DIY: tj's paper bag garland. [happy holidays]

what do you get when you mix a bajillion trader joe's paper bags, procrastination, and christmas?

this ridiculously adorable, festive, cheap and easy to make garland! plus, it's totally sustainable. the bags do say to reuse and recycle...

i know what you're thinking, a kindergartener could've made it...but isn't that half the fun? ;)

grab your supplies: 

3-4 trader joe's paper grocery bags (depending on the length of your garland)

scissors*

clear tape*

red bows*

*can all be found at your local dollar store

the first step is to gently remove the handles from the bags and tape them together to form the base of the garland. you'll want to wrap the tape all the way around (instead of just putting a small piece over one side) to keep everything nice and sturdy.

then, cut off the panels on the bag (not the bottom, though!) and cut out strips in the width of your choice. i made mine about an inch in width actually cut off about 2 inches off the top of the strips too, just to make the rings a little less cumbersome. also try to keep as much red writing on each of the strips as possible so the garland looks more colorful!

tape the ends of the rings together, too. you can use a small piece for these guys to conserve some tape. :)

next, assemble the garland. pop each of those rings onto your "string," allowing enough room for them to lay flat next to one another and to fit a bow in between. then, take your bows and tie them around the garland wherever you'd like. if the pipe cleaner on the bows is too big to fit around the base, just bend the "string" in half. 

*i placed about 5 rings in between each bow and taped the 1st and 5th rings down around the bows once the garland was hanging to make sure none overlapped or covered the bows.

tack the garland up onto the wall, put up some christmas lights, and you're good to go!

merry decorating :)

xo jordan