Garlands on the Tree
Off the Tree, Are the Tree

Garland Swag Combo The garland in this picture is a great combination of oasis block with swag drapes. The fruits are real. It is a good background control garland, but is far too heavy for tree decoration. Festival decorators love ribbon garlands. They are light weight, and they are wide. I don't like ribbon. This is tragic for me. Every tree in my hall of shame has a bad garland. The most common trouble is these garlands need a few miles more yardage to drape properly. Most are too thin or too stringy.

Garland way too thin This garland is far too thin in width for a good presentation. I should have had at least three dark, medium, light strands draping in a swag. Instead I counter crossed gold and silver and got exactly what I deserved. I would have been far better off using the thick tinsel fluffy garland. The stores use it a lot. It covers a lot of errors. It is visible from a distance. I don't like the stuff. Well, garland is like as Will Rogers says - love and politics; there's no accounting for taste. Our ward used yards and yards of it on a Day's of '47 parade float. It shrank and melted in the July sun. You should have seen my shocked expression when we used it. It almost equaled the shock when I saw what came back.

Beads Overboard This one was far too heavy. I have the yardage right, I have the width right. I have the weight all wrong. This garland is two spools of heavy pearls. It took two people to coil them around each other at the right tension to place on the tree. The tree is a small tabletop. It is real. Still, the weight on the tip of the branch dragged it down. I should have paid more attention to the weight of the bead instead of the pearly finish.

Swag Orange and blue do go together. Orange pyrocantha berries, and blue spruce make an elegant garland. This is a swag type. It needs to drape. The core was a sturdy cord wrapped with twine instead of wire. Wide garlands such as this control space around the tree and displays. The pyrocantha could have been added as a pick in the ornament cluster. But these are both poison plants! I looked like I'd lost a fight with the cat by the time the blue spruce was done with me. And I was wearing gloves. Pyrocantha is an attractive hazard for youngsters. You never know when they will be visiting. Keep this garland up out of reach. It is far easier to keep a garland out of reach up on top of the cupboards, than it is to keep the kiddies off the table runner or an entire Christmas tree.

Santa & Bows There are only two ornaments on this tree. The Santa Garland and the bows. It is an excellant example of using the cone shape. The eye flows easily around the tree. The cone shape is dominant.

Here is another example of a cone tree. The snowmen garland is the only ornament. All the snowmen are individuals. Notice how the depth increases. The surface doesn't look as smooth as the single expression Santa. This is an advantage when you want the eye to stop and focus on each ornament. The garland parts take over without subverting the cone shape.

Ice Cascade Speaking of subversives, tinsel is the most wonderful. I don't care what anyone else says, tinsel is recyclable! I'm still using some from 4-years ago. Crinkle tinsel is very interesting if you have enough of it. Long draping waterfalls are the best.

Tinsel doesn't have to be placed a strand at a time. Now, get up off the floor, and return your jaw to its normal upright position. Pinch the center of the strands and pull about half an inch from the box. Gently now, don't let go, keep your thumb and forefinger together, let the tinsel ends float naturally. Now, go ahead, push that pinch into the needles at the tip of the branch. The ends float downward naturally. Now let go. You have a shimmering cascade flowing easily down the tree. It adds sparkle, it adds vertical movement, it didn't need to be wadded up and thrown. Admire the effect, then go get another pinch.

Garlands on the TreeOff the Tree, Are the Tree

Garlands on the Tree
Off the Tree, Are the Tree