Fall is my favorite time of year and I love harvesting leaves, acorns, and bits of organic material to bring nature to the table!
My preference is to use real materials, but here in the South, our leaves don’t start to turn until mid October, so any fall decorating before then requires artificial garlands or wreaths.
Enhancing an artificial garland with natural materials is a happy compromise, making a more realistic looking garland, and at the same time, gives you a base and starting point for a garland for your mantel or table.
I had several emails and comments inquiring about my
garland on my Pfaltzgraff Falling Leaves Table.
I started with a 6 foot artificial garland as a base,
that was a little sad and in need of enhancing. . .
I collected some dried hydrangea blooms, cut some oak leaves, and trimmed some burgundy tipped Loropetalum.
I found some espresso colored burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby along with some grapevine pumpkin picks.
I started with the ribbon, winding it through the garland and then added the pumpkins and then hydrangeas.
Next came addition of the oak leaves and greenery. I didn’t attach anything permanently since I planned on replacing the leaves and greenery as they dried, rearranging and tweaking the garland during the season.
You can use a glue gun to add your natural
materials to hold them in place permanently or even
semi-permanently with a minimum amount of glue.
This is an easy project to do once you’ve collected your materials. Let your flowers or leaves naturally fill in the gaps for a more realistic and fuller garland to use on a table or mantel!
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love it!
Very nice Mary!
Lovely, great job as usual. You inspire!
So gorgeous, Mary! Thanks for the tips on enhancing artificial garlands. xo
It looks wonderful as does everything you do-thanks!
Love the tablescape. The garland looks so lush with the burlap ribbon and the grapevine pumpkins that you added.
Good morning, Mary! Nice table setting. Fall is trying to come in! But the heat wins!😱
I would have never thought to do that, Mary! No wonder it looks so lush & full…I thought you had bought one of those REALLY EXPENSIVE garlands whose prices are hard to justify. Yours looks 20 times better, too!
Very beautiful Mary. I especially like the grapevine pumpkins.
Gorgeous as usual! I love the rich colors and textures that you brought in with napkins and wicker!
Wow, Mary, what a difference your additions made to the skinny garland. I will have to return for one I saw in the store yesterday and left because it looked so sickly. You may see it on a table soon! Our trees have started to change but it’s going to be close to 90 here today. My hydrangeas are soooo confused–I have only a few that are turning crimson properly. Linda
great idea! never thought of that and i live way south of you in florida where the leaves never turn :-( . also never thought to use garland on the table. that is how i’ll mix it up this year. thanks.
Those napkins…PAISLEY…and the garland is perfect color combination. I, too, emblish wreaths, garlands, good grief, even bird nests…it’s a “thing” isn’t it!!! :) franki
Fall is my favorite time of year, also. It is like an explosion of color! I love the garland and how you jazzed it up. You have such great ideas- keep them coming. I look forward to seeing what you will do next.
This is so lovely! It really does look like a very expensive garland. I’m having great luck preserving some boxwood right now, and I wonder if it would work with some slender stems of Red Oak, too?
This really is stunning. I did something similar with holiday wreaths. My son, who works for a beer distributor, had an over abundance and gave me a couple wreaths for the coach lights. The trouble was, they were both festooned with beer caps and Miller Light ribbons. After painstakingly peeling everything off, I added bits purchased from Michael’s and ended up with two very nice wreaths. :-)
twins again, fall is my favorite season, most thrive on spring, but give me an eye full of red org and yellow and i am wild with desire! your garland looks wonderful, i too only go for the natural abundance of nature, a snip here and there makes the world go round. it is a beautiful enrichment to your table~
I’m doing this for an upcoming Women’s Club Fashion Show! Thanks again for the inspiration!
How wonderful that Pfaltzgraff used your photo in their ad!!! …although, actually, I am not surprised. Your eye for detail, color and combinations of color and textures is so perfect and your talent with the camera is so …so…(oh, well, I have to say it again) perfect, that it doesn’t surprise me at all.
