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How to Make Teardrop Garland or Teardrop Swags

How to Make a Teardrop Garland

Evergreens are always in style for Christmas time so why not make your own teardrop garland or swags?  They add Christmas cheer to doors, mailboxes, and below lights.  The following teardrop swag tutorial can be make with artificial or real evergreens.  I use a combo of evergreens in the porch light teardrop garlands.  For specific tips on handling real evergreen garland you can see my evergreen garland video and written tutorials or my evergreen wreath tutorial.  Otherwise read on to learn all about what you will need to make teardrop garland.

The supplies are minimal for making a teardrop garland (affiliate links may follow).  The only item you might not be able to buy is a wire coat hanger.  Trust me, just ask around and I bet you will find someone that has wire coat hangers in spades.  I use them as a base form for the teardrop shape because they are cheap (free) and they already have a built in hook!  How freaking nifty!

Let’s Make a Teardrop Garland

How to Make a Teardrop Garland

Supplies

  • Wire Coat Hanger/ Rustic 18 Gauge Wire: You can use the thick wire to make a form too.  I link to an Amazon reference but you can easily get this cheaper at a craft store.
  • 24 Gauge Floral Wire: My fav because it holds but is easy to work with!
  • Wire Cutters: My husband assures me these are also called dykes…  Yeah…
  • Cheap Rope Garland or live evergreens:  I like to borrow the live stuff from the neighbors.
  • Floral Picks: If you are going the artificial route I love some frosted floral picks.  White pine, cyprus, bittersweet and dried grasses can usually be collected free as you only need a couple of handfuls.

Step 1: Making a Teardrop Swag Form

This is the hardest part of the whole project.  Cutting the dang wire hanger!  The wire is much thicker than it first appears.  I find cursing a bit at it while squeezing the hell out of the wire cutters works well.  You can do some additional work with that potty mouth as you straighten the bends our of the hanger to make two downward v-shaped lengths from the hook.  That will be the basis of your teardrop garland.  I wanted a fuller bottom swag.  You can bend the wire wider at the top and then taper at the bottom if you want a more traditional upside down teardrop shape to the swag.

Use wire coat hangers as a base for teardrop garland
As you can see you don’t exactly have to bend these to perfection.

Step 2: Making the Teardrop Base

Take your cheap garland and cut two pieces to the desired length of your teardrop garland.  Attach the floral wire right below the hook.  You can do some fancy-schmancy knot your you can be like me and just wrap it around a few times till it seems secure.  Lay the chopped up garland on the hanger and lightly wrap the wire around it to attach it.  Do this to both sides and then fluff out the garland.  Don’t worry that it looks a bit hellacious at the moment.  I swear it will get better in the next couple of steps.

Using artificial garland as a base for a teardrop swag
It gets better from here!

Step 3: Fill in the Teardrop Shape

Cut another piece of the cheap garland the same length as the other two and lay it in the middle of the two sections.  Time to bring those elementary craft skills into play.  Remember how to weave? In out. In out. Take the floral wire and kind of weave it in-between all three sections securing the middle.  It may look like it is time to panic when making your teardrop as this is not the prettiest step, but again stick with it!  After you have all three pieces attached the fun begins.

Basis for DIY Teardrop Garlands
Got a good mat of evergreens. It gets even better from here!

 

Step 4: The Finishing Touches

Now that you have the basis for your teardrop garland you are literally going to stuff other items in.  Cut up more of your cheap evergreen garland and stick the ends to the back of the teardrop.  Stuff in floral picks or real evergreens until the teardrop shape looks full and lush.  I like to hang mine at this point and add in some touches.  You can wire pine cones, add ribbon, or flock the entire teardrop swag with my homemade flocking recipe.

Detail of inserting evegreens into a diy teardrop garland
If you look closely you can see how I am inserting evergreens into the teardrop. Also, that I need a manicure.

Making a Teardrop Garland is this simple!  They look fabulous swagged below lights but you can easily use them instead of a wreath on the door.  Add a decorative bow on top to cover the hook and you are all set!  If you have any questions about this tutorial please leave them in the comments below.

