I believe anyone who has ever decorated a tree for the holidays recognizes the need for garland.

It just makes it look complete.

So this past summer as I was wondering the aisles of Home Depot, I stumbled across these copper couplings [and you guessed it] my mind went wild.

Here is how I used those couplings, several wooden beads, and random paint to create some pretty rad décor 😉

Supplies:

1/2-Inch Copper Couplings

1-Inch Wooden Beads

Paint Supplies

2 Small Beads

Scissors

Now some of you might be upset by the vagueness of my supplies list. There are two reasons for it:

1. I don’t know how large your tree is, so the amount of couplings and beads will vary.

AND

2. When it comes to color palates, we all have different tastes, so I have left that up to your discretion.

Okay, shall we get started?

For my wooden beads, I went with a layering technique. I strung up all the beads on one line of string and spray painted them with this “Glow Orange” color. [On a sidenote: these “Short Cuts” are a JOKE. Sorry Krylon, but they are. I could only get a little bit of paint out of each can. I’m guessing there’s just not enough air pressure in such a little container to use up all the paint. Whatever the reason may be, they were a complete waste of money. Anyway . . . ] Then, I watered down two different acrylic paints [one part paint to one part water] and drizzled each color over the beads; allowing drying time in between. For these colors, I used Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Pearl Acrylic Craft Paint in “Holly Berry” and “Purple Martin.” After the beads had dried, I decided at the very last minute to use leftover metallic spray paint to add some pops of copper. I did this by spraying the paint indirectly above them two to three feet. This allowed for specs of color to land on the beads.

I’m pretty stoked about how they turned out. What do you think? Next, take your string and tie one small bead on the end of it. This will be the first end of your garland.

Now here comes the meticulous part: the stringing. You will need to go bead, coupling, bead, coupling – repeating it over and over again until you, well, run out of supplies OR you have made long enough garland for your entire tree. We have a 9-foot tree and I used a total of 250 couplings and 250 beads.

Once the desire length is reached, tie off the other end with your last small bead. And VOILA! You have Beaded Copper Garland!

“My fondest memories are generally the day after Thanksgiving. I get the total decorating Christmas itch.” – Katharine McPhee

I know my tree wasn’t decorated the day after Thanksgiving like I would have traditionally wanted it to be, HOWEVER, I’m having a blast making its trimmings!