Chevron Pattern Stencil: Free Printable

We love chevron stripes! This new printable stencil allows us to add this fun zigzag pattern to any surface we want. Just imagine the possibilities!  Paint fabric, ribbon, table runners, gift bags, walls,  letters or any thing you can imagine using this easy stencil. Keep reading to see how easy it is to use this Chevron patterned stencil. We updated our plain burlap bunting banner with a chevron pattern and customized plain wooden decorative letters with a ombre chevron pattern. 

Chevron Stencil Tutorial:

CHEVRON PATTERN PRINTABLE 

STEP 1: Download and Print Chevron Stencil

Click the link above to download the free printable Chevron Pattern stencil. You will need a PDF reader to open this file.(Click HERE for a free PDF reader from Adobe) 

Print out the page, using your desktop home printer or bring the file to a copy or print center. You can print them using regular copy paper or card-stock paper, which may create a better stencil.

For our Chevron Stripe project, we are going to make a no-sew burlap pennant banner with an ombre painted pattern.  For directions on how to make the banner, please see our previous post, DIY Burlap Pennant Banner.

Step 2
After you have printed out a copy of the chevron pattern, place it underneath one of the burlap flags and make an outline with a dark marker.

Step 3

With a small craft blade, cut out your stencil.  Be sure to have cardboard or a self-healing mat beneath the paper to keep your crafting area free from scratches.  Using the outline as a guide, cut out the stripes so that they reach out a little further than your marker lines.  Cut out the black stripes to create thin lines, and cut out the white stripes to create thick lines.

Step 4

Once you have cut out all the stripes, place the stencil on top of your flag. Before you begin painting, make sure you have something underneath your flag and stencil to prevent paint from leaking through onto other surfaces.

Step 5

Apply color!  You can either paint all of your stripes the same color or use an ombre effect (see below for a how to create an ombre color palatte).  Be sure to push down on the stencil or tape it to your surface of the burlap so you do not get paint under the stencil.  

 

If you are using solid colors, you can make each flag a different color or use spray paint to make the painting process even faster. Allow the paint to dry before hanging.

 

 

Perfect for indoor parties and backyard gatherings, the basic burlap pennant banner is versatile and easy to personalize!  

 

Here we used the same technique to paint a chevron pattern on our wooden decorative letters.  We used varying degrees of color, a technique called ombre. Using the chevron stencil, start off at the top zigzag stripe with the darkest color and move down to the lightest tint.

 

Ombre Effect: 

To create varying tints of paint, we used only two colors, one main color and white.  On your paint mixing surface, create 3 areas of your main paint and one of white.  Add a few drops of white to two of the paint dollops, one with a few more drops to create a lighter color and one with less.  Add just a tint of color to your white paint dollop and then you have created 4 shades of color in varying degrees, from dark with no white added to a light hue.

For more styles of decorative letters and numbers to paint, click here.

Are you as in love with the chevron stripe trend as we are?  What are you going to paint with this Chevron Stencil Pattern?

DIY Burlap Pennant Banner for St. Patrick's Day

Give those Irish Eyes something to smile about during St. Patrick's Day!  Create this fun burlap pennant banner.  Our  no-sew Burlap Pennant Banner that is both rustic and contemporary is easy to make and will really set off your St. Patty's day decorations!

The burlap pennant banner and a metallic lame wreath (from a previous post) are the perfect accent for a St. Patrick's day buffet table!

Supplies

• 9" Natural Burlap Ribbon
• 1.5" Deco Flex Mesh Ribbon: Metallic Lime Green
• Shamrock Medallion Bead Necklace
• Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors
• Ruler and/or a Paper Template

Optional Accessories

• 1.5" Lime and White Houndstooth Ribbon
• Deco Flex Tubing Ribbon: Metallic Gold
• 21" Poly Mesh Roll: Metallic Emerald Green

COST/TIME

The cost of the basic garland is $20.  There will be product left over, (More than half the roll of burlap and of the Deco Flex Ribbon).  This 9 foot garland took under 45 minutes to make.  The cost does not include optional accessories shown on the banners below.

Step 1- Measure and Trim

Measure the burlap.  If you would like a 6 foot banner with 6 pennants, you will need 6 feet and 6 inches, (78 inches total, or 2 yards and 6 inches) of burlap ribbon.  If you would like a 9 foot banner with 9 pennants, you will need 9 feet and 6 inches, (114 inches total, or 3 yards and 6 inches).

