Apple & Orange Garland Instructions

Make a festive garland using fresh fruit.

When you decorate your house for Thanksgiving dinner or for a festive harvest party, you can end up spending a lot of money on decorations if you purchase them from a department store. Instead of wasting money on commercially produced fall decorations, make your own festive accents using natural materials that can be found around the house or purchased cheaply from a craft store. For example, make a fall-themed garland using dried apple and orange slices.

Things You'll Need

• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue stick
• Knife
• Dehydrator
• Cinnamon sticks
• Walnuts
• Silk evergreen branches
• Velvet ribbon, two inches wide
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Push a hot glue stick into a hot glue gun. Insert the plug of the hot glue gun into an outlet to heat up a hot glue stick.

2. Cut four apples and four oranges into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Lay the slices into a single layer in a food dehydrator. Dehydrate the fruit slices for 3 hours.

3. Lay a silk evergreen garland out flat on a table top. Squeeze a quarter-sized dollop of hot glue somewhere on the garland, and press an apple or an orange slice onto the hot glue dollop. Let the glue cool for 2 minutes. Repeat to add on as many apple and orange slices as you prefer.

4. Squeeze a nickel-sized dollop of hot glue onto the garland, and press a whole cinnamon stick onto the hot glue dollop. Let the hot glue cool for two minutes. Repeat to add on as many cinnamon sticks as you prefer.

5. Squeeze a dime-sized dollop of hot glue onto the garland, and press a whole walnut onto the glue dollop. Allow the glue to cool for two minutes. Repeat to add on as many whole walnuts as you prefer.

6. Cut a velvet ribbon 12 inches long and tie it into a large bow. Squeeze a quarter-sized hot glue dollop onto the middle of the garland and press the bow onto the glue dollop. Let the glue cool for two minutes before hanging up the apple and orange garland.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid touching the hot glue. It can cause serious burns. Keep hot glue away from children.

References

• Save on Crafts: How to make a sugar and spice garland with dried fruit & cinnamon sticks - Click to enlarge How to make a sugar and spice garland with dried fruit & cinnamon sticks How to make a Sugar And Spice Garland