Absolutely beautiful, Mary. Such a great idea to make those skimpy (but expensive) garlands look perfect..Happy Wednesday..Judy
This makes the garland so lush and beautiful…Your table is full of fall inspiration..and I love it!
Love, Mona
Beautiful arrangement! Thank you so much for the tutorial and the fall inspiration:).
I absolutely loved that garland the first second I saw it! You are so sweet to share your secrets~ the burlap ribbon is genius, what a great anchor for all the additions. I love the grapevine pumpkin picks especially, I look forward to seeing it again through the season!
Jenna
It is just stunning! I agree, the burlap ribbon and the grapevine pumpkins add such volume to it. You are truly gifted and I love how you draped it over the round table.
I love those grapevine pumpkin picks! When I have something that is NOT a pick but want to add it to an arrangement or anything, I just ADD a pick:) I save the stems that I cut off flowers for this use. Your garland is exquisite!!!
My fall wreath on the front door now looks insipid :-)
Gorgeous (as always)! Mary, you know I love what you share ~ you’ve made this garland so full and lush ~ I probably would have just passed it by in the store. But you’ve made it come alive and full with color, texture and natural touches. Brilliant! Thank you. xo
Love, love this garland! Thanks for sharing the pictures AND the how to. Have a great day.
I absolutely love this!! I am pinning you yet again.
Of course they used your photos for their ad…..they are smart over at Pfaltzgraff! I love the dishes and the garland. Such a pretty table!
So beautiful!
What a lovely table setting and of course I am drooling over those place settings! Thanks so much for showing the metamorphosis of that garland… beautiful job… now you have my brain cells waking up to give it a try myself :D
Hugs
Very pretty fall garland. The bits and pieces you added to it really improved the look.
Beautiful! And a huge improvement to the original strand. Your entire table is gorgeous.
Patty at Home and Lifestyle Design
Very creative and beautiful!
Mary, the transformation of the original garland into what you made is stunning! I especially like how you added those green oak leaves to it. I’m so glad you shared where you got the grapevine pumpkins because they would be a great addition to the garland around our front door.
That garland is gorgeous. It looks perfect on your table.
Just beautiful the way you made the skimpy artificial garland be a base for your natural elements…thanks so much for sharing that with us!
You have inspired me to enhance my garland with ribbons and possibly some real flowers…I so love it and your stunning table..I need to make a trip to Hobby Lobby!
Mary, your additions made a huge difference in the look of this garland. Love the choice of natural elements and the way this looks on the natural linen cloth. This is a gorgeous fall table.
Very nice transformation. You can get some pretty nice faux garlands at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and I love how you added the fresh to it. It looks like a florist did it as a custom order! Visiting from Be Inspired. You have inspired me! Following you via Bloglovin’!
Mary, I’m so glad you did this post. The moment I saw this table I was taken in by the garland. So clever of you to add to the faux garland with live. It looks amazing!
As always, wonderful to have you at Seasonal Sundays.
– The Tablescaper
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Your garland turned out beautiful Mary, I’ll bet it just gets better as everything dries! While your initial garland may have been a little thin… It did have good bones-enjoy:@)
Your garland is stunning. Great tutorial. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
Mary, Your garland is absolutely gorgeous! Love the way you enhanced it with natural materials, little grapevine pumpkins and espresso burlap ribbon. Thanks for the inspiration.
this is a great idea, and makes for a gorgeous Fall Garland! a beautiful collaboration between real and faux!
Mary, can I ask you the size, (dimensions) of your patio? I think ours is going to be similiar, as we are having seating walls too.
This is gorgeous Mary! Thanks for joining HSH!
Sherry
It looks so much better after your personal touch. Thanks for sharing how to do this.
Wow that looks great! What a beautiful fall tablescape!!
Wow! Thank You so very much for showing me how to make this beautiful garland!!!
Amazingly beautiful! I wish I could just purchase it from you. :)