Decorating for Christmas- the garland

Have you ever seen that really expensive garland that has the stuff already in it- you know: pinecones, various pine branches, leaves, berries, poinsettias, etc? I happen to love the stuff- it's so festive looking and requires very little work in the long run (I had been stringing ribbons, and ornaments through my garland to make it festive)

But I wasn't ready to fork over a ton for this pre-made garland. First I found one I really liked online that was on a super cyber monday sale and bought a few UNLIT sections of it so I could have some really nice stuff to mimic. I knew I could buy strings of LED lights cheaper than the lit versions cost and then they would last longer and take less energy anyway- also, I was going to replace some of my garland with the fancy stuff (it is thicker and the artificial parts are nicer than what I can find to spruce up mine) to make areas look better that would be the most noticed. I then went out and bought items that matched this fancy garland and fixed up all the rest of my garland to be a closer match to this fancy stuff. Let me tell you- the 40% off Michaels coupons and Hobby Lobby 50% off floral stems sales were really well timed for me. So now my halls are decked with garland and I am loving the simplicity of putting it up- it is lit now with LEDs, and that's all I need to do with it. Yay! (Also, if you're wondering both the garland you see in the pictures with the topiary trees and this one above are my garland I made...or are they :) )