Decorative Garland

Why pay for decorations when you can make them yourself? You don't have to be an artist or a crafter to create something fun, beautiful and professional looking.

I'll guide you through the easy steps of making a decorative garland. They are perfect for any occasion and can be personalized to any event. Let's get started!

Materials: string, card stock, glue, paper cutters or scissors and a hole puncher. Your choice of: markers or colored pencils or use your computer.

First you need to know where you're going to hang the garland. Then you'll know how long you need the string to be. You can use any type of string you want. Some good ones to use are hemp string, ribbon or bakers twine.

Visit on Merrick Rd. to see what kinds of string they carry. You also might want to try on Sunrise Highway to see if they carry ribbon.

Then decide what you want to hang. By using decorative paper cutters, you can create some really nice shapes but using stencils, stamps or drawing freehand can work out as well. Just cut out the shapes you like. If you have a special graphic program like Photoshop, creating the image and printing it out can be done much quicker.

Stop by on Brower Ave. and on N. park Ave. to find some decorative paper.

Think of how to express the event. Whether it's a birthday party for someone or a holiday, there are lots of different ways to visually present the occasion. You can have each piece spell out the words Happy Holidays or Happy Birthday, or use larger pieces with a word on each one.

Once you have created the paper pieces use the hole puncher to make a small hole on the top  — or two holes if the piece is large enough. Thread the string though the holes. For extra pizazz, cut small pieces of string and tie little bows through each hole.

You can find hole punchers and scissors at on Sunrise Highwayand on N. Village Avenue

Get creative with this project. You might want to hang the garland vertically instead. You can make a couple small ones and hang them all together or in a doorway. Decorate the garland according to the style of the event and have fun. I can guarantee you will impress your guests and show them the master crafter you've been hiding all this time!