Virtual Advent Calendar Day 21: Spool Garland

4 Days Left Until Christmas!

The spool garland spans a doorway, with vintage Christmas card holders at either end.

Painted spools and wooden beads alternate with spools still wound with bright colored thread.

This colorful spool garland will brighten up any window or doorway.  Have you caught on to the fact that I don't really go with traditional Christmas colors around here?  I've got to warn you, it weighs a ton, so unless you have a sturdy tree, you'll want to use it elsewhere.

Today's craft came from the Farm Journal's 1972 "Christmas Idea Book."

These fun spool ornaments inspired today's garland.

Gather up those supplies.

Materials Needed:

• Wooden spools--some with thread, some without
• Paint
• Wooden beads
• String
• Yarn needle
• Decoupage Medium 

Instructions:

Step 1:  Paint your empty spools.  I didn't bother taking the labels off the ends unless they were really loose and falling off.  If they bother you, you'll want to soak them in water to loosen the labels, then let the spool dry completely before painting.  I used spray paint because it's quick and easy.  You could, however, use any kind of paint you have.  The wood on these spools suck up paint like crazy!  I ended up doing 3 coats of paint.

From this...

...to this.

Step 2:  Prepare the spools that still have thread on them.  Some of your spools may have been rewound by had so the thread doesn't lay flat like this:

Thread has been rewound by hand.

You'll want to pull the thread to the point where it was machine wound so that all the threads lie flat.  Snip off the loose tail and discard.

Thread has been pulled until the point where the machine wound it.

Next, get out your decoupage medium (you can use watered down white glue, too). You'll want to cover all of the thread on the spool.  If you're using a glossy medium like I did, you'll probably want to cover the exposed wood on the sides, too.

Decoupaged spools waiting drying on a vintage Las Vegas souvenir tray.

Step 3:  Once dry, string your spools and beads.  You'll want to use a fairly heavy duty string and your yarn needle.  I used some leftover cotton yarn that I used to knit a dishcloth.  Stringing the spools would be a great job for the kids. 


Step 4:  Once you are happy with your string, knot off both ends with a big knot to hold everything on.


Cost:  This cost me nothing as I had everything I needed on hand.  I often find big bags of thread on wooden spools at thrift stores and they usually cost $3-5.  I also find beads at thrift stores all the time.  A big bag of wood beads would run about $2.
Time to Complete:  45 minutes to an hour, not including drying times.
Skill Level:  You'll have to have as much talent as the wooden spools you're working with.

One more under our belts.  Have you wrapped your presents yet?  Done your holiday grocery shopping?  You better get moving because tomorrow is day 22.  It's also submission day for Challenge number 10.  Make sure you vote on the felt challenge!