Holiday DIY: Brass Leaf Garland
I wanted to make something to add a little shimmer to my existing garland. I had some brass wire and sheet roll from a previous project so I used them to create this brass leaf garland. I love that it isn't season specific so you can even leave it up year round.
Feel free to customize the leaves to any size or shape you like. I also had fun making brass flowers with the same materials. The sky's the limit!
Supplies:
Tools:
- Clay sculpting tools
- Snips for cutting brass
- Foam
- Corrugated cardboard
Instructions:
Video Tutorial
I began by cutting strips of the brass material into thin rectangles. I punctured a hole in each of them using a clay modeling tool — a pen or small knife would work too! I found that puncturing these prior to cutting them into leaf shapes was better than cutting first. This gives you a cleaner hole and doesn't bend the base of your leaf. Using a piece of corrugated cardboard below helps create a padded surface for you to puncture the brass. Otherwise I found the tool would just indent the rectangle rather than puncture a hole.
I then cut the rectangles into the shapes I wanted and placed the cut leaves on a piece of craft foam. You could use the cardboard, but the corrugation will limit your movements slightly. If you don’t have a tool like this a chopstick, butter knife, or wooden skewer would work too. Using the same clay modeling tool with less pressure, I created indentions in the center of each leaf. Then I bent them slightly using my hands. This gives them a more organic feel.
I grouped the leaves into clusters of 2-3 and bound them together by intertwining brass wire. I then twisted that wire onto a longer piece of brass wire to great the garland. I spaced mine about 9-12” apart, but play with your placement until you are happy.
Then I strung it up on my mantel and I’m obsessed! I’m thinking of potentially using this year round.
Would you use something like this in your home?
