"We LOVE School" Banner Tutorial

I am a little banner obsessed.

If I can make a banner for an occasion...I do.

Last week I had a small Back to School party 

and made this super cute "We {heart} School" banner for decoration.

It is pretty simple and has a rustic, vintage feel.

And I kind of love it!

SUPPLIES

• 7-8" strip of burlap (should be the width of the fabric). Each "flag" is about 6", so 7-8 should give you plenty of room to trace this and cut them out correctly.
• 8 oz White Paint. I used DecoArt American Acrylic in White Wash (NOTE: This takes a lot of paint. the 2 oz. bottle may not get all your flags painted - my photo below shows a 2 oz. bottle, but I recommend more paint.I used over 3 2 oz. bottles)
• 2 oz. Black Paint, I used DecoArt Americana Acrylic in Ebony
• 2 oz. Red Paint I used DecoArt Americana Acrylic in Primary Red
• Stencil for letters: I used DecoArt 3" Simple Script Alphabet

• Paint Brush (I used an old cheapo paint brush for the burlap)
• 1-2 smaller paint brushes for the letters and heart.
• Hot glue/Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors
• 2 yards Heavy twine or jute

MAKE IT!
Cut out 9 flags from the burlap.

• To cut flags:
• Make a simple template using a cardboard box (like a cereal box)
• Draw a square, 4" wide and 6" long
• At the bottom center (2" in from either side) measure up 2" on the center line.
• Connect the bottom outside points to the 2" point you just marked.
• Cut the flags.

• Protect your surface and layout the 9 flags.
• Paint each flag. You may have to dab at the flags and brush to get the paint in the burlap. The finish is not "perfect." Let dry. You may want to pick them up after a few minutes to ensure they do not stick to the protective surface underneath (for example, some of the cardboard stuck to the back of my flags).
• Optional: Once dry, if you want a more finished back as well, paint the back. Again, pick up the flags to ensure they do not stick to the protective surface underneath.

• Once dry, use the stencil and the black paint to add your words. With this size stencil and flag, the tops of my letters were about 1 " down from the top of the flag, and centered horizontally.
• Hold down the stencil with your fingers and paint the individual stencils onto the flags.

• For the heart I just drew a heart and transferred the outline to the flag, and painted it with red paint.

• Once all the flags are dry, line them up. They should be right next to one another with very little or no space between the flags.

• Heat up the hot glue gun.

• Cut a 72" length of rope/jute/twine.
• Find the center of your rope and match it up with the center of the banner, so that you have enough rope left on each side to hang the banner.
• Run a line of hot glue along the top edge of the banner/flags and press down the rope into the hot glue (The banners are pretty stiff after painting...sewing is possible, but VERY difficult).

All done!

A cutie-patootie banner to celebrate Back to school!

My kiddos have already started school...what about yours?

This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre