I love vintage postcards. I actually collect ones I find in antique malls that have writing on them. But, I also love to decorate with postcards. These DIY Vintage Halloween Ornaments are made with vintage Halloween postcards and images. This post contains affiliate links.
Some of these images I embellished to make them more Halloween-y. Others are actual vintage Halloween images.
I just love creating mixed media art like these vintage Halloween ornaments. These are printed images that are then decoupaged with Mod Podge.
Table of Contents
What do you need to make these DIY vintage Halloween ornaments?
They are made with plastic disc ornaments, which you can find at any craft store. These style of ornament come in two sizes. One size is about 5 inches wide and the other is smaller and about 3 inches.
In the free printable you can download, I have images sized for both the large and small disc ornaments. However, the images in this post are made using just the 3-inch ornaments.
Get the Files
Can kids make these vintage Halloween ornaments?
Yes! I recommend ages tween and up. My 10 year old loved making these ornaments with me.
How do you make these DIY Halloween Vintage Ornaments?
This craft is very simple, but nuanced as you’re essentially gluing a flat image to a slightly rounded disc.
First, remove all the metal ornament toppers and set them aside until the ornaments are dry.
Cut out the images from the printables. Take one image at a time and paint it with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
Now, carefully center the image on one side of the disc ornament. I start with the middle of the image and work my way outward using my fingers to gently flatten the image to the disc.
You will have some wrinkles. I try to keep the wrinkles away from the main image or the person’s face. Don’t worry because you can get most of the wrinkles out with your fingers, so they are at just the outer edges.
Take the paint brush and add a second layer of Mod Podge to the back side of the image, especially close to the edges. Then, use your thumbs to smooth out the image more. This gets most of the wrinkles out, and when you flip the ornament over and look at it from the other side, you won’t be able to see hardly any wrinkles if any.
With the larger images and the disc ornaments, sometimes the images go up a bit on the neck of the ornament. That is okay, it still looks really good from the other side.
Allow them to dry completely before adding the metal ornament toppers back on.
Finish your Halloween vintage ornaments with scraps of ribbon and tulle in Halloween colors.
You can hang them on a Halloween tree, or a creepy cloth hanging on the mantle. They also are really great spread over a Halloween tablescape.
Can you add glitter to these Halloween ornaments?
I tried it and DO NOT recommend it as really covers up the images.
If you do want to try it, I used Mod Podge spray sealer and sprayed a puff or two inside the ornament, added a little paper funnel to add about 1/2 teaspoon of glitter and shook it around and poured the leftover out.
More Halloween Crafts
- Make Halloween Glowing Eyes
- Halloween Surprise Balls
- Yarn Wrapped Halloween Black Cat Wreath
- Halloween Letter Art
- Skeleton Hand Sign
DIY Halloween Vintage Ornaments
Materials
- 4-6 plastic disc ornaments
- Mod Podge
- Vintage Printables
- Ribbon scraps
- Tulle scraps
Tools
- scissors
- paint brush
Instructions
Remove all the metal ornament toppers and set aside until the ornaments are dry.
Cut out the images from the printables. Take one image at a time and paint it with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
Center the image on one side of the disc ornament starting with the middle of the image and work outward using your fingers to gently flatten the image to the disc.
Some wrinkles are ok. Try to keep the wrinkles away from the main image or the person's face. You can get most of the wrinkles out with rubbing your fingers, so they are at just the outer edges.
Take the paint brush and add a second layer of Mod Podge to the back side of the image, especially close to the edges. Use your thumbs to continue to smooth out the image more.
If needed, the larger images sometimes go up a bit on the neck of the ornament.
Allow the ornaments to dry completely before adding the metal ornament toppers back on.
Finish by knotting pieces of scraps of ribbon and tulle in Halloween colors on the loop of the metal topper.