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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Fabric Banner How-To

At the last show that I participated in, it became very clear to me that my booth display needs work. Aside from being cluttered with too much product, I also didn't have any signage. Since I have a show this weekend, I decided that I really needed to fix that, and make a sign. I really like the way that fabric bunting looks, but I also wanted to do this process to be as easy as possible. So, here's what I did.....

1. Gather supplies. I used burlap for the fabric, since I like the look of it, and I had a bunch of it in my fabric stash.

2. Cut the triangles, or whatever shape you want your fabric pieces to be. I found this triangle ruler at Joann Fabrics in the quilting section. It was on clearance for $3.97 and was the perfect size for my banner.
I just placed it on my fabric and cut around it with my rotary cutter. I cut one triangle for each letter in my shop name, as well as few extra pieces, just in case I messed up somewhere....

3. I used this stencil by Hillman Sign Center to pain my letters onto the fabric. I bought this stencil set at Lowes, in the mailbox section. They did have some at the local craft stores, but they were a bit more expensive. These letters are 4 inches tall.

I used a round sponge brush to blot the paint on, and I used DecoArt Dazzling Metallics Elegant Finish Paint in Rich Espresso. They didn't have fabric paint in the color that I was looking for, but this all purpose acrylic paint worked just fine. (If I planned on washing my banner, I would have gotten fabric paint, though).
4. Once everything had been painted, I let it dry for 24 hours.
5. Attach the triangles to a string of some sort. I used double fold bias tape. I simply slide my triangles in between the two pieces or bias tape and pinned them in place. I set everything up on a flat surface so that I could make sure that my placement was good and my spacing was correct before I pinned everything in place. Then, I used two rows of zigzag stitching to secure it. Since burlap tends to unravel, I thought that two rows of stitching (one at the top and one towards the bottom of the bias tape) would make everything more secure.
Here is the finished product!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

About Me

-I'm kind of a wierdo.
-I was a band geek from 6th grade to 12th grade. (I played the flute).
-I am a rap superstar. (Not really, but I pretend to be).
-My husband is my best friend.
-My first job was at the local library when I was 15.
-I am terribly clumsy.
-I love shoes.
-I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Springfield College with a BS in Rehabilitation and Disability Services.
-I believe that mornings are evil.
-I used to swear that I wasn't a dog person, but now I can't imagine my life without them.
-I believe that sparkly nail polish and Bon Jovi are the cures for a bad day.
-My brother is a United States Soldier, and I am so proud of him for everything he's done.
-I get all misty eyed when I hear the National Anthem, and anytime anyone thanks the members of our military.
-I dance in my car and sing like a rockstar. (I get caught doing it by other driver's at least once a week, and it's embarrassing). I still do it though. :)
-I love Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee with extra cream and extra sugar.
-The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie ever.
-I believe that the ability to laugh at oneself is the key to life.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Fabric Banner How-To

At the last show that I participated in, it became very clear to me that my booth display needs work. Aside from being cluttered with too much product, I also didn't have any signage. Since I have a show this weekend, I decided that I really needed to fix that, and make a sign. I really like the way that fabric bunting looks, but I also wanted to do this process to be as easy as possible. So, here's what I did.....

1. Gather supplies. I used burlap for the fabric, since I like the look of it, and I had a bunch of it in my fabric stash.

2. Cut the triangles, or whatever shape you want your fabric pieces to be. I found this triangle ruler at Joann Fabrics in the quilting section. It was on clearance for $3.97 and was the perfect size for my banner.
I just placed it on my fabric and cut around it with my rotary cutter. I cut one triangle for each letter in my shop name, as well as few extra pieces, just in case I messed up somewhere....

3. I used this stencil by Hillman Sign Center to pain my letters onto the fabric. I bought this stencil set at Lowes, in the mailbox section. They did have some at the local craft stores, but they were a bit more expensive. These letters are 4 inches tall.

I used a round sponge brush to blot the paint on, and I used DecoArt Dazzling Metallics Elegant Finish Paint in Rich Espresso. They didn't have fabric paint in the color that I was looking for, but this all purpose acrylic paint worked just fine. (If I planned on washing my banner, I would have gotten fabric paint, though).
4. Once everything had been painted, I let it dry for 24 hours.
5. Attach the triangles to a string of some sort. I used double fold bias tape. I simply slide my triangles in between the two pieces or bias tape and pinned them in place. I set everything up on a flat surface so that I could make sure that my placement was good and my spacing was correct before I pinned everything in place. Then, I used two rows of zigzag stitching to secure it. Since burlap tends to unravel, I thought that two rows of stitching (one at the top and one towards the bottom of the bias tape) would make everything more secure.
Here is the finished product!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

About Me

-I'm kind of a wierdo.
-I was a band geek from 6th grade to 12th grade. (I played the flute).
-I am a rap superstar. (Not really, but I pretend to be).
-My husband is my best friend.
-My first job was at the local library when I was 15.
-I am terribly clumsy.
-I love shoes.
-I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Springfield College with a BS in Rehabilitation and Disability Services.
-I believe that mornings are evil.
-I used to swear that I wasn't a dog person, but now I can't imagine my life without them.
-I believe that sparkly nail polish and Bon Jovi are the cures for a bad day.
-My brother is a United States Soldier, and I am so proud of him for everything he's done.
-I get all misty eyed when I hear the National Anthem, and anytime anyone thanks the members of our military.
-I dance in my car and sing like a rockstar. (I get caught doing it by other driver's at least once a week, and it's embarrassing). I still do it though. :)
-I love Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee with extra cream and extra sugar.
-The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie ever.
-I believe that the ability to laugh at oneself is the key to life.