While Wearing Heels: banner

Monday, December 9, 2013

Merry Christmas Banner

Because Christmas is just a little more special with handmade decorations, I decided to make a merry and bright Christmas banner...out of felt. Christmas and felt. There isn't anything much better than that.

This inexpensive handmade Merry Christmas garland can be customized with the colors you select and/or the holiday saying you want to create.

So, go grab some felt and let's get start. I opted to go bright and cheery as opposed to traditional. Make this garland your own and select colors that make you happy.

Using a water soluble pen, trace your letters. Each letter will be layered so you'll need to cut out 2 of every letter.

Using a running stitch (or a sewing machine, to save yourself time), sew around each letter. Leave roughly 1/2 an inch unsewn on each side of your letter.

By leaving this section of every letter unsewn, you will be able to string twine or ribbon through it and adjust your letters later, based on where you decide to hang it.

Finish stringing your letters...

Find a place to display...

And, enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

A rolling stone gathers no moss, but cardboard cutouts can.

For Grace's 5th birthday {her vintage bunny themed birthday party}, I decided to decorate with moss, some cardboard and a few other unexpected things.

These moss numbers and letters were 100% inspired by Bliss Bloom Blog's Happy Easter banner. I did stray a bit from her instructions. I used a bag of Spanish moss, where Bliss Bloom used sheets of Spanish moss.

My letters were all cut out of cereal boxes. Once the letters and numbers were cut out, I applied glue {to the plain side of the cardboard} and pressed the moss into place.

Once my letters were complete, I needed a place to hang them. So I went to search in the garage. Isn't that where you go when looking for party decorations and inspiration?

I found a large old window, in the growing collection of windows we seem to have accumulated. The window was a roadside rescue weeks before. Thank goodness for free finds!

When I hung up the moss garland across the window, the clear glass allowed whatever was behind the window to show through. Having put so much work into the moss garland, I wanted to make sure the garland remained a focal point.

My mom, the queen of quilts, came the rescue and brought me 2 yards of Beatrix Potter fabric.

I decided to tack the sweet bunny fabric behind the window.

And, finally, I was happy.

The window proved to be a great area to display the moss garland and the Beatrix Potter fabric played subtly into the bunny theme of Grace's party while allowing the moss garland to remain the main focal point.

Today, you get just a glimpse. More bunny themed party details to follow.

Make sure you hop over and check out the rest of Grace's bunny themed birthday party.