Neutral Fall Garland - Free Fall Leaves Pattern
Project time: 30 Minutes
Cost: $5-$10
Difficulty: Moderate
Materials: Free Leaf Printable + Scissors + Pretty Paper + Glue Gun + String
Finished product: A simplistic, neutral paper fall leaf garland
Use ideas: Backdrop + Wall Decoration + Centerpiece
Is there anything better then fall? It's such a romantic transition before years end. One of my favorite things to do during this season is bring the outdoors in! Windows open, collecting all the wonderful fall textures, pinecones, acorns, and of course - leaves! Since Florida currently does not have any fall leaves for me, I've created my own! This free leaf printable can be used for many different crafts, but I've started with a neutral colored, lush, leaf garland.
Directions:
1) Choose your paper. I chose a neutral palette because a garland this lush can quickly get visually busy. If this were the only 'fall decor' I have up, I would go for the bright yellow, orange, red. But since I plan on filling my living space with other bright fall pieces, I'm leaving some visual 'room to breathe.'
2) Download and print out the FREE leaf pattern directly on your chosen paper. Note: there are two pages of leaves, with different leaves on each page. If you want an even variety of colors, be sure to plan for two pages per color. I printed 5 copies, 10 total pages for this garland. The fewer leaves you print, the more minimal the look of the garland. Get creative! I was going for a straight up 'pile of leaves' look so I went a little overboard on the lushness.
3) Cut out each of the leaves & sort into large, medium, and small sizes. To keep each leaf double sided with no 'trim lines' showing, it's easiest to cut on the inside of the dotted line. You will be hot gluing them in sections, (large first, medium next and garnishing with the small) so it's easier to keep them sorted as you cut.
4) Cut a piece of base string and tie two loops on the ends. I used this white clothesline string from Lowes. My string was approximately 4.5 feet, and I left about half a foot of string blank on either side of the 'leaf pile.'
5) Before gluing, fold the leaves to make a slight crease. When you hot glue them, this will give them an added 3D effect!
6) Hot glue the leaves to the string, starting with the biggest leaves first. Take the largest leaves and layer them, base to tip, one slightly overlapping the other down the length of the string. I put this first 'big leaf' layer all facing the same direction. Layer on the next size up in a similar fashion, (base to tip, one slightly overlapping the other.) Lastly, hot glue the smaller leaves. These little guys are the fun part. By gluing them in multiple directions and not really in a particular patten, it gives the illusion of wind sweeping them away! I made sure mine were folded nice and sharp to give a 3D effect.
Large leaves...
Medium added in...
And the completed garland with all leaves present!
Notes:
- Just because I used neutral colored paper, doesn't mean you have to! Get creative, I'd love to see what spaces you're working with, and the color combos you use to compliment them.
- It was pretty top heavy in the end. I used some double sided tape in the middle and ends of the garland to keep it from falling too far forward while hanging.
- I used Hobby Lobby's always running 40% off coupon on the paper, keeping the price down.
- As always, if you try this project I'd love to see your creation! Please share a pic and tag us on instagram, @somanyhoorays #naileditsomanyhoorays or on the So Many Hoorays facebook page