Turn Brown Paper Into Whimsical Hanging Willow Decor For A Stunning Effect

Decorating with natural elements in your home can instantly add color, warmth, and visual interest to your living space — and often doesn't cost anything. But if getting outdoors to forage for natural decor isn't possible, nature-themed DIY projects are a simple and often budget-friendly alternative. To bring some outdoor whimsy into your home, twist brown paper into willow-like branches and decorate them with dangling flowers made from toilet paper. From there, you could turn the room into a dreamy, fairytale forest.

In her YouTube video, @thisartperson, aka Yasmin the Art Person, attaches twisted strips of brown paper to the ceiling and wall to create a tree that stretches across the corner of a room. Thanks to the prevalence of online shopping, many of us can quickly build a stash of brown packing paper for this project. If not, your local craft supply store likely sells kraft paper that will also work — and doubles as an eco-friendly wrapping paper option. The twisted paper creates the basic tree shape, while the hanging flowers give the finished display its wow factor.

To make delicate, cherry blossom-inspired flowers, separate individual squares of toilet paper and tint them with watercolor paint or food coloring diluted in water. Be careful not to saturate the paper or it will disintegrate. Dye the entire square of toilet paper or add color to only a portion of the square to create variegated flowers. Once the paper dries, cut each square into four smaller pieces, then fringe their edges to create delicate petals.

A simpler way to make flowers is to cut up colored tissue paper or streamers instead of tinting toilet paper. For dangling flowers, string the paper squares together with a needle and thread, adding empty spaces between clusters of flowers for a more organic look. If your room can't accommodate hanging decor, an alternative would be to glue individual flowers along the tree branches.

No one wants to wake up with a tree branch on their face, so forgo transparent tape and use stronger adhesive strips, like Command poster strips, for a quick and durable way to suspend this project. If you're worried about your paint peeling, try this clever hack to save your walls from adhesive hooks and strips. When forming the tree trunk, wrap or braid multiple strands of twisted paper to create a thick column. Secure the hanging flower strands using lightweight decorating hooks suitable for your ceiling or wall, then fill any gaps with faux foliage, butterflies, or other decorations. Being paper, this project is flammable, so make sure it's not up against any heat sources, like lamps or vents, and avoid open flames directly underneath, like candles.

This stunning display works well growing from the corner of a room or around a window, with flowers dangling in front of the glass so they can be viewed from the inside and outside. If you want to embellish it even more, twist strands of battery-operated LED fairy lights through the branches or hang lanterns or a pendant light from the ceiling. If you don't have wall space, this craft can spruce up the slats of a wicker egg chair, too.