How to Make a Teardrop Swag

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Canton Christmas Tour of Homes 2010 – Part II

I wanted to thank everyone that has started following our blog in the last few weeks! Also, thanks to those people that have followed us through the last year; even though we lost all of the gloriousness that was our blog. We have really appreciated all the comments and are planning on revamping and creating some cohesion to our posting… maybe… Well I promise some cohesion in 2011, but I can’t vouch for Patrick. Or McClain. You never know what the menfolk will get into.

“This heres gonna be tha lasta the Tour, younguns.” Just thought I would put that in my WNC mountain-talk for you. I’m ready to move on to newer things. What things exactly? Ask me tomorrow. Until then here are the last few images of the Canton Christmas Tour of Homes 2010. (Insert drumroll here)

Enjoy the details, and feel free to ask any questions your heart may desire or share a link to your own holiday decorating in the comments. I would love to check out your decor.

Living room and Christmas tree details
Dining room and Kitchen details
Bath & Bedrooms
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Canton Christmas Tour of Homes 2010 – Part I

We finally made it! We finished the tour today, Patrick just threw another log on the fire, and I’m getting ready to crack open some frothy goodness. I’m going to give you the run through the tour (we didn’t open the guest room, basement, or attic to tourees) which featured the main rooms of the house and tomorrow I’ll post detail shots of the tree, garland, etc. Unfortunately or fortunately it flurried all day to day. Sadly, it decreased the usual tour attendance, but the flurries really made it feel like Christmas. Let the tour begin:

In the immortal words of Bill Engvall “Here’s your sign.” or in our case here is our sign.

As you rapidly spring from your car and rush through the cold you might glance at the entry way. The little alpine trees had to be held down with bricks to keep from blowing away. Of course I only figured this out after I reset the damn entryway three times. I’m a slow learner at times.

Then we have split the living room into an entryway behind the love seat. On the console table I created a snowy vignette in a wardian case that Patrick gave me a few years ago.

Moving on to the living room.

Patrick and I had some helpers in the form of “The Granny”, Papaw (not pictured), and the neighbors’ kids. Their house was also on the tour so they went back and forth between houses. The often come by and are a real hoot. It is so nice to live in a town with fun, friendly neighbors. I’m not sure if they are posting pictures of their house but if they do it will likely be at their blog 21 Penn.

The fact that their house is so radically different than ours, makes the Tour of Homes worth participating in. I love their breezy whites, pennant garland, and covet their black bedroom. If only I had the ceiling height I would totally steal their ideas. However, what works for one house doesn’t for the next. It makes each stopn on the tour unique. Back to the helpers:

One of the features we love most is that the living room opens into the dining room through a double set of french doors (we found in the basement and rehung). I like the open floor plan, but it is a bit of a challenge to unify the public areas of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. We chose various shades of grey for the wall color and metallics for the decorations.

Personally, I would like to rip out all of the cabinetry, revamp the floor plan, and basically start fresh in the kitchen. However, we are on a modest budget, so after painting the walls (the life of the cabinetry has yet to be decided) we opted for a warmer Christmas feel after all the metallic and used springs of bittersweet and oranges to fill out the space. We did use similar greenery to tie it to the other adjoining rooms. For more sensory input we boiled a mix of cinnamon, cloves, and star anise to give the hint of fresh Christmas baking.

There is a nice sized hallway that separates the public areas from the private bath and bedrooms. We decorated the hallway just for us. One of our gothic/nerdy habits is collecting gargoyles (grotesques for the history purists). We picked the first one up in France in the form of this owl from Avignon. We haven’t looked back sense. We used them in the hallway topping our copious bookcases.

The best thing about having a child is getting to do child-like things again. I wanted color and fun in the boy’s room. Since we haven’t repainted it yet (next on the list) we have not hung pictures. It is hard to add color in a white room with white walls. The granny had a cute white Christmas tree we borrowed plus she managed to find colored Christmas lights on white wire (no small feat). Then we added a lot of figurative glass ornaments, plus the family ones. We also used McClain’s toys and some Christmas beanies for decoration.

