A Very Vintage Christmas: Betty Crafter's Handmade Holiday Home Tour

Andee Cooper sometimes goes by the moniker Betty Crafter Vintage, which fits her aesthetic perfectly. She and her daughter live in Austin, Texas. Their 1967 home is a festive feast for the eyes all year long, but especially during the holidays.

Equal parts vintage collector and creative maker, Andee often combines her two passions into making vintage-inspired crafts.

An elementary school teacher by day, Andee has been an avid antique collector for years. Many of her treasures, like this small vintage truck, get fun holiday makeovers.

Andee also collects pieces of crewel embroidery, a form of embroidery done with wool. Some of the classic designs in her collection were purchased complete and others were kits she finished herself.

Small vignettes full of vintage holiday collections are displayed throughout the house. This mix of plush and plastic Santas sits atop a corner of her living room. Also, Andee says the Santas in her collection range from creepy to cute.

Under the name Betty Crafter Vintage, Andee has been designing and selling her own retro-inspired crewel kits with designs people can make themselves. This “Happiness is Homemade” sampler is one of her patterns.

True Christmas enthusiasts not only have multiple trees, they have multiple wreaths. The cluster of shiny ornament wreaths Andee made herself hangs above her collection of vintage ceramic peg trees.

Andee’s aesthetic gravitates toward midcentury designs. Many of the furniture inside the home is either antique or very close reproductions of vintage styles.

Andee and her cat, McLovin, lounge in the cheery wood paneled back room of the home that opens up onto a deck and large backyard. Above the fireplace hangs a sign that says: “Deck the halls with cheers and jolly” — an inside family joke and tribute to her daughter.

Andee made two of the stockings hanging from the fireplace. One day she dreams of replacing them all with her beloved crewel, but for now they look perfect with the rest of her holiday decor.

A collection of antique gnomes made from pinecones, chenille pipe cleaners and felt sit merrily around a houseplant. If plants were considered a collection they would also be on Andee’s list; her planters often come complete with a kitschy figurine or mini diorama right inside.

The four-legged residents of the home curl up near the vintage aluminum Christmas tree. This silver tree is covered with vintage elves, and the scene includes a spinning color wheel off to the side that bounces light off the metallic branches.

Andee is not tied to any one decade when it comes to decorating. Peacock chairs, zebra print rattan sofas and macramé are all part of the eclectic mix.

The tile in the bathroom is original to the home. When Andee bought the house she had a clause written into the contract that she also got to keep a matching green scale in the bathroom.

Andee wallpapered the bathroom herself. Though the paper is new, the large leaf pattern reflects the tropical ambiance of the original bathroom decor.

Through years of vintage picking and miles walked at flea markets, Andee has amassed several different collections. The tropical vibes of southern Florida abound in this green bathroom.

Andee has been collecting Enid Collins purses for more than 15 years. Enid Collins was a designer from Texas known for her kitschy handbags covered in gemstones.

The walls of her spare bedroom, which also doubles as her sewing studio, are covered with several Enid Collins handbags from the '60s.

Another wall in the spare bedroom is home to even more pieces of crewel embroidery. Vintage barkcloth curtains, '60s ceramics and an elaborate chenille bedspread complete the room.

The spare bedroom is also home to Andee’s vintage sewing machine from the '60s. Stacks of vintage patterns and kitschy pincushions decorate the area.

Above the sewing machine hangs shelving bursting with things to look at – more Enid Collins purses, toys, trinkets and other sentimental items. You see something different each time you look.

This vintage sewing machine is perfect for Andee and her love of retro needle arts. She's even designed her own clothes.

Andee says the wood paneling in her home was not something she had "pined" for all her life. But, she kept the paneling after she bought the home, and now says the knotty pine wood has really grown on her and is one of her favorite features of the home.

The home has three living areas. This center room opens to the kitchen and another living room. On the wall hangs a large, hand-painted rodeo billboard Andee picked up at a barn sale for $40.

The large white tree in the family room is where all the sentimental and handmade ornaments call home. Andee, a self-proclaimed diorama obsessive, has made many of the balls and baubles herself or with her daughter.

The center room is where Andee and her family spend the most time during the holidays, watching Christmas movies and drinking hot cocoa. Santa also delivers the gifts to this tree.

Some people would move into a house like this and immediately start to gut and remove kitschy touches like pink bathroom tile, but not Andee – these are exactly the things that sold her on this house. Andee wallpapered the bathroom herself with reproduction vintage paper she found on Etsy.

Andee says she knew this was the home for her when she first saw the aqua formica counters and playful knotty pine cabinets.

When Andee purchased the home, she asked for the kitchen bar chairs to be included with the sale. The vintage chrome and vinyl chairs are the perfect height and color.