use it, no other glitter will ever measure up.
• A good bonding glue.  I prefer E6000 for bonding heavier items
• White glue such as Elmers for gluing glitter
• Ornament hangers

 Instructions

•  Hammer a hole thru the tin with a sharp small nail to create a hole to hook the ornament hanger
• Glue on your embellishments and glitter

Recycle, re-purpose,  reclaim or salvage, whichever buzz word you wish to call it, indulge your creativity by making old stuff new this holiday season