DIY Paper Leaf Garland
Before I left town for the Thanksgiving holiday I did a little decorating on the living room mantel. I feel extra crafty this time of year and last week I was inspired to create a paper leaf garland.
Some years I drape real greenery on the mantel as Christmas approaches but I opted for a faux version this season instead.
This paper leaf garland is made with two slightly different colors of scrapbook paper found a craft store. Wool felt pom poms act as berries, I ordered them online earlier this month (source below).
To recreate this 8 foot long garland you’ll need the following: 12 sheets of 12 x 12″ scrapbook paper, scissors, green floral wire, white floral tape, white marker, quick dry glue pen, hot glue, wool felt pom poms (mine are from this Etsy shop.)
You’ll need 2-3 hours of time to create this garland. I invited one of my besties over to drink wine and watch a movie so we could complete it together.
To start you’ll need to cut a ton of leaf shapes. I didn’t use a template I just eyeballed it. I cut the scrapbook pages into 12″ long by 2″ wide strips, and cut those individual strips into 3 pieces each 4″ long. From those 2 x 4″ scraps of paper I cut each leaf. Be sure to leave a little stem at the end.
I used a white marker to draw a line down the middle of each leaf and bended them in slightly to resemble real leaves.
Start by wrapping the white floral tape around the wire a few inches then begin to add the paper leaves. Wrap the tape around the wire a few times, then insert the stem of a paper leaf.
The floral tape doesn’t have quite enough adhesive to hold the paper leaves securely to the wire so I used a dab of quick dry glue in between the small paper stem and the tape to give it staying power.
As you make progress the back looks like this.
The final step was embellishing with little wool felt pom poms. I started by sewing them together in clusters with a needle and thread but realized hot glue was a quicker way to make it happen.
I’m really pleased with how it turned out!
Find more DIY garlands from past seasons below:
