i for one, am not quite ready
but that doesn't mean that i'm not going to welcome it when it arrives.
last year we marked the beginning of summer in just the right fashion
with celebration through color and energy
you might recall these images of elated faces and blurry bodies
darting past checkered flags and through multi-colored ribbons
ringing in the days of sprinkler and pool fun
as i was finally unpacking a few more boxes from the garage
i came across the letters S U M M E R from last year's door banner
Owen also saw them and became animated in explaining to me the manner in which he would be running through them this year
so it was official
i needed to create a new one
as i received so much great feedback from last year
i decided to create a diy tutorial for you to make your own
'GATEWAY TO SUMMER' door banner
supplies:
a rainbow of colors of ribbon - i used floral acetate ribbon for outside durability
oilcloth - 12 x 12 cardstock paper would probably work too
jute or other twine
popsicle sticks
tape - i used masking
2 nails
lets get going:
ribbons
measure your doorway - width and lengthclear a large portion of the floor to work on
cut a generous amount of jute for the top of the banner using your width measurement as a guide
measure any color ribbon the length of your doorway {i started with red},
don't cut it...tie the ribbon in a knot around one end of your jute piece
and then finish off the piece of ribbon by cutting it once it measures the length of the doorway again
voila your first section of ribbon!
repeat this 'measure...knot...measure...cut' pattern so that you have a total of 3 knotted ribbons for each color {a total of 6 ribbon strands per color}
wherever you want the letters to fit in on your banner, leave an opening approx 12" wide
do this without kiddies running around or it may become a tangled ribbon mess:)
letters
cut the letters S U M M E R out of oilcloth or cardstock
mine are the height of 11"
i free-handed my letters but you could use a bold font like this to create templates
cut two generous pieces of jute the length of the doorway
lay out all your letters upside on the floor inside the opening between the ribbons you designated for them
i gave myself about a foot between the top and where i wanted my letters to start
tie your two pieces of 'length' jute to the top 'width' jute piece approx 8" apart
lay them down the sides of all the letters, stapling in numerous places in a X pattern
i taped popsicle sticks onto the backs of the portions of the letters that were not attached to the jute and may become floppy when hung
hanging
get your trusty ladder and recruit a helper if possible
{i managed to do this on my own, but it was just short of a trip to the Urgent Care:)}
hammer a nail into each side of the top of your doorway
tie each end of your banner to the nail and
voila!
your kids' own
GaTEwAy to SuMmER
now throw in some signs of congratulations in the yard,
some checkered flags with crete paper marking the finish line
and you've got yourself the perfect way to say goodbye to school and hello to summer.
