Up-cycled Magazine Garland

Dec 3, 2010 · written by Amy · DecorateHandmade

Maybe it’s because I’m thrifty. Maybe it’s because I’m crafty. But I love trash. The clean, good stuff, of course. So this year I’ve challenged myself to decorate for Christmas with almost all handmade “trash” decorations. (You should see my toilet paper roll collection.) I wanted something fun and simple for our great windows, so I made what my husband calls DNA garland for the kitchen. I just cut strips of magazine, lined them all up in a row, drew a line of school glue, then pressed a string of twine onto the glue. After about 10 minutes, I twisted the twine to create a random direction of all the strips. Then I strung up some dollar store snow flakes to keep my DNA company (thanks for the goodies, Mom!). In the living room, I spent about 10 minutes on some simple bunting of twine and wrapping paper. Which looks just adorable with dollar store candy canes! (Again, Mom… fist bump.) Simple, but festive, no?

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7 Comments

  • Bethany Dec 4, 2010
    Love it! Can't wait to see it at Gingeropolis next week :)
  • Moriyah Shalom Dec 4, 2010
    This is so cute! I love the magazine garland. I saw something similar with colored strips of paper but it was sewn with a machine and I was just sitting here thinking about that when your email popped up. Thank you for the idea. I will borrow this. All the best and happy holidays.
  • Natalie Dec 4, 2010
    I love the DNA garland. How did you come up with that idea?
  • momma Dec 5, 2010
    Clever! Festive! Cute! I should make DNA garlands for the 5 windows on the sun porch!
  • Alissa Dec 6, 2010
    Love! You're so creative and resourceful. I'm always excited to see the neat things you'll come up with. :o)
  • Melissa Allam Dec 9, 2010
    Pretty crafty. I love the magazine garland.
  • Amy & Lisa Oct 27, 2011
    OH my! LOVE this magazine garland!! Really want to give it a try. :)