christmas craft – Blue Willow Lane

Isn’t there something so fun and festive about a little bit of jingle in Christmas decor? I’ve been seeing a ton of fabulous felt Christmas ornaments this year on pinterest and in online shops, so I wanted to try making a few myself! I plan to make and post some other DIY felt projects over the holidays, so I hope you’ll plan to stop back!

This fun reindeer garland banner was so easy! The hardest part was cutting out the tiny antlers on each deer. I don’t think any two are exactly identical, but I think they’re close enough. I really like the combination of the rusty jingle bells and the silky tassels on this garland. After completing it, I am displaying the garland across my firplace mantle this year with some other woodsy decor, and I’m really happy with it. The project was fun, and I have ample supplies left to make more banners with the felt, cord, and bells I bought.

Okay, if you want to give this little project a try, here’s how!

Supplies:

(The supply list contains affiliate links. These are the materials I used, and they worked well for this project.)

Thin braided rope or other thin twine of your choice, at least 10 feet long

Felt in shades of brown. I bought this inexpensive variety pack from Amazon and used 3 sheets of the felt for this project.

Rusted jingle bells (or other color if you prefer)

Silky tassels. I bought the craft pack from Amazon and plan to use the rest for other projects.

Hot melt glue gun

STEP 1: Print out the reindeer graphic (below) and cut out the pattern. Other patterns are included that I plan to use for more felt projects.

christmas-banner Download

STEP 2: Pin the reindeer pattern to a piece of felt, making sure to stay on one corner to minimize waste. Using the felt pack I bought from Amazon, I was able to cut two deer from each one piece of felt.

STEP 3: Cut out six deer (or more if you want a longer garland) from your color choice of felt. I used two shades of brown and a camel color. Small sharp scissors work well to cut out the small details.

STEP 4: Lay out the twine on a long table or counter. You will need a longer piece of string than what you hope to have for the finished project. Tying each bell in will take some of the length. You will also want 12 inches or more on each end so the banner can easily be attached wherever you choose.

STEP 5: Beginning at one end, measure off 18 inches and tie on one jingle bell at that spot. Make a mark (using a subtle color marker) 8 inches from the first jingle bell. Tie the second in that spot. Repeat the same process every eight inches until you have enough bells attached for the number of deer you plan to use. For my 6 deer, I needed seven bells each 8 inches apart.

STEP 6: Lay out some newspaper or something glue safe and put the left-most section (between the first two bells) on it. Heat up your glue gun. Measure four inches between the two bells. Put some glue on one side of the section of string where the deer will attach, about 3.5 inches. Place the deer on the glue. Pick up the section of string and deer to let it dry so that it doesn’t accidentally get stuck to the paper. Continue until all deer are securely attached. Check the back side of the deer to make sure all of them are glued on along their full length.

STEP 7: Choose the tassels you want to use on your garland. From the package I bought, I chose gray, ivory, and brown because I wanted my garland to have a woodsy look. Cut the loops down so they they are at a good length to glue, about half an inch. Glue the tassels on the back with the hot glue gun. The tassels will keep the deer hanging in the right direction.

That’s it! Super easy and original Christmas decor for your home!

Have a beautiful day and try something creative! 🙂

Hello and happy Friday! I’ve been busy with a little DIY project, and I have to say, I’m happy with how this one turned out! I love the subtle look of this modern farmhouse style Christmas decor. These little decorations would also look fabulous with a Coastal Christmas theme.

We eat A LOT of pistachios around here, so I asked my husband to start saving the shells for me a while ago. With a small bag full of shells, I had more than enough to make this project. I made the tree base out of paper and the wreath bases out of cardboard and container lids destined for the recycling bin. So this fun upcycled project cost me next to nothing.

I achieved the shaded look of the tree by painting the shells with several shades of chalk paint. The wreaths are a single color on each, and I added some grosgrain ribbon and rustic jute to give them a finished look. The wreaths could be hung from a mirror, on your Christmas tree, or even used as votive holders!

Here’s how I made this fun DIY project!

Materials:

9 by 12 70 pound paper

pistachio shells

various matte or chalk paint

jute

ribbon

glue gun

cardboard or round plastic container lids

For the tree, make a cone out of the paper by forming a tight cone and taping along the edge. Then cut off the uneven bottom so that the cone stands straight.

Divide your shells into several groups for the colors you would like to use. For the tree, I left some natural (which are the ones that almost look like a light peach shade) and painted some in light celery green and some in light gray. I also painted some white for one of the wreaths. You could also do your tree in all one color, or make a group of trees that are one color each. It all depends on you and your creativity!

Once the shells are dry, attach them to the tree using a hot glue gun, alternating colors for a shaded effect. When you place the next row above, make sure to slightly overlap the previous row so that the paper cone will not be showing. I found it was helpful to keep the little shell pieces for spots where I didn’t have quite enough space for a full shell. Continue this process until the whole tree is covered. I added a single shell with a little gold paint at the top.

For the wreath, I used the lid from a breadcrumbs container and also traced this onto cardboard for the rest of the wreaths. I used a small drinking glass to trace the center circle. Cut out the wreaths and the centers for the size you want. This same method could be used for a much larger pistachio shell wreath as well.

Using the hot glue gun, glue the shells in a slightly overlapping fashion, starting with the innermost row. Continue until the circle is covered. Add jute for hanging and the ribbon trim of your choice.

When your project is finished, pull off all the little glue strings. This project took me about three hours to complete, including painting the shells.

I read this week that getting into a state of “flow” where you can accomplish something productive that is fairly easy is a great way to cope with stress. I think we all could use that right now! So it’s more crafting from now until Christmas! 🙂