The Reveal
Reclaimed wood Valentine’s Day banner
True to tradition around these parts, I love making things for Valentine’s Day, but in my rustic style.
Hmmm… what to make…
I’d already made a Tic Tac Toe game tray, reclaimed wood heart, salvaged junk hearts and a rope sign, so what’s something different yet still cool?!
And that’s when I dreamed up a reclaimed wood Valentine’s Day banner!
Do you remember the dollar store banner I made while back HERE?
At first, I was going to flip over the cardboard and paint up the other sides.
And I’m confident it would have turned out adorable as the first one did!
But I stalled… I’ve already done this. What can I do that’s different?
And that’s when my scrap wood trees came to mind…
The shape of these trees were relatively the same as the banner pieces, so I reasoned, why not try the banner using reclaimed wood?!
There would be a little weight to it, but if I hung it just so, I didn’t think that would matter.
And it didn’t! The banner ended up turning out totally cute!
Here’s how I made out:
Reclaimed wood Valentine’s Day banner
Supplies used:
(this post contains some affiliate links)
Stencils: Valentine’s Crates / Tic Tac Toe from Funky Junk’s Old Sign Stencils HERE
Fusion Mineral Paint’s Casement
(find a local Fusion merchant from HERE)
Fence plank – mine measured 6″ deep.
How-to:
1. Using a miter saw, a fence plank was cut at a 22.5 degree angle.
2. The board was then flipped around, repositioned, then recut, and repeated until I ended up with the desired reclaimed wood banner triangles.
3. Each banner piece received a light sanding with a palm sander.
Aren’t they the cutest?! But they were about to get even cuter.
4. Grabbing two stencils, various images were stenciled onto the banner triangles in Fusion’s Casement.
The stenciling
Shop for Tic Tac Toe stencil HERE
The X, O and heart were stenciled onto random banner triangles as desired.
Shop for Valentine Crates stencil HERE
Then random Valentine greetings from Valentine Crates were stenciled.
My attempt was to rotate a large image beside a smaller one and repeat so the banner would look visually balanced.
To my surprise, when I flipped some banner pieces over, I loved the tone of the other sides too! They were darker and something red had already been painted on it here and there, so I took advantage of the colour variations and rotated those too!
By the way… the wood for this banner was taken from my farmhouse Christmas tree skirt HERE from last year. LOL
No reclaimed wood is sacred for very long around here!
Assembling the banner
5. A hole was drilled into each corner along the tops of the banner pieces, using a bit just large enough for twine or string to be threaded through.
At this point, I debated on using thin twine…
… but ultimately switched out to heavy white string so it would show up a little more. Both options looked cute though!
And another decision… on the left you can see knots, and on the right, a bow…
I decided either would work, but the bow appeared a little more decorative so that’s what I went with.
Once all the banner pieces are tied together, this chunky little reclaimed wood Valentine’s Day banner can’t be cuter!
And ready to be hung up somewhere.
But where? Hmm….
For each side of the banner, a long string was threaded so there’d be lots of tying flexibility where length was concerned.
Cuteness!
I rather liked the rustic banner hung under this interior window! It’s quite out of the way yet still makes an impact.
Then I decided to hang it along the edge of the worktable in the photo studio.
Well, that’s cute too!
It isn’t going to be hard to find a fun place for this banner!
But I decided to try one more spot upstairs…
At the end of the main hallway is a doorway into the guest bedroom, however the hallway faces a wall before you make the turn.
The spot offers a great visual while you’re walking down the hallway, so maybe there…
Bingo!
This little spot ended up being perfect for the reclaimed wood Valentine’s Day banner!
What I love about this project is that it can be used for any season in any colours!
I think this banner will be making a return for spring… so those pastels may come out yet!
As long as they are rustic, I think can live with that…
Cute little thing, isn’t it? How would you decorate it up to suit your home?
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Visit all my other rustic Valentine’s Day projects HERE
That is absolutely adorable! I love the wooden banner and those stencils are perfect for the decorations!
Thanks Susan! I really want to try patterns next!
Simply adorable! I can also see this banner being used for Halloween – am I the only one that sees candy corn on a string? 🙂
That’s adorable, I love it. I could get out all my wood Christmas trees and turn them upside down.
Bahaha! Why yes you could! You’d be right in style with all those upside down Christmas trees hanging from ceilings these days! And thanks!
Love love your rustic reclaimed Valentine’s banner, Donna! Mama needs that stencil too. Pinned
Thanks Marie! Bet you could come up with something adorable with the stencils you have or are getting!
What a cute project! How fortunate to find the bits of red in your reclaimed pieces. Love the spot you’ve chosen too. Well done!
Thanks Sharon! Yes, that red was actually a mistake, so I just flipped the board over and used the other side. haha! Pays to not sand out mistakes I guess!
Donna,
Love the banner. I might use red string to tie them together. I would have to try it to see what it looked like.
Thanks Donna! I love the idea of a different coloured string too! Love how this can be customized to suit!
I think they came out so cute. I’m inspired to give it a try as well. I can’t wait to try the new stencils I just ordered from you.
Thanks so much for the kudos and your support Cynthia! This really is such an easy project! I’d like to try it with new wood and patterns next! Maybe for spring…
You just know how to turn something so ordinary into something beautiful and special. Love how rustic and simple the Valentine’s banner looks Donna. That would stay up all year round in our home. Beautiful
Thanks Michelle! Yes, love that this can be rustic or new!
By the way, I don’t recall seeing a blog post using the stencils you have. Please oh please make sure you link them up to my weekend party if/when you do create with them? I don’t want to miss promoting! I love your projects so much!
Awwww Donna, you don’t know how happy that makes me. We made the most adorable double-decker bird feeder that looks extra special with your stencils. BTW they’re awesome. The first time ever I didn’t get bleed through 😀 Just shows you how important good quality is.
My husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day now that we’re married but I do love the decorations for the holiday! My office and home has touches of a nod to the sweet holiday. I love your little banner!! I have several banners for Valentines’s Day purchased over the years. But yours speaks to my farmhouse loving mind! I might have to recruit my anti-v-day hubby to cut some pieces for me so I can make my own! I have to ask, Donna…where did you get that glorious trunk?!
Thanks Karen! I tend to agree, if I can blend a given thing to my everyday style, I will make it… and it may even stay up! haha
The trunk was a long-ago find. It may have come from the flea market. I don’t remember… it is adorable, isn’t it?! I added casters to it which makes it all the more cool!
The valentines garland is adorable. I love it. A question Donna. Does a good stencil brush make a difference in the overall finished product. Thanks.
Thanks Joanne! And I vote YES! A higher quality stencil brush makes all the difference. I myself gravitate towards a ‘dome tip’. It just seems to do a better job vs. working with a super blunt brush tip.
I’ve linked to a few in my Amazon (affiliaite links) store so you can get an idea of what I like!
https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-cd2ee01e?listId=25NEUFP3SE7QM
I love the rustic goodness of your reclaimed wood banner Donna, and the Valentines stencils add such a great neutral Valentines touch!