Step 2- Make a Template

Your pennants don't have to be exact, but if you want them all about the same size, a template will make cutting them out easier.  Simply fold a regular sheet of 8.5"x11" paper in half horizontally.  Make a mark 3 inches down from the seam, and then cut towards the corner of the seam.  (You end up with an isosceles triangle with a fold down the center, and both sides of your paper are equal.)

Step 3- Cut out Pennants
Lay the template down on the burlap, 6 inches in from the outside edge.  Cut toward the selvage, but do not cut all the way through to the edge!  Leave about 1-1.5" of burlap across the top, this acts a band so that there is no need to sew pennants together.  See the below photograph.

Step 4- Trim the Band
Cut from the edge of the burlap towards the pennant, leaving about 1" of burlap as a band.

Trim in between the pennants, making sure to always leave a band.

Step 5- Cut in 6 Inch Increments 

Continue to cut out pennants.  They should all be about 6 inches across, and be 6 inches apart from each other.

The finished burlap pennants- Now time to add accents!

Step 6- Add ribbon underneath the Burlap band

Begin to unroll the Deco Flex Mesh Ribbon, and place it underneath the burlap band.  This provides added strength to the banner and a nice splash of color!

Step 7- Glue on a top band

Add a spot of glue about the size of a dime ever 3 inches.  Be careful the glue is hot.  Be sure to have wax paper or scrap paper between the banner and your work surface, as the glue will want to press through the layers.

Step 8- Trim the Ribbon

Trim the Ribbon from the roll at the edge of the Burlap band.

Step 9- Cut Ribbon Squares

Cut squares of ribbon that are 1.5-2 inches long, you will need 1-2 squares for every pennant you cut out of the burlap.

Step 10- Glue on Ribbon Squares

Use a dab of hot glue the size of a dime and apply 2 squares of ribbon so that they criss-cross.  Then apply the shamrock bead medallion with a little more glue.

Step 11- Glue on shamrock beads
We liked leaving some slack in the bead strand so that it will hang off of the burlap band, but you could pull the beads taught before gluing.

Finished!
After gluing on the Shamrock medallions, you have a rustic burlap pennant banner with two-tones of green.  You can stop here, or continue to tie on other ribbons to match the rest of your St. Patrick's Day Decorations.

 

  

This pennant banner is accented with pieces of metallic green ribbon (scrap pieces left over from other projects) and gold deco flex tubing made into tassels. Keep reading below to see how to create these.

Simple Tassel Tutorial:

• Cut four lengths of ribbon the long enough to double over- about 8 inches.  
• Fold them in half as shown
• Using a shorter length of ribbon,  tie them together. Make a knot, and wrap the ribbon around the tassel a few times, tying again.  
• Trim the tails of the tassel to keep them relatively even.  
• Run a third length of ribbon through the top, and voila, ready to hang!

The Burlap Banner tied with extra ribbons adds color and shine to your decorations.

Our 9 foot pennant garland will go over a doorway, across a door, or decorate a tablescape for your St. Patty's Day party. Welcome your guests with a bit of the Luck of the Irish with a Pennant Banner across a doorway!

Erin Go Bragh!

Look for our upcoming post, Free Printable Chevron Pattern. We used it to decorate our Burlap Pennant Banner in a whole new way!

Celebrate Mardi Gras Today with a Free Printable Pennant Banner

Happy Mardi Gras! Today around the world, people are celebrating- one last day of revelry before lent begins. This printable Mardi Gras pennant banners is an inexpensive way to decorate for your celebration.  With this free printable, you can make as many as you want!

DOWNLOAD PENNANT BANNER

STEP 1: Download and Print

Click above to download the free printable Mardi Gras Pennant Banner. You will need a PDF reader to open this file.(Click HERE for a free PDF reader from Adobe) 

Print out all 4 pages of the banners, using your desktop home printer or bring the file to a copy or print center. You can print them using regular copy paper or card-stock paper.

STEP 2: Cut-out Pennants

Once you have printed out all four pages, use scissors or an X-acto knife and ruler to cut out each individual flag.

STEP 3: Fold

With each flag cut out from the pages, start folding the top section. Fold it back behind the front of the flag across the top at the white line, as shown above. Use the sides of the pennant as a guide for straight edges.

