WINNER ‘Progress toward circularity’ Marie Claire Sustainability Awards 2023

How to make a leafy copper garland

Garlands are staples for every home celebrating Christmas, and they mark the season with their sparkle and frill.

This leafy copper garland is more intricate and refined than the pound store variety, while producing less waste and using no plastic. Sustainable Christmas? Yes please!

With an oak leaf template that’s provided by the course and some soft copper, you’ll be able to create a garland that will add DIY shine to your holiday décor. More taken with silver or gold? Try using aluminium foil or brass foil instead.

Leafy copper garland hung from olive branch

What you'll need to make your leafy copper garland:

  • Oak leaf template (supplied as a download available here) to print out, trace and cut out in thin card
  • Roll of soft copper foil (available from Tiranti and other stores)
  • Magazine or newspaper to rest on
  • Dry ball point pen
  • Tracing wheel
  • Small pointed scissors
  • Crafting hole punch
  • Fine copper wire (available from Tiranti and other stores)

Materials needed for making copper leafy garlands

Step 1: Draw the leaves

Lay the leaf template onto the unrolled copper sheet and draw around with a dry ballpoint pen until you have filled up the sheet.

Drawing leaves onto copper sheet

Step 2: Score leaves

'Draw' leaf veins with the tracing wheel, scoring the copper to create texture.

 

Score copper leaves

Step 3: Cut leaves

Cut around the outline of each leaf with scissors. As you cut, turn the leaf not the scissors, it’ll be easier!

Cut copper leaves out

Step 4: Punch holes

Punch a hole at the base of each leaf.

Punch holes into the cut out copper leaves

Step 5

Cut a 20cm length of fine copper wire and fold in half. Thread it through the hole in your leaf and twist the two parts together to secure.

add wire to the copper leaves

Congratulations! You've now completed your leafy copper garland. Add it to an olive branch like the maker behind this tutorial Deborah does, or use it to frame windows or along mantels. 

Now that you've mastered this, why not head to Deborah's other courses including her popular Carve a wooden spoon online course?