DIY Christmas | Pinecone, Dried Fruit and Bauble Garlands

Back in October, I decided to dress up my mantle with a simple garland of eucalyptus, gypsophila, hydrangeas and pumpkins [you can see the DIY here], and todays DIY shows you 3 ways in which I was able to update this for Winter.



| WHAT YOU NEED |

The Base: Floral Foam | Eucalyptus | Gypsophila | White Berries | Pinecones | White Paint
Additions: Baubles | Dried Fruit | Skewers | Glue Gun

| HOW YOU MAKE THEM |

Each garland starts with the same base of floral foam, eucalyptus and gypsophila.  I removed the hydrangeas and pumpkins, which gave me a guide as to where the main elements of each garland would be placed.  To add interest, texture and detail, I picked up two branches of mini frosted pinecones and white berries from poundland that I trimmed and added to create length and fullness in the garland.

To create more movement as I placed these towards the front of the mantle, in a draped shape to help break up the more structured garland greenery.
[I highly recommend popping in to your local poundland to see the artificial flowers and foliage for yourself]

1. PINECONES

In the final DIY of the pinecone trilogy, I used a few left over from both the winter potpourri and pinecone tree DIYs that I styled up with a little white spray paint, white glitter to create a frosted effect and added a skewer to the base of each with a little hot glue, trimming to size.

Adding the pinecones, I started from the middle outwards to create some symmetary, adding fullness to the shape of the garland at the centre, thinning out to the ends [if you have a variety of sizes, the larger pinecones would work best in the middle, getting smaller in size to the sides].

As there was little colour in the garland, I did keep 4 pinecones paint and glitter free, placing two at the front centre and two at the sides to break up the white.

This garland stands alone as a gorgeous addition to your Winter decor, or as a base for lights:

...or other decorations.


2. BAUBLES

To tie your garland in with your tree or Christmas decor, you can replace or add to the pinecones with baubles.

Again, to help create a full centre, I used larger baubles and then decreased the size towards the outside.  The baubles can either be attached by threading some wire through the hanging, or simply removing the hanging and placing on top of a skewer.

To help add a little colour and interest, I also added shiny gold bells:

This style adds a little sparkle, colour and is a really easy way to dress up your mantle with some simple decorations you already have.


3. DRIED FRUIT

Finally, a dried fruit garland not only adds colour to your home, but a festive scent to go with it!  I used additional dried fruit from last weeks Winter potpourri DIY: orange, lemon and lime slices, clementines and cinnamon sticks, fixed in place with skewers.

So, there are three ways that you can dress up your mantle for Winter and the festive period - I'm not sure I can imagine the fireplace without one now.