diy

DIY Vintage Sheet Music Christmas Decor

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hark the herald angles sing hymn printed on a wooden block for a christmas decoration

I love Christmas carols. I really, really love them. And by Christmas carols, I mean hymns. (My favourite, by far, is O Come, O Come Emmanuel, which was written over 1000 years ago. Isn’t that amazing that we are still singing today a song from that long ago?) Like my Grandfather before me, I can often be found humming Christmas songs year round, for just as the Ghost of Christmas Present says in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, “We Spirits of Christmas do not live only one day of the year. We live the whole three-hundred and sixty-five. So is it true of the Child born in Bethlehem. He does not live in men’s hearts one day of the year, but in all days of the year.”

So on that note (pun definitely intended!) when I saw some cute Christmas hymn “artwork” blocks for sale in a shop a few years ago, my first thought was, “I love that” and my second thought was, “I could make that”. I didn’t make one right away, since I didn’t really have a place to put it, but I now have a display shelf so it was about time to try and see if I actually could make this craft (or if I was going to regret having not bought one).

supplies needed to make this craft

Firstly, I had to get some sheet music. I have two vintage hymnals, so I scanned two songs. I ended up going with Hark, The Herald Angels Sing because I liked the font more. However, I have added both of the printables here so you can use either one or both if you’d like to try this craft. The artwork is 6″ x 8″, since that was the size of the hymn pages, but there isn’t a border, so if you print it on 8.5″ x 11″ paper, you can make your margin as wide or narrow as you like.

hark the herald angels sing sheet music printable

o come o come emmanuel sheet music printable

I tried several kinds of paper, but 60 lb cardstock worked the best as it didn’t wrinkle and bubble. I tried a couple of other methods, one using linen textured copy paper wrapped around a thick chipboard/cardboard, but it wrinkled terribly when I applied the topcoat of Mod Podge. I also tried printing an “antiqued” background, but wasn’t in love with the colour. So in the end, I simply used cream coloured cardstock and printed the sheet music on it.

wood or chipboard as a base for your music

Once you have printed your hymn, it is time to figure out what you want to use as your base. I had a piece of 5/8″ thick wood left over from a project, and cut it to size with a chop saw. I used an offcut of wood because it was free, but I originally was going to use one of those wooden canvas style boards they sell at the dollar store. I also plan to make another one of these for my sister and I am going to use craft chipboard (also from the dollar store) so it will be a bit thinner. Regardless of which material you use, it will be the same method. After you’ve cut your piece of wood or chipboard, make sure to sand it smooth.

making sure the music is in the centre and marking it

Next, hold your paper with the hymn printed on it up to the light and centre it on the board. Once you’ve got it evenly spaced all around, then carefully lay it down and trace a line around the board. Cut the paper using a paper cutter or straight edge and knife. This way, you won’t end up with crooked placement.

colour matching the paint and then painting the board

Now it’s time to paint the board. If you print your hymn on white paper, this might be easier, but since mine was printed on cream coloured cardstock, I had to do a custom colour mix. It turned out a little bit more yellow than I needed it to be, so I did a couple of coats to get it just right. I painted both sides of the board so the wood will be sealed, but since only the edges of the board are going to show, I did just one coat of white on the face of the board.

Once the paint is dry, sand it smooth again with fine grit sandpaper (and do a little touch up if you sand through the corner!)

decoupaging the music to the front of the wood using mod podge

Brush a good layer of Mod Podge over the face of the board, making sure to completely coat the board.  Working quickly, place your artwork evenly on top. Using either your hand or an ink brayer, smooth the artwork from the centre out to the edge so there are no bubbles. Wipe off any Mod Podge that seeps out and then place a book on top to weight it and let it dry.

sanding the edges of the paper

Once it is dry, using fine sandpaper, sand around the edges to soften the paper line. If you need to do any paint touch ups (again I sanded through in one spot!) put the paint on your finger and lightly dab it, rather than using a brush.

