DIY: Paper Chains ReVisited

Remember paper chains?  I recall every Christmas season in elementary school the green and red construction paper would get cut into strips and we would joyfully spend our art time gluing and interlocking them into paper chains that would decorate our classroom.  I hadn’t thought much about them until last week, when the Bean and I were having crafting time together and I noted the little tree in my room needed something more than lights.

Of course, the idea really stuck when I thought about all the scrapbooking paper I had at my disposal to create an updated, up-scaled version.  The bean and I chose glitter paper in pastel colors that matched the tiny ornaments already on the tree.  Then we got to work.

Before we went the paper chain route I remembered the paper ornaments we also made way back when. I decided to create a garland of glittery paper ornaments in various sizes for the tiny tree.

Here’s what we did:

1. Using my Big Shot and the Circles #4 die we cut a bunch of different sized circles. We could have also used punches, a circle cutter or even the Cricut Explore, but this particular die made it super easy to get lots of circles in various sizes cut super quickly.
2. Bean and I sorted the circles by size and then folded them all in half, keeping them divided by size.
3. Using four circles of the same size, I applied fast drying paper glue to one half at a time, attaching it to one half of another circle so I ended up with what Bean called ‘a butterfly’, we create two ‘butterflies’ out of the four circles and then attached one ‘wing’ on one ‘butterfly’ to one ‘wing’ on the other.
4. Before attaching the final ‘wings’ together we laid some bakers twine down the middle and then glued them together. (Note: we kept the twine attached to the spool to be sure we had enough length until we attached the final paper ornament)
5. Continue creating ornaments, spacing them apart to your liking on the twine until you have the length you want/need.
6. Hang your new paper garland!

The remaining paper left from cutting circles was cut into strips, approximately 4” x 1.5” and we got to gluing and interlocking just like I remembered in elementary school.

The Bean was so proud of our Christmas creation!  If you’re looking for a great Mom & Me (or Grandma & Me) project with children this one rocks.  It’s simple and it goes together quickly enough for shorter attention spans.

If you don’t have little ones this is a great way to use some of your gorgeous paper stash and display it for others to see. The simplicity of the project makes it super relaxing too.

If you make paper chains or paper ornaments I’d love to see them!  Share them below in the comments section or share them with me on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.