Chatfield Court

DIY Magnolia Leaf Garland

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How to make a beautiful DIY magnolia leaf garland to hang in your home for the Christmas holiday. 

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I have to confess that all of my decor is up and my first handmade Christmas decor is complete. I made a magnolia leaf garland for our big kitchen window.

DIY magnolia leaf garland around large kitchen window

This window is one of the reasons why I love our little cottage so much. It lets so much light in and the view of the woods next to the house is beautiful. There’s nothing like it. I think we appreciate it so much because we had 2 small windows in our Illinois kitchen. Not only did they face North but they also looked out onto our neighbors back door, that was about 25 feet from our house. They were nice enough neighbors but they could sit on their deck and see everything we were doing. Needless to say we always had the windows covered.

Anyway, last year I wanted to do something special to decorate our big kitchen window and bought a beautiful live garland. I loved it but it was expensive and, of course, it didn’t last long. (you can check out last year’s holiday kitchen here)

This year I wanted to use a garland again but I wanted to try magnolia leaves. I’ve used them in my decor before and they always dry beautifully, so you can keep them a bit longer.

I looked online and the prices for a magnolia garland were way more than I was willing to spend. Our window is 8 foot long so we need something that’s about 13 feet in length.  Eeek…that equals a lot of money.

Not giving up on my plan (because those words aren’t in my vocabulary), I started looking into making my own. I don’t have a magnolia tree in my yard but I do have plenty of neighbors that have them and they were very generous.

magnolia leaves in a box

Even if you don’t have a generous neighbor with a magnolia tree, you can find them online. Yup, you can even buy a box of fresh magnolia leaves on the internet. You can get a box of around 350 for right around $50 (I checked).

I’ve never done this kind of craft before but figured out a plan and, as soon as they were picked, the hubs and I set to work wrapping the magnolia leaves.

Supplies to make a DIY Magnolia Leaf Garland

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This was really easy to do but it did take some time. We ended up spending about 2 hours, over the course of 2 evenings, to make our leaf garland.

magnolia leaves

We started out by wrapping 3 leaves together using floral wire. Once we got a good pile going, hubs continued wrapping while I started attaching each trio to the covered craft wire.

making a magnolia leaf garland

There was no measuring involved. I just started attaching them so that the stems all faced one way, about 1 1/2″ apart. The goal was to hide the stems and wire. You’ll notice too that this is a flat garland. Meaning that there is only one pretty side. I would have loved to do both sides but it would have been difficult to hang it in the window (and the hubs would have killed me 😉 ).

magnolia leaf garland and floral wire

I didn’t wear gloves to do this but I recommend them, if you can. The floral wire really did a number on my fingers.

A little tip about the natural covered craft wire I used. Hubs wanted me to use cotton string we already had but, with that big expanse and the weight of the leaves, it probably would have stretched and drooped. I thought it would be wiser to use the covered wire and I was really glad that we did. It was really easy to use and there’s no worry about it drooping.

backside of magnolia leaf garland

I would have liked it to be a bit fuller but I love how it turned out (and that it was free). Maybe next time I’ll put my trios closer together and experiment with using the top and underside of the leaves.
 
They’ve already started to dry and turn color. That’s what I love most about magnolia leaves.
 
And, because I love magnolia leaves so much, I crafted my own magnolia leaf wreath for our front door (and there’s a video).
 

magnolia leaf garland hanging in a kitchen window

 
magnolia leaf garland hanging around window in a white kitchen
 
Don’t miss our holiday home tour – Christmas dining room. I went in a different direction with our holiday decor this year and I’m really loving the change. Oh, and I also crafted some easy DIY dried orange slice ornaments if you want to check that out. 
 
Hope you have a great day!
pin this for later graphic
 
making magnolia leaf garland and magnolia leaf garland around kitchen window
 
 
 
 
 
 

About Kristi

Kristi here…lover and doer of all things DIY, home improvement, home decor, and quick and easy recipes. I’m the voice behind Chatfield Court where I share the budget-friendly DIY projects, crafts and decorating tips in the hopes of inspiring others that they can do it too.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristi

    Thanks so much, Jillian. 🙂 I don’t consider myself a crafter (or should I say a good crafter), so I really appreciate your comment. I do love how it frames the window.

  2. Kristi

    I never really saw magnolia anything until we moved South. A couple of years ago I found a huge magnolia wreath in a floral supply (in Chicago) and it was gorgeous. It kind of reignited my love for it.

    Ah, the hubs. He wouldn’t normally offer to help me do a craft but he was in the doghouse and wanted to redeem himself. I did appreciate the help. 😉

  3. Kristi

    You get the prize for being most observant. 😉 I was trying out different decor in the window with a couple of shots. I know it’s not good for continuity but sometimes I just can’t help myself. 😉

    Thanks so much for stopping in Rose, and for your sweet comment.

  9. Jane

    I think your garland looks spectacular! I always have window envy when I see your kitchen window, and the magnolia garland is the perfect holiday dressing for it!

  10. Brenda Lane

    Brenda, Florida

    WOW, love the garland! You do nice work and have a lot of patience. I haven’t started decorating yet because here in Florida it is still 80 degrees and it doesn’t seem like the holidays yet.

  12. Marlene Stephenson

    I love your garland you made, and i too think they are so beautiful. I am surprised at where you found your leaves. Have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving.

  14. Debbie H

    I first saw a magnolia garland in a little country church. The altar rail and various other places had garland and magnolia wreaths draped with burgundy bows. It looked so elegant and classy. The church members were very wealthy so I am sure they bought them. I always think of that church at Christmas time. Your hubs is very supportive. I couldn’t imagine mine sitting for two hours making a garland. LOL Looking forward to seeing the complete room. Debbie

  15. Rose

    Love it. Always a plus to add natural elliments. I noticed in the pictures that you have two different horses. I also love the cut shelf that sits on the counter. Can’t wait to see more.

  17. Kim R

    Beautiful! I can get the magnolia leaves free, so there’s no excuse for me not to try this myself, right? Thanks for the detailed tutorial!

  20. Maria Brittis

    What a gorgeous garland! Thats quite a bit of work involved and it is a piece of art work! I think it pretty full and it look perfect! Lovely cottage and love the windows.
    Maria

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