Weddingbee Blog

I’m back with another DIY project to share with ya’ll. This has become my favorite decoration for our reception space: tissue paper garlands! I wavered back and forth between several types of garlands before I settled on this project. I loved these fabric garlands from an uber-romantic wedding inspiration shoot last fall:

Photo by Jen Huang Photography / Image via Style Unveiled.

However, I wasn’t sure where I would find the right fabrics, and cutting out fabric circles sounded really exhausting. I also loved these scalloped glitter garlands sold on Etsy:

Scalloped glitter gold garland from stephlovesben Etsy shop.

But those garlands didn’t have enough color. I still think they may be a great way to jazz up the bar table, so keep your eyes posted on future blog updates for more in that department

I liked the idea of stringing squares of fabric along a line as a way to tie in the wedding colors and add some rustic charm:

A pretty little fabric garland at The Cream Event in Austin. Photo by Brooke Schwab Photography / Image via 100 Layer Cake.

A simple, rustic fabric garland at a vintage-inspired wedding. Photo by joieLaLa Photographie / Image via Ruffled Blog.

But my mom nixed that idea—she says these pictures remind her too much of clothing drying on a clothesline. So I turned to paper garlands for inspiration—I got excited when I saw the festive fringe garlands in this incredibly creative DIY wedding:

Paper fringe garlands = party time! Photo by EP Love / Image via Green Wedding Shoes.

Now, I really love that concept…but it’s a little too suggestive of Cinco de Mayo, and the Wallaby wedding is in the middle of November. So I decided on making garlands with tissue paper tassels instead. They’re whimsical, they’re colorful, and they turned out to be super easy to make. Here’s the photo I started with:

Photo by Amanda Watson / Design by Emerson Events / Image via Ruffled Blog.

I followed these instructions step-by-step, until I made enough tassels to fill up a whole line. I started by folding a sheet of tissue paper in half lengthwise, then folding that twice in the other direction to make a small rectangle. The height of this rectangle will be the length of your tassel.

A sheet of tissue paper, folded once lengthwise and twice across the width. Personal photo.

Then begin cutting the square of tissue paper into strips, but leave the top 1″ untouched.

Personal photo.

Once you’re done cutting the strips, unfold the paper and lay it flat on a table.

Personal photo.

Next, begin rolling up the paper along the middle uncut part, so that you end up with a bunch of tassels on each side of the rolled-up strip. Twist the uncut part and fold in half.

Personal photo.

Wrap a small piece of Scotch tape around the top of the tassel to secure it. Then wrap jute or twine around the tape several times and form a small loop (to string the tassel from a line once complete). Using a glue gun, dab several dots of glue on the end of the jute/twine to secure it in place. Ta-da! Your tassel is complete.

Personal photo.

Once you’ve made several tissue paper tassels, begin stringing them across a line. I hung a line of jute (~15 feet long) from the curtain rod in Mr. W’s living room to add tassels as I went along and keep my eye on how many more I needed to make. I finished a couple of garlands on my own, and with the help of the women in Mr. W’s family I made several more.

finished tissue paper garland. Personal photo.

Did you get crafty with garlands and banners for your wedding?