To tie the bride and groom's favourite colours of red and blue together, we used hessian/burlap and a white lacy edging. Continuing with that theme, we created some bunting to be hung across the doorways and over the gift table. It's a quick, easy and very inexpensive decorating idea. The total cost for 4 lengths of bunting was under $5 and all we needed was hessian/burlap, a stencil, paper doilies and acrylic paint.
Using a template for the triangles makes it easy to get them all the same size and also helps you get the best economy from your hessian. I found it also helped me keep the weave of the fabric straight which will make the stencilling step much easier. Use a permanent marker to trace out one triangle for each letter or space that you will need.
Cut out the triangles trying not to fray the edges.
I've used an old Elmer's stencil kit I had tucked away in a drawer. These letters are 2" tall.
The bride-to-be was happy to lend a hand with this project and whilst she stencilled, I cut enough triangles for 3 more strings of bunting. We had a great production line going.
For the stencilling, we measured 4.5cm up from the bottom point and then placed the bottom of the stencil at that point. With a dry brush or sponge dipped into the paint, you just stipple the paint through the stencil onto the hessian. Stippling or pouncing the paint gives you a much clearer outline than dragging the paint across the stencil.
You don't need to saturate the hessian, just make sure that you have good coverage.
Once the paint was dried, I created a casing by folding the top over and stitching it down with the sewing machine.
Next I used the flower burst punch to create a continuous border along a sheet of white copy paper and attached it to the top of each triangle with Glue Arts Extreme Tac mounting squares. They were so quick to use and they stayed stuck even in the dreadful humid, rainy weather we had for the party.
In keeping with the theme, we strung the bunting on jute. For the spaces between the names we attached heart doilies for a touch of romantic red.
This is another idea that would work well as a Valentine's Day decoration. Just stencil your own special words (or names!) onto the hessian and string it up near your dining table to set the mood for your romantic evening.
'Til next time.....
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