Our First Noel...

Now that my belly is full of turkey, sweet potato casserole, and mom's delicious pecan pie, the Christmas season is finally upon us!  I am excited for Zac and I to spend our first Christmas together in our home.  What better way to enjoy this season than to deck the halls with Christmas cheer?  In the decorations department, we are basically starting from scratch so I have lots of incentive to save as much money as possible when gathering decorations!

I splurged on these gorgeous burlap stockings, so I am trying to cut back spending on other items to make up for it :) I found this adorable "Noël" banner, by baybeedahlboutique on Etsy, and was dying to have it for our den (which we having lovingly named the Lodge)!

The cost on Etsy was $20 plus shipping, but I was able to get all of the materials I needed for less than $5.00!  What you need for this project:

1. 1/4 yard burlap, maybe less - Burlap is $3/yd at Wal-mart

2. 1/4 yard canvas, maybe less - Canvas is about $4/yd at Wal-Mart3  

3. Red and Green acrylic paint - These are on sale for about $1 at Hobby Lobby all the time

4. Jute twine string - You only need about 5' 

5. Hot glue gun/glue sticks

Start by cutting out one rectangle of burlap and one rectangle of canvas (for the back of burlap) for each letter you want.  I cut mine to be 9"x7".  On a low setting, iron each pair of canvas and burlap to make them easier to work with.  Once each set is ironed, put a line of hot glue along the top edge (the 7" inch side) of the canvas and secure the burlap on top.
      

Find a font you like and use a felt pen to free-hand the outline of each letter on the burlap rectangles.  You could also use stencils if you prefer.  Using the acrylic paint of your choice, paint the letter using the outline as your guide.  If you end up being able to see a bit of where the pen line was, it will still look great when hung up!

Measure the twine to be the length you want for your mantle or wall.  Once each letter is painted, fold the top of each rectangle around the jute twine and hot glue in place!  Check out how mine came out: 

I LOVE the rustic look of this banner- it is absolutely perfect for our "lodge"!