HONEYCOMB BALL GARLAND FOR VALENTINE'S DAY MANTEL {TUTORIAL}

This honeycomb ball garland for Valentine's Day can't help but put a smile on your face!  Although I used red, pink, and white on mine to match the holiday, there is an endless combination of colors you could use to decorate with for birthdays, graduations, wedding showers, anniversary parties, team colors, or a photo op background for any celebration you can think of. Today I'm sharing a tutorial and showing you how I made it! 

I first made this garland 4 years ago and was figuring it out as I went along, so I didn't record my process.  After I shared it I was asked quite a few questions about how I made it, so I decided to recreate it this year and document my process in case you want to make one too.  I will say, even after trying to take special care to be able to share detailed steps with you, this truly is more of a "wing it and do whatever works" type of project.  So, I'll share some tips and tricks from my process but you'll just have to WORK WITH IT until it turns out the way you want it. 😁  

To start, here are the honeycomb balls I used (great project because it all stores in a big ziplock bag when not in use!).  I had a mix of red, pinks, and white in a variety 3", 6", 8", and 10" balls. For reference, I ended up using 13 (3"), 10 (6"), 18 (8"), and 7 (10"). You can absolutely use whatever size number and mix you want, just giving an idea of what mine consists of. You'll also need a sturdy string of some sort to hang them.  I really like a beaded garland that I had from Christmas or something like a length of jute rope might work well, you just want it to be something with some "grip" so the balls will stay in place and not slide around once you've threaded them on. I also used paperclips and scotch tape along the way. I linked similar supplies all together here in my Amazon shop. I selected the colors I used but most of the listings have multiple color options available. 

Start by securing all of the balls open, most of them come with paperclips to slide in and hold them open.  I use 2-3 paperclips on the larger ones but just one whenever I can get away with it. 

I keep small nails in the corner of my mantel for garlands.  I knotted a loop in the ends of the bead string and hooked it over the nails. I probably should have wired that loop to the nail a little better just to make sure it didn't pop off, but it's been ok so far. 

Then, I hold one end while the other is attached and start threading balls on on the garland, alternating colors and sizes along the way.  You'll want the strings stacked fairly close together on the garland, the balls will bunch up together. I hold one end and start at the center and work back towards the loose end I'm holding, then attach that end and undo the other end and fill that side in from the center out. One note, I don't string the smallest 3" balls on at this point, I save those until the last step. 

So here's how it looks when all of the balls are strung in place- I kept several extras that I didn't string up yet to use to fill in bare spots as needed later on in the process. 

At this point, you want to start moving them around to create some height and a layered look.  There are a few ways to do this and again, you just have to experiment and get everything where you want it.  One thing I do is pull some of them up from the back, over the beaded string, and rest them on top of other balls.  

Also, it helps create a staggered look to knot some of the strings so the balls are closer to the garland.  Or I just use a little piece of scotch tape to cinch up the string and make it shorter.  (Hard to see here but this string is wrapped with tape to make it shorter.)

Note:  If you want it to look full and layered, this really works best to hang on a wall or mantel where there is a surface behind the garland to give them some support and prop them out. 

I have some empty space behind it since mine hangs from the front of the mantel. However, here you can see from this shot from up underneath the finished garland that there are several bigger balls in the back leaning against the brick that can't even be seen from the front, but they act like a base and help me be able to prop things into place on the front side. Hope that makes sense! 

Once you're getting things in place, if there are any holes you can use a bent paper clip or ornament hook to add in a ball here and there if needed- just hook it down in there onto the garland.

I also had some spots where I wanted one hanging in a specific spot, so I used a paperclip and attached the string to the back of another ball where it would hang in the right spot.  Just keep using paperclips and tape and pull pieces from back to front as needed until they are layering nicely. (I try not to use tape on the actual tissue paper so they won't tear when I disassemble, I just use tape to adjust the string length but paperclips where I need to connect balls together.)

The smallest balls are the last thing I add in at the end to fill in gaps and holes (my goal is to not be able to see the bead garland anywhere).  Many of the smallest ones aren't even really attached, they're just wedged into place or resting on top of other balls.  But you can definitely paperclip those into place too if needed. 

When things are mostly in place how I want them I added bows to the corners- the bow has a pipe cleaner (or wire) wrapped around the middle and I attach that to the nail holding the garland up, then nestle it among the balls however it lays best. 

Diana Bust ||  Apollo Bust || Similar Boy and Girl Busts || Similar Buffet Lamps Here or Here || XOXO Sign Tutorial || Red Gingham Ribbon || Similar Pink Red Stripe Ribbon Here or Here || Bamboo Mirror || Variety of Honeycomb Balls Pink Here, Red Here, Red Pink White Here, Pink Variety Here, Larger Pink Here, White Here

One little disclaimer-  If this gets bumped or brushed against too hard they do move and shift, so that can be frustrating and I haven't perfected making them more stable yet. As I was assembling it there were some bumps in the road for sure where I would get one section like I wanted it, but then as I adjusted a different spot the first one would move out of place- argh! 🤣 But after some trial and error and more securing, for the most part it stays put and has been fine once I got it all finished.  All that to say you might not want it in a high traffic spot and again, as I mentioned above, hanging it against a flat surface like a wall or mirror instead of suspending it without support behind it would definitely help the stability. 

Dont' let that scare you off, it IS a fun project to just be creative for a while and let it turn out however it turns out... I think I'll order some blue balls as well and I'll be all set to make something cute this summer for the Fourth, too! 

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