Typically, I am a fresh garland only type of girl. I think there is something special about having real, something that connects us with nature and the season. The scent of fresh greens, the true beauty, color texture. None of it can be adequately duplicated by plastic. So, I’m all real at home. However, the shop needs to be decorated in November and fresh greens just can’t survive that long without needing to be replaced. I also thought this would be a good tutorial for some of you that have old artificial garland that you want to give new life to without replacing.
I just added the Tissue Snowflakes to the online shop this morning. They make such a big impact for little! Shop >
We use a handful of faux garlands and twinkle lights to add warmth to the inside of the shop. On the outside, I used our faux garland, but fluffed it up with real sprigs of mixed greens (incense cedar, juniper, noble fir and pine) to make it look and smell as real as possible.
I used 4 x 6ft. artificial cedar garlands (available here) and wired them together. I put two together, flowing out, then the other two flowing the opposite way so when it is hung over the door, they are both cascading from the center.
Using floral wire, I wrapped continuously, adding sprigs on the front face as I went. I alternated using Juniper (my favorite, very fragrant with the dusty blue berries), Noble fir, Pine and Incense Cedar. I bought a large box of mixed greens at a floral wholesaler, but you could easily snip enough from your yard or (gulp) park. You really don’t need much.
I keep three hooks around the top of the door frame all year long – one on each corner, and one elevated in the center. After I hung it from the hooks, I added more greens in the corners and in the center to fill it out.
I tied a 2″ Velvet Ribbon Bow (color : Chestnut, here) around the center, using about 1 1/2 yards.
To attach the bells on the wreath, I tied the bells (our brass sleigh bells, here) in pairs on 12″ of thin velvet ribbon (3/8-7/8″ works). Then, I made a large loop around the top of the wreath using 1 1/2″ velvet ribbon (color : Chestnut, here) and tied a knot.
It should be easy enough to replace the dried out greens individually as the season goes on to keep it looking fresh. Our temperatures have dropped to the 30-40’s already, and since this garland is outside, that will help with keeping them from getting crispy for at least a couple of weeks.
It truly is so satisfying to make holiday decorations vs. pulling them out of a box. It is so much more earth friendly (especially when snipping them from your yard) and really very simply. However, if you already have artificial greens or garland, this is a great way to add new life to them without having to replace with new artificial. And of course, using pretty velvet ribbon and special brass bells to dress them up helps ; )