Create warm and welcoming decor by decorating with garlands. They can pull together a room’s decorating style, party theme or holiday atmosphere by using a variety of materials for quirky and fun looks to sophisticated and upscale.
Garlands look beautiful swagged down stairway banisters and around porch railings. Wind them around posts and drape them around windows and hutches. Outline a headboard or wrap them around a garden trellis. Fill out a Christmas tree with garland or tuck along the back of a kitchen counter. Purchase garland foundations or make your own to craft these clever decorations. You can quickly and easily produce many of these ideas in a few short hours, using tools and materials you already own.
Christmas Garlands
Purchase wired pine garland and wind the length with a string of Christmas lights and ribbon. Add poinsettias, Christmas ornaments and babies breath. Use the wired branches to attach the decorations and to attach additional pine garlands end-to-end for the length you desire.
Snowman Garland
Make a snowman garland using fabric or wood. For fabric, layer two pieces of muslin together and draw simple snowman shapes on them with a pencil. Stitch on the drawn lines and cut the snowmen out. Cut a slit in the back, turn right side out, stuff and stitch the opening closed. For wood, draw simple shapes on scrap pine wood and cut out with a scroll saw. You could also cut them freehand for a more primitive appearance. Paint them white. Decorate both the fabric and wood snowmen how ever you would like. Attach embroidery floss using an embroidery needle, to the top of the fabric snowmen for hangers. Drill a hole in the top of the wood snowmen and thread floss for the hangers. Make a garland base with several strands of jute or raffia and randomly tie the snowman to it.
Rag Garlands
Cut three equal lengths of twine and layer them together side-by-side. Knot the three ends together on each end of the bundle to create a garland base. Cut numerous strips of fabric 1 inch wide by 6 inches long for your rag strips. Use what ever color you want to match the decor of the room you are decorating. Tie the rag strips to the twine, pushing them close together. Fluff and twist them as you work to give them the look of a boa. Space and add hanging ornaments if desired.
Jean Seam Garland
Cut the side seams from blue jeans. Cut them into 6 inch pieces. Hot glue them together like the red and green paper chains you made as a child.
Floral Garlands
Unfold the length of the raffia in a package of raffia. Split it into three sections and braid. Hot glue dried and silk flowers along the length.
