How to make a garland with wood beads

The word "garland" may bring to mind holly and greenery draped on staircases during Christmastime, but garland itself is just a hanging decoration. This craft takes some time to complete, but it can be customized in terms of color to complement any decor. For example, white and light-blue beads look nice in a room with a seaside theme.

Hang your garland along doorways, drape them on bookshelves, attach them to a wall or gently place a small garland over the top of a hanging picture frame. This project uses large beads, but medium beads and smaller tassels are better if a more delicate look is desired. To make smaller tassels, use a shorter piece of cardboard.

Materials
- Large unpolished wood beads
- Thin dowel
- Small and medium bowls
- White craft paint
- Artist’s paintbrush
- Roll of twine
- Rectangle of corrugated cardboard, 4 inches long
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle or other long needle with a long, wide eye

Instructions
Step 1. Put six or more beads in a bowl. One by one, slide them onto the dowel, keeping them slightly separated. Paint the beads white and let them dry, resting them over a bowl so the paint does not touch anything.

Step 2. Turn the cardboard so it is longest from top to bottom. Hold one end of twine against the face of the cardboard, and wrap the twine around the cardboard top to bottom at least 15 times. Cut the twine from the roll.

Step 3. Cut a 6-inch length of twine from the roll. Slide it under the twine on the front of the cardboard and up to the top of the wrap. Tie a double knot.

Step 4. Slide the wrapped twine off the cardboard. Cut off at least 14 inches of twine from the roll. Tie one end of the twine around the creation, approximately 1 inch down from the top. Make a knot. Tightly wrap the twine around five times. Tie the end to the first end of the 14 inches.

Step 5. Thread the ends of the middle twine from the previous step through the needle, then slide the needle under the middle wrap and draw it through. This should tuck in the ends. Trim if the ends are too long.

Step 6. Place open scissors through the bottom twine loop and cut through the loop’s bottom, opening it up. Trim the ends. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for as many tassels as desired.

Step 7. Remove the painted beads from the dowel and put some unpainted beads in a bowl. You want more unpainted beads than painted ones.

Step 8. Measure out a length of twine that matches how long you want the garland to be. Thread the twine on the needle and run it through the top loop of the tassel. Tie it off, then cut off the initial small tie made in Step 3.

Step 9. Thread the twine through as many beads as desired, occasionally threading a white one to provide a different shade. Alternate between tassels and beads.

Step 10. Use the needle or your fingers to tuck any errant twine from the tassels through the beads so the twine does not stick out.

Step 11. End the garland with a tassel. Thread the garland twine through the top of the last tassel, tie if off and trim. Hang the garland.