DIY: Waxed Paper Dot Garland

DIY Wax Paper Dot Garland

Today’s DIY is such an inexpensive way to add a fun pop of color to your wedding! Perfect for a ceremony backdrop, dessert table backdrop, photo booth backdrop or any other fun way you dream up! Big thanks to Jessica of Bramble Workshop for crafting up this DIY for us. I also wanted to introduce Jessica a bit. If you are looking for someone to help design + craft fun decor elements for your day, she is your gal! Jessica has previously worked as an Anthropologie display artist (in fact this DIY idea was created when she worked at Anthro). So if you love all the displays at Anthropologie and are looking to bring that design element into your day, email Jesssica! You can see more of her past work (including other fun decor ideas she has created for weddings) in her GWS artist profile. Thanks Jessica for sharing this fun DIY with us!

DIY Wax Paper Dot Garland Materials


Materials Needed:
Tissue paper
Paraffin wax
Kitchen twine
Rit dye (optional- I dyed the twine to match the tissue paper)
Embroidery needle
Large circle puncher (I used Fiskars Squeeze Punch X-Large.)
Old iron (I purchased one from a thrift store to use for this project)
Old crock-pot (a double boiler would also work)
Glue gun
4” chip brush

Instructions:
1. Cover the work surface with layers of cardboard and paper (this project is messy and the wax will melt through the top layer of paper.)
2. Heat paraffin wax in the crock-pot.
3. Spread out the first sheet of tissue paper and brush a layer of wax over the entire surface. It doesn’t need to be applied perfectly because the next step of ironing will spread the wax more evenly, but be sure that the entire surface is covered.

DIY Wax Paper Dot Garland Instructions


4. Lay a second piece of tissue paper on top of the waxed sheet (I used a slightly different shade of paper to add variation). Iron on top of the second piece, fusing the two pieces together. Most of the wax will have cooled before this step, but the iron re-melts it and saturates both layers. There will be wrinkles and imperfections in the paper – this is a good thing!

step 4 for DIY wax dot garland


5. Brush wax onto the second layer and place a third piece of tissue paper on top. Repeat ironing process. Two layers of tissue paper would probably work, but three layers makes each circle thicker and more rigid.


6. When all three layers have been ironed together, quickly peel the entire sheet off of the work surface. It’s best to pull it up before the wax has entirely cooled so that it doesn’t stick as much to the work surface. If necessary, flip the sheet over and quickly iron out wax splotches on the underside. Let it cool.


7. Fold one edge of the sheet over about 4 inches and begin punching out circles. Folding allows you to punch 2 circles at a time and gives you a clean edge to line up the puncher with. Continue folding and punching the rest of the sheet.

DIY wax dot garland


8. In order to make a bunch of strands that are the same length, mark this length with two pieces of tape on a table. Cut a piece of the kitchen twine to this length, leaving enough on either end for hanging. Tape one end down to the table to hold it in place.


9. Using the embroidery needle, push the thread through the centers of the circles. This doesn’t have to be exact – variation is good.


10. Spread the circles apart along the string at roughly equal intervals, flipped up or down.

DIY wax dot tutorial


11. Put a tiny dot of hot glue where the circle attaches to the string.


And you are done! Try layering different colors of tissue paper to create various hues. Making a bunch of strands that are the same length allows you to create a color block or ombre effect when they’re hung. Alternatively, you could hang the strands horizontally in garlands.

DIY wax dot tutorial

DIY wax paper dot garland tutorial


Thanks again to Jessica at Bramble Workshop for creating this fun DIY for us today! And if you love these but don’t have the time to make them, Jessica is selling them in her etsy store also.

Explore: