MortashedMedley: Christmas Burlap Banner

It's been a while since I've been on my blog! I have to thank my absolutely wonderful daughter for that! I spend more time with her because, as every mom knows, they grow up so fast!!

With that said, I, along with many other bloggers, LOVE Christmas and the many DIY projects that go with it!!!

With inspiration from Pinterest I created my own burlap banner!

GORGEOUS!
(At least I'm quite proud of it!)

Here is what you'll need:

1/2 yd of burlap (easier if you don't by it by the roll)

Letter stencils (unless you want to do it by hand)

Acrylic Paint

Circle sponge brush

small paint brush

Christmas ribbon

Ruler

Hot glue

Permanent marker

Scissors

Paper plate

Step 1: Use a ruler and permanent marker and create 5X7 rectangles on your burlap. I needed 7 rectangles for the letters and 1 for the spacer. Your banner can say whatever you want! Get creative; it is Christmas after all!!) Because I cannot measure the same every time with a ruler (don't ask me why), I used a 5X7 card and traced around that with my permanent marker.

Step 2: Use your ruler and along the bottom (short side) mark 2 1/2 inches in and then 2 inches up from that point. Now going from the corner to the dot inside the rectangle, create a triangle. See the picture below :)

Step 3: Cut along the line creating banner pieces.

Step 4: Now you are ready to paint your letters. I recommend placing them on a piece of paper just in case the paint bleeds through. I chose for my banner to say "BE MERRY". Center the letters from my stencil pack on to each piece a burlap. Using the circle sponge brush/dabber, dip it in paint then dab onto the stencil. NEVER make a brushing stroke as it will cause you to go outside of the lines on the stencil!! The more paint you use, the darker the letters will be. FYI, it will not take long for the paint to dry.

Step 5: Now paint your spacer using a regular paint brush. I chose a snowflake to go between my words. I didn't have a stencil but I simply Googled snowflake and got my idea from there. It isn't perfect, but you can clearly see it's a snowflake; so I'll take it!!!

Step 6: Once your burlap pieces have dried (it doesn't take long), lay out your ribbon. You will need to leave about 3 inches at the top to add your bow so it doesn't cover up your letter, and a tail at the end. Using your burlap pieces, choose how you want your spacing. I wanted less space between my letters and more between my words. Once they are laid out, hot glue the burlap to the ribbon. Glue on each side of the ribbon instead of in the middle. It will make it look nicer.

Step 7: Cut your tail so that it has a beautiful triangular point cut out of it!

Step 8: Make your bow using the left over Christmas ribbon. You may choose to make your bow as large or as small as you would like. I used THIS YouTube video to help me!

Step 9: Hot glue your bow on to the top of the banner. (This is why you need to leave about 3 inches of ribbon at the top)

Step 10: Create a loop to hang from a door hanger if you so choose. My banner was too long so I chose to hang in on the wall. To create the loop, just cut a 4 inch piece of ribbon. glue one edge on to the back of the top piece of ribbon. Then loop it around and glue the other edge, creating a loop. The loop should be vertical so it can hang on the hook.