using brown ink to age the edges of the paper

Now, to age the paper, I used some brown antiquing ink. Again, rather than rubbing the ink straight onto the paper, I put ink on my finger and then lightly rubbed it around the edges and across the corners for a softer “aged” look. Once you are pleased with the look, you are ready to topcoat.

applying a coat of mod podge to seal the top layer

Now for the final step, coat the top and sides with Mod Podge. Work quickly to get the Mod Podge across the paper and then go over one final time to even out the brushstrokes. Don’t go over it too many times or you will start to get ink runs. I started to get ink bleeding in one spot.
finished decoupaged artwork

Once the Mod Podge is dry, your Christmas hymn decoration is done! You can style it sitting on a shelf, like I did, or attach hardware to the back if you want to hang it on your wall. You could also put tiny eye hooks on the top and string a ribbon through to hang it from.

vintage sheet music christmas carol artwork sittin beside a mini christmas tree

And now, for one final tip: if you want to make this decoration dual purpose, you can print off an Easter hymn and decoupage it to the back of the board, so you can flip the board and use it for two holidays! This was my mom’s idea, which I am definitely going to do; I just haven’t decided yet which hymn to use.

Have you made many Christmas crafts this year? What is your favourite Christmas carol? 

christmas carol sheet music artwork details

Edited this post to add this picture of my sister’s hymn, below, which she hung from a velvet ribbon. 

joy to the world hymn on a board hanging from a pink velvet ribbon

Ps. and here’s a sneak peak of how I decorated this shelf for Christmas, which I will be sharing in my next post….

christmas carol artwork sitting on a shelf in front of a botanical artwork

Christmas carol decor styled on a shelf with a botanical painting and a candle

Building a Display Shelf for My Collections

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Creamy white wall shelf with vintage dishes and book collections displayed above it

I’ve always loved to thrift shop and collect antique items, with dishes and antique books being two of my main collections. I’ve inherited pieces, and I like to hunt for new ones, but I’ve never really had a good space to display them. Of course I have always put my antique books on my bookshelf, but some of them have such beautiful covers, I wanted to put them facing out. And while I would love a china cabinet I’ve never had space for one. Even though earlier this year I got a new room for my office, I still don’t have space for a china cabinet without having to get rid of another piece of furniture. The antique dresser I restored a couple of years ago is much more useful to me for storage, so a better option for my office space was to put a hutch on the top of the dresser. I couldn’t find a piece that was the correct dimensions, though, so the next option was to build something to fit. I’m definitely not a carpenter, so this isn’t a tutorial, but here’s what I did.

picture of a display shelf and buffet in a vintage handyman magazine

This woodworking project, which was my last building project before the weather turned cold, had been on my To-Do list since May, back when I painted my office, and I finally finished the shelf on the last day of October! I really like the look of vintage kitchen plate racks, such as this one from a 1989 Family Handyman magazine. Originally I also toyed with the idea of doing a scalloped side, but in the end I decided that I wasn’t skilled enough to do that many curves. I settled on doing straight sides with curves at the bottom and top to mimic corbels. That way, it would look nice hanging above the black dresser, but wouldn’t look out of place since I wasn’t going to paint it black to match.

Firstly, I had to get wood. I already had two laminated shelf boards and got a long board from my parent’s garage re-organization, so only had to purchase one more laminated shelf. I’m so glad that I was able to salvage most of the wood, since that one piece cost $20! I know if I’d got rough lumber it would be cheaper, but since I only had to buy one board, the easy route won out. Also, since I was painting and not staining, it didn’t matter if the wood pieces were different species.

salvaged wood and drawing out curved shapes on graph paper

Next, I drew out several corbel shapes on graph paper before settling on this shape which had no sharp angles that would be hard to sand. Here is the plan I drew out on graph paper.

