Decking the halls with boughs full of baubles

 

Most of my Christmas ornaments and decorations are hand-me-downs from various family members, but I am not complaining because I love most everything vintage.  My ever growing collection of vintage silver baubles became a problem when I brought home a garland of glittery snowflakes (on sale for $10 at Joann Fabrics) and my husband asked me, "what are you going to do with all this stuff?" You see the Christmas decoration budget was supposed to me $0 this year so I was in a bit of a bind.  My solution is a cedar garland festooned with all my treasures.  Yes, this project would have cost me nothing had I not given into the temptation of %50 off but at only $10 for the whole shebang I am feeling like a frugalista!

 These are the tools I used for this project, is it important that the wire is rusty you might ask? Um, no. I will often use what is less then ideal in order to save a buck and I suggest you do the same.  So, if I was buying materials especially for this project I might go with floral wire and kitchen string or twine.

  

I like to bring elements of nature into my house and when I saw that the silver dollar plants in my backyard had dried I harvested them.  I first sprayed them bronze and then silver; I think that this gives them an antiqued look and adds depth of color.

 

Cut the string to your desired length for your garland, making sure to leave some extra on each end.  Next, you want to trim your cedar so that the boughs are about a foot long.  Gather the boughs in a small bundle and wire the bundle to your string.  Once your bundles reach the length of your string go back and wire a section of the overlapping boughs to the exposed branches.  This way when you hang it up some of the boughs will drape down but the wire will still be concealed.

 

I believe that the next step is crucial: hang your garland before you decorate it.  Failure to comply will result in a disaster of Griswold proportions.   I cut my wire into small pieces and formed hooks to attach my treasures to the garland.  The silver dollar plants are so light that I just stuck them into the garland and they easily stayed.

 There is nothing more rewarding then using what you already have so I challenge you to look around your home and yard to create a garland that is reflective of your personal style!