Unique Architectural Salvage DIY Vintage Christmas Ornaments

Ready to create unique vintage Christmas ornaments? Wait until you see these easy upcycled architectural salvage holiday decorations. I’ll show you how, with just a few simple steps, you can turn vintage salvage into stunning wood Christmas ornaments and decorations. I wanted a new look for my Christmas tree this year, and when I ran across some vintage spindles, I knew I’d found my inspiration.

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Easy Architectural Salvage Wood Christmas Ornaments

Y’all know that I love decorating vintage Christmas ornaments. When I found these chippy architectural salvage spindles, I initially only purchased a few. But once I had them home, the idea of making wood Christmas ornaments popped into my brain. Fortunately, they had not sold out, and I purchased more on my next trip to Wilmington. Plus, they had received these great crystals.

In addition, I had some other architectural salvage that I decided to make into other Christmas decorations to display around the farmhouse. Let’s take a look at the supplies needed to create wood Christmas decorations.

Thrifting with the Gals

Today’s post is part of our monthly series, Thrifting with the Gals. If you are new to our series, we are friends who share a love for vintage and thrifted decorating. We all live in different parts of the country, but we come together once a month to share thrift store shopping ideas and tips on decorating with your treasures.

Here are the Gals:

• Ann from Dabbling and Decorating finds her treasures as she travels between Vermont and Maine. She decorates both homes with so many vintage treasures.
• Robyn from Robyn’s French Nest loves to travel and bring her vintage treasure to her lovely Florida Home.
• Lora from Lora Bloomquist Create and Ponder is thrifting and picking up amazing roadside finds to decorate her home in Minnesota.
• I am from North Carolina and love filling my farmhouse and beach cottage with thrift store finds. I focus on budget-friendly decorating and DIY projects.
• This month our thrifting guest is Anna from Skylark House. We are so excited to see her collection of vintage cookie cutters and how she decorates with them.

Supplies

Here are the supplies I used for all the following projects. You can click the highlighted items for more details.

• Vintage Architectural Salvage Spindles
• Other wooden salvage pieces
• Vintage Chandelier Crystals
• Small eye hooks
• Elmer’s Glue
• Silver Fine Glitter
• Bottle Brush Trees
• Square Art Canvas
• Black Craft Paint
• Green Velvet Ribbon
• Wooden Craft Ball
• Gold Leaf Rub N Buff

How To Create Vintage Christmas Ornaments

I didn’t want to paint the spindles to destroy their integrity, but I felt they needed a little enhancement to sparkle on the Christmas tree. I also considered cutting them to make them shorter. The long spindle is 12 inches, and the crystal is 6 inches. But I just didn’t want to change their unique shape. So, upon further reflection, I decided to go big. Let me show you how I made the ornaments.

First, the spindles needed hardware to hang the vintage Christmas ornaments from the tree. I added a small eye hook to both ends. You may need to drill a small pilot hole to allow the screw to be added. Then, you can add a ribbon to the top and the crystals to the bottom. The crystals I used still had the wire hangers attached. If those have been removed or you use new crystals, you may need to add a small, lightweight wire for hanging.

Next, I wanted to enhance the ornaments without destroying the integrity of the architectural salvage, so I decided to add a touch of glitter to each one.

I used a small paintbrush to apply Elmer’s glue to sections of the wood Christmas ornaments. Then I sprinkled the area with a fine silver glitter.

Once the glue is dry, you can hang your vintage Christmas ornaments.

What do you think? Could I wear them as earrings? I guess they look better on the Christmas Tree.

The smaller spindles were also enhanced with glitter at the top and bottom, and they look stunning when mixed with the DIY vintage-inspired hot glue ornaments.

Architectural Salvage Christmas Trees

Once I had completed the vintage Christmas ornaments, I was on a roll and gathered more architectural salvage to create more decorations. I began with three chippy pieces to make Christmas tree stands.

I went through my collection of mini and bottlebrush trees to find something that would complement the wood base. Slipping the original stands from the wire tree trunk was easy, and Brad helped me drill some holes for the trees to fit into.

The trio of trees looks adorable on the entry table. Once Christmas is over, the trees can go back to storage, and the architectural salvage can be used in other vignettes year-round.

More Vintage Decorations

I also had a few wooden white finials that I’ve used to decorate with, but I updated one for an elegant Christmas decoration. It was simple to add Gold Leaf Rub N Buff over the finial and then a wooden craft ball to the top. The ball is covered with a gold leaf and attached with hot glue.

The wooden finial was added to the upcycled green tray with a touch of gold leaf around the rim.

I also have this fun architectural piece I’ve used on a shelf for several years. This year I want to display is as art. I am using a square art canvas, which I painted black. I’m also adding an old drawer pull to enhance the top of the canvas.

Since I don’t want to keep the architectural element on the canvas permanently, I’m using double-stick tape to adhere it. I used a drop of hot glue to attach the drawer pull.

The art piece is displayed on an easel in our guest bathroom.

Vintage Wood Christmas Ornaments

The 18-inch-long wood Christmas ornaments dramatically impact this year’s tree. Together with more antique and vintage-inspired ornaments, the tree has a unique nostalgic feel.

My love for chippy white elements paid off with the Christmas tree stands. All the projects came together, and I’m unsure which I like best. What is your favorite?

Related Articles

Click on the highlighted articles below for more details.

• A Magical Farmhouse Christmas Tour: Stunning DIY Decor
• 25 + Repurposed Architectural Salvage Ideas: Budget Vintage Decor & More

Video

Thank you so much for stopping by. But don’t rush off before you check out what my thrifting friends have been up to.

Anna – Vintage Cookie Cutter Christmas Ornaments / Robyn – Vintage French Christmas Decor Style

Lora – Vintage Shops Decorated For Christmas / Ann – How To Decorate A Dress Form For Christmas