scan of plans for the shelf with dimensions

My dad ran the pieces through his thickness planer so they would all be 5/8″ thick. Each shelf is 40″ wide and 8 5/16″ deep. The top shelf support is 2 1/2″ tall and the two bottom shelf supports are 1 1/2″ tall (that was the dimensions of the offcuts from the shelf pieces, so I just made them work). The total width of the finished shelf is 41 1/4″. The height of the curved side pieces is 43″ and they are 8 1/2″ deep (the shelves are set back 3/16″ from the edge). The top of the dresser is 46″ wide and the base is 42.5″ wide, so I made the shelf to be a little smaller than base of the dresser so it wouldn’t look top heavy.

groove for plates on the shelves

Once each of the pieces was cut to length, we cut a channel out of each shelf on the table saw for a plate stand.

cutting pieces of wood with curves with the jigsaw

Then, I put the project on hold for over a week because I was nervous about trying to use the jigsaw to cut out the curved design and messing it up. (Especially since the last time I used it, it hadn’t gone very well!) However, we got a new blade for the jigsaw and when I did a test cut, it seemed to be easier to handle. So, the moment of truth came and I cut it….and they turned out so great! My first piece was OK and then the next one was better, and then the third one was even better, and then the fourth one was the best. I should have started with some scrap pieces first.

clamping the boards together and sanding the pieces

I used a palm sander for the sides of each piece. For the curves I used a mixture of belt sander, spindle sander and hand sanding. I discovered that while I’m not bad a cutting a curve, I am not very good at sanding one. I had such a hard time holding my pieces evenly and ended up with ridges. I clamped my pieces together so at least the facing pieces mirrored each other, but I still had to finally just say, “it’s good enough”.

constructing the shelf on the table and filling holes with wood filler

Next, I debated about constructing the shelf with dowels or a rabbet joint, but in the end I just did screws. My dad helped me (OK, basically he constructed it and I held it square!) We used a nail gun to tack each piece in place, and then drilled holes and counter sunk screws to hold the shelves. Each shelf is held by 3 screws, and then the shelf supports have 3 across the top and 2 across the bottom two.

Then, I filled the holes with wood filler and sanded and sanded and sanded until they were smooth.

painting the shelf with mineral fusion paint

Finally it was time for paint. I used mineral fusion in the colour Raw Silk, because it’s almost the exact colour of my walls. Since it wasn’t going to match the dresser, I wanted it to blend into the wall rather than stand out. Once it was painted with three coats, and sanded with 400 grit between coats it was time to hang it on the wall.

display shelf on a crooked wall with gaps

And here is where I found out how crooked my wall is! There is a gap along the side at the top and bottom, and we had to put shims behind the shelf supports, but it’s sturdy.

shelf mushroom buttons over top of the screw holes

As a finishing touch, I put wooden mushrooms over top the screw holes. And then I styled the shelf that very night. I’ve been waiting for months (years!) so I was so excited to be able to put out my beloved collections. Starting with my antique books and dishes, and then adding in a few seasonal touches such as little fabric pumpkins and branches. It’s now time to think about changing out the decor for Christmas, which I am so excited about.

display shelf painted white and styled with antique books, dishes and knick knacks

display shelf curved detail at the bottom

And so that’s how we made this shelf for my office. I am still at a bit of a loss of what to put on the dresser beneath the shelf. I have my printer there right now, because it’s so large and that is really the only place it can go, so that kind of ruins the look, but I haven’t figured out what I should put on the other side…. so we’ll see what I come up with.

And that’s the last “messy” building project for this year. I have a couple of other small projects I can work on indoors, but otherwise it’s time to turn my attention towards my winter hobbies like Christmas crafts, sewing and scrapbooking!

