Vintage Light Bulb Wreath How To

Vintage Light Bulb Wreath How To

I’ve been buying old light bulbs for several years because…I like the colors and shape of them. They are so much prettier than the LED bulbs we use today. But when you have about 500 of them it’s time to do something with them. 

I had seen wreaths made out of the bulbs on Pinterest but had not tried to make one. So it was time. There really was not a DIY instruction anywhere so I studied the photos and went at it. I was pretty pleased with the results so I made another. By the time I got to the second one I think I have a fairly good way to make them. Here’s the step by step instructions. 

First separate your bulbs by color and if needed (mine were filthy) clean with wipes. 

Take a wire wreath form and wrap with gold or silver garland.

The thicker the garland is the better. I purchased my form at the Dollar Store. The garland I collected at estate sales as well as my light bulbs.  I tie my garland and hot glue it to the metal wreath. Attach a heavy duty wire to the top of your wreath form and be sure to secure it firmly. The light bulb wreath is quite heavy by the time you are finished. 

Using a hot glue gun, start attaching the bulbs one by one to the outside of the wreath. I squirt hot glue on the garland and on the bulb. I lay this first row down with the point of bulb facing out. I keep the colors in order but a random color arrangement would be fine. 

Next put a second row of light bulbs for the middle row, laying them down on the previous row and going in between the bulbs on the first row. 

For the last row, insert the row of bulbs one at time and stand them up. I continue until I have the inner row complete. If you have some areas where a bulb seems to be too exposed, just cut small bits of the same garland you used to wrap the wreath and glue them in those spaces. 

I think three rows of these larger bulbs looks great.

 If you use smaller bulbs you may need to add more rows. If you make one be sure to share it with me on Facebook - Goodson Vintage Treasures or on Instagram at Goodson Vintage Treasures. Or just email it to goodsonvintagetreasures@gmail.com. 

Remember to buy what you love and maybe you will figure out what to do it later. 

Hot Vintage Collectibles for Christmas

I don’t know if you have noticed but people go crazy at Christmas. I think they have help back from buying all year and now the year is coming to an end they feel they can let go of a bit of cash. Here’s what is selling like firecrackers going off on the 4th of July.

Anything with a truck and a Christmas tree. This includes signs, real vintage trucks, cloche with a truck inside, pillows, shirts and anything else you can create. Red trucks sell the best with turquoise right behind.

Along with the truck and tree goes anything buffalo plaid. Shirts, signs, pillows, ribbons, scarves, hats all sell with buffalo plaid.

Blow molds sell. If you follow my blog (sorry I haven't posted in a while) you know I love blow molds. Blow molds, for those that don't know, were those big, hard plastic Christmas yard decorations that were made in the 70's -90's. You know the ones you had when your kids were small. Or for the younger crowd, when you were a kid and as you grew older you were embarrassed for your friends to see them in your yard. I put two blow molds in the window at the store where I have my booths and in two days sold them both.

Vintage Christmas is in. Shiny Brite ornaments, plastic tree toppers, Putz houses and  plastic Santa's from the 60's all are in demand. Putz houses are cardboard houses made in the 50's and 60's that were gathered together to make a village. Kind of a pre Department 56 Christmas village. Most were made in Japan.

Another hot idem is shadow boxes and Christmas scenes filled with vintage Christmas trinkets, ornaments, original knee elves (not the guy that sits on the shelf and tells Santa on you), and Christmas cards. Aluminum trees from the fifties atomic age are really popular too. I've sold two already this month and it's not even December yet.

Another hard to find but fast to sell item is vintage Christmas ceramics.  Vintage ceramic Christmas trees sell to folks that recall the one their granny had. Santa punch bowls and cups also are great sellers.

I'm a lover of Vintage Christmas. When I go to estate sales the other dealers I see often call me the Christmas Lady. Gee I hope they aren't reading my blog. Remember, buy what you love.  Have a Merry Christmas season and enjoy all it offers. Go to the parades, the plays, the singing Christmas trees, go riding and see the lights, make those cookies, drink that egg nog and spend time with family.

Tart Tin Ornaments

Just a few of my many tart tins. 

For the last year I have been purchasing vintage tart tins at estate sales. I have quite the collection. I am attracted to their shapes, textures and colors. I knew I wanted to recycle them and create something new from something vintage which if you follow my blog you know I love to do. The first thing I came up with was tart tin Christmas trees which I wrote about in an earlier blog, Tart Tins. You can read it here.  But I still have lots of tart tins. So I searched my favorite idea site, Pinterest and discovered some cute ideas for tart tin ornaments. I have no idea if they will sell but I love how they turned out. Here's how I made them.First start with some vintage tart tins. I bought mine at local estate sales. Next I gathered some cute vintage items from my Christmas goodies stash.

Vintage Light Bulbs

My one really well organized area....my Christmas stash

Wooden Ornaments

I have bottle brush trees, old wooden ornaments, glass balls, flocked Santas, reindeer, bells, garland, scrabble letters and more.


 I think the tins look great with snow glitter. First I spray the tin with adhesive spray. I like to do this outside because the spray has a terrible odor. Then I sprinkle my glitter into the tin. I try to do 10 to 12 of these at a time to let them dry.

After they dry I use a combination of hot glue and white glue to attach my decorations. I like the hot glue for a fast hold and the white glue for a longer lasting secure hold.


I use a punch tool to put two holes in the top of the tins to put silver elastic cord through to hang the finished tins. This punch is an awesome little tool.

I found some cheap round stickers at the local dollar store so I created some vintage graphics with them from Graphics Fairy which is a great site for vintage graphics.

Here are some of the finished tins. 

I think these turned out awesome. If you don't have any tart tins you could use old cookie cutters as an alternative. If you try this please share your finished products with me as I'd love to see them. Happy Junkin. Remember, buy what you love.

Christmas Configuration Boxes

Several folks have asked me how I make my Christmas configuration boxes (Shadow Boxes). So here is step by step directions.

First I purchase a vintage shadow box. I have found these at yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores. I'm lucky because a friend bought me two that are shaped like a house at a thrift store.

Next I gather the ornaments and Christmas decorations I want to put in the shadow box. That will help me determine the size of the divisions. I use a Dremel tool with a saw blade to remove the dividers I do not need. I always remove dividers from my configuration boxes because the spaces are just too small.

These are some of the items I have collected year round for this project.  I look for old Christmas light bulbs, vintage knee elves, old bells, old seals, putz houses, bottle brush trees, flocked Santas, plastic reindeer and more. 

After removing the dividers I cover the inside of each square in scrapbook papers that will blend with the item I am going to place in that space. I use white glue using a brush to spread it smoothly over the area. I use an exacta knife to cut the paper. You could also use a paper cutter. I cover the back and inside of each cell. 

I also put vintage garland and Washi tape on the inside edges of some of the cells to add more detail.

Next I put the ornaments and decorations in the cells. I use removable glue dots, white glue and even some hot glue to place the pieces in the cells. 

Next I cover the edges of each cell with narrow Washi tape. I love Washi tape but it is not the stickiest tape I have ever used. I brush white glue on the edges before placing the tape on it. 

Last year the local one dollar store had the cutest glitter cardboard Christmas ornament words. I bought as many as I could find before they got gone. I place one of these on top or in a cute place on the box. Here's my final piece. I really love it.