I’m not quite in the Holiday spirit just yet and I can’t really tell why. Andy & I got our tree this past weekend, and decorated the house, but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to get fully in the holiday spirit/excited for Christmas. Hoping Ribbons & Bluebirds’s amazing DIY tutorial today will help turn things around for me – anyone else got any other suggestions!? For today we have a DIY Paper Holly & Mistletoe tutorial. Take it away Jenn!
DIY Paper Holly & Mistletoe Tutorial
Aaand now it’s December. I cannot BELIEVE how fast this year has gone by – thanks for sticking with our DIY series! We’ve got some great ideas to finish out 2014, and Bree and I are both excited for what 2015 will bring in the DIY department – stay tuned ;)
To round out my paper flora, I wanted to create some holiday classics – holly and mistletoe! These little sprigs could be used to brighten up holiday gift tags, in wreaths or banners, or as place card décor… there are endless possibilities! This time I was lucky enough to have my friend Traci of Traci J Brooks Studios along for a little crafting party, so you can get a front row view of each step!
For the holly, you’ll need:
· Holiday leaf template, available here.
· Green cardstock – I used textured cardstock for the holly and lighter green for the mistletoe, but this is up to your personal preference!
· X-acto knife
· Metallic Red Tissue
· Green tissue (tiny amount)
· Floral wire lengths
· Floral tape – I used brown
· Hot glue gun
Step by Step Instructions:
Step 1: To make the holly, start by downloading the free template here! Next, cut out the leaves on the template, and use them to trace onto your cardstock. Carefully cut out the leaves with your X-acto knife – I used 1 large leaf and 2 small for each holly sprig.
Step 2: Once the leaves are cut out, you’ll want to fold them to give them an authentic holly look. Each leaf should get folded along the length, from top point to bottom point, and then from each of the side points in towards the center fold. This also makes each point stand out, just like in real holly.
Step 3: While your glue gun is warming up to attach your leaves to wires, you can work on the holly berries. I was excited to use shiny metallic foil for these berries, since real holly berries are so glossy and luminous in the winter landscape. To make the berries, cut several sheets of tissue to approximately 2×2” squares. Start by crumpling up one square, and press it onto the end of 4” of precut floral wire. Use a second square to wrap around the crumpled piece onto the wire (similar to a lollypop wrapper would be wrapped.) Holding the wrapped sheet firmly around the wire, carefully wrap use floral tape to secure, starting to wrap just under the “bulb” of the berry and continuing most of the way down the wire. Remember that floral tape needs to be stretched to release the glue. It may take a few practice tries to get the berry securely tight to the wire, but you’ll get it! I made 3 berries per holly sprig.
Click inside for the rest of Ribbons & Bluebirds’ DIY Paper Holly & Mistletoe DIY Tutorial!
Step 4: Your glue gun should be warmed up now, so let’s finish up the leaves and get this holly sprig assembled. Using the same technique from our paper strawberries DIY, cut several strips of green tissue about ¼” x 1”. Precut several lengths of wire for your leaves, about 2-3” long – you can always trim them later. Use the hot glue gun to place a line of hot glue along the back spine of the leaves from 1/3 to ½ way up the leaf. Quickly press a piece of wire into the hot glue, and then press the tissue strip around the wire and into the glue on either side to cover it. Leave a little bit of the tissue hanging over the wire end. Wrap the whole wire with floral tape starting at the base of the leaf, covering any leftover tissue.
Step 5: To assemble, place the leaves together and wrap the bundle with floral tape, starting an inch down from the bottommost leaf. Tape the berries together first in a staggered bunch, then tape the berry bunch to the leaves and wrap to the base of the wires with floral tape. Bend and shape the stems of both berries and leaves to make the sprig look full and balanced. The bottom of the sprig wire can be shaped into a loop for hanging or attaching, if desired. You’re all done!
And now for the DIY Paper Mistletoe tutorial:
For the mistletoe, you’ll need:
· Holiday leaf template, available here.
· Green cardstock – I used textured cardstock for the holly and lighter green for the mistletoe, but this is up to your personal preference!
· X-acto knife
· Olive green marker
· White Tissue
· Green tissue (tiny amount)
· Floral wire lengths
· Floral tape – I used brown
· Hot glue gun
Step by Step instructions:
Step 1: To make the mistletoe, start by downloading the free template here! Next, cut out the leaves on the template, and use them to trace onto your cardstock. Carefully cut out the leaves with your X-acto knife – I used 2 large and 2 small for each mistletoe sprig.
Step 2: Once the leaves are cut out, use a green marker to add shading. I coloured in half of each leaf down the middle, and added some gentle striping out from the center stem on the opposite side. Once the leaves have been coloured, fold them each in half lengthwise.
Step 3: While your glue gun is warming up to attach your leaves to wires, you can make the mistletoe berries. . To make the berries, follow the same steps as above for the holly berries: cut several sheets of tissue to approximately 2×2” squares. Start by crumpling up one square, and press it onto the end of 4” of precut floral wire. Use a second square to wrap around the crumpled piece onto the wire (similar to a lollypop wrapper would be wrapped.) Holding the wrapped sheet firmly around the wire, carefully wrap use floral tape to secure, starting to wrap just under the “bulb” of the berry and continuing most of the way down the wire. Remember that floral tape needs to be stretched to release the glue. It may take a few practice tries to get the berry securely tight to the wire, but you’ll get it! I made 2 berries per mistletoe sprig.
Step 4: The technique to attach the leaves to wire stems is also the same: begin by cutting several strips of green tissue about ¼” x 1”. Precut several lengths of wire for your leaves, about 2-3” long – you can always trim them later. Use the hot glue gun to place a line of hot glue along the back spine of the leaves from 1/3 to ½ way up the leaf. Quickly press a piece of wire into the hot glue, and then press the tissue strip around the wire and into the glue on either side to cover it. Leave a little bit of the tissue hanging over the wire end. Wrap the whole wire with floral tape starting at the base of the leaf, covering any leftover tissue.
Step 5: To assemble, place the leaves together and wrap the bundle with floral tape, starting an inch down from the bottommost leaf. Tape the berries together first in a staggered bunch, then tape the berry bunch to the leaves and wrap to the base of the wires with floral tape. Bend and shape the stems of both berries and leaves to make the sprig look full and balanced. The bottom of the sprig wire can be shaped into a loop for hanging or attaching, if desired.
You’re all done!