Do you have any collections? Do you have a place to display them? Have you ever tried your hand at building something from scratch?

top of wooden display shelf styled with vases and books

Social Saturday | December 16 (Christmas Crafting)

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mini handmade book ornament with a plaid cover and red ribbon hanging in the christmas tree

Is everyone in the Christmas spirit yet? I wasn’t really feeling like it this year, because we’ve had unusually warm weather and no snow, but when the calendar turned over to December, I decided to start making some Christmas crafts to put me in the mood and it worked! I’m hoping to share my Christmas decorating next week, but today I wanted to share some of the crafts I’ve been making over the past few weeks.

First up, I decided to make my own Christmas crackers for a party my mom and I hosted. All of the crackers at the store had stupid prizes that no one would want (and would honestly just end up getting tossed in the trash) so I decided to craft my own with things that people would actually want! I settled on making ornaments. Originally I was going to do several kinds of ornaments: mini trees, and toques and stockings and some of these books, above. However, after I made a couple of these book ornaments, (each with different fabrics for the covers) I decided I had to make one for each cracker, because they were just so cute. That may have been an error of judgement, because they took soooo long to make (11 books in total!) but I loved how they turned out and they were a big hit at the party.

homemade christmas crackers with stamped kraft paper and red ribbons, and a mini stocking made of green toile with lace at the top

Here are what the aforementioned crackers looked like! I bought the “snaps” from this shop on Etsy. I also was inspired to sew a tiny stocking after seeing the stocking advent calendar Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone put up. I just made one for now, but I might make more later on.

folded paper stars and an embroidered felt gingerbread ornament

We also made some more paper stars! I made a few different kinds this year, and I really like how these turned out. We followed this tutorial, but added another piece to make it a six pointed star. I also made this sweet little felt gingerbread ornament for a friend. I would definitely like to make some more in the future as well.

cardboard quilled paper stars/snowflakes painted gold and hanging in a window at night

Finally, my favourite crafts of the year, are some quilled style cardboard snowflakes or stars. To make them, you simply fold a cardboard tube lengthwise and cut it into strips about 3/8″ wide, like this. With these small pieces you can fold them and arrange them into many different star shapes. I made some of these a few years ago with toilet paper tubes, but painted them each individually white, which took forever to do. I didn’t love the look of the plain cardboard colour, because the colour of the tubes I had wasn’t kraft coloured. However, this year I had the idea to spray paint them gold and I love how they turned out. The look like brass, not cardboard, and using spray paint was so much easier than painting them each with a brush.

So those are the things I have been enjoying over the past few weeks. Next week our plan is to do some Christmas baking, which will really bring on the holiday cheer!

Have you made any Christmas crafts yourself this year? Have you tried any of these ones? 

Easy DIY Recovered Hatbox with Fabric or Wallpaper

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stack of hatboxes with a straw hat sitting on top of them

When you collect hats, you soon discover you also need a way to store them. Back in the day, this used to be easy since most hats came in a hatbox. However, most of my hats, either vintage or new, have not come in a conveniently sized box. I used to display them by hanging them on the wall or placing them on hat stands, (I rotate my wardrobe for fall/winter and spring/summer, and only put out the current season) but they always got so dusty. I now only keep out a couple of my really wide brimmed hats that are too large to fit in boxes and keep all the rest in labelled boxes. (I use hanging chalkboard tags so I know at a glance what is inside)

About 10 years ago, round boxes were a very popular trend for storage boxes, and you could find them readily at stores such as Michaels and Home Sense, but at some point people realized that round boxes don’t make the best storage boxes for things other than hats! It’s too bad that I didn’t stock up at the time, because it’s almost impossible to find round boxes now.

black and white printed hatbox before re covering

Anyways, to get to the point of this post, every once in a while I do still come across a hatbox at the thrift store. They are usually in very ugly colours, or have seen better days. However, it is very easy to re-cover a box with either wallpaper or fabric, so that’s what I did to transform this one!

