Christmas Music Banner Tutorial

It has been a crazy week; we all had colds (Jaime still does), deliverables for work, Christmas decorating, Christmas baking and getting the house clean and ready for my first Cookie Swap Party.  It's weeks like this you wish for more time, more energy, or a horde of minions to direct as you kick back and a drink.  :)

I knew I wanted to add a Christmas banner to my decor this year and after seeing so many pretty ones on blogs and Pinterest (evil, evil, evil) 

I made this little pretty for my dining room which is severely lacking any decor at all, let alone Christmas-y stuff.   It was super easy to make and I was thrilled with the results!

All you need is:

 4 sheets of red card stock or construction paper (I used card stock I had on hand)

 4 sheets of 2 per page printed music paper

1 sheet of full page printed music paper You can print it free here or here

Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Ribbon ( I used thin metallic wired ribbon)

Hole Punches - Regular and 2 inch circle

Scissors or Paper cutter

After you print the one full sized sheet of music paper, load it back into your printer so that is will pull in music side to the print side.   It took me a minute to figure this out for my printer

I chose Silent Night and Away in the Manger as my music paper. Gotta keep with the theme peeps.

Find your coolest frizzly (official term) font and type out your message and print. 

I used Algerian font in 100 pt and all caps.

Take your full sheet of red paper and cut it into 4 even strips lengthwise.

2 strips will make 1 rosette.

Fold your 2 strips according style, make sure to keep the folds even

and approximately 1/2 inch wide.

Hot glue the ends of the 2 according strips together to make one long strip.

Then take that long strip and hot glue the 2 remaining ends together. 

It will form a circle.

Pick up the circle and gently press down the top while pulling out the bottom. 

It's kind of like inverting a sock...

And voila!  a rosette!

This way is so much easier than the way of I used to make these, folding the long piece of paper.

Repeat these steps, one for each letter in your saying.

Using the 2 inch hole punch, punch out your saying. 

Then hot glue one letter to the middle of each rosette.

Next, cut your double printed music sheets to size, approximately 5 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches long.

Draw a triangle shape on the bottom of the page and cut it out.

I used a folded sheet of paper to create my triangle, since I can't be trusted to draw a straight line. :)

Center your rosette on the sheet and hot glue in place.

Once dry, use your regular hole punch to punch 2 holes per sheet of paper. 

You can put clear tape on the spot before punching the hole to stop tearing.  I just ran out to I skipped this part.

You can also see the little tear on the E. I had an issue with my puncher,

but it's hardly noticeable when up.

Next, take the ribbon and cut it to twice the length of your banner. 

Then thread the ribbon through each section.

I attached the banner to the wall using command strips and hooks. 

I covered up the hooks with sparkle snowflakes I had. 

( love them)

Here is a close up.

And the finished product!

I certainly am, as this project came in at $0 to make.  Happy Dance!

Be Merry!

               

Jingle Door Bells, Two Ways

I love the sound of jingle bells.  It's a sure sign that Christmas is on the way.  I mean, there were bells on Bobtail, and bells when angels get their wings.   Definitely Christmas.   

I have a set of bells for my front door, but they have seen much better days.  Kinda sad, not happy jingles.   Anyway, I wanted a new set of bells that was updated and more my style.  I wanted them to be sturdy with a 4 and a half year old and puppy running around.  However, being a working mom, I wanted something quick and easy.   I figured I try this craft using two methods; sewing and hot glue.  This is what I came up with:

I really love how they came out and they make me super happy!

Here are the details for the sewed version. 

The supplies; fabric, ribbon, a key chain loop, and bells.

From the fabric, cut 2 rectangles 18 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Flip over the pieces so that the pattern is facing eachother (right sides in).
        

Sew the long sides of the rectangle, turn the sleeve right side out with your fingers, and iron flat.

 

Take each end and fold it once and iron flat then fold again and iron.  It should look like this when done.

Loop your bells through the key chain.  I wanted a total of 4 for the finished project, but wasn't able to sew with all, so I started with 3.   Next, loop the bottom of the fabric through the key chain and sew.  

 

For the top of fabric, just sew along bottom of the fold to create a pocket.  Cut your ribbon to length and thread through the pocket.   Then embellesh as you like.  I added these cute fabric flowers I made a few months ago.  I also added the fourth bell for a fuller look.  

 Lastly, add it to your door.  Isn't it pretty!!! 

  

 

For the hot glue version, I used wide ribbon instead of fabric and hot glued where I sewed above.  Easy Peasy.  The possibilities are endless.  All sorts of ribbon and embellishments, make it shorter, longer, multileveled, whateve's.