a little tutorial.

I am the anti-crafter. I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm not talented with a glue gun, I can't sew a straight line, Michael's and other craft stores stress me out. But I can appreciate a good craft, and one of my goals during my 24th year was to create more things. Can't be too hard, right? That's what Pinterest tells me, anyway.

I've really liked those garland/banner things that have been pretty trendy lately, and I've tried my hand at creating a few. But I've had my eye on those tissue paper garlands, and this Sunday I'm having a golden-themed birthday party, and I decided one of those might look nice with all the other gold decorations I have.

So I found this really pretty gold and white tissue paper {at a dollar store, no less}, found a few tutorials online, and got to work. And guys, it wasn't too hard! It's by no means perfect, but I really like that organic, homemade look. So it works for me. In case you're interested, here are the instructions!

^^ Take one piece of tissue paper, and fold lengthwise {hotdog style for us still in 2nd grade}.

^^ Then fold it widthwise {hamburger style}.

^^ Then fold it widthwise again, making sure the seams all meet together.

^^ Then snip strips, about a half inch to an inch wide, about 3/4 of the way up the paper, leaving about two inches uncut. DO NOT cut all the way through.

^^ Unfold the paper once and cut in half, so you're left with two snipped pieces, the seams still intact at the top.

^^ Open the fold up, and you should have three pieces, one big and two small. Cut the big piece in half lengthwise, from one end of the strip to the other. Again, DO NOT cut the seam. After, you should have four pieces.

^^ Roll each piece up tightly.

^^ Now twist each piece in the middle, looping it over. Be careful not to twist so tight that the paper tears. Once you loop it, you can add a drop of hot glue to make sure the loop stays.

And that's it! Now grab a piece of twine or string and slide the pieces on.

Sorry the lighting isn't the best, I promise it looks better during the day. :) It's a little homemade-looking, but I love that. The bits of the gold on the paper will go really nicely with the jars and vases I spray painted for my party. Pictures will follow!

And with that, birthday weekend begins.

P.S. If the instructions aren't clear, let me know! It's tricky to explain in pictures. Luckily if you mess up, the whole thing only costs about $3. My kind of craft!