Make a Wooden Candy Corn Garland for Fall
Turn leftover wood into a cheerful autumn decoration with a little paint and twine. This DIY candy corn garland is easy to customize: use the familiar yellow, orange, and white colors, try a different palette, or choose chunkier wooden pieces for a different look.
Gather Your Supplies
For the basic garland, you’ll need:
- Wooden triangles or leftover wood to cut into triangles
- Painter’s tape
- Twine
- Yellow, orange, and white craft paint
- A paintbrush
You’ll also use sandpaper, a pencil, a ruler, and a drill as you prepare the pieces. Adjust your supplies if you choose a different color scheme or variation. Scrap wood works well here—the pieces don’t need to be perfect.
Prepare the Wooden Candy Corn Pieces
Cut and smooth the triangles
Cut small triangles from your leftover wood, choosing a size that fits the space where you plan to display the garland. The triangles can vary in size; there’s no need to make every piece identical.
Before painting, sand any rough edges until they’re smooth.
Mark the color bands
Using a pencil and ruler, lightly divide each triangle into three sections for the yellow, orange, and white paint. You don’t need to measure every band precisely. Slight differences between pieces suit the candy corn design.
Paint the Three Sections
Use painter’s tape to separate the areas you’ll be painting. Taping several triangles at once can help the painting process move along more quickly.
Paint the sections yellow, orange, and white for the classic candy corn look. Let each painted section dry before moving on to the next color. The backs can also be painted yellow, as they were in the original version of this project.
If the traditional colors don’t suit your decorations, try other shades. Alternative colors and painting techniques can also give the wooden pieces a weathered, vintage appearance.
Add Holes for Hanging
Once the paint is dry, drill small holes in the wooden candy corn pieces so they can be threaded together with twine.
The first version used holes near the tops of the triangles, but the hole placement can be adjusted for a different hanging arrangement.
Choose a Look That Fits Your Decor
Small wooden triangles, paint, and twine make up the simplest version of this garland. Other variations include thicker wood, different paint shades, and changes to the way the pieces hang. Keep the basic candy corn shape, then adapt the details to suit your fall or Halloween decorations.
# DIY Candy Corn Garland: Stringing, Styling, and Simple Variations A wooden candy corn garland adds a cheerful touch to fall or Halloween decorating. With scrap wood, paint, and twine, you can personalize the look and find a spot for it among your favorite seasonal accents. ## Give Your Garland Its Own Look Small changes to the paint colors or the placement of the drilled holes can make the same basic design feel quite different. Use the wood scraps and leftover paint you have on hand, and adjust the details to suit your display. ### Change How the Pieces Hang Candy corn shapes can be suspended from either their tops or their bottoms. Changing where you drill the holes changes their hanging orientation, offering a fresh look without altering the basic shape. Thicker wood provides another option: drill holes through the sides of each piece. This creates a different way to thread the twine and display the garland. ### Try Softer Colors or an Aged Finish For a more subdued palette, replace bright white, orange, and yellow with muted versions of those colors. You can also age or distress the wooden pieces for a vintage-inspired finish. The photos throughout the post and the video below show several variations of the project. ## Assemble the Garland With Twine Once the candy corn pieces are ready, stringing them together is straightforward: 1. Cut a length of twine to match how long you want the garland to be. 2. Thread the twine through the drilled holes in each wooden shape. 3. Space the pieces evenly, or leave slightly wider gaps if you prefer. The project shown includes enough wooden shapes for two garlands, with six candy corn pieces on each. Once all the pieces are threaded onto the twine, the garland is ready to display. ## Find a Place for Your Fall Decoration This simple garland works in a variety of spaces around the home. Drape it along a mantel, cabinet, hutch, shelf, or console, or add it to a foyer table. It can also become part of a kitchen display, a sheltered porch arrangement, or a Halloween decorating setup. Pair the candy corn with pumpkins, gourds, autumn leaves, and other seasonal accents for a layered look. It’s an easy way to bring in a little autumn charm without giving your entire decor a makeover.
