Isn’t this Christmas Ornament Garland beautiful? It is really quite easy to make and makes such a striking presentation!
DIY Christmas Ornament Garland
To make your own ornament garland, you will need some wire, wire cutters, and 2 large washers. Then, you will need to make a picture frame wire knot. This knot will hold the wire securely on the washer. (I used some 24-gauge wire that I had in my craft supplies. You want to be sure the wire is strong enough to hold the ornaments without breaking and yet strong enough to support the ornaments.)
To make the knot, run the wire through a washer and back alongside itself.
Bring the wire over and around itself and back through the washer.
That makes a little slipknot. The slip knot keeps it tight on the washer.
Then, twist the wire around the base of the knot a few times. Clip the tail off close to the wire.
Once the wire was securely attached to the washer, the washer was placed on a nail head, which has been used for attaching garlands in the past. (You can use the Command hooks for this instead. Earlier, a couple of the clear damage-free Command hooks were strategically placed on the mantel for a place to drape the wire garland.)
To measure how much wire was needed, the wire was draped over both of the Command hooks, looped down, back up, and across the fireplace to the other side where another small nail used for garland was positioned. A generous amount of extra wire was added to the rough measurement and then the wire was cut. Remember that when the ornaments are added to the wire, there will be added bulk and that will change the length of wire needed to drape nicely.
Adding The Ornaments
Then, I began to string red, white, gold, and silver ball ornaments on the wire. Red was the intentional predominant color. We have a variety of red ornaments in different textures. There are red and white satin balls we bought in 1978! There are a variety of plastic ball ornaments, which were purchased at end of the season sales over the years. We also have some glass ornaments but I chose not to use them on this garland, fearing they might break. Two more canisters of shatterproof red plastic ornaments
were purchased for this project to add to those we already had. (We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales from this link. Thanks for supporting this website!)
Don’t you just love this look? I don’t know why we haven’t done this before! After stringing these few and placing the strand on the mantel, stepping back, I am just struck by the beauty of it.
Anyway, for each shiny red plastic ball I used on the first side, I set aside a matching one for the other side. For each glittered red ball, set one aside for the other side, etc. My plan is to duplicate the pattern in reverse on the other end. I don’t want one side to be visually heavier than the other. (It probably would have been just fine if I hadn’t done this. Lol!) In retrospect, maybe I should have started in the middle and worked on both sides at the same time. Oh, well!
How To Fix A Minor Issue With The Ornament Garland
A few of the balls popped off of the endcap due to stress on them being bunched together. This is not a problem. Just use some Tacky glue to apply liberally to the opening of the ball. Then, click it back on the cap, and allow it to dry. If you pick it back up before it is completely dry, it might pop off again, ahem, not that I did that.
Leave Some Slack In The Ornament Garland
Remember to leave some slack in the wire so that the washers, on the end, and the Command hooks can easily be reached with the wire. If the balls are packed on too tightly, it will be impossible to loop on the hooks or nails.
The measurement of this fireplace is 72 – inches wide where the ornament garland is placed. The final length of the ornament garland is 8 – 1/2 feet.
In order to make placement a little easier, measure, and with a ribbon, mark where the garland wire should drape over the hooks. But then, you could also use another piece of wire to wrap around the garland wire and secure to the hooks if you happen to pack the balls on too tightly. There is always a way over, under, around, or through, right?
The Completed Ornament Garland Mantel Display
Although I had not planned it, the Papier- Mâché Lady Snowman and the Papier- Mâché Snowman are on the fireplace mantel. I picked up the letter ‘J’, the letter ‘Y’, and the big red jingle bell at Hobby Lobby earlier this season. I had a vision of what the mantel would look like but after seeing the Snowmen with the letters, I changed my mind! The original snowman will ultimately be featured on the table in the foyer. I’m working on another one with a hat to take his place on the fireplace mantel.
Alright! I LOVE this Beautiful Christmas Ornament Garland! The picture does not do it justice. It is so simple to make! Can you imagine this in your favorite color combination? The possibilities are endless! What do you think?
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Stunningly beautiful and you explained how to make it perfectly! I can’t wait to start my own, with all the ornaments I have collected over the past few years.
Oh, thank you! Would love to see your version! You can share it on our Facebook page!
This is absolutely stunning and I am planning it for my fireplace this year. Can you give me an idea of how many total ornaments went into the 8 1/2 ft. garland? I want it to be balanced so I want to buy them all at once. Thanks so much for any help in this regard. Patti Brooks
Sorry about the delay in responding, Patti. We’ve had company. I counted about 28 ornaments in one foot of the garland. My guess is about 250 ornaments for an 8.5-foot length. Good luck with your garland! Thanks for visiting!