Thursday, April 5, 2012

Easter/Spring Garland!

So i was going through Pinterest the other day trying to find some ideas for Easter/Spring decorating ideas.  I'm on a budget and didn't want to spend that much, but I wan'ted something bright and fun!  So I came across this idea for Egg Shaped Garland!  It was incredibly easy and inexpensive too!  All together my supplies cost around $7.00.  It probably could have been even cheaper if I had purchased the embroidery thread on sale, but I didn't want to wait!

The supplies your going to need are:

1 cup of liquid starch ( I used Sta-Flo)
1/2 cup flour
Water balloons  ( filled with air not water)
Embroidery floss
Wax Paper, Parchment Paper, Foil





The firs thing to do is mix the liquid starch and flour.  I used a whisk to do this so there wouldn't be any clumps.   Then I blew up the water balloons.   The size of the balloons will be personal preference, I kept mine a little bigger than my fist.   The bigger the balloon the more spaced out your thread will be the smaller the balloon is your thread will be more dense.  


I also laid out a piece of wax paper that I had on hand so nothing would stick to my tablecloth while it dried.   You can use pretty much anything that can get wet and won't get ruined.   



The next step is to put the skein of embroidery floss in the "goop".  You will want to make sure to wind it around the bowl and not just dunk it in.  I learned from the original blog not to do that but she said it just gets in a ton of knots if you don't unwind it neatly into the bowl. 



Then you can just press it down gently with your fingers.  I kept the end out so I didn't lose it, then I just dunked it in while holding it.    


Now its time to wrap the balloons!!  I started from the top of each balloon where you  tie it off and would wrap it around going from top to bottom a couple of times, that way I knew it would stay put.   When wrapping the floss around you want to make sure and use one hand to take the extra "goop" off.  I just used my right hand and slid the floss through my thumb and index finger to take the extra off.  



Then comes the waiting... I had to wait a few hours for everything to dry.   One thing to keep in mind is you may have to turn them over so the bottom dries a little faster.  You will know they are done when they have lightened up in color and become stiff.   Once they are dry you can use a knife, needle or anything sharp to pop the balloon.  To get the popped balloon out I just used a pair of tweezers.  






Once they were done I tied them to a string and hung it across my entertainment center.   I really love how they look and it brings a great pop of color to my living room!  The nice thing is if you store these in a safe place they will be usable again and again! 

I hope you try this out! 

xoxo ~ Johnna 


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