Recycled Holiday Garlands Series

by Diana Durkes

Snip. Clip. Presto! Another everyday material becomes holiday decor today, at the hands of our furniture and accessories makeover specialist and Contributor, Diana Durkes. Diana gives “New Life to the Tossed and Found” at her blog, Fine Diving.

Your Recycled Soda Can Garland will add a fun and funky sparkle to your tree or mantel.

Materials and Tools:

• Empty aluminum soda and juice cans
• Medium duty scissors
• Paper hole punch
• String or yarn
• Heavy work gloves

Instructions:
1. Rinse and drain your collection of empty cans.

2. Wear your work gloves while you cut and work with the cut aluminum (do as I say, not as I do). Cut the top and bottom off each can. What’s left is a roll of aluminum from which you’ll cut the shapes for the garland.

3. I used a can top as a template to trace circles and free-handed the rectangles. Pinking shears make a fun zigzag border on the shapes, and if you have the type of craft scissors that create even fancier borders, they’d work great, too.

4. When you have a bunch of cut shapes, use the paper punch to create a hole for stringing. As you string each shape, put a knot in the string to keep it in place.

This garland will stand up to the weather if you use it outdoors, too!
 

Thanks popping in on Day #12 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments. Now – raid the recycling bin and gather all the plastic water bottles you can! Tomorrow the garland magic continues….
 

Diana Durkes is a creative recycler and a confessed alley shopper. She gives a makeover to one found item each week, and publishes the before & after on her blog, Fine Diving.

She also writes the Tossed and Found column for Time Out Chicago and pens the blog Garage Sale Warrior for the Chicago Trib’s Chicago Now.