DIY Tissue Tassle Garland

Made this sweet garland for my Mom-In-Law's 50th birthday party. These beauties were a HUGE hit, and were so extremely easy to make!

Materials:
1. A new pack of tissue in assorted colors. Do not wrinkle! This is very important if you want the lovely straight drapey-ness that really can make or break these garlands. Also, you will probably want some mylar/metallic tissue. In my opinion, the shinys are a crucial detail. :)
2. 4 yards of rope trim. I bought mine from the trim department of JoAnns for like $1.25 a yard!
3. Tacky glue. If you are using metallic/mylar paper, than you’ll (also) need hot glue.
4. A long pointy object to help you pick up the tissue. A knife, razor or even a chopstick will work.
5. A rotary cutting set

• Rotary Cutter (*Tip* Don’t throw out your old and dulled rotary blades! Save them for paper! )
• A self healing mat
• A straight edge

6. Scissors

Instructions:
Step 1: Cutting the strips. Open a tissue pack. The sheets of tissue should be folded in half horizontally, and then folded over vertically a few times. Unfold it until it is only folded in half. Lay the tissue with the folded side to the top of your cutting mat, and line it up with the guide lines. Place your straight edge along another guide line, and cut 4-5 1/2″ strips from the sheets of tissue.

Step 2: Picking up the strips. Using a knife, chopstick, or other thin and long device find the center of the first stack of cut tissue, and place them over your index finger. Firmly hold this stack while you do the same with the next, and gently place the second stack over the first. Repeat until you have four of five stacks (whenever you feel like you have enough strips to make a nice pouf).

Step 3: Twist the strips together. At the center of your stack of strips, bend inward, and begin to twist the tissue strips as if you are wringing out a rag. Continue to twist until the twisted part measures about 4″ total, with the center of the twist being the center of the stack of strips.

 Step 4: Twisting on the rope. Place the center of the strips over the rope trim (It really helps to have your rope secured on both ends). Bring each end down over the rope. While twisting, bring the back piece over the front piece. Continue like this until you have 3 or 4 twists. *It is important to twist the tissue with each continual movement! That is how you get the nice tight rope shape that mimicks the rope trim, and it is an important, if small, detail * Note: The tissue may break a in a few spots at this point. Do not be discouraged. Save the fall out for a jar of confetti!

Step 5: Gluing. Squeeze a small dollop of glue at the point where the last twist meets. Let dry. (Use tacky glue for tissue, and hot glue for mylar. Hot glue is the only thing I have found that works for mylar! If you have any other suggestions, please let me know!)

Step 6: You can either cut the ends to make make them all the same, or keep as is. I kept them different lengths so they were a little rustic looking, but do what you think looks better:)