I truly believe that decoration can change the entire look and feel of an environment. For instance, Police Flags displayed in a room can convey a sense of respect, honor, and safety. After I painted the walls in my home, it became a more comfortable environment. Typically people stick with white, but I painted a dark navy that almost looks black during the day. I love it! To add some fun aspect, I stenciled the opposing wall with a yellow lattice pattern. I’ve also put up curtains which makes any room feel more grand. I’m starting to really love this home decor thing. I’ve been asked to help decorate a dentist office recently. I immediately accepted the offer and will be starting on designing this week. And of course, I’ll be taking you along the journey via my blog. We’ll see where this takes me! I’m so excited for the opportunity!
Perhaps you saw the decor at the bridal shower from my weekend post (previous post here)! I helped with that! Today’s post will be a DIY on how to make those circular garlands. Perfect for parties! It’s great to use as a backdrop for pictures as well!
These are so easy to make but it does take time. It took me about 3 hours a day for 5 days to make 15 garlands. Worth it when you get some great photos!
What you’ll need:
- Paper to cut circles (I made about 225 circles for 15 strings of circles)
- Circle cutter (similar one here) OR circle punch (affordable one here)
- Cutting mat (I used a piece of plywood)
- Fishing line
- Hot glue gun with extra glue sticks
Directions: Cut out circles, line them up in a straight line, and hot glue the circles onto your fishing line. When cutting the circles, make sure you have something underneath so you don’t scratch up your surface (oh my poor dining table…).
Another option to put these together is sewing the circles into a straight line (perhaps you’ve seen this option on Etsy). I think the hot glue is easier but that’s up to you!
Aren’t these colors so pretty?
Here’s the photo tutorial:
If you have a Silhouette, use it! It’s a cutting machine for avid scrapbookers or crafters. The best thing about this machine is that you can design your own shapes and fonts to be cut, whereas with the Cricut cutter you’re limited to their cartridges. It’s a pricey machine at $270. I would suggest only purchasing if you’ll use it often. Otherwise the Martha Stewart cutter at $12 is a great option. Still interested? You can purchase the Silhouette here.
I was able to cut 12 circles per every standard sheet of paper easily on the Silhouette. It saved me a buttload of time!
I really love these garlands, so festive!
Have you ever purchased these garlands? Where did you get them and what did you use them for? Is this something you can make for your next party?
With love,
Jay
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What type of paper did you use and where did you find it?
Hi Liz! Thanks for reading along. I used scrapbook paper that I found at Michael’s. It’s 12″x12″ cardstock. Hope that helps!
When making the circle garland did you use regular cardstock? I ask because it looks like it has a sticky backing in pic. I have a Silhouette. and have to get this made right away. Helping friend with her daughter’s wedding. Your garlands look great. Your tutorial is absolutely great! Thanks.
Hi! Thanks for reading my blog 🙂
Regular cardstock worked great for this project. The only thing that was sticky was the Silhouette mat (the plastic that you insert into the system to hold paper in place). I would suggest a cardstock that is easily peelable from the Silhouette mat and wouldn’t rip easily. Hope this is helpful! And show me a picture when completed!!!
how did you hang the garlands?
Hi Rebecca! I actually made a loop with the fishing line on the end and then used tacks or tape. When I hung the garland off my shelf, I actually taped paper clips that I unfolded into 90 degree angles and hooked the loop onto the clip. Hope that’s helpful!
can you tell me what size you cut the circles?
Hi Kim! The circumference of the circles are ~3.5 inches. The size is totally flexible and can be sized to your liking. The hot glue will hold the circle anywhere from 1-5 inches. Hope that’s helpful!
Love this! Had questions but they were all already asked and answered in the comments. Keep on crafting!
Awesome! Glad everything got answered. Show me a pic if you’ve completed the project 🙂
How long is each garland ?
Mine were about 5 feet each, but obviously the length can be tailored to how you want! We used it as a backdrop for a bridal shower, so I wanted to ensure it was high enough and long enough for people to stand in front for pictures. Hope that helps!
How much did you spend all in all?
Hi Danielle! I spent about ~$10 for colored paper and fishing line. I already had the hot glue/hot glue gun. Michael’s sometimes has 40% off coupons, which can be applied to the paper! Hope that’s helpful
This was so helpful! Thank you for the step-by-step 🙂 I will be making a garland for my little one’s first birthday in 2 weeks!
Glad it was helpful. Happy birthday to your babyyy!