
Grand Garlands
Deck your halls with fragrant and fanciful festoons.
Larger view of this project.
Gardener's Delight Garland (top)
Spicy Fruit Garland (middle)
Snowbird's Feast Garland (bottom)
Gardener's Delight Garland
Supplies and Tools
- 1 package of eucalyptus
- 1 package of dried hydrangea blossoms
- 1 package of raffia
- 1" clay pots
- Paperwhite and crocus bulbs
|
- 6"-wide woven ribbon or netting
- Variety of seeds (e.g., peas, corn, etc.)
- Floral wire
- Wire cutters
- Hot glue gun, glue sticks
|
- Braid several strands of raffia to create a garland of desired length.
Secure ends of raffia with floral wire.
- Run a length of floral wire through the hole in the bottom of each
clay pot and up over the rim. Hot glue paperwhite bulbs into clay pots.
- Cut squares of ribbon or netting and fill with crocus bulbs and different
seeds. Gather ends of ribbon and secure at top with wire to form a pouch.
- Wire the filled ribbon pouches and clay pots onto the raffia braid.
- Hot glue sprigs of eucalyptus and hydrangea behind the pots.
Spicy Fruit Garland
Supplies and Tools
- Raffia
- Kitchen string
- Apples
- Oranges
- Cranberries
- Bay leaves
- Whole cloves
|
- Whole allspice
- Cinnamon sticks
- Lemon juice
- Large needle
- Scissors
- Glue gun, low-temp glue
|
- Cut apples in thin slices crossways. Dip in lemon juice. Set on a cookie
sheet and place in a 200° oven until dry.
- Cut oranges into 1/4"-thick slices. Set on a cookie sheet and
place in a 200° oven until dry.
- For a 3' strand of garland, cut 5' to 6' of string. On one end, make
a loop about 12" to 14" long. Knot. Thread needle onto string.
Thread cranberries first. Press a whole clove into each cranberry to allow
berry to dry naturally. Vary the order of other items as desired. Choose
from cinnamon sticks, two slices of apple glued together with string in
between the apples; two slices of orange glued together with string in
between the oranges; and/or bay leaves.
- Decorate the apple and orange slices with cloves, allspice, bay leaves,
and/or cranberries. Complete the pattern to a 1 1/2' length. Repeat the
pattern in reverse order for the second half of the garland.
- When the 3' length is completed, tie string into second loop, making
it the same size as the first loop. At each end of the garland, tie two
approximately 2' lengths of raffia into a bow.
Snowbird's Feast Garland
Supplies and Tools
- Preserved or fresh cedar branches
- Small gourds
- Sunflower heads
- Barley stalks
- Wheat stalks
- Birdseed
|
- Floral wire
- Wire cutters
- Hot glue gun, glue sticks
- Drill, drill bit
- Sandpaper
|
- Wire cedar branches together to form garland base. Continue to add
branches to the desired length.
- Drill several holes close together in each gourd to create one large
hole that allows birds to reach seeds. Sand edges smooth. Drill two small
holes in the back of each gourd so wire can be inserted for attaching the
gourds to the garland. Wire the gourds in place.
- Glue wheat and barley stalks and sunflower heads to garland.
- Fill gourds with seeds.
Designers
Melissa Howes-Vitek (Gardener's Delight and Snowbird's Feast)
and Judy Schultz (Spicy Fruit)
Copyright © Sampler Publications, Inc. 1997
Provided by Decorating Ideas magazine.
Reprinted by permission, HouseNet, Inc.