New Year’s Eve Noisemaker DIY

Today we are doing this simple vintage new year’s eve noisemaker DIY.

When we were little, New Year’s Eve was a bittersweet night of staying up late, watching movies, drinking gingerale (it was supposed to be champagne I think) and eating popcorn.  This culminated in rummaging through a box of cellophane hats, horns and metal noisemakers in preparation for that 30 second frenzy of shouting and clanging our noisemakers while jumping around on the frozen front walk of our house dressed in our thin pajamas and maybe, maybe, a coat.

Then that was that.  We were off to bed and in a few days back to school and everyday life.  As quickly as it came Christmas vacation was over.  It’s funny how I still like to go through that little frenzy of shouting and noisemaking, somehow it provides some closure on the holidays and really how many times can you go outside at midnight and scream your head off?   There’s something therapeutic about it.

Thus, this post is an ode to the noisemaker…

So… in case you didn’t know… I collect things and, as you might suspect, vintage things especially. I do have a small collection of vintage noisemakers, probably from the 50’s and 60’s and maybe one from the 40’s.  But while I would really like to be able to collect lots of them I really don’t want to spend my hard earned cash on that.  When this happens (wanting something but not really) sometimes I just fake it.  That’s what this craft is… a fake out.

Supplies:

What you will need:

Cheap metal or plastic noisemakers (try the dollar store)
Glossy photo paper (I buy this at the thrift shop when I see it)
Rubber cement (I tried other glues and this is the only one that did not wrinkle the paper)
Exact-o knife
Vintage NYE images from the internets

The hardest part of this craft is finding and printing the images at the correct size.  I found these images on the internet by searching for “vintage new years eve party illustrations”.  Do a test print on regular paper before you print on the photo paper to make sure your illustration is sized properly.

Place your noisemaker on the paper and hold it up to the light to make sure your image is centered on the front.  Then trace around the noisemaker with a pencil.

Spread your glue on the back of the paper in a fairly thin coat making sure to get the edges.

Gently place the noisemaker back on your paper and press down.  Let it set for a few minutes and carefully cut around your noisemaker with your exact-o knife holding the noisemaker in place.  It can slide around a bit so try not to push down too hard while you are cutting.

Once your noisemaker is cut out set it aside to dry completely.

Aren’t these cute? Now you are ready to make some noise!

Please stay safe and I hope you have a Happy New Year!