DIY Wooden Bead Garland and Other Homemade Christmas Decor

Good morning and Happy Sunday! Today I am joining some of my blogging friends to share some budget friendly Christmas ideas. I am going to be sharing a DIY wooden bead garland as well as a few other homemade items that I have made in the past that I love pulling out every year! I have been eyeing this natural wooden bead garland and this black one from Pottery Barn for a while now but thought that I could make a similar one for considerably less so decided to give it a try. I ended up making two for less than half the price of one of them! So here is my version. First is the natural one:

And here is the black one:

To make these I ordered three packs of these wooden beads. I used one and a half packs for each garland so basically with the three packs I was able to make two garlands.

I then wrapped the end of some twine that I already had on hand with tape to make it easier to thread through each bead and then threaded all the beads through.

Once I had threaded them all the way through I tied a knot at each end. Then I made a little tassle with some extra twin and tied it to each end.

And that was it! About as easy a project as there is!

For the black one I took them out to the garage and used some leftover spray paint I had from making Lillie’s hobnail lamps last week. I would probably have preferred a matte finish but just used what I already had.

And then threaded twine through them the same way as the natural ones. For this garland though I didn’t add a tassel.

Over on our mantel I mixed together five different garlands I’ve had for over ten years now to give a lush full look (this garland looks like it might give the same overall look) and then hung a felt ball garland below it for some added texture. You can read all about how to make that garland here in this post from a few years ago. I made quite a few strands that year and they are one of my favorite things to pull out of my Christmas bins now. Then I added a little bow with a brown velvet ribbon that I have actually had since before I even had kids! I love pulling it out each year and re-using it in different ways.

Over in the bookshelf I just added one little simple wreath.

Draping a festive throw over the back of a sofa and changing out the art on our TV were two other simple inexpensive ways to add some holiday touches in this room along with the DIY Wooden Bead Garland.

In our dining room I added more of the homemade felt ball garland (it was so worth it making lots of strands of it a few years ago because it is so dainty and timeless and I love finding different spots for it through the house!)

And then the only other thing I added to the tree in our dining room were some little bows that I tied with this black velvet ribbon. I did this last year to and loved the simple look of it!

I added the candle wreath this year but pretty much everything else in this picture we’ve had for years and years (the wreath I’ve had for 14 years or so and same with the paperwhites. Similar paperwhite can be found here and here though!) I will share lots more pictures of our dining room soon.

Another fun project is this Christmas Tree Tassel art that I made a few years ago and love pulling out each year. This year I put it in our bedroom. I am hoping to share lots more pictures of our new bedroom in the next week or so! (In the meantime though the wall color is Down Pipe by Farrow and Ball although I had it mixed at Sherwin Williams). I have had the mirror and dresser for years and the jewelry box is a vintage family piece. The wreath was a new addition this year. It’s so pretty!

And then lastly here is a Pom Pom garland I made several years ago that is another inexpensive handmade project that I love pulling out from year to year. You can read more about how I made it here.