The bathroom was so awesome that we actually put a sign up saying it was “Still under renovation. Unless you like it, then this is how we meant for it to be.” So, here’s you obligatory picture of the toilet vignette. Nothing says Christmas like a sparkly toilet topper.

The bedroom gets two photos. 1. Because I actually made the bed (We almost always pull the bed straight, but who actually uses this many pillows?):

Don’t you just love those beige-pink walls? Especially with the red bedding. Trust me one of the two is on the docket to change… 2. I used my collection of green glass to add a touch of Christmas to the bedroom dresser.

That’s all for now, but tomorrow you can see some of the closeups and a more in-depth descriptions of the Christmas tree and vignettes. Then, maybe, we can be done with Christmas until the 25th.

To see part II click here.

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How To Make An Evergreen Wreath

Nothing beats the “wow” factor of a handmade wreath or garland during the Christmas holidays. Best part it is another EASY Christmas craft. Another plus, it doesn’t cost a lot (Under $5 again).

First assemble your tools and any helpers. (Picture me yelling this a faux German accent, because that’s how it sounds in my head) Affiliate links to follow.

  1. Christmas Helper: Make sure to have other Christmas projects for the helper to do unless you want pine sap on EVERYTHING
  2. Wire Wreath Form*/Frame/Box: If you Google it you’ll find one or they have them at craft stores for less than $5. Let me give you a tip here; go with the smaller form. Whichever size you think looks right, go with the smaller one. Let me repeat: Go Smaller! Once you put the branches on it ends up being twice the size you expected. “Granny” and I have created some big, honking wreaths in the past.
  3. Floral Wire 24 Gauge*: I like a 24 gauge, just make sure it’s thick enough that you can pull it without it breaking but thin enough to wind easily. I like the green florist wire because If I’m not careful (which I’m not usually) it will blend better.
  4. Greenery: Your choice. I like to mix mine. It takes a whole lot less than you would think. I made a door wreath with three around 3ft long branches. Cut the branch ends into 6in pieces before you start. This makes the whole process flow faster. Pine, ivy, boxwood, magnolia leaves, holly, etc. all work.
  5. Cheap/Old Clippers: Once you cut the wire and gummy pine trees they’re pretty much done. I always just use my old garden shears for this project.

Step 1

Take one end of the wire and twist it around the frame to hook it. No fancy girlscout knot needed, just make sure that puppy is gonna stay in place.

Step 2

Take a hand full of greenery and bundle it together lay it at a slight diagonal on the wreath form with the cut ends slightly over where you hooked the wire. Then pull the wire around the frame and bundle a couple of times. This isn’t rocket-surgery (as we say in this house) just wrap the damn wire as many times as you want.

Man, do I need to put on some lotion and file my nails…

Step 3

Take another bundle of greenery and lay it over-lapping the first. Continue wrapping with the wire. DO NOT cut and rehook the wire, it won’t be as tight and it’s a freaking waste of time. If you keep wrapping you can knock this puppy out in less that 15 minutes (especially if it’s 30 degrees out, like it was the evening I was creating this one).

Step 4

Just keep bundling greenery and wrapping. Yeah, it really is that easy.When you get all the way back to the beginning just tuck the final bundle under the first one, and then tie the wire to the underside. Or if your hands are completely numb and have been stabbed by pine needles a million times, just kind of shove the wire in the back of the wreath. Perhaps, I should add leather gloves to my list of tools.

Not my neatest wreath, but damn it was cold. You bundle in 30 degrees with wind and see how neat your’s turns out.

Viola! Your finished… In theory. A plain evergreen circle can be a clean modern decoration. Especially if you focus on branch lengths being the same, or trim them when completed. However, I have a little bit of country tackiness in my bones so I have to glitz mine up. I’ll show you how to create the faux snow tomorrow, it is another heavily modified 50’s recipe.

If anyone actually makes a wreath with this tutorial please let me know. I would love to see any pictures!

Easy evergreen wreath tutorial.  Anyone can make a wreath for Christmas decoration or even sales at Farmer's Markets and Craft Shows.