Burlap Candycorn Bunting!

This is another fast, fun Halloween craft you can do with your kiddos.

 

And unlike the paper plate bunting (which is also way cute and fun to do with your kids BTW), this burlap swag will last for years to come! 

We simply cut triangle pennants from burlap and painted them using tempera paint.  I did this project last year with Sheep and it was very simple for her to do.  I just love the vibrant colors of the candy corn!

The paint will bleed through to the back side, but we simply waited a few minutes for the front side to dry and them flipped them over and painted the backs.  And the bleed-through actually made it very easy to see where to put the colors on the reverse side.  The paint also seals the cut edges of the burlap and keeps them from fraying - BONUS!!

I used a simple zig-zag stitch to attach the triangles to the jute, but you could hot glue them or punch holes across the top if you don't (or won't - ha!) sew!

Depending on where you plan on hanging your bunting, you might want to do some measuring beforehand to figure out how long you want your swag and then work backwards to figure out how many/what size you want to make your triangles.  I'm a visual person, so the simplest way I have found to do this is just to swag a string across so you can actually see how far down you want it to hang, mark it, then measure your string!  Don't forget to add some length on the ends for tying!

Last year we used it out on our porch for a pumpkin painting party.

But it looks great on the fence as well.  This year it's actually ended up on the banister and it looks cute there too!

 

Happy Halloween Y'all!!

Sharing this sassy project at
 Mop it Up Mondays, Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, Take-A-Look Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Cowgirl Up, Whimsy Wednesdays, Show and Share, Overflowing with Creativity, Creative Me, Made U Look, It's a Hodgepodge Friday

Stenciled Burlap Wall Art Tutorial

Back in the Spring, when I was 'Junkin' in Jammies', I practically stole acquired some great old frames that I had no idea what I would do with, but knew that I could not pass up!  One of them turned into a sassy little message board for my kitchen and a much larger one I set aside for a back porch art project.  And there it sat, through June, July and most of August, while the kids and I busied ourselves with all things summer!  Truth is, I knew I wanted to do something on burlap, but I was a little stumped about what I wanted it to say.  But with summer coming to an end and our back-to-school prep in full swing - it hit me!

Voila!

The PERFECT wall art for our favorite summertime destination:  our own backyard!

This project was quick, easy and fun to do - so here's how ya get 'er done!

Supplies:

Frame of your choice

(I chose plastic since it was going outdoors!)

Craft paint - pick your color

Small brush

Burlap

Thin piece of wood cut to fit

(You can have that done at your local home improvement store if

you can't slow Speed your husband down long enough to do it

and they'll do it for free!)

 Spray adhesive

Poster board

Craft knife

Paint pen (optional)

For the Frame:

Remove any inserts in the frame and cover your work area to paint.  This happens to be my dining room table - ha!

Using a small brush and craft paint, apply a small amount of paint to your brush and brush across frame.  I use recycled meat trays for easy, disposable paint trays.

This 'dry brush' technique allows some of the color underneath to show through.  This technique works well on frames with lots of molded detail.  I considered painting another color underneath first, but I liked the gold.

Let dry completely before inserting your art!

For the Insert:

Lay your burlap out with your wood that has been cut to fit on top and trim burlap close to the edges of the wood.  Spray wood with adhesive and then cover with burlap, working from the center out to smooth out any wrinkles as you go.  It took more adhesive than I thought it would . . .

For the Stencil:

This might be another 'ghetto graphics' tutorial, but it worked for me without a lot of headache (but a fair amount of hand-ache) by the time I was done.  There are plenty of other stenciling techniques out there, but this made the most sense to me for some reason.

First decide on your phrase and font style.

Then print them out on your computer using your word processing program.

Geesh - Looks like someone needs a pedi!

Anyhoo, once you like the size and layout, grab your poster board.

I simply affixed my lettering to the poster board with good old-fashioned Scotch tape.

Looks good!  Now cut through the letters and the poster board using your craft knife.

I did this on a self-healing cutting mat, but if you don't have that, make sure you put something underneath so you don't ruin your surface while cutting!

Make sure you save the 'insides' on your letters for stenciling!

Does anyone else have to work in these conditions?!

Once you've completed your stencil, remove the paper and lay it out over the burlap covered insert and start to paint!

After seeing the positive ravings about Sharpie paint pens, I decided to buy (invest) in a package of them and let me just say - "I'm hooked!" 

