Rainbow garlands made with paint samples

Making rainbow garlands out of paint sample cards

These rainbow garlands are made using the paint sample swatches that you get for testing paint colours. This is a really simple project to easily add beautiful colours anywhere.

What is so great about this is that you can find a selection of different shades of the same colour on the same sample card or booklet that already go together really well. So all you need to do it put them together, and you have a harmonious, colourful decoration. It’s so easy it almost makes itself – like magic!

Just cut the coloured card into the shapes you want for your garland. I used a basic square shapes which I cut on the diagonal with a ruler and scalpel, but you could cut any shape you want or even use a shaped hole punch. Simply glue these shapes back to back, with a piece of string between them to form your paint rainbow garlands.

I made six paint sample garlands in different rainbow colours to hang between the bed and desk in our bedroom. For maximum recycling points, you should really use old samples that you (or others) have left over from old painting projects. I admit, I cheated a little here. I used some paint sample cards that I had picked up at a DIY shop – seen in the animation above – although I also used some old paint sample leaflets I had lying around from when we last decorated. You could also try asking in a shop if they have any old samples from discontinued paint lines that you could take off their hands.

Here are the paint sample garlands in place – I just taped them with masking tape to the ceiling. I think they go well with the gorgeous quilt – also seen in this photo – that was made for us by my mum. The quilt also fits the recycled/sampler theme perfectly, as it was made using old buttons, and a fabric sampler book!