The days until Christmas are dwindling, and I’m certainly feeling the time crunch for handling my gift list and last-minute preparations. I love this quick and easy DIY from Evita of Le Papillon Vert. We’ve featured a couple of Evita’s projects in our Before & After column, and it’s great to see her clean, elegant style again in the form of this paper and thread mini-garland. You could whip up miles of this garland in an hour, making it a great party decoration or embellishment for a pile of gifts. I love the way it looks on these packages, and I really like how little time and materials are needed to pull this off. Thanks for sharing the great idea, Evita! — Kate

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Read the full how-to after the jump!

Materials

• poster board, heavy card or photo stock
• thread/string & needle (For a twist, you could try red and white baker’s twine.)
• snowflake punch (ours is the Martha Stewart Nordic Snowflake Punch)

Instructions

1. Cut out snowflakes with the punch. I averaged around 50 per garland.

2. Measure out thread/string. My garlands were around 10 to 12 feet, and I doubled the thread per strand.

3. Thread a large needle and tie a knot at one end of a snowflake. Thread the needle through one hole and then back through another. Slide the snowflake down a bit and continue.

4. Once you’ve reached the desired length, tie off another snowflake at the end and trim any excess thread. I finished off the knot with fabric glue. It’s not necessary, just force of habit.

5. Hang the garland and space the snowflakes to whatever length interval you desire!

Note: We kept the tiny triangular bits that fell out when the snowflakes came out of the punch and used them for paper snow, sprinkling them around one of our candle displays.

6. Use your garlands around the house for a bit of delicate holiday decor, or wrap them around presents for a beautiful way to finish off a wrapped gift.

You’re done!