Five-Minute Fall Leaf Garland

Are you short on time this fall but want a pretty garland for your fireplace mantle? It’s easy to create an oak leaf garland in just a few minutes. In this post, I show you how to make my five-minute fall leaf garland using only a few materials that I found at Homesense. The finished garland is approximately 80″ long.

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Fall Trends

In a couple of days, I’ll be sharing my fall trends post with all of you. One of my favourite trends this fall season is the use of natural elements like dried grasses, stems, and leaves. It’s an ode to the quiet beauty of fall. We’re all familiar with the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of fall, but some natural environments display a calmer, more neutral palette of beiges, tans, and soft golds. I looked to this aspect of fall for inspiration for our fall mantlepiece garland.

Our fireplace mantle was recently painted a dark grey (see our family room update post here) and I wanted a garland that would have good contrast with the mantle. I found a couple of key pieces for this look at Homesense- four faux oak leaf stems and a bouquet of wheat with a few other natural elements including a lotus seed pod, stem-wrapped ball, and decorative nut-like ball. These items, along with a piece of driftwood I collected long ago, were the main supplies used for this quick project.

Supplies For The Five-Minute Fall Leaf Garland

• Four branches of faux leaves, about 25″ long (I used oak)
• Green or brown fine gauge wire
• Wire cutters
• Small nail and hammer
• Optional:
  • Driftwood
  • Small fall-inspired objects like pinecones, seed pods, mini pumpkins, etc.

Instructions For The Five-Minute Fall Leaf Garland

• Attach two of the stems together so that the leaves overlap slightly. wrap the wire around both stems tightly and cut wire ends with wire cutters. Cut off any excess stem at the junction of the two stems.
• Connect the second pair of stems together in the same manner. You should now have two stems of equal length, approximately 40″ long.

• Join the two sections of garland together in the middle with the wire leaving a small section (3-4″) in the middle with just stems and no leaves. Trim off the excess wire and stems.
• Place the garland on the mantle and attach it to the mantle however you like. I used a single small nail in the middle. You can similarly secure each end. I just tucked a leaf under a decorative object at each end to secure it.

• In the centre of the garland, place the piece of driftwood and the small decorative objects behind the garland to give it a central focal point.

• Place decorative accents at either end of the mantle. On the right side, I used a collection of brass candlesticks from Luve Want. On the left, I used two decorative sculptural items. The two groupings are not identical, but they balance each other and create visual harmony and balance.

To see more of our fall family room decor, and our nature-inspired fall home tour, click here.

Summary

What do you think of my five-minute fall leaf garland? And do you like the more subtle aspects of fall or do you prefer the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows? Personally, I like to change things up each year and even in different areas of my home. Fall is my favourite time to spend outdoors enjoying the beautiful sights of nature, so being able to quickly pull together my fall decor is key!