DIY Metallic Mini Honeycomb Garland

I’m excited to be sharing this DIY Metallic Mini Honeycomb Garland with you today! You may have spotted it in my bedroom update last week, but originally I’d crafted this baby for our kiddos room. We’ve been adding in mixed metals to our home decor and I wanted to create something that used the metallics without looking too grown-up. This fun garland more than fits the bill- I love decor that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And if you will be using it in a kid’s space- By using paper instead of the traditional tissue, this garland will stand up to a bit more love from little hands.

Speaking of little hands… I photographed this garland when I first made it last year (I first shared it over at The Land of Nod). Aren’t the twins SO little!? My goodness I can’t believe how big they are now. And how less into photo shoots they are. *Sigh* I might have to start bribing them to participate in my photo shoots in the future now that these pics have reminded me how cute DIYs look next to little people!

To make your own Mini Honeycomb Garland, you’ll need:

• White printer paper
• 5mm Double sided tape (and heaps of it!)
• Scissors
• Pencil and round object to trace (mine was 4″)
• String or embroidery floss
• Spray paint if desired (I used Krylon Satin Nickel and Krylon Copper Metallic)

To make the mini honeycombs, you’ll need to create a template showing where you will need to tape. Taping first means you won’t be cutting 1000 circles. I may or may not have started cutting circles before I clued into this. My honeycomb shapes are 4″ round, so I marked four inches on a sheet of paper with pencil. This size allowed me to fit two across on a standard sheet of paper. Then, mark even spaces in alternating colours. I made mine .75″ apart and am happy with how that turned out. Tape your template to the table and lay your first sheet of paper on top. Use your double sided tape and run pieces across the paper, lining up with one of the colours. Peel back the tape backing before placing your next sheet of paper on top. Then, add tape on the alternate coloured lines. I used 25 sheets of paper per honeycomb ball. I tried more at first and it was so dense you couldn’t tell it was ‘honeycomb’. Those are the ones the kids ended up playing with like balls.

For your sanity, I’d turn on Netflix. Right now I’m really into Community… so you could give that a go and we can talk about it ;) This is super easy to do but it takes a bit of time and is repetitive- you can totally multi-task with some re-runs! When you’ve stuck together 25 sheets of paper, trace your circle on top and cut it out. Make sure to line up the circle with the top and bottom lines you first drew (my 4″ pencil lines). Mark the centre of the circle and staple it. Fold the circle in half a few times (harder than it sounds, that sucker is thick!) to create a crease in the centre where you stapled, then cut a section out of the middle. This cut will help it bend easier- trust me, don’t even try doing it without.

Now, apply double sided tape to each side of your circle and open it, sticking the faces together. Make sure to insert your string in one of the sides (as shown in the photo) before fully assembling! Again, from experience- it’s easiest to string them up this way. Can you tell that this was trial and error? I blame it on the TV watching while crafting… but hey, that’s my favourite way to craft.

Ta-Da! Now you’ll have plain white honeycomb balls on a garland. I contemplated leaving mine this way- they were so cute and simple! But I stuck to my plan for mixed metallics and misted the balls with copper and nickel metallic spray paint. You could mist them with any colour you like really, I’d love to see a neon version.

So tell me… what do you think? Perfect for a party? Would you hang a garland like this in your home for decor? I’m a total sucker for garlands as decor, I think I’ve said it before. We have one in *almost* every room of our house. And some rooms (like our master bedroom where this is hung) have more than one. They shouldn’t be kept on reserve for special occasions, they totally make every day more fun!