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DIY Wood Bead Christmas Garland

How to make a simple wood bead Christmas garland

For Christmas this year, we’re planning to do a smaller potted tree and plant it outside in the spring. I thought a DIY wood bead garland would be the perfect natural-looking accent to go along with this year’s vibe.

This is a pretty straightforward DIY, but I figured I’d still share a tutorial about it and include a few tips and tricks along the way.  So let’s chat first about what I used and where you can get the supplies. If you want a more involved DIY garland that uses unfinished wood beads, check out my tutorial for how to make a DIY wood bead and dried orange slice garland.

DIY Wood Bead Christmas Tree Garland

Supplies you’ll need

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  • Various sizes of unfinished wood beads in different shapes—I got mine at Michaels simply because Ramona and I needed to get out of the house! You can also buy online; check out round beads and geometric beads
  • Black bead cord and needle large enough to thread the bead cord through
  • Scissors
unfinished wood beads

Step 1: Gather supplies

I decided to mix and match round beads of various sizes with geometric beads. We got all of our supplies at Michaels. I think it was between $10 and $15 for all of the supplies once we took advantage of coupons.

You can also get really affordable unfinished beads on Amazon. Just make sure you get bulk packs. If you buy the strung beads at the craft store, you will get a lot less for your money.

You can also get more for your money buying slightly larger packs of bead cord. I know I’ll use my leftovers for something else. I also grabbed a needled from my small sewing kit. A beading needle would have been much easier, but I didn’t want to buy one because I don’t do much bead work.

Instead, I just jammed the bead cord through the tiny needle. It was a struggle, but I did it! Using a needle is a no-brainer—it makes the stringing process SO much easier and less frustrating than just fiddling with the string with your fingers.

unfinished wood beads

Step 2: String in patterns

I decided to do five separate bead garlands to keep the size manageable. When I put them on the tree, I’ll just wind it so it looks like one. I also did slightly different patterns on each garland so I had different options.

To get started, I cut a piece of cord and did a tight triple knot on the end. Then I threaded the opposite end of the cord through a needle. I began stringing the beads in a rough pattern. I say “rough pattern” because I was honestly just mindlessly stringing. If I made a mistake in the pattern, I knew it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. 

I tried to use a good mix of sizes and patterns, but since I had a lot more small beads than I had large beads, I did one garland that is almost all small beads. The needle is also helpful with the smaller beads because you can thread them two, three, or even four at a time. 

knotting bead cord
using a needle for beading
knotting bead cord
DIY Wood Bead Christmas Tree Garland
DIY Wood Bead Christmas Tree Garland

Like this? Check out my tips for how to preserve evergreen cuttings in resin for holiday decor, my DIY pine cone potpourri, and a winter stovetop potpourri tutorial!

Step 3: Secure the end of the garland

When I finished stringing beads onto each of the garlands, I tied another triple knot as snug as I could get it to the last bead. I toyed with dabbing a bit of glue on them to further secure the knots in place (like I did with my DIY hanging plant pot holder).

But I decided the triple knot was secure enough. The garland isn’t really carrying any weight. And below is the finished piece! So simple, yet so gorgeous. It looks perfect on our little potted tree, too.

DIY Wood Bead Christmas Tree Garland
DIY Wood Bead Christmas Tree Garland
live potted christmas tree with lights on
live potted christmas tree with lights on

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collage that says how to make a simple wood bead garland with pictures of the project

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