Sequin Letter Garland DIY

When it comes to parties (especially with the holiday season and New Year’s Eve on the horizon), my go-to decor theme is usually always sparkly or metallic, and I give myself double points if the item is both. I loved the feeling I got when I saw this sequin ampersand project, and it occurred to me that sequin trim would be the perfect supply to make a glittery phrase garland for upcoming holiday parties. We’re teaming up with one of our favorite craft stores, JOANN for this easy project that will add quite a dose of glittery pizazz to your next event, and I bet you’ll keep the garland displayed long after the party is over.

 Supplies:
–stretch sequin gold trim (I used a little over a yard of this for each 9″ tall letter)
-scrap cardboard
–X-Acto knife
–hot glue gun
–metallic cord trim

First you’ll want to print each letter in your phrase so you can use them as a template to cut out your cardboard letter. Choose a simple bold font (I used Function Pro Bold) and a font size that makes the letters just under double the width of your trim. My trim is a little over 1″ wide so I made my letter font around 2″ wide so the trim would be sure to cover the cardboard. Tape each letter to some scrap cardboard and cut out the letter with an X-Acto knife. 

To make the ends of the trim look as neat as possible, you’ll want to fold and glue the ends under so the trim doesn’t unravel and drop sequins. So, at the end of the outside edge of your letter, use the hot glue gun to glue the trim end face down going away from your letter.

Fold the trim back the opposite way and continue to glue the trim all around the outside edge of the letter. When you reach the other end, cut the trim so it hangs a little past the end, fold the trim under and glue in place. Repeat steps with the inside edge of the letter. Make sure both lines of trim are going in the same direction so they will look more like one piece instead of two. 

If you have a letter with intersections, don’t worry about doing the folds on places where you can cover those ends with another row. So on the “H” I just cut and glued the middle horizontal lines, then covered those cut ends with the vertical lines that had folded ends.

Once you have all your letters completed, you can line up your phrase (backwards of course!) and glue your hanging cord to the back of the letters. Once the glue sets, you’re ready to hang your garland!

I really really love how this project turned out. It’s such a statement piece for a party, and you can customize it to fit your theme.  You could easily make it “MR & MRS” for a wedding, or “IT’S A BOY” for a shower, or “JOY” for Christmas, or whatever you like! You get the idea…What phrase would you make? xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.