14 November 2010

Clean out your kitchen banner

Some of you may remember my "clean out your closet necklace".  I made it from a bunch of things I had stashed away for a creative stroke of genius.  And thus was born this necklace.


Well a similar thing happened with this banner, which was made from placemats, dinner napkins, and curtain tie backs.


I had a very specific idea for a Thanksgiving banner in my head, the color scheme and everything.  These items just happened to fall into that vision perfectly!  Here's how it was made.

First I cut the napkins and placemats (from Target) - the yellow just a bit smaller than the burlap since I was layering and wanted yellow on top.  Then I whip stitched a line across the top of the 2... more for looks than functionality, because the placemats were coming unwoven after I cut them.  The material is much rougher than real burlap; it's more like a basket weave kind of texture.  But once I hot glued the twine onto the back of each piece, it held together.

I drew the letters by hand with a brown sharpie... so much easier than using a brush and paint.  Because I love a folky look, imperfections like lines that aren't real straight, etc., appeal to me.  So I just freehanded it.

I finished the banner off with some rosettes, from curtain tie-backs of all things!  I rarely use the tie-backs that come with curtains, but I save them for little things like this... resourceful, eh?  I've had these tie-backs since we moved in 2.5 years ago!  I also tied on some remnants from the napkins as well as ribbon to each end of the banner.

Here's a close-up of some of the details:



Enjoy!

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UndertheTableandDreaming 

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8 comments:

Sharon said...

LOVE IT!

chris said...

Hooray for using what's on hand. The banner looks fabulous.

Amanda Lee said...

This turned out really darling! Did you paint the letters on?

Lei said...

No, I used a sharpie. :)

Alyssa said...

Cute, and your title made me laugh. I love using what's available at home!

Rachael said...

That is a great looking banner!

Kelli W said...

This is adorable! I can't believe you wrote the letters with a Sharpie! I love the colors and the font that you used!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Hi Lei. I love the recycled materials you have used - so clever and creative. Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase Party - I greatly appreciate it. I have featured this today - Stop by and grab a featured button if you like. Hope you are enjoying your week. ~ Stephanie Lynn