Life as a LEO Wife

I finally got to make a trip to Dollar Tree for some fall craft supplies after not going for about four months! Wow was I going through withdrawals, ha! They had tons of boxes in the aisles that hadn’t been opened yet, so I’m going to have to go back soon. I did find some good things though, including an adorable, tiered tray for $5! Since I have seen several trays with garlands around the top, I thought I would make a fall acorn garland to go around mine. You could use them on trays, in vignettes, on your mantle, or even across the top of your window above your kitchen sink if you have one. There are so many ways that you can use and customize a Dollar Tree fall garland!

Looking for more items to create to fill a fall vignette or tray? You will love these little donut pumpkins or these easy rope pumpkins. Neither one of those projects need a base pumpkin to begin with! If you’d like some ideas for an early fall vignette with a few DIYs, check out this post.

Fall Acorn Garland Supplies:

• Dollar Tree wood acorn ornaments
• twine
• ribbon for bows- I used 2.5″ wired mint & white plaid ribbon, but a thinner one would work better.
• fall themed cardstock
• yarn in matching colors- I used a twisted mustard yellow yarn and a regular medium purple yarn.
• scissors
• Mod Podge or glue
• foam brush
• hot glue gun & glue
• tape (optional)

Add Cardstock to the Acorns

First you need to fix up your wood acorn ornaments. There are so many different looks that you can create with these on a fall swag. You can paint them solidly or with patterns, decorate them with buttons, fabric, or lace, etc. For this Dollar Tree fall garland we’re going to use autumn themed cardstock that I got from Michael’s a few years ago. The page from the book that I used matched my early fall color scheme, mint, mustard, and a purplish color.

Lay the acorn on the back of the cardstock and trace around the top with a pencil.

Cut out the shape. When you get to the middle section, just cut it straight across. You could also cut a slight arch between the two sides.

Brush Mod Podge on the top section of the acorn and smooth the cardstock onto it. Add another layer of Mod Podge on top of the cardstock. With my first acorn I waited until after I added the yarn but adding it before is much easier and cleaner!

Wrap with Yarn

Add some hot glue to the back of the wood ornament, just under the cardstock and place the end of the yarn on it.

I did brush some Mod Podge onto the bottom of the acorn, thinking it would hold the yarn in place, but that was a no go!

It just wasn’t drying fast enough to hold the yarn down. So, just keep using the hot glue to hold the yarn in place. As you get further down the acorn, you will need more glue because of the shape. I squeezed glue across the front, then at the bottom I also used some on each side on the edges.

I created two different color acorns, yellow and purple. My tray only needed four to cover the top, with bows added between them. I made five, so I just took the extra one off of the fall garland and placed it on the top of the tray. Continue making acorns until you have the number you need for your Dollar Tree fall garland. You can use different paper and yarn for each or make them uniform, whatever works best for your decor.

String the Fall Garland

The Dollar Tree acorns have holes in them so that you can string them on a garland, wreath, or other decor. Since you added cardstock to the tops, you will need to reopen hole. I used a vinyl weeding pick to poke a hole in mine.

Place your tool against the hole on the back so that you make a little mark on the front. That lets you know where the hole is from the front. If you completely poke it through from the back, it will look messy with the paper folding out. Press the tool through the hole from the front to the back. That will make the messy edges go toward the back, so you have a nicer finished project.

Pass twine through the holes in all of your acorns to create a garland.

Make Bows for the Dollar Tree Garland

Finally, you need cute little bows! I used 2.5″ wired ribbon because the mint and white color matched the colors in the early fall table runner that I based my decor on. You can see that runner that I got from the Target Dollar Spot in this affordable fall vignette post. A thinner wired ribbon, like 1″-1.5,” will be much easier to work with since you’ll be making small bows.

You need a bow between each acorn and one between the beginning and the end of the fall garland if you’re adding it to a circular surface. If you’re using it across the front of a mantle or another flat surface, you’ll need a bow between each acorn and one at the beginning and the end. I needed four total, one between each little squirrel nut and one at the beginning of my Dollar Tree fall garland.

Cut as many 8″ strips of ribbon as you need for bows.

Use those pieces to make two loop bows and secure in the center with wire or a pipe cleaner.

Lay out your fall garland, face down, and separate the acorns as far apart as you’d like. Place a bow under the twine, so that it runs horizontally across the middle of the bow. Wrap a piece of the yarn that you used on the acorns around the middle of the bow, tying it to the garland while also covering the wire securing it. You could also add a little hot glue over the back of the bow to further help hold it in place. However, wait until you’re positive that they are in the place they need to be!

Now just attach your adorable Dollar Tree fall acorn garland, and you’re done!

I used a piece of tape to secure the end of my acorn garland onto the top tier of my tray. Next, I moved my first bow down to cover the tape.

I determined how far apart each piece of the autumn swag needed to be, then glued the acorns onto the tray. Once the acorns were glued on, some of the bows remained in place fine, some didn’t. If yours don’t you can add tape under the edges of them. Tape the other end of the garland on top of the first piece of tape you used, and you’re done!

Add a few items to your tray, and you have a cute early fall decoration that is quick and easy. I did try taking my acorns off, and the glue came off cleanly so I know I can use it easily for other seasons.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and make your own cutesy Dollar Tree autumn garlands! When you do, tag me on social media, @LifeasaLEOWife! I love seeing your creativity!

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