DIY Valentine Bunting

February 1st means one thing…Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Last year I made this cute bunting to hang on my mantel. I don’t like to go overboard with decorating for Valentine’s Day since I’m just coming off the Christmas cleanup, but I do like to do a little something and this bunting adds just a touch of sweetness. I see all kinds of ideas for these on PINTEREST and if I had to guess I’m sure my inspiration came from there.

I have a friend that I like to make things for so over the weekend I put one together for her…no names so she’ll be surprised. I took pictures just using my phone since my camera battery was dead, so they aren’t stellar quality, but you can get a pretty good idea.

First I gathered my supplies.

All of these items came from my favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby. I can wander around in there forever. So much so my family now hates to go with me. (Insert eye rolls here) They have great sales and those have a definite rhythm/rotation to them so once you watch you will learn when things will be 1/2 off and know to stock up. Now that I know I like to make these buntings (I also have a Christmas themed one) I buy a couple of packages of the ready made burlap triangles and keep them on hand for when I’m hit with an idea. I treat my craft supplies much like my pantry because when the notion strikes I don’t want to run out and get everything together. Unfortunately crafting goes hand in hand with hoarding. #savethosescraps

I covered my work surface with paper and laid out all of my triangles. I didn’t have the light pink paint I needed so I mixed my own with white and a dot of red (go easy on the red, you can always add more)

I started by mixing only a small amount but ended up using almost the entire bottle of white. Covering the burlap takes a lot of paint. I’ll warn you, it doesn’t go on evenly but dries fine.

Once the pink has had a while to dry you can stencil on the red letters. This pack of stencils didn’t come with shapes so I made the heart out of a piece of poster board. The tricky part here is holding down the stencils so you don’t get “bleed” under and around your letters. I also learned this time I needed to use a lighter touch when stenciling. My letters on the bunting came out much bolder than the previous one I’d made so I went back and used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to “distress” them a little and was happier with the look. I used a round sponge “pouncer” to make the white dots. These come in a package of multiple sizes and are usually found near the acrylic paint.

Once everything’s had a chance to dry (I left mine over night) it’s time to add the ribbon. I used my trusty glue gun and attached one triangle at a time leaving a small space in between. You can get creative here and use whatever you like. This time I used a cute little polka dot ribbon, but I’ve also used Ric-Rac trim. (The picture below shows the difference in the vibrancy of the letters after sanding them. It’s subtle, but more to my liking.)

And finally, the finished product…so CUTE!!!

Here’s a little tip on how I hang mine. I LOVE Command hooks. I use them all over the place. These are tiny ones and you can just tie a knot in your ribbon and use it to stop it from sliding out.