This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreThanAMom #CollectiveBias
When you are a military spouse holidays can be hard especially if your spouse is away. We learn quickly to make the best of things while they are gone. We learn to lean on our friend’s in our community and continue on. Sometimes our best memories are made this way. We get together and celebrate the different holidays the best that we can. We decorate our homes, with homemade crafts like tissue paper flowers garland, we share cards and gifts and we cannot forget about the great food.
In 18 years of marriage, my husband has been away more than he has been home. I learned early, the loneliness that the holidays can bring. Knowing that feeling, I have never wanted that for someone else. If I could make someone’s day better somehow, I was going to try. Over the years, I have hosted countless events. From getting together just because, to birthdays, baby showers, and even a fatherless Father’s Day BBQ. As a result, I have some great memories thanks to my friends.
With Mother’s Day coming up I have been thinking about different things I could do for my friends. This took me about ten minutes up the road to AAFES (the PX) on Fort Bragg. I headed straight over to the cards. Right now American Greetings has a promotion going on, buy 3 cards, Save $2 (4/17 – 5/14).
There were many cards to choose from and I definitely took my time debating which cards I should buy. They had a card for everything and about every type of card imaginable. I could have bought them all.
In addition to picking up a few cards for friends here and far away, I picked up an Ameican Greeting gift bag and tissue paper. Ideas for a Mother’s Day Brunch were swirling in my head.
When hosting a get-together, I like to have some decorations but I also like to keep it simple. Tissue paper flowers instantly came to my mind. My kids and I learned how to make them when we lived in El Paso. I was going to change them up a bit and turn them into a tissue paper flower garland or two.
The American Greeting tissue paper is perfect for making flowers as it does not tear easily like some tissue paper does. Making the flowers was also a great project to do with my daughter. She loves getting crafty!
To make your tissue paper flowers:
Step One: Gather your materials. Tissue Paper, Twine, and Scissors. No pipe cleaners here
Step Two: Cut tissue paper into squares. If I use 6-6.5 inch squares I can get 12 squares per sheet of tissue paper. You will need 4 squares for each flower.
Step 3: Fold tissue like an accordion.Your folds should be about an inch wide.
Step 4: Using scissors round the edges of your tissue paper. Rounded edges give more of a peony looking tissue paper flower.
Step 5: Using twine, tie flower in the middle. Do not cut off excess.
Step 6: Carefully separate tissue paper and shape flowers. Tighten twine if needed.
Repeat until you have your desired number of flowers. I made 36. The flowers are pretty easy to make and look pretty when done. It just takes time to cut out and put together each flower.
Once you have your tissue paper flowers made you can begin your garland. I made three different types. The only difference between them was the spacing and leaves. Personally, I prefer the fuller garlands but, the garland with further spaced out flowers has its place also. It would look pretty hanging vertically in a photo booth.
To Make Tissue Paper Garland:
Step 1: Cut desired length of twine plus a little extra. You will need enough to use to hang up your garland when you are finished. I used 6 feet and cut a total of 4 extra inches. If desired loop the ends of your twine to allow for easier hanging.
Step 2: Take tissue paper flowers and tie onto twine, using a double knot to secure. Cut excess off but be careful not to cut the ends too short. Repeat until garland is to your desired fullness.
Step 3: Hang up your garland and enjoy!
*** If desired use green tissue paper and cut out leaves and attach with twine***
Below are examples of how my different garlands turned out.
The garlands came out beautifully and gave a little extra special something to my dining room. I can’t wait for my friends to come over.
The gift bag I bought came in handy also. I put a small vase in the bag and added flowers. I then surrounded the bottom of the bag with one of the smaller garlands.
Would it be wrong to keep this garland up past Mother’s day? I love the look of this tissue paper flower garland! It really brightens up the room.
For more Mother’s day gift ideas and ways to celebrate mom, click HERE.