Making a Garland

A garland is a wonderful way to showcase a window, a door, a mantelpiece, wall art or anything else that strikes your fancy. They are pretty easy to make whether they are made from scratch or if you doll-up a simple fake evergreen bough from the dollar store. Add sprigs of cedar, pine and other fresh flora to make it more realistic, lush and fragrant. 

Start off with a plain faux bough from a dollar store.

Or use a thick rope for the base.

Take cuttings from numerous evergreens.

Select branches from numerous evergreens, including ones such as evergreen magnolias. Cut all the branches into 6 to 10 inch pieces. Gather numerous ones together into small posies, making sure you have a nice mix. Wire their stems together and continue to make these little leafy posies until you have an adequate amount to cover the length of the garland. The next step is to attach these small bouquets with wire to the garland.

Gather numerous cuttings to make a bouquet.

Tie the base of the branches together securely with wire.

Wire the bouquets to the base of the garland.

Start at one end and add one of the bouquets to the garland. Use a thin gauged wire on a paddle to wrap around the stems and to attach the posies to the boughs. It's easy to find were crafts are sold. Overlap the bouquets so the bases are covered.

Attach each bouquet to the garland.

Attach the bouquets so the bases are covered by another bouquet.

Completely cover the length of the garland with the bouquets.

Once the wee bouquets have been attached to the garland, it's time to add some pine cones and other ornaments. Wire pine cones then attach them to the bough or hot glue them on. Real flowers and berries don't last long and are messy, especially the berries, so I like to use authentic looking faux ones. An added benefit is they are wired so they are easy to insert and secure to the garland. 

Attach pine cones with a hot glue gun, or use paddle wire to attach them.

Add faux berries.

Make the most of faux florals by cutting them into pieces.

​I like to keep my colour palette simple as it is more elegant and easier on the eyes than a cacophony of colours, but that is my preference. Have fun with your creation and I hope this blog has inspired you to make your own garlands. 

Lovely faux flowers take it up a notch.

A combination of faux and real flora.

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It's a simple design. Just pine cones, white faux roses, some red faux berry stems and lots of greenery from the garden.

Oh, and one last word, garlands aren't just for Christmas. You can make them for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and garden parties. All the same rules apply, just change up the Christmas theme decor to whatever is appropriate and have a garland for every season and occasion! ​

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