I recently started following brand stylist and creative soul, Latonya Yvette on Instagram. While looking through her photos, I spotted the gold letter buntings over her bed which says, “Only Love.” I instantly fell in love with the short but profound slogan and thought that it’s just perfect to place in a bedroom. So I took those inspiring words and made them mine by turning it into a simple fabric banner artwork.
As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I’m currently very fond of sewing, so I decided to sew the banner myself, using cream colored muslin cloth. It’s quite easy to make specially because I wanted it to look very simple so only the words would stand out.
The other materials I used are the following: dried branch/drift wood (approximately one foot long), string, basic sewing kit, textile paint, masking tape
1. Cut your fabric into the size and shape you’d like it to be, giving it about an inch of allowance on all sides. I made mine about 16 x 9 inches in size and in the shape of a standard banner with a pointy bottom.
2. Sew in all the sides of your banner to make clean lines and prevent the muslin cloth from fraying. I chose a bright aqua blue thread just so there’s a subtle pop of color.
3. Decide on your slogan and, using some textile paint in the color of your choice, write it down your banner. You may do it freehand or you can first make a stencil for it. What I did was place margins on my banner and pencil in the letters first before painting over it. Then let it dry.
4. Paint over your dried branch as well. I used white acrylic for mine.
5. While your painted banner and branch are drying, make your banner tabs. Cut three strips of fabric about four inches wide and six inches long each. (Note: Make more tabs if you’re making a much wider banner.)
6. Take one of the fabric strips and sew all three sides shut. Once that’s done, flip it inside out and sew the opening shut. Do the same thing to the other strips of fabric.
7. Once the paint on your banner is dry, sew the tabs on the top part in equal distances from each other. Again using an aqua blue thread, I sewed an X on each of them cause I thought it would look cute.
Tip: You may also sew buttons on the tabs as embellishment.
8. Get your dried branch, making sure the paint is completely dry, and insert it through your banner tabs.
9. Get a piece of string in the length you desire and tie both ends to the branch. I used a gray striped baker’s twine for mine and I wound it around several times first before tying a knot.
10. Hang it where you’ll always see it!
I hung mine just above our bed and I really like how I see it every time I walk into our room and right before lying down to rest. Not only do these simple words set a very pleasant and loving atmosphere in our room, this banner also says everything I aspire for our home, my relationships and my inner life to be filled with. Only love.
What words do you want to own and wake up to every morning? Get crafty and make a wall banner that says just that!
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