Fresh Living: August Fall Banner!

Hello Crafters! Rachel and Ali here. For those of you who missed our monthly segment on Fresh Living last week, we are here to share it with you! This month we chose to use our new banner shapes to create a darling Fall banner from our new Fall line! 

We are excited to announce that we have five new fun shapes to create a banner of any kind with! You can mix and match the shapes, or choose a favorite and use that one for your whole project. For this project, we used one of every shape. They are all available for $1.50 in the store! 

We used several basic supplies for this project. All of them are carried in our store- (but if you are like us, you already have them at your house from previous projects!) You can finish this project for under $15.00 including the wood, vinyl, paper and paint! 

First, paint the back and sides of each shape. Once the paint is completely dry, trace your shapes onto a sheet of scrapbook paper. Then cut out each shape and you are already all set to glue! 

For those of you who shop at our store, you know how much we LOVE using this craft wood glue. It is inexpensive (only $1.99 for a small bottle!) You will apply a thin, even coat onto the part of the shape that the paper is going on. We prefer to apply dots on various parts of the wood, and then use a foam brush to even it out. You will then place the paper over the glue, and run use your hand to smooth the paper down and get rid of any bubbles. We do not put anything on top of the paper. Once this step is finished, it is REALLY important to wait 25-30 minutes for the glue to dry completely before moving to the next step! 

Now for the finishing touches! You will notice that even though you traced your paper perfectly, it still hangs over the edge of the wood. This is easily fixed by using a sanding block! We carry this kind of sand paper in our store and recommend it for almost every project! All you have to do is sand the paper until it blends just the way you want it to on your masterpiece. It is a simple step, but makes a huge difference on the final outcome! We then used the end of a paperclip to poke holes through the paper where the pre-drilled holes are on each wooden shape. That is what you will use to hang the shapes together with bakers twine at the end! You will then apply your vinyl onto each shape. Just simply peel off the backing, and place the letter exactly where you want it on the wood. From there you will use a vinyl applicator or credit card to rub the vinyl onto the wood. Then, peel off the transfer tape and that step is complete!

 

We strung bakers twine through the holes to connect all the shapes together. You can then choose several ribbons to cut up and tie between each shape. We love the finished product! It is so cute hung from a fireplace mantle, under windows, on the wall, across a shelf, or attached to a headboard! We have seen so many creative customers come up with their own ideas for banners. You can make one for every holiday, season, birthday, wedding decorations, etc! We hope you enjoy our favorite Fall craft, and hope to see you in the store soon to see the rest of our new Fall and Halloween items!