Tag: how to make a garland

Ice Cube Heart Garland

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I don’t know why I never thought of this project until now, but an Ice Cube Heart Garland is perfect for this time of year! It takes about 5 minutes to make and costs nearly nothing! If you live up north where temps are below freezing consistently in the winter months, Ice Cube Garlands would be beautiful hanging everywhere! You could make other shapes too! Along with our garland, we also made some individual Ice Cube Hearts (more like ornaments)…the week of Valentine’s Day, the girls and I plan on making dozens of these to hang off of trees all over town. Such a sweet, little heart surprise!

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Materials needed:

  • silicone heart molds
  • food coloring
  • water
  • string
  • scissors
  • a tray or cardboard that will fit in your freezer

 

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First, place your silicone heart molds on your tray or cardboard piece. (It’s a tricky mess if you do it after the water is poured, like I did the first time!) Next, put about 10 drops of food coloring into a measuring cup and fill with water.

Pour the water into the heart molds.

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Now, cut a string long enough for your garland and/or some smaller pieces for ornaments. Using your fingers, press the string into the heart molds. Make sure you leave 4-5 inches of string between each heart.

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To make the ornaments, just press both ends of your string into the mold filled with water. The center 2 hearts are ornaments in the pictures above and below. You can see the shorter loops of string.

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Next, place the tray with your heart molds into the freezer for a couple hours until they’re completely frozen.

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Carefully pop your ice cube hearts out of the molds.

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Now for the fun part…find a place outside to display and enjoy your Icy Hearts! So sweet!

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DIY Vintage Postcard Christmas Garland

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Anybody that’s been to our house knows that I love garlands and the Christmas season is just another excuse for me to make and display more! Our POSTCARD CHRISTMAS GARLANDS are some of the quickest and easiest to make, plus they add a lot of character to the room. We have two postcard garlands in our house…one hangs across a wide doorway and the other under a mantel…both are made a little differently.

 

The first VINTAGE POSTCARD GARLAND is one that I made new this year. I found a huge collection of postcards at a local antique store a couple weeks ago and knew that I had to do something with them. I carefully went through the postcards, all from the early 1900s, and picked out some of my favorites…some I chose because of the bright and colorful picture on the front and others because of the endearing (or humorous) message written on the back.

 

 

Since these postcards were old I didn’t want to damage them in any way, so I decided to clip them to a vintage-looking string with mini-clothespins. It was that easy. You can add an old ornament or a prism, as we did, in the middle as well. I just love ours!

The second POSTCARD GARLAND is one that I made a few years ago out of new, but old looking postcards. Have you ever read any of the “Flower Fairy” books by Cicely Mary Barker? The illustrations are just beautiful!

I once found these postcards with the “Flower Fairies” depicted on them and knew it’d be perfect for a garland. No, these fairies aren’t necessarily Christmassy, but I like things a little different, a little unpredictable. This garland celebrates all things magical about the Christmas season. To make this garland, I punched holes in the tops of the postcards and strung them up. On the ends I tied a few strips of fabric, just some scraps out of my scrap pile. And that’s it! Simple, but definitely cute and fun!

 

Enjoy!

DIY No-Sew Rag Garland

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Out of all the garlands I’ve made over the years, the RAG GARLAND has always been my favorite! It’s bright, colorful, super-easy to make and it looks fantastic inside or outside, day and night!

 

The RAG GARLAND is fun for the holidays, but can be made and used for any time of the year. I put ours up for Christmas, but I didn’t make the color scheme ultra-Christmassy…I love color and can’t seem to limit myself to just red and green! The best place to find cheap and funky fabric is at antique stores, thrift stores or flea markets…any leftovers can be used to make lil rag tag skirts or tutus for your little ones.

Materials needed:

  • fabric
  • scissors
  • string of lights

First, cut your fabric into strips about 2 inches wide and about 12 inches long.

 

Next, tie each fabric strip around the string of lights with a single, basic knot. If the fabric is blank on the underside, just fold the fabric over before knotting it. Repeat until the string of lights is covered.

 

 

 

 

This is a garland we made for Steamys, a local coffee shop/book store/gift shop in town. We used vintage fabrics to make it extra funky!

 

 

Happy garland making!!!

 

DIY Vintage Feather Garland

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I love this simple, yet colorful and fun feather garland. The orange, yellow and browns of our garland take me back to the 70s and 80s, and the make-believe games of yesteryear, making it the perfect garland for a kid’s bedroom or play area. You could spruce this garland up a bit for the holidays though, using all white or sparkly feathers. Peacock feathers would be beautiful as well! There are so many possibilities!

 

 
Materials needed:

  • feathers
  • gold wire
  • basic wiring tools
  • string

 

The easiest way I found to attach the wire to the feathers, is as follows… (If you “click” on each picture, the wiring is much clearer when it’s enlarged.)

For each feather, you’ll need a piece of wire about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.

Wrap one end of the wire twice, making a small loop.

About 1/2 an inch from the other end of the wire, wrap the wire once, folding the excess wire around the back of the mid-section. (Much easier to see in the picture than it is to explain!) Bend the loop you first made, so it’s perpendicular to rest.

 

To attach the wire to the feather, thread the end of the feather through the bent loop. Bend the loop, back down so it’s laying more or less flat against the feather, holding it in place. On the opposite end of the wire, hold the loop still while you wrap the excess wire around the feather. Repeat with each feather.

 

I’ve pictured multiple feathers in their completed state. As you can see each wiring job is a little different, adjusting to the various lengths and widths of the feathers’ ends.

 

The last step is certainly the easiest…thread the feathers onto your string and hang!

 

 

Our feather garland is hanging above the little one’s play area. The brightly colored feathers are constantly in motion, gently dancing as the air moves around the room. I love how it catches WB’s eye while she’s playing on her back, taking in her surroundings. Where will you hang your feather garland for the whole family to enjoy?