We've created an easy-to-make garland using spun cotton beads that can be customized with paints and glitters then combined with different colors of chenille tinsel to add a touch of retro whimsy to your holidays.  The concept is simple: evenly spaced knots help keep beads in place.

Supplies: Spun Cotton Beads, Chenille Tinsel Cord, Scissors, Paint Brush, Paints, Small Piece of Wire, Skewers or Pipe Cleaners, Graph Paper or Ruler

Step 1: Prepare your beads! Slide beads onto skewers or pipe cleaners and paint.  Let dry.  Add glitters if desired, let dry.

Step 2: Unwind chenille tinsel from card.  Cut entire length in half.  Each card has 5 yards, so you will end up with two pieces of cord measuring approx. 2-1/2 yards.

Step 3: Tie a slip knot near the end of your tinsel cord creating a loop approx. 3" long.  Reinforce the knot by tying another knot on top of the first knot.

Step 4: Bend a small piece of wire in half to create a "needle" for stringing your beads.  Slide a bead over the needle and onto the cord.  Position the bead over the knot.  When positioned, trim tail end of cord off.

Step 5: Using graph paper or a ruler, measure 3-1/2".  You will use this for tying knots in your tinsel cord.

Step 6: Tie a double knot 3-1/2" away from your first bead.  Slide another bead onto the knot. 

Step 7: Continue the process of measure-tie knots-add bead until you have added all but one bead to your garland.  Leave at least 9" of cord free to allow for tying the final loop.

Step 8: To finish your garland, measure 3-1/2" from your last bead, tie a slip knot creating a loop approx. 3" long.  Reinforce the knot by tying another knot on top of the first knot.  Slide your final bead on top of the knots.  Trim tail end of cord off close to final bead.

Tips: To create a shimmery pearl look we painted our beads with Martha Stewart Crafts' Pearl paint in "Mother of Pearl" -- it gave a subtle sheen that coordinated beautifully with the tinsel in the cord.  We painted some white beads with Martha's Vintage Leaf Glitter Paint in "Iridescent Silver" -- it drys clear leaving behind a chunky retro glitter effect.

The colored spun cotton beads are tinted with vegetable dyes and are not totally colorfast.  Colors are vibrant; you may wish to leave them as is with no embellishment.  However, when painting, we recommend sticking with relatively similar colors; for example,  yellow/green + gold paint, blue + silver paint, red + burgundy/bronze paint all give stunning results. 

We kept our finished garland lengths between 5 and 6 feet.  You can of course make them longer, but tying the knots is easiest with a shorter piece of cord to work with.

We offer two sizes of chenille tinsel -- both are suitable for this project and both sizes are shown below right -- the silver in the center of the photo is the larger size, the others shown are all the tiniest size.

One (1) pack of spun cotton beads and one (1) unit of tinsel cord will make two (2) complete multi-color garlands if each garland has 25 beads or less and measures 5-6 feet long.  As bead packs are mixed colors, more beads will be required if you wish to create specific color patterns (like the red-green-white shown below left), or mix bead sizes.