A festive Tassel Garland is simple DIY party decor to help your party celebration.
So I kind of got talked into hosting a little Halloween party for my girl. It won’t be anything big, just something fun for her and her friends. You know I can’t resist a fun candy buffet, especially for Halloween (see years past: Halloween 2008, Halloween 2011).
I was easily talked into a little party, because I still have a bunch of party decor from last year. I’ve been wanting to make a tassel garland for a while now, and this seemed the perfect occasion.
I found a bunch of tassel tutorials online, but I really liked the ones that use inexpensive plastic table covers. Since they’re plastic and not paper, it might hold up a bit longer and I could use it again later if I want to.
Once you get started and you’re making a bunch of tassels, you start to find what works best for you to help speed up the process. Here are a few of the tips that helped me.
To get started you’ll need:
– table covers (in a few colors)
– good scissors (that can slide easily)
– a low temp hot glue gun (low temp is the key, if you don’t have one, get one! They’re cheap!)
– plastic straws (the wider the better, McDonald straws are a good size)
– string
Three colors is a great start, you could add more colors, but that will only mean more tassels.
Open up your first table cover on a flat surface. Don’t unfold it much here, just work from the end. Keep it mostly folded. You will slide your scissors through making ten strips. I just eyeball it. No need to make the strips perfect, because it will just look fluffy and messy anyway.
Now each strip is doubled up, so I opened them up length wise and laid them out separating them slightly. With the crease in the center of each strip as your line up mark, lay them out alternating directions with the centers together.
I found that these thin table covers can be static-y and by separating them and laying them out rather than holding them in your hand, you will get a more fuller tassel once you gather and twist them together.
Now, here is where the plastic straw comes into play. Slide the straw under the 10 (technically 20) strips right under the center crease mark. Once you have them on the straw, pinch and twist around the straw. Take a short strip and hot glue it when you start and then hot glue once more at the end, securing it tight.
I like using a plastic straw, because it makes it easy to thread the tassels onto the string. It also gives the tassels a uniform look. By alternating the colors as you string them on, you just slide the string into the straw and pull the tassel out onto the string.
That’s it! Really easy! I love how they turned out.
Now for the rest of the party…Do you have any fun Halloween game ideas for 9 year old girls?
Do you plan to host a party for Halloween? For kids or for adults?
