spooky banner tutorial

Last weekend my friends Tannie, Esther and I went to check out a relatively new housing development. Craftsman inspired floor plans. My favorite style. One of the model homes had the word "DREAM" hanging from a bedroom curtain rod. It was in a gothic font and the letters had glitter on them. I loved the concept, although it didn't look right to me in a bedroom. My thoughts were, however, that it would be a perfect idea for a Halloween banner. So the 3 of us got together and created this banner.



Here's what we used:

this font

black posterboard

Elmer's glue

brush

black (or orange, or silver) glitter

ribbon



Blow up the letters to the size you want and print out. Cut them out and use them as stencils on the black posterboard. (We smoothed out some of the edges on the letters because they were a little too ornate). Reinforce the back of your letters with popsicle sticks if your posterboard is too thin (if you do not, the glue will cause the post board to curl). Paint your letters (one at a time) with an even coat of glue. Sprinkle black glitter generously over the letter. Let your letters dry overnight. Using a wide ribbon (if your ribbon is not wide enough your banner will not hang flat), attach your letters using hot glue. Leave about an inch bettween letters... you don't want them to close together or they will overlap when you hang it up. Leave at least a 7 inch tag on each end from which to hang your banner. Add additional pieces of ribbon for whimsy... choose a variety of widths and textures. I used orange silk, black with handstitched edges, white ric rac and black and white striped. Black and white gingham and polka dots would also be cute! You can also hang the letter individually, each one with it's own piece of ribbon. Looks great across a mantle, hanging in a window, along the top of an armoire, or at the top of a niche like mine. I thought the letters might also look cute if covered in velvet. Oooh la laa!!!

Enjoy!