Supplies You Will Need

a hatbox with a lid

fabric or wallpaper of your choice

Mod Podge or other decoupage medium

tacky glue to secure edges, optional

masking tape

knife and scissors

ruler and measuring tape

foam brush to spread the glue/decoupage medium

lace or ribbon for the lid, optional

supplies needed for recovering the hatbox sitting on top of the desk

I used an unbleached canvas for the outside of my hatbox, and some Art Nouveau wallpaper I had leftover from this antique dresser refinishing project. I chose the canvas because it is neutral and doesn’t clash with the other boxes I’ve done with vintage map printed wallpaper. The thickness of this fabric did lead to a few challenges, but I still like how it turned out.

First, the key to covering a box, is that you need to take into account the thickness of the fabric or wallpaper, which will add bulk. Depending on how tightly the lid fits onto the box already, 2 layers of fabric may add too much width for the lid to fit on afterwards. If you need to make your box a little bit smaller to fit the lid, then remove the wall of the box from the bottom by sliding a blade between them. Cut a vertical line along the seam.

cutting the box open to make it smaller

Next, cut a piece out of the side/ring of the box, to make the box circumference smaller. I took out 3/8″ for this box. My canvas fabric was pretty thick, so if you have a thinner fabric or paper, you will probably not need to remove quite that much. Take out a small sliver, and then figure out how much you need to remove by wrapping the top edge with the fabric and testing it. Once you’ve made the side wall smaller, tape it back together with masking tape.

making the box smaller

Then, trace the new circle onto the bottom piece and trim away the excess so the bottom will fit back inside the smaller box walls.

cutting off the excess cardboard and placing the bottom back into the hatbox

Before you tape the box back together, take a moment to trace the circle onto your fabric and lining pieces. It’s much easier to use the deconstructed ring to trace your lining pieces first, rather than after you’ve reassembled it into a box. (I know this because I didn’t remember to do it this time!)

Trace one inside circle for the bottom lining of your box.

Trace one inside circle for the bottom fabric of your box.

Trace one outside circle onto the lining for the lid.

sanding the outside of the hatbox and then reassembling it

Tape the bottom of the box back to the ring by wrapping tape around the outside, notching it and folding down the tabs. Don’t worry about taping the inside of the box, because the fabric/wallpaper will reinforce that seam.

One more step, if your box is plastic coated, is to sand it lightly so the glue will adhere better. Also, if your box has a bold pattern, like this one did, you may want to check to see if it will show through your fabric. If it does, then cover the box with a coat of white paint before you move on to the next step.

covering the outside of the box

Cut a piece of fabric the length of the circumference of the box plus 1″ and the height of the box plus 1″.  Using Mod Podge, glue the fabric to the outside of the box, folding under the raw fabric edge where it meets. If the Mod Podge won’t hold it in place, you can use glue to secure the edge.

notching and glueing edges

Cut triangle shaped notches into the fabric all the way around and fold the tabs down gluing them to the bottom of the hatbox.

covering bottom of box with wallpaper

Take your bottom fabric piece, or you can do as I did and use a piece of neutral coloured wallpaper, and glue to the bottom of the box to cover the tabs/raw edges. Smooth the bottom, and weight it to hold in place so it won’t curl as it dries.

covering top edge of the box

Turn the box back upright, and simply fold the fabric to the inside and glue in place. Use clothespins if you need to hold it in place until it dries.

lining the inside of the hatbox

Measure a piece of your lining the exact length of the circumference and height of the box wall. Now take your piece and mark a line 1/2″ from the edge. Cut notches up the line. Fold the notches along that line. Coat the inside of the box with Mod Podge and then place the lining on the inside of the box walls. Once you’ve pressed and smoothed the lining and notches into place, you can place your bottom lining circle over top to finish the box.

Now the lid can be done it two ways. I used a thick canvas fabric, so I had to cover the top of my lid with this method, below. If you’re using wallpaper or thin fabric, cover the lid using the same method as for the box- covering the sides first and then using the lining and top circle to cover the notches and raw edges.

