Different Ways to Use Vintage Ephemera
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Vintage advertisements, greeting cards, board game pieces, playing cards, photographs, seed packets… there are so many different types of retro ephemera! Old paper products are pretty affordable and the possibilities are endless for how to use them. Here are my absolute favorite ways to use ephemera.
Display Using Flower Frogs
I love using old flower frogs to hold up my ephemera (You can see them holding vintage seed packets in the photo above). I have around 20 flower frogs that I use all over my house to display vintage paper. Flower frogs are great because you can use them year-round and switch out what you display with each season. You can purchase vintage metal flower frogs on Etsy at this link.
Garland
All you need is some string and tiny clothespins to make an adorable garland! I made a rainbow garland with retro Candyland playing cards. Check out my blog post 10 Easy DIY Garland Ideas for inspiration.
Or for a touch of nostalgia, hang retro Christmas cards! To buy your own vintage greeting cards for every season check out this link.
Create Collage Art
You can make so many different types of collages with ephemera. Whatever your style is, you can make it happen by creating custom artwork out of vintage paper. I have a tutorial on how to make collage art from ephemera here.
Junk Journals
I didn’t know what a junk journal was until I joined Instagram two years ago. If you haven’t checked out the world of junk journaling, you have to! You can make your own journal and use your favorite vintage paper pieces to do it.
Decoupage
I love using Mod Podge to upcycle trash! The picture above is of a candle jar that was all used up. The backside of a vintage greeting card had a small colorful rose on it. I cut out the rose and mod podged it onto the jar. Now it’s a piece of decor!
Display By Itself
Sometimes all you need is some tape and thumbtacks to use ephemera! I love the retro soap ad in the picture above but it wasn’t in great shape. I taped it above a cabinet and ta-da! It’s gorgeous. Thumbtacks worked perfectly to hold vintage kitchen ads on a shelf in my dining room.
I love collective retro ephemera and these are my favorite ways to use it. How do you like to create with vintage paper? Let me know here or on my Instagram page!
