In honor of gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, I tried to come up a more sophisticated style wall hanging in lieu of a usual fiesta garland.  Originally, I had created this wall hanging for my husband’s surprise 30th birthday party, which just happened to be taco themed. So if you have a rainy afternoon to kill, I have the perfect DIY for you.

Material List:

  • A Wooden Dowel (available at your local hardware store and they should be able to help cut it to whatever size you want or do it at home – I used a 3/4″ wide and cut it down from 48” to 24”)
  • A Variety of Colorful Crepe Paper (I purchased mine from PaperMart)
  • A template
  • String, I recommend just nylon string from the hardware store.
  • Clothes Pins, or Clips
  • Scissors
  • Screw Punch
  • Pen
  • Wooden Beads (optional)
  • Hot Glue (optional)

Instructions:

As you can see by the complete image, there are a lot of little crepe paper petals required.  To assist in the process, fold the crepe paper over in two inch increments and then clip together.

Use the attached (template) that I have found from one of my favorite go to blogs:  Oh Happy Day

Trace in pen or pencil around the template, going with the grain of the crepe paper.  I would recommend punching holes into the petal stacks before cutting them out, it will hold the stacks together more easily.

Cut out the petals, and continue cutting for each color.

Once all are cut out, and before stringing, you can gently pull and stretch the crepe paper giving more of a fuller, ruffled look.

The next task is optional but adds so extra texture to the wall hanging.  It is to tightly wind string around your wooden dowel. (After attempting, I did end up using tiny dots of hot glue every couple inches for extra security.

After you wrap your dowel, it is time to attach long strings to the rod, that your petals will thread onto. My are placed every two inches and I have a total of 11 strings. (I also added a dot of hot glue for extra security.)  

I measured each string to 24” and then trimmed after the petals and beads were added.

It is time to now thread all of the petals onto the string, and tie each one off at the desired length.  I took time beforehand to create a pattern within my colors. Also if you are adding wooden beads to the bottom, be sure to knot the string multiple times to secure them. Enjoy!
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