DIY Valentine's Banner

I never really got into Valentine's Day until I had kids. Once I had my little guys, it was on.

This year I thought it would be fun to have little photo shoot so I could send some Valentine's cards to the family. And of course a shoot wouldn't be fun without some cool props to go along with it so I whipped up this ridiculously easy little Valentine's Banner. It took me less than 30 minutes and cost around $5.00.

What you'll need:

1/3 yard of burlap (I picked it up on sale at Joann's for $2.99 per yard)

One sheet of felt in color of your choice (I prefer eco-fi which is about $0.30)

Heat n Bond Ultra (or other fusible webbing)

Yarn or Twine (2 to 3 yards)

Tapestry Needle (or any needle with an eye big enough for yarn or twine)

Scissors

Pencil and one sheet of paper for triangle template

Ruler 

**Since I use Heat n Bond, my instructions will follow Heat n Bond's instructions. If you are using a different fusible web, simply change out my instructions with the instructions on the package.

Getting Started:

Using your ruler, draw out a triangle template for your banner on the piece of paper. My triangle is 6 inches on the long sides and 4 inches on the short side. Cut it out and pin it to your burlap.

 Cut out how ever many triangles you'll need from the burlap. My banner has five triangles.

Next you'll want to draw your heart on the heat & bond. You can free hand the hearts on with a pencil. I prefer to draw a heart on a piece of paper and then place it under my Heat & Bond to trace it. Doing it that way ensures that my hearts are all the same.

Next you'll want to iron your heart webbing onto your felt or fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the "wool" setting (NO STEAM). Iron the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks like this: 

Cut out the hearts. They will be felt on one side and have a paper backing on the other.

Take the hearts and peel off the wax paper layer from the back. Place the hearts exactly where you want them on the triangles  with the glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the hearts on to the triangles pressing for about 10 seconds. Again be sure to use the wool setting with no steam. Check to be sure that the hearts are firmly adhered.

Take your yarn or twine and cut off three times the length that you want your banner to be. If you want your banner to be 3 feet wide, cut off 9 feet. Be sure to leave a long enough tail so that you will end up with enough length at each end of the banner to hang it or hold it.  Thread your needle and do a simple straight stitch along the top of the burlap (leave about a half an inch clearance from the top). My stitches are about half an inch long and since my yarn matches my burlap, it is *very* forgiving.

Stitch all of your triangles on to your yarn or twine and you are finished!

Using this exact same technique, you could make a banner with other shapes or even letters. (If you do this with letters or numbers, you'll need to trace them onto your fusible webbing in reverse.)

If you get stuck or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me (finleyandoliver@gmail.com) and I'll do my best to help.

Happy Valentine's Day!