Friday, April 4, 2014

Spring Banner + Easter Decor



For this post, I teamed up with a friend and fellow blogger, Amber, of mypineplace.blogspot.com. I love going to her house; it is serious eye candy for the crafter or decorator.  


Her mantle was the perfect display for the Spring Banner. 

We loved the coordinating pops of pink. I am not totally anti-pink in my decor the rest of the year, but Easter definitely necessitates an above-average dose of it. :)


Her Easter decor is way beyond what I have pictured here. So many fun, original, and easy ideas! You will love her blog. You can thank me later for sharing her genius with you. :)


To make the banner you will need: 
  • Cotton fabric: Approx. 16" square of fabric in choice of Easter-y color/print;  1-2 other coordinating solid fabrics--about 36 square inches total.
  • Medium-weight iron-on interfacing 
  • Iron-on/ vinyl lettering. This banner has 6 flags, so "SPRING" or "EASTER" will work.
  • Burlap Fabric: 40 square inches of solid burlap for banner flags, 1/2 yard for bunnies. I used brown for the flags and white for the bunnies, but you could reverse that or use the same color for both. 
  • 60" of natural (burlap/hemp/jute) twine.
  • Pom-pom trim--enough to hang nicely across your mantle. :)


1. First cut 6 egg shapes out of fabric and interfacing. I just drew out an egg template on cardstock and used that as my pattern. My eggs are 3.5" tall and 2.5" at widest width. 
2. Iron the interfacing to the fabric.

3. Next, cut out the 6 burlap flags. Again, I drew out my own template and used that. Basically, draw a 4"x 6" rectangle and cut a triangle out of the bottom.  Voila--a flag!

4. Attach the lettering to the eggs. (I started with this iron-on flocked lettering, but I ended up ripping it off because it was too hard to see from a distance. I changed to a grey vinyl, which I liked much more.Learn from my mistake and choose the right the first time!).

5. Pin the eggs, centered, on to the burlap flags. Now you are ready to sew. 

6. Using a short stitch length (this will give it an almost appliqued look), zig-zag stitch the egg onto the burlap with a coordinating thread.

7. Cut out 6 rectangles of solid backing fabric (about 6"x 5"). Finish the edges either with a serger, or a simple rolled hem (turn under 2x, iron in place, and stitch). The rough, shabby-chic look of the burlap allows for imperfect edges on the baking fabric, too, so no need fret about the edges being perfect.

8.  Cut out the bunnies with the burlap doubled, so you are cutting 2 at a time. You will actually be cutting 8 total (4 bunnies--each double density burlap so they aren't too flimsy as they hang). I drew out this bunny template based on one I saw on uncommondesignsonline.com. I love the simple cuteness of that banner. Next year...

9. Pin the bunnies together and sew around them with a straight stitch.

10. Cut 4 pom-poms off the trim. Hand sew them on to the tails (just like sewing on a button but without the pesky holes).  Cut the twine into 15" lengths and tie around the bunny necks.

11. Pin the bunnies to the pom-pom trim (I put mine on the front of the pom-pom--the other way made the bunnies look like they were wearing headbands or earrings). Sew into place. 

12. Hang and enjoy!