Burlap Banner

     If you can't already tell, I love burlap!

After I made my curtains (which you can check out here), I knew I wanted to use burlap in different areas of the house. It is just so functional & makes things look rustic but adds a bit of charm to any modern decor. I bought 3 more yards at a local Walmart & plan to make quite a few things.

So far I've made Greyson's name banner for his first birthday party...

...and I cut the 3 yards in half to make this table runner for the rustic table in our den. I love that it adds a little something extra but with no fuss & it was super simple. We had 2 black benches made for extra seating & when our table goes from 6ft to 9 ft they definitely come in handy =) The plant in the center was from my inlaws for my grandma's funeral & surprisingly is still alive & well. I'm not sure how I've managed that!  I also just added the little corner bumper (if you are wondering what that is) because Greyson & his friends keep cracking their noggins on this particular end of the table. I hope it helps! 

I've just recently added some seasonal banners to my collection of burlap uses & wanted to share them.

First I measured one of the stencils on the fabric to decide the size I needed. In order to get a straight cut across the fabric, I use a neat little trick by snipping one of the fibers in the burlap where I would cut & then pull that one strand of thread out through the fabric. It leaves a straight "line" where that one piece of thread was & all you have to do is follow it with the scissors. 

I used acrylic fabric paint in white & some stencils I had on hand that I got at Walmart. I didn't necessarily want to have "scrolly" letters so I used the stencil as a guide & modified the letters to what I wanted.

I used a round sponge "brush" to blot the paint on & some craft paint brushes to fix & finish the edges. I didn't use a lot of paint because I wanted it to have a shabby chic look & not be too "bright" white. Plus sometimes using too much paint of light fabric can make it curl or distort while hanging. 

I made 2 banners...one for Spring & the other for Fall. 

When you think "banner" you normally think of the triangle cut outs but I like changing that up sometimes. With Greyson's name I used circles & for the -SPRING- banner I made a tag like shape. I first saw the tag shape on a blog I follow & thought it looked neat & different. It is just squared with the upper corners cut at a diagonal. I left some fringe from the fabric on the bottom to give it a little something extra. For my -FALL- banner I just did the regular triangle cuts, but I didn't like how big they turned out. The letters I used are about 3-4 inches tall so I trimmed them down to the size I wanted. I wasn't sure how it would look cutting some of the letters but I thought it turned out neat so I kept trimming.

I have 2 sizes of twine on hand...a thicker rope type twine & a string like twine. I didn't want to weigh it down too much so I used the smaller twine. You can thread the twine through the burlap like I did on Greyson's name banner, but I absolutely LOVE these tiny little clothes pins. I think they are so cute & this is usually what I use when I hang up any type of banner. 

It's that easy! I just adjusted the letters to the center of my mantel & wala!

Cute, inexpensive & crafty =)

I plan to use the rest of my burlap in a picture frame or two & monogramming is definitely on my mind. There are just so many things you can do! If you have any great ideas I would love to hear them!