Make a glowing garland

3 steps to a festive doorway decoration
Written by Mary Jo Bowling, August 17, 2005

Here’s an easy way to turn your door into a welcoming entry this October ― for brunch guests and trick-or-treaters alike. By day, this garland is a rustic-looking, handsome strand that celebrates the harvest. At night, it glows festively. The simple secret is an inexpensive rope light wrapped in dried corn husks.

NOTE: Rope light is made of tiny, bright lights encased in a smooth plastic tube. No heat is generated, which makes it appropriate for this craft. Rope lighting is widely available in craft, drug, and hardware stores as a decorative item (about $15 for 18 feet).

Corn husk garland in daytime
Christina Schmidhofer

 
Corn husk being attached to rope light
Thomas J. Story
 

DIRECTIONS

1. You’ll need dried corn husks (buy them in the Mexican food section at the grocery store – three packages, about $4 each, should be enough for this project – or strip them off Indian corn), clear 2-inch-wide tape, and rope light (we used an 18-foot length).

2. Gather a few corn husks in a small bunch and tape them around the plastic rope, close to one end of the rope and with the loose husks pointing toward the end (right). Move down the rope about 2 inches and tape on another bunch of husks, layering the loose ends over the first bunch.

3. Work to the center of the rope light, then start the process from the other end. Tie raffia around the place where the husks meet in the middle.

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