Valentine Burlap Banner

Hi. I'm Jenny. A California wife and mama to one sweet little eight-month-old girl, a part-time teacher, a full-time homemaker, and a craft lover! I enjoy decorating for the Holidays, but Valentine's is always a tough one for me.
First of all, Pinks and reds are not my favorite hues. Second, this holiday is only one day and does not hold all the anticipation that "bigger" holidays, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving hold.
So, I like to keep it simple.
I decided to go with a more neutral look by using burlap to create a love-inspired banner.
Here is how I did it.
1. I purchased 1/2 yard of burlap at $4.95 a yard from Michaels. I have heard that Home Depot sells burlap much cheaper, but you may have to buy a larger amount.
2. I bought some paint brushes in various sizes and a stencil set at Michael's (with a 40% off coupon of course. You can always print one from the internet).
3. I already had some fabric paint in various colors. (I used fabric paint, but Acrylic paint should work as well.

4. I cut the the burlap into even squares, making sure that I had enough squares for what I wanted to spell, plus an extra to separate the words.

5. Then, I used the stencils to paint the letters onto the burlap. NOTE: Burlap is not a solid fabric, so put something under it when you paint. Otherwise you end up having to scrub pink paint off your kitchen table like I did :)

Once the paint is dry, take out your ribbon, fabric, or, in my case, twine, and your sewing machine.
I folded the burlap over the twine and sewed a basic straight stitch across each piece of burlap (be sure to leave plenty of extra twine for affixing the banner to its decorative location).
It is a simple addition to any existing decor!

There you have it: an easy, fun, and cute valentine banner!
I hope you enjoy the "day of love"!
You can see more of my projects on my blog The Sweet Stuff or check out my shop on etsy!

:) Jenny