If you’re using a thicker fabric like me, then continue with this method.

covering top of the lid

Trace your lid onto the fabric, and then add 1/2″ all the way around. Attach your fabric piece to the top of the lid and then notch and fold down the 1/2″ along the rim of the lid.

Cut a piece of the fabric the length of the circumference of the lid + 1″ and the height of your lid plus 1″. Glue this piece around the outside of the lid to cover the notches. I cut my top edge very precisely since it was going to be exposed and not folded under. If you have a piece of ribbon the width of your lid, this would be a nice alternative, but I didn’t have a coordinating ribbon.

outside edge and lining of lid

Now trace your lid onto your lining and add 1/2″ all the way around. Notch the edge of the circle in the same way you did the fabric for the top. Glue in place on the inside of the lid and then fold your fabric to the inside covering the notches with the fabric.

inside of lid

Mine ended up a bit messy where the two meet since I left it with the raw edge, because I didn’t want to add any more bulk. If you have a thinner fabric you will be able to cover those raw edges much more neatly, or you could even cover them with a ribbon.

adding lace to outside of the hatbox lid

My fabric also ended a bit lumpy on the outside, since the notches showed through, I glued a piece of lace over the top to disguise it. I really like how it looks so I might even add lace or ribbon around the lid as a detail in the future, even if I don’t need it for disguising purposes!

hatbox finished with the lace around the lid

And then with that, your hatbox is done. Once you let it dry for 24 hours or so, you can start using it.

How do you store your hats? Do you like to have them out on display or tucked into a hatbox? 

finished fabric covered hatbox sitting on an antique dresser

finished fabric covered hatbox sitting on an antique dresser. The lid is off and you can see a hat inside.

Upcycled Christmas Card Gift Tags

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diy wrapped gifts with upcycled christmas cards turned into gift tags

I love Christmas cards! Whether I make them myself, or buy them (usually the year before on-sale after Christmas) I love picking out a sweet design and mailing them to friends and family far away. Traditional Christmas cards seem to be a dying tradition, with many people opting for photo cards or e-cards these days, but I do still receive a few old fashioned cards in the mail.

There are some really pretty card designs, and I always hate to recycle them after the holidays, so last year I saved all of the cards I and my family received, and upcycled them into gift tags to use this year! I love wrapping gifts, and it was nice to be able to reuse the cards, coordinating the wrapping papers and ribbons to go with each tag. This was such a quick and easy DIY, it’s can’t even be called a tutorial, yet I did want to share the idea with you, in case you also hate to toss greeting cards!

supplies needed for the craft all laid out on the cutting mat: templates, blades, hole punch and greeting card

I used my Creative Memories oval templates and blades to cut the tags. This is the cutting system I got a long time ago…maybe 18 years? After all these years, it’s still going strong and I love it!

lining up the template and oval cutting guide

Centre the template onto the artwork and cut it out.

lining up cutting system template and blade onto old greeting card

Punch a hole in the top of the card, and then string a piece of twine or ribbon through. I used the Fiskars small holepunch. A few of the cards had writing on the back, so I cut out an oval the same size out of green paper and then glued the two ovals together to cover it up.

Punch a hole in the top of the card and thread a string through

That’s it! As I said, not really a tutorial, but more of an inspiration for gift wrapping. I know Fiskars makes some large tag punches, so that could work if you don’t have oval/circle cutters. Or, if you don’t have any punches, you could cut the fronts of the cards off, measure a 45 degree angle across the top corners and cut them into traditional tag shapes.

I wrapped all of my gifts this year in reused kraft paper bags and wrapping paper. I also reused old pattern paper as tissue paper.

finished upcycled christmas card turned into a gift tag

I even wrapped one gift in an old parchment paper document. And all of the ribbons were saved from previous years as well…these are very zero waste packages!

Do you like wrapping gifts? How did you wrap yours this year?

zero waste christmas wrapping

kraft paper wrapped gift with twine and an upcycled card tag

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