Fireplace Garland Décor

by Oleander and Palm

There really is nothing better than simple winter dècor to give your home a cozy, holiday feel. Inspired by all the pretty blonde wood tones used in Scandinavian design, I created this simple wooden bead icicle garland complemented by eucalyptus and pine. This no-fuss wintry garland is easy to make and the eucalyptus smells so good.

1. To start, you will want to measure your mantel for the length of the garland. Using 1/4 inch rope, decide how long you want it to hang on the sides and also account for the swags along the top of the mantel. I made my garland to dip twice.

2. Use both a PowerGear2™ Pruner and PowerGear2™ Lopper (25") to trim several branches of eucalyptus. I trimmed mine from a neighbor's tree and the long handles of the lopper made it easy to reach taller, thicker branches of foliage. If you don't have eucalyptus growing in your neighborhood, look for it at your local florist.

3. Use the pruner to trim away parts of the branches that don't have very many leaves. This pruner is one of my favorite tools. It is comfortable and easy to grip and the non-stick blades make clean cuts.

4. Starting at one end of the rope, wrap wire around the branch of eucalyptus with the foliage falling away from the end of the rope. Every couple inches, add in another branch, laying them all the same direction, and wrapping wire to secure them all tightly to the rope. I used enough foliage to be sure the rope was hidden.

5. Next, trim about 8-10 sprigs of pine with pine cones. I used pieces about 6 inches in length. Using short, 5 inch pieces of wire, attach the pine sprigs to the garland.

6. To create the wooden bead icicles, cut a 3 foot piece of crochet thread. I love the Softgrip® Micro-Tip® Pruning Snip for jobs like this. It is versatile and can go from cutting light branches to snipping thread with ease.

7. Lay out your beads in the desired pattern, using different shapes and sizes. I worked from biggest (2 inch diameter) to smallest (1/4 inch diameter) to create an icicle effect. Using a large needle, thread the smallest bead on and place it in the center of the length of thread.

8. Then re-thread the needle onto both ends of the thread (so the thread is doubled) and thread on a second bead.Continue threading on all the beads. I made 3 icicles for my mantel. In addition to the bead icicles, you can also make a longer strand of beads in your desired pattern to hang slightly above the foliage. I used about 8 dozen beads in the example pictured.

9. Use push pin tacks or hooks to secure the garland and beads to the mantel.

The halls are now decked with garland and ready to help you celebrate the season!