DIY Paper Leaf Garland

By Kate Riley November 21, 2016

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.

 paper-leaf-garland

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).

 garland-close-up

   leaf-garland-mantel

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.

 leaf-shape

I used a white marker to draw a line down the middle of each leaf and bended them in slightly to resemble real leaves.

 white-marker

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.

 create-garland

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.

 dab-glue

As you make progress the back looks like this.

 back-of-garland

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.

 yarn-pom-poms

  I’m really pleased with how it turned out!

leaf-garland-left-side

 

garland-side

 

 leaf-garland-on-mantel

 

Find more DIY garlands from past seasons below:

 garland-trio

sparkle confetti garland / gemstone garland / ornament garland

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20 comments

  1. I love you’re winter wonderland mantle!!!! Where did you get the rightmost Christmas tree from?

    • Hello Rina, that’s from Z Gallerie but it was a few years ago, not sure they still carry it. I collect white trees, love them!

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