Easy Christmas crafting for all the family!

Get everyone crafting this Christmas with an easy to make paper garland that takes just three simple steps.

What you’ll need:

Paint

Paint brushes or rollers

Thin card or thick paper

String or wool

Children’s scissors

A clear crafting space

Step one: After using some plastic sheeting to cover your crafting surface (HINT bin liners cut in half and opened up work a treat!), completely cover your sheet of paper or card in paint using brushes or rollers. You’re aiming to add texture to the paint finish to achieve a real leaf look with lots of layers and depth, so have fun getting messy and don’t worry if it’s not silky smooth! Mix colours together to add interest or keep it simple and use solid colour.

Top Tip: Use a ‘dry brush’ effect for a subtle, textured look. Dry brushing involves loading a brush with paint and then brushing most of it off to leave just a small amount on the brush. You’re looking for the brush to be mainly ‘dry’ and with the ability to leave just a hint of colour.

Step Two: Once the paint has dried it is time to make your shapes. Choose a combination of different foliage styles and berries, and mix up the sizes to make sure your garland has variety. Carefully draw the shapes onto the reverse of the painted paper. This means that any drawn lines can be avoided when the leaf shapes are cut out, since they'll be on the other side. If you prefer not to cut freehand, there are lots of free leaf templates available online.

Step Three: Carefully pierce a hole in the top of each leaf, and thread each one onto your piece of string or wool. Using a hole punch to make the hole in the top is good for smaller hands, and it also ensures that all the paper bits are kept all together. (Top tip: Why not use the punched paper holes to create your own table confetti for their next party?) Try to select a twine or wool colour that ties in and blends with your overall colour scheme. This will keep the focus on the garland itself rather than on the string. 

And there you have it! All that’s left to do now is find the perfect place to hang your new garland.

Top tip: If you’re looking for eco-friendly activities to try out, why not make your garlands from old cereal boxes? Old wrapping paper can also be used by sticking it onto the card and cutting shapes out. This can help add some fun, bold designs.

This simple but really effective papercutting and collage technique can be used to craft Christmas cards too, or why not create a paper wreath for an internal wall or door? …

The possibilities are endless... Festive fun for all the family that you can do again and again!

And if you're looking for a crafting space on which to spread out, take a look at our desks

fargo study desk pure white

Happy crafting! x

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