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!

Linking up:

UndertheTableandDreaming 

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8 comments:

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

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

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  3. No, I used a sharpie. :)

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

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  5. That is a great looking banner!

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

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  7. 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

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