So, you have visions of a garland-draped mantel this Christmas—sounds lovely! The only problem is that a lot of the pre-made garlands found at Big Box stores will show up on just about every single Christmas mantel in the neighborhood. Rather than investing in mass-produced decorative accents that anyone can purchase, try crafting your own one-of-a-kind dyed wooden bead Christmas garland in your favorite color scheme!
Without cutting it off the spool, unroll a length of Silver Baker’s Twine about 2 feet in length, and string the end through the eye of an upholstery needle. Tie the twine in a double knot at the eye of the needle so that it’s securely attached, and begin threading Small Round Unfinished Wood Beads over the needle and onto the twine.
Once you’ve threaded the entire bag of wooden beads onto the twine, push the beads away from the needle so that you have about six inches of excess twine showing. Use scissors to cut the twine off of the needle. Next, unroll another six inches of excess twine from the spool, and cut the twine off with scissors. To hold the garland together at each end, double knot the excess twine around the last beads. Trim away any excess twine.
To create your paint dye bath, squeeze a small amount of Acrylic Paint into the bottom of a Long White Platter. The turquoise color of the garland in this tutorial was achieved using a combination of blue, white, and yellow pigments in the ratio pictured below, but you can create any color you’d like!
Place the platter in a sink or bath, and fill to about one inch thick with water. Use a whisk or your fingers to mix the paint into the water to create a diluted dye and then gently lay the wooden bead garland into the mixed pigments. Roll the garland around to coat all sides, and lift from the colored water. Allow the excess dye to drip off for a moment or two, and then hang the garland to dry.
TIP: The more you mix the pigments in the water, the more even your final garland will turn out. To achieve a slightly painterly, abstract effect as demonstrated on the garland in this tutorial, mix the paint only lightly.
Repeat steps 1-4 if you wish to create multiple garlands. Allow the garlands to dry for a full 24 hours before handling. To finish, use small finishing nails or tacks to secure the garland to your mantel. If you don’t want to use nails, try using decorative objects like ceramic reindeer, glass bottles or candles to hold the garlands up on your mantel. Learn more about how to style a colorful Christmas mantel of your own!