Fall Fun!

What you need to make this fabulous banner with your kiddos (and you do not have to be famously crafty if you are not naturally, it is sooooo easy)!

1. newspaper
2. scissors
3. inexpensive acrylic craft paint in assorted colors
4. pencil
5. paint brush
6. paper cutter(optional)
7. glue stick
8. scrapbook letters
9. ribbon or twine or Tulle
10. ruler


1. Take a small stack of folded newspaper (containing no more than three sheets ) and measure 6 inches along the fold line: mark with a pencil. This is your width.

2. Measure 8 inches down...this is your length. Now find the center, which will be your bunting point, at 3 inches from the side. Mark this point and connect the dots to find your triangle.

3. Cut on the lines and use this first set of triangles as your template for the rest. Newspaper is not folded evenly all the time. You may need to tidy up some of the sides...a paper cutter makes fast and straight cuts.

4. Unfold your triangles...into diamonds and lay them out in an assembly line on a good work surface.

5. Paint each diamond with a wash of color. Dilute your paint with a little water. I enjoy it being a little transparent so that you can see the original newspaper, but if you want a more opaque look use very little water.

6. Dry. Make sure to lift the paper every once in a while so that it won't adhere to the work surface.

7. Fold and iron each triangle. When it dries it curls up at the edges and bubbles. I used a low heat setting and ironed directly on to the paper. You may want to try it with a cloth separating the paper and iron...but the direct method worked fine for me...no burns!

8. Arrange your triangles in your preference of color pattern. Apply letters. There are numerous ways you can do this: rubber stamps, by hand with markers, stencils...
For my blog's header (above), I printed out the font and size I wanted from my computer and then cut them out with an exacto knife. This was time consuming, but I had a very specific look in mind. For the tutorial I used scrapbook letters, available in most craft stores, and was thrilled with how well it turned out...let alone the speed of adhering them with paste.

9. Now you're ready to hang it! Tack your ribbon or twine up FIRST, then arrange your bunting. Hang each triangle over the ribbon at the fold...I found it helpful to paste the inside together with a dab from a glue stick once it's complete