Snowflake Garland

 

Today's Snack: Bake a pan of brownies, but before you cut and eat, sprinkle a little mini-snowstorm of powdered sugar over the top.

When you eat these "snow-kissed brownies," make sure you don't SNEEZE, or the "snowflakes" will all fly off the top of your brownie!

Enjoy with a big glass of cold milk.

 

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White twisted mason's cording (available at a hardware store with the twine)

Match (to fuse the ends of the cording)

Shiny white or silver decorative giftwrap

Sparkly white or crystal hollow plastic beads

A snowflake paper punch that makes at least 1" snowflakes

Pencil or paintbrush

Glue

Toothpick

 

 

            You can make a very inexpensive and attractive winter garland to decorate your room, your kitchen windowsill, your fireplace mantel, around a door or window, or to make into a necklace, with just a few household items.

 

            At Christmastime, you can find thicker white cording in a hobby or fabric store, but most of the year, narrow white mason's cording will do. You may have to hold a match very briefly at the end on which you are going to thread your paper beads so that the individual fibers don't fray, or come apart. BE SURE TO HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION if you use matches!!!

 

            Decide what length you are going to make for your garland, and cut out your length of cording. Stretch it along the floor or table and lay out the decorative parts along the length, to make sure you have the right quantity for the pattern you would like to make.

 

            To make paper beads, cut a 1" rectangle of gift wrap, about 4" long. Curl it tightly around a pencil or paintbrush. Dab a little glue on the end, and press the end down. Let dry for a minute on the pencil or paintbrush, and then remove and let it dry completely. You can make longer or shorter beads or try cutting different shapes such as tall triangles and "molding" them around something more round.

 

            For paper snowflakes, use the snowflake paper punch and punch out two snowflakes per pair.

 

            When you have your pattern planned out, you may want to put a dab of glue inside each bead to make sure the cording sticks to it. If the nose of the glue bottle won't fit inside the bead, scoop up a little glue with a toothpick and deposit the glue inside the bead that way.

 

            Put a snowflake underneath the cording, then a dab of glue, then top with the second snowflake.

 

            A good pattern is this:

 

            White sparkly plastic bead

            1" giftwrap bead

            White sparkly plastic bead

            3" of cording

            Paper snowflake

            3" of cording

            Repeat pattern

 

            Store your garland in a plastic shoebox and enjoy taking it out to brighten up your interior space when Old Man Winter comes a-calling!