They really do work great and made this job easy-peasy without having to worry

about bleed through since my stencil wasn't vinyl, etc.  Yay!!

Almost finished!!

Paint might have done a 'darker' job, but I'm certain it wouldn't have been as clean.

Now, just insert your burlap-covered, fabulously-embellished , one-of-a-kind wall art

into your beautiful 'new' frame and along with the last taste of summer . . .

ENJOY!!

Sharing this sassy project at Mop it Up Mondays, Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, Wow Us Wednesdays, Cowgirl Up, Whimsy Wednesdays, Show and Share, Overflowing with Creativity

Burlap Wreath Tutorial

I am LOVIN' the look of burlap and I am seeing it literally everywhere these days!  I have been using burlap for years in my fall decorating, primarily on my Thanksgiving table, because it's a cheap alternative to a tablecloth and an easy way to cover multiple tables together without even having to hem anything!  Nowadays though, it's popping up in all kinds of new and fun ways.  Just type burlap in the search field on Pinterest and see for yourself!  And if you haven't been to Pinterest yet, all I can say, is "GIIIRL!!  What are you waiting for?!?!  It is AMAZING!"  Which reminds me, I made an amazing Halloween wreath last month, and was feeling inspired (even though I am dying to get going on Christmas decorations already), so I combined a few of my Pinterest ideas and voila!!  My very own burlap door wreath that's pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself.  So easy - it took less than an hour to put it together - and so beautiful!!  Now that's my kind of craft!

Supplies:

1.  2 wire pants hangers

2.  Approximately 1 and 1/2 yards of burlap

(depends on how full you like your wreaths)

3.  Cutting utensil (I used a rotary cutter)

4.  Ruler

Remove the cardboard from your hanger and unbend.  You will need two to make a large door wreath and you can simply hook them together using the bent ends that insert into the cardboard.  For a smaller wreath, you can simply unbend and hook ends together to form a small circle, as below.

Lay your burlap out on cutting surface.  Use ruler to determine the width of your strips for your wreath.  I used 6 inches (the width of my ruler) for simplicity and because I like big loops.  I'm a more is more kinda girl!

Cut strips of burlap, from side to side across the width of your fabric.  I probably used about 12 strips.  I can't remember if burlap is sold in 45" or 60" widths, but you get the idea.  You will use more or less depending on your fullness preferences, so you decide!

Starting at one end of the strip, pinch the burlap together like you are pleating it for a bow.  You DO NOT have to finish the ends or seams at all.  This is such an easy project!

Unbend one of the hooked ends of the hanger that was holding the cardboard (You may need pliers for this, or you can use scissors, or teeth - I'm not telling you OR my mother which I used) and 'sew' it through your pinched pleats.  You will be sewing perpendicular to the length of your strip.

Push it down onto your wire loop and repeat.  You can see from this picture that I pinched and 'sewed' about every 10 inches.  Don't worry, you don't have to be exact.  Once it's all scrunched on the loop, you won't be able to tell.

If you have hooked two wires together for a larger wreath, then you will probably need to do this from both ends, meeting in the middle, where they are hooked together.  Keep sewing and scrunching!

Remember that the more strips you use, the heavier it becomes, which may become an issue when you hang it.  Mine turned out pretty heavy, but again, I'm a more is more kinda girl!  Just something to keep in mind.  OK, carry on!

Here is one strip pleated and 'sewn' onto the wire.  I have gone back and forth, or side to side, as you can see in the picture, but you don't have to because you can twist your loops on the wire once they are on there.  Again, this is a very forgiving project.  We like that!

This is the same strip now scrunched.  From her on out, just keep adding strips until you get it to the desired fullness.  Once you have 'sewn' all the burlap onto your loop, rebend the wires at the ends and hook together to complete the circle for your wreath.  Adjust burlap loops to hide any wire.  Add decorations and your done!

I liked the look of my burlap wreath so much that I decided not to put any permanent decorations on it, and because it's fabric - it will be SO EASY to use over and over again!  Rather than hot gluing my flowers and feathers to the burlap, I simply hot glued pins to the flowers and pinned them to the fabric instead.  The leaves and feathers came on wire picks, so I jabbed them into burlap (it's such a loosely woven fabric) along with the twigs.  This wreath would look great dressed up for almost any holiday - cheers!