Tutorial Tuesday {wooden wedding banner}

This banner is from Windrosie {Etsy}

So my cousin got married this past weekend and really wanted this banner for some of her pictures. I have made/bought something crafty for every wedding I've been to recently. I was going to buy this for her, but of course I found out a week before the wedding this is what she wanted. Plus, I thought it looked easy enough to make.

 

Materials Needed:

1. Letters of some sort and one heart shape. I used 4" wooden letters from Joann Fabrics. I thought these would hold up better than paper.

2. Twine or rope

3. Paint. I used acrylic, but you could use any paint you'd like.

4. Paint brush

5. Glitter {optional}

6. Drill and 5/32 drill bit. {the bit size will vary depending on the thickness or your twine or rope}

7. Handy Dad/Handsome Husband {to drill the holes} {also optional}

Mark your letters and heart shape where you want your holes drilled. There is really no rhyme or reason with marking them. I used a ruler to get them semi straight, but just do your best. The letter shapes are so different it's hard to do exact measurements down and across.

 

Have your dad {and or husband} drill holes where you marked. If you have talented men, they can drill through letters that have multiples at the same time. More than likely the wood will split a little because the wood is cheapy wood! You don't want your holes too much bigger than your rope/twine because they will slide and move if you do. You kind of want them snug. It will be a little bit of a pain when you're stringing them, but it's totally worth it!

Start painting your letters. I put two coats on the front of the letters and one on the back. It's up to you if you want to pain the back of the letters or not. Make sure you pain the sides though, they will show! Immediately after you paint the second coat on, sprinkle on your glitter. You could use glitter paint here if you wanted to, I just didn't like the consistancy of the glitter paint so I did it seperately. I used my paint brush to even out the glitter so it wasn't all clumped in one spot.

 

Lay the letters out to dry. Wait until the letters are completely dry before you string them. If you don't, your paint will rub off on your twine/rope.

 

 

I didn't take a picture of this, but wrap tape around the end of your twine/rope so it's easier to feed through the holes. This is optional, but makes life a lot easier! :)

 

Start by putting the end of your twine/rope down through the first hole on the "W." String the twine/rope behind and up and out the back of the hole on the "W." Repeat for all letters.

 

I will repeat this...make sure you are going down through the top of the hole and stringing behind so your twine/rope doesn't show on the top of the letter.

This is what it should look like from the back.

 



Here is the finished product. I gave it to her for her bachelorette party so she'd have it for pictures that day. Little did I know, I would be taking the pictures.