Make a Beautiful Holiday Garland From Dried Magnolia Leaves

2 Materials
3 Hours
Easy
My magnolia tree is constantly shedding it's leaves most of the year. The leaves are very sturdy and hard on the mower and even harder to compost. I saved a bin of the leaves for a future project..not really knowing what that might be.

After seeing some very pretty magnolia christmas garlands, I got an idea..."I can make that...."
The once green leaves I had saved were now brown but they kept their shape and thickness. I used my kids acrylic paint set to mix just the right green color, mossy with a hint of blue and brown and gave one side of the leaves a quick coat. I left the under side brown because that is how they look on the tree.
I first layered the lights under the base greenery, which is a fake fern looking garland. I attached the magnolia leaves with a hot glue gun to fern stems but left enough of the fern stems to show through.
I added loose magnolia leaves in the back next to the wall/mirror to give the garland a fuller look.
Finished magnolia garland!
I am super thrilled with how my garland turned out, especially considering I didn't buy anything to make it - all items are natural or were left over from previous projects!
Suggested materials:
  • Base fern garland   (hobby lobby)
  • Acrylic paint set   (amazon)
Flawless C Designed
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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