Our Hopeful Home: How To Age Faux Farmhouse Popcorn & Cranberry Garland

I've always loved farmhouse-style popcorn and cranberry Christmas tree garlands. I've just never been motivated enough to make one of my own. That's why I was ecstatic when I came across some in a craft store -- on sale, even -- and just had to buy it. How did I transform that popcorn and cranberry garland into something a little bit more my own? Read on to find out. (Shop The Project Supplies links and Shop The Look links are at the end of this post.)

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What I did might seem a little crazy but bear with me. As much as I loved the garland, I didn't think it looked authentic enough. Meaning most popcorn and cranberry garlands I've seen have somewhat of a vintage vibe to them, as in they look a little worse for the wear. So I figured why not give it that look myself?

popcorn cranberry garland Christmas Shoppe plaid cloth

As you can see, this brand new faux popcorn and cranberry garland looks pretty bright and shiny. Truth be told, the popcorn looked just a little bit TOO white and shiny for me. Without that aged look I felt it was so obviously faux.

burn umber acrylic paint Americana DecoArt paintbrush sanding sponge

My idea? Why not sand those pieces of popcorn down a bit to take some of that shine off (and create a better surface for paint to adhere to) and then dry brush them with a bit of burnt umber acrylic paint to add dimension and color contrast?

And that's exactly what I did. It took me all of ten minutes total for each strand and it was well worth it in my opinion. Here's a "before" strand on the right and an "after" strand on the left. You can really see the difference, I think!

Here's a close-up of the before.

And here's a close-up of the after, definitely transformed into a more vintage-looking garland.

flocked pencil tree popcorn garland pom pom garland

I placed one of the strands on my flocked pencil tree I picked up at Wal-Mart last year. The pom-pom garland is something I made two years ago.

DIY pom poms white yarn darning needle

Check out Easy DIY Pom Pom Garland and Tree Skirt Secret to find out how you can easily make one of your own.

Farm Fresh Christmas Trees galvanized greens bucket tree stand

I placed it by our family room door that leads to the garage so that we'll see it a lot from day-to-day. The vintage-inspired Christmas galvanized greenery bucket that I use as a tree stand is from Wal-Mart. It's the smaller of two in a set.

Pine Spruce Fir Cut Carry red paint galvanized Christmas bucket

I just love it. Both their size and price were right, and I knew I would use them either for trees or fresh greens. I've seen similar galvanized Christmas pails, or drums, with writing on them for WAY more money than I spent!

I placed a live Norfolk Island pine tree in the larger of the two drums, out in the foyer.

I used a red and black buffalo check scarf from Dollar Tree as a tree skirt.

I think I'll have to buy a few more of these garlands next year, only this time I'll get some that are longer. That way I can string them all together and hopefully cover our full sized family Christmas tree! Do you use garland on your Christmas tree? If so, what kind -- tinsel, beaded, popcorn and cranberry, or something else? I just love the texture and color this one adds to my flocked pencil trees. And the best part is that since it's faux I don't have to worry about it going bad and having to throw it out after Christmas. No -- I'll be using these garlands for years to come!

Well, that's it for today, friends!

I hope I've inspired you in some way
and that you've enjoyed reading about
How To Age Faux Farmhouse
Popcorn & Cranberry Garland!

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