This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.
Hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year? Make the day a little more festive with this easy and cute DIY Thanksgiving garland! An easy project to complete tonight with your high school friends or while watching the parade tomorrow morning, it’s sure to add the perfect personal touch to your holiday.
Materials
- Feathers (that can be purchased at a crafts store like Michael’s)
- Paper (computer, construction or scrap book all work the same)
- A pencil
- Ribbon,
- Scissors
- Something to fasten the ribbon onto the paper like double sided tape or hot glue
1. Create your template. Take a sheet of paper and measure seven inches down and six and one fourth inches across. Draw a straight line from the top of the sheet to the seven inch mark. Then, draw a small dot at the bottom in the middle where you measure six inches across. Measure up from the midway point one and a half inches and make a dot. Then use your ruler to connect that dot to the ends of the sides creating an inverted “v” at the bottom. Now, cut out the shape which becomes your template.
2. Trace the template onto the sheets of paper. Then, cut out all the shapes. You should cut out a shape for each letter for the word you want on you banner. I chose “thankful” so I cut out eight shapes.
3. Line up the shapes either horizontally or vertically (whichever way you want your sign to go) and then flip them upside down. Next, take some ribbon and lay it flat going down the center of the shapes. Keep about two inches between each shape. Then, fasten the ribbon to the backs. Remember to leave extra ribbon at the top so you can hang your garland.
4. Create the letters. To create your letters you can write them on your garland, get premade letters at a craft store, or create them with ribbon. To create ribbon letters cut pieces of
ribbon into the shape of each desired letter. It is easiest to cut strips and then make the strips into the shape of the letter. Then, once you have done this fasten them to each shape. Make sure that you have the garland facing the right way for the letters. Hint: the false side is the side with the ribbon running through the center.
5. Now you can decorate your garland by adding feathers to the top like I did or you could add more ribbon and glitter. This is the time to get creative and make it your own! Then, once you are satisfied with your work, create a loop at the top of the garland (if you created a vertical banner) or on the sides (if you created a horizontal banner). You can then use the loop to hang your banner on your door, window, or anywhere else!
And there you have it! In 5 simple steps, you’ve created a one of a kind garland to display around your house. With more upcoming holidays, you could personalize this any way you want!