"be merry" bunting tutorial

This holiday I have slowly been adding some homemade decorations to make it feel a little more Christmas-y!  

Side Note: So this project started a while ago and I was a horrible blogger and did not take pictures of the first process.  But, I did take lots of the second half, so do not fret!

I had a vision: I wanted to create bunting that read "Be Merry", and I wanted it to be made out of burlap.  

So I started along making my burlap triangles and strung them with red material.  Then, I realized I needed to figure out how I would get the letters onto my burlap.  I scoured Wal Mart and Michaels for the perfect stencil for me to paint.  Sadly I left empty-handed...well at least with no stencils, I can always find something to buy among these two places.  

And so the bunting sat, and sat, and sat.  I wish I could remember when the thought struck me, but it was a stroke of genius.  I could use my Cricut machine to create my stencil!!!  

I pulled out my Cricut and used my George's Font cartridge.  

I cut out the letters so they were 2.5 inches tall and I used the shadow effect so that the letters were thicker.  The lovely letters were then punched out of the paper and I was left with...

My Stencil!  By this point I was on cloud nine that I figured out how to make my own stencil so easily and that my bunting would be up before Christmas!  

Then, I laid the stencil over the burlap and held it tight in place with my fingers.  Using a sponge brush and red paint, I went over the stencil.  I only used one coat of paint because that is all it needed.  

I lifted up the stencil with eyes slightly closed just in case it was a disaster.  But, TA-DA!!  B-e-a-utiful!  

Finally my bunting was ready to be hung.  I'm so very sorry that this picture isn't the best, I forgot to take more but promise to show it at a better angle later this week.  I love the simplicity so much that I want to leave it up all year long as a beautiful reminder to find joy in life.  

This project was filled with lots of firsts:

first bunting project

first time using burlap

first time finally feeling comfortable with my Cricut machine

first time creating my own stencil

first time stenciling anything

first homemade Christmas decoration

What do you think???