Make a MERRY banner....

I had so many questions about how I made my banner for 3 French Hens, That I thought I would show you by doing a really cute, holiday banner project, it's super easy too.

 You'll need white cardstock. Your letters printed on your printer (The templates are at the end of the post.), a hole punch, a paper edger, eyelets, scissors, a grommet tool  and twine.

 These little buggers are officially called eyelets. I want to call them grommets. You can find the brass ones at Micheal's. But I know Joann's and Hobby Lobby also carry the gold and silver and in the scrap booking section I've seen multi-colored and shapes. Go crazy! :)  They also carry the grommet-squeezer thing. I don't know the official name for it. If you don't have eyelets you can skip this step, the paper might be more likely to tear.

 After printing your letters to size, trim them till you have about an inch around each letter.  Sometimes it helps to line up all of the letters and trim them at the same time as long as the paper isn't too thick.

 Punch with your shape puncher around the edges. I bought mine at Joann's with a 40% off coupon.  I think it's by EK.  I like this one because you can line up your previous punches.

I found out that if you also sign up your husband at Joann's, you get two coupons in the mail each month.

 Punch all the way around. If you get  a funky edge like this, no sweat, just give it a little trim; no one will notice.

 punch your holes in about the same place on each letter sheet.

 Then it's time to do your eyelets. Place one in the hole and then like up your tool.

 press firmly together like a hole punch.

 and viola! You have eyelet magic! I will tell you, one you figure it out, it is addicting!

 Then you are ready to add your twine, or ribbon.

 String it through the last card first, into the first hole and then behind to come out the other hole, so that your string is behind the letter. Do the same thing for each letter.

 Once they are all strung, tie a loop in each end, and hang! If you wanted you could totally glitterazi it up!

And you have  a cute Merry, banner!  You can double click each letter below and then right click it to save it as a picture. Depending on your computer, you might have to play with the size to get what you want . My letters all measure about  4-5 inches across, but you can make them any size you like.

Happy eyeleting!

 You can see more projects at Home stories A to Z!

Jen