If you have a lot of gumdrops leftover after decorating your gingerbread house, make a DIY Gumdrop Garland by stringing them together and hanging it on your Christmas tree or mantle!
This would also be super cute to make for a tiny Elf on the Shelf to decorate his/her miniature tree or elf gingerbread house!
My hot tip: Use floral or craft wire (not thread, the gumdrops are too sticky) and keep a wet dishtowel nearby to wipe off the sticky residue on the wire about every dozen or so gumdrops. A full, printable, step-by-step tutorial is below.
The gumdrops will harden on their own, but if you want to preserve your handiwork and keep pests away, I recommend shellacking the entire garland when you’re done.
DIY Gumdrop Garland
Materials
- Floral or craft wire
- Scissors
- Gumdrops
- Shellac Spray
Tools
Instructions
1. Unravel half of the garland's length of floral wire and start threading gumdrops onto the wire.
2. You may need to use a wet dishtowel to clean off the wire every twelve gumdrops or so.
3. Continue threading gumdrops until you fill one half, then wrap your "loose" wire end into a loop (to hang on a nail) and then unravel more floral wire from the other end until you have the entire length of your garland, cut the end, and keep threading. Thread gumdrops until the end, then wrap your wire into another loop.
4. If you wish to preserve the garland to use next year, spray the entire garland with shellac. Twice! Allow the garland to dry between shellac applications and be sure to flip it over to get all sides.
5. Allow the garland to fully dry, then add it to your tree or hang on your wall or mantle and enjoy!
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Or if you want to go a more traditional route, check out my DIY Cranberry & Popcorn Garland!