My sweet friend, the Nester, has inspired us to share our glorious garlands in all of their gorgeousness.
Why has it taken me 15 years to figure out that I could take my fake, wimpy, little garland, mix it with another cheap ($2), pathetic looking Goodwill garland, shop my home for embellishments, and have the final product be one that stands alone in all of its blazing garland glory? Well, maybe not quite, if you go look at the others, but I’ll take what I can get.
I LOVE THIS LADIES! It’s so easy!
And you can do it too…right now…ready, get set….GO!!
Do not worry if you have to open your laptop to make sure you copy everything correctly? There are no rules!!
I had to put my son in his place when he inquired,
“Why do you always copy her?”
“That’s what she’s there for…it’s not copying,” I retorted.
Since I was leaving for Florida within two days of of getting my Christmas decorations down from the attic (yes, some boxes are waiting for me when I return…that’s depressing), my one goal was that I desired to create this without ANY purchases. I needed to be able to shop my home, and yard for all necessities.
I started with this.

(picture of pathetic skinny fake garland)

OK, LADIES….I am confessing….
I worked my tail off to get this darn garland done ( I mean…..glorious garland) before I left for my sons’ football championship. I even had it fall once and recreated it when I should have been packing, cleaning or any numerous other things. I have been writing the post while here at Disney, and just waiting for my hubby to give me the card out of the camera.
WHAT….YOU TOOK THE OLD CARD OUT AND REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ONE right before we left?
ALL OF MY PICTURES THAT I TOOK JUST SO I COULD DO GREAT CHRISTMAS POSTS ALL WEEK LONG, including my garland pictures and EVERY SINGLE ONE of my 24 Jesse Tree ornament pictures (yes, 24 handmade ornaments and I photographed them all) ARE NOT HERE?
IT’S MINUTES BEFORE MR. LINKY COMES UP AND I find out what?
I feel like I am all dressed up for the prom and my date has stood me up!

Are you feeling for me? I want to cry.
Well, I guess I shouldn’t over a blog post, but seriously.
Nester is calling this a SHOW AND TELL, but we all know it’s a total Party.
I am not one to miss a party, especially with my favorite gals, and I am not about to now just because my hubby left the camera card at home.

Anyhow, just how many garlands do you really want to look at….hundreds that link up? This is different….just imagine!
I did the work, it’s glorious, and I do have a sneak peek.
I am at Disney, for goodness sake…..the place where DREAMS COME TRUE!!
I have been dreaming of showing you all my garland. I even posted the teaser last week.
SO dream with me, ladies…dream……pretend you’re visualizing the final result…pics are ahead.

I went hunting on foot through my woods and found a bunch of fresh pine branches and pine cones pictured below. Remember, I couldn’t spend any $.
(Dashing through the snow….)
If you live in a subdivision, just pull over on the side of the road somewhere…you’ll find plenty.
(In a one horse open sleigh...well, maybe it’s horsepower and it’s a mini van, but we’re dreaming…)
(Ore the hills we go…well, it was many hills and a neighborhood yard sale)
(Laughing all the way..oh yea, giggling…I hit the jackpot).
I grabbed the bunch of berries that I bought for $1 and started cutting away, and then sticking them in the wimpy garland.
The berries left over I stuck in the $1 glass jar pictured here.

(Bells on bobtails ring
well, they are little gold bells and ivory ribbon woven into the garland)

(Making spirits bright…yes, it’s amazing what a little Christmas decor does for ones emotional stability)
Then I started adding the fresh pine and holly leaves that I cut off of my own personal bush into the wimpy garland, winding gold things that I found scattered around the house, and adding, adding and adding.
(What fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight….
yes, I must say, I am doing much better now, thank you…this has been very therapeutic)
My sneak peak….
Since I knew I was leaving to go out of town I didn’t want to come home to a fallen glorious garland (her feelings would have been so hurt if no one was there to pick her up), so I left out a few of my additional embellishments until I returned.
The gold reindeer was made by my sis in law who passed away from breast cancer….it’s always such a wonderful reminder during the holidays.

OH, and I AM SO EXCITED…my husband found the missing card.
I can do the big reveal after all!!


Well, I can dream, can’t I?

Thanks for playing along…does my heart good to know you girls love me anyhow….garlandless and all.
Sing with me…Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells…Jingle all the way!!
Disney does Christmas decor right….wow, had I known the card was gone, I would have shown you some REAL GARLAND…every where at Magic Kingdom.