STEP 4: 

Place the fold around a long piece of string, and then tape or glue the flap down to secure. Continue attaching all of the flags. We used two different strings, but use one long string if you need to. You could also use ribbon or Mardi Gras Beads to create a pennant banner that is more like a garland.

Our finished banner took under 10 minutes to cut out and string together.

The finished banner-garland across a doorway.

We love the pennant banner on a garland or staircase!  A step-by-step tutorial on how to make this Deco Mesh garland is available HERE.

We hope you have a happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras Garland Tutorial: Deco Mesh Work Garland Form

Bigger is better when it comes to Mardi Gras decorations! Create elaborate one-of-a-kind decorative garland with a work garland form and deco mesh. In a few simple steps,you can create a designer Mardi Gras garland of your own.  We used the traditional colors of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)  which are purple, green, and gold, representing justice, faith, and power- respectively. This style deco mesh garland can be created in any color,  for any theme. The work garland comes in a large variety of colors and styles (click here for options) and there are hundreds of different styles and patterns of decorative mesh (click here for options).

What is a work garland form? A work garland form is the basic form used to make a decorative garland. The 9 foot long weather resistant wire base has 44 pre attached wire ties that you use to attach deco mesh, ribbon, ornaments and accessories onto the form.  These wire ties come in various finishes.   The standard tinsel ties resembles traditional wired faux garland. Use this version when you want the form color to show in your design. This is the version used in this tutorial. The new thin pencil tinsel ties are slim and easy to hide in the garland.  There is also a twig works wire form that resembles natural twining vine for a more natural look.

Where do you use a  decorative garland?  Decorate a mantle, down a staircase banister, over doorways, across a mirror or on a mailbox.  The work garland forms and deco mesh are both water resistant so they can used indoors or outdoors. No worries about sagging bows, rusted wires or molded ribbon when you use them to decorate outdoors!

Here is the tutorial for creating your own designer decorative Mardi Gras garland.

SUPPLIES:  To purchase these products from www.mardigrasoutlet.com, click on the individual product link below or click HERE to see a complete supply list.

• Work Garland: Metallic Gold
• 21" Poly Mesh Roll: Premium Mardi Gras Stripe
• 2.5" Poly Mesh Ribbon: Metallic Emerald Green
• Metallic Tinsel Roping: Gold

Optional Accessories

• 18" Purple Acanthus Leaf Spray
• Assorted Large Mardi Gras Ball Ornaments

COST/TIME

The cost of the basic garland is around $32.  There will be product left over  (apx 6ft of the 21" wide mesh and 12 ft of ribbon).  This 9 foot garland took under 45 minutes to make.

Fluff out your Work Garland so that all the ties are open.  Next, gather your mesh.  It is important to gather, not bunch, the deco mesh.  Bunching will cause your garland to look less voluminous, and more wrinkled.

 Place the mesh in between the first set of ties.

Twist the ties together to attach the mesh to the garland.  Leave the ties outward so that you can attach more layers to the same ties.

After you have attached the mesh to the first set of ties, gather the mesh, leaving about 9 inches for each poof.  It doesn't have to be exact, but if you pull the mesh out, skipping 1 tie, that's about the length you need to insert into each tinsel tie.  The photo above illustrates length.

Continue making poofs until you have reached the end of the garland.  There are 44 ties total, and you will go through almost an entire roll of mesh.

Trim the deco mesh once you have come the last tie, leaving about 6 inches on the end.

Add ribbon on top of the Deco Mesh by twisting it into the same tinsel ties.  You can make bows, loops, or simply attach the ribbon in with just a twist!

Add another layer for more color and dimension. Insert the gold Tinsel Roping into tinsel ties.  You can leave loops or make curls, any way you apply it, tinsel roping adds a great finishing touch!

The finished garland!  Now you can personalize your own by adding ornaments, floral sprays, mardi gras beads, or masks.  Below we have a few additional options.

Mardi Gras Garland with the purple Acanthus Leaf Spray, (available here, or in purple, green, or gold).

Mardi Gras Garland with Large Ornaments

These ornaments added the perfect sparkly touch!  The oversize Mardi Gras Balls are available here, and we also have a large selection of Mardi Gras ornaments available here.

Mardi Gras Garland with Ribbons

This glittery Harlequin Fleur de Lis Ribbon (available here)  added another layer of texture.  For more ribbon  styles, click here.

A perfect glittery garland for Carnival season! Happy Crafting!