DIY Christmas Garland

Like many people on the Internet, I’m a HUGE fan of D.I.Y-ing and being crafty. I’m constantly making things- just ask my roommates…

In the Spirit of the Christmas season, I wanted to share an easy craft with y’all that I made with my roommate Tori for our apartment using a few items laying around our apartment and the super cute festive Starbucks cups!

Here is the finished product- a cute little festive garland for coffee lovers everywhere! (It is also super fun to make with your friends while you listen to Christmas Music & drink cocoa!)

*** I am aware that Starbucks drinks can get quite pricey. I did not purchase these all by myself. My roommate and I both saved our cups, got some for free and I also asked friends to save theirs if they ordered drinks with the size cup I wanted to use. You can also see we used 12 cups, but I made one last year for a smaller wall with only 4 cups and it was still super cute! This is a fun way to recycle the paper cups you receive- so ask your friends and family to keep (and rinse out!) their Starbucks cups for you 🙂 **

You will need:

– Starbucks cups/coffee cups of your choice (however many you’d like for your garland- anywhere from 3+ looks cute!) They do not have to be the same size, but I liked the uniformity of keeping all the cups the same size, so mine are all “talls.”

– (1) spool of twine, cut down to the length of the area you wish to hang the garland in. (Ours is about a yard)

– (1) Single Hole Punch

– Command hooks. We used 4 so we could hang ours in scalloped sections to give the garland more shape, so buy them to your discretion based on the size of the garland and where your own creativity takes you!

Step 1: Punching the cups

Using the hole punch, punch a hole about 1-2cm down the side of the cup, just past the lip of the cup. Repeat this on the opposite side of the cup directly across the diameter from the first hole.

Step 2: Threading the garland.

Before threading, we laid the cups out in a letter we liked and wanted to place them in. Then, we strung twine through the holes we punched. This is actually the most time consuming process of the whole project. At each hole, tie a small knot to hold it in place on either side of the hole to structure the spacing in between each cup. This part takes a bit of trial and error and a little patience to get it just right, especially if you’re a perfectionist (Tori redid some of her knots too many times for me to count!) but it’s well worth it in the end.

Step 3: Replace the Lid!

This step kinda goes without saying, but aesthetically, it does so much! After you string the twin through, put the lid back on (it helps to cover the knots you tied and gives even more coffee vibes)!

Step 4: Prepping the Wall

Okay, so I’m like a terrible blogger and totally forget to take a photo of us doing this part because we were so focused and what-not (no excuse, I know) but I’ll explain what we did (you probably want at least two people for this part). We held the strung garland up in the area & shape we wanted to hang it in while the other one of us placed the command strip adhesive directly where we wanted it on the wall. Then, we attached the command hooks and began hanging the garland itself and noted any minor adjustments that may need to be made to the knots/measurements to make it fit the shape we wanted. We then made the adjustments and placed it back on the hooks, resting the center section over the hooks and looping the ends in small bows over the end hooks. Below is a closer view of how the garland is hanging for reference. 🙂

We plan on storing & reusing this craft for Christmases in the future, so I think it was well worth the work and investment (a college gal’s gotta have her coffee) and was also a fun way to spend time with my roomie! Let me know if you try this out & I’d love to see your own spin on it!

The holidays are about spending time with others and crafting is just one way to do that, so why not come home and make a cute decoration after you and your girls go on that coffee date?

Merry Christmas!

Xx,