Welcome Door Banner

A welcoming banner will brighten up any front, back or bedroom door. It will make a great gift for the holidays, and it's a fun project for you to make for yourself.

Materials Needed:

1. Felt (any color, about 3 feet long and 1 foot wide, You will also need felt squares or felt scrap pieces in a contrasting color, to make the letters)
2. Fabric glue
3. Scissors, pen
4. Glitter
5. Pieces of ribbons, yarn, zig-zag or other fancy trimmings
6. Ruler and yardstick
7. Newspaper
8. A piece of cardboard 1 foot by 3 feet to match the big piece of felt

Begin your project by covering your table with newspaper; gather all the materials that you will need and lay everything out on your work space.

First, lay out the felt material, using a yardstick or ruler and a pen to draw out the rectangular shape if the piece you have is irregular. You can make a pattern out of a piece of newspaper first if you like.

Carefully cut out the three-foot by one-foot piece. This is now the body of your project.

Using a different colored piece of felt or several other felt squares, draw the letters to say "WELCOME." I find that using all capital letters works best. Bubble-style letters are easy to work with and most children have had success in writing and creating them. Any style letter you make will work out fine, though, so be as creative as you like. Just remember that if they are too fancy they may be more difficult to cut out.

When your letters are drawn, cut them out and arrange them on your banner in a vertical format. I always lay out my project before I glue things down so I can check that the spacing is even, and that everything is the way that I want it to look. Once you're satisfied, glue the letters in place.

It's time to add all the extra fancy decorations. Again, lay out all your ribbons and other doodads first so that you can see how it looks before gluing it permanently in place. When you're ready, glue everything down and add glitter wherever you think it looks good.

On the back of the banner, glue a long strip of cardboard to match the size and shape of the main part of the banner. This just helps to hold everything in place so that the banner is firm and flat as it hangs on your door. Attach a piece of ribbon to the back with masking or duct tape so that you can hang your banner up.

Now you're finished, and doesn't it look good! The best part is that if you make another one it will be a bit different from your first one. With each new banner that you create, try to change it a little so that each one is unique. They also make wonderful gifts.

Article provided by Homesteader.