5 Charming Vintage July 4th Crafts Using Player’s Cigarette Cards

"Celebrate July 4th with unique, vintage-inspired decor! Discover five creative ways to transform Player’s Cigarette cards into charming fans, framed art, postcards, and more. Perfect for adding nostalgic flair to your summer gatherings. I have mentioned before how much I love perusing the Library of Congress and New York Public Library digital collections. I can get lost for hours scrolling through vintage photographs, postcards, and all sorts of ephemera that tell stories of another time. A few weeks ago, while wandering through these digital treasure troves, I stumbled across Player's Cigarette playing cards. Naturally, I tucked them away for “later,” as one does when inspiration strikes but life is moving a mile a minute. With July 4th just around the corner, I decided there was no better time to finally bring those saved photos to life. I wanted something festive, a little whimsical, and definitely not your run-of-the-mill red, white, and blue paper plates and plastic flags. These Player’s Cigarette cards felt like the perfect jumping-off point for a truly one-of-a-kind vintage-inspired craft session. My first thought was to create a simple garland — easy, quick, and always a crowd-pleaser. But you know me, I can never seem to leave “simple” alone. I started reminiscing about an online auction I had browsed not too long ago, filled to the brim with ephemera. Among all the paper scraps, letters, and mementos, there were old paper fans that caught my eye..."

Primary TechniqueGreen Crafting