Bravely Bohemian

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Make This Very Merry Cork & Burlap Christmas Banner

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We decided to decorate our screen porch for the Holidays this year. After adding a festive Christmas tree done up in red bead garland, white lights, red and gold mini bulbs, snowmen and Santa ornaments, the porch needed something else. So I created this fabulous Cork and Burlap Christmas Banner.

DIY Christmas Banner_Cork_and_burlap

Our main Christmas tree is decorated with natural ornaments, most of which I’ve made over the years, so working with cork and burlap makes this Boho gal very happy!

You will need:
4 Cork Christmas Tree Tags or Cutouts
8 Cork Snowflake Tags or Cutouts
Burlap Banner on a Rope with 5 Triangles
Colored Burlap (Red and Green)
Burlap Letters (2 packs to spell “Merry”)
Acrylic Paints in Metallic Green and White
Hole Punch
Extra Rope
Paint Brushes
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Most of these supplies for your Christmas banner project can be purchased at Michaels.com and Amazon.com.

DIY_Christmas_Banner_with_cork_and_burlap

1. I started with a pre-made burlap banner, but you can certainly make your own. My banner came with 12 triangles, so I cut it at 5. The rope on the banner was not adjustable, so I attached additional rope to make it long enough to hang the banner once completed. If you don’t want the rope knot to show, you can trim the banner rope back to behind the last triangle and then glue new longer rope onto the back of the banner.

2. I then cut 5-inch circles out of red and green burlap- 3 out of the green and 2 out of the red burlap.

3. Next, I gently painted the 4 cork Christmas tree and 8 cork snowflake tags on both sides with the acrylic paints. (Cork can be a little fragile to work with so you may want a few extra tags on hand).

4. When dry, I punched holes into the top of 4 cork snowflakes, top and bottom of the 4 Christmas trees and then JUST THE TOP of the remaining 4 snowflakes.

5. I assembled the painted cork snowflakes and Christmas trees onto rope mobile-style and then attached each set to the rope between the triangles of the burlap banner.

6. Next, I fired up my trusty glue gun to layer the burlap letters spelling “MERRY” and the green and red circles onto the burlap banner.

7. Once dry, your very Merry Christmas banner is ready to hang!

DIY Christmas Banner_Cork_and_burlap

You can really create this Christmas banner for any Holiday by changing the cutouts and letters. For more fun, boho crafting ideas, click here!

HAPPY CRAFTING!


Strawberry Jam Pineapple Thumbprint Cookies (aka the Christmas Napalm Cookies)

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Strawberry Jam Pineapple Thumbprint Cookies

Want to bake unique, delicious Holiday cookies this year? You will love the recipe below for our family favorite: Strawberry Jame Pineapple Thumbprint Cookies. (Just don’t injure yourself like I did- Read on!)

My husband I both grew up in households with overachieving mothers who loved to bake, ESPECIALLY during the Holidays. We had a gorgeous multi-tiered silver cookie tray that came out every year and was loaded with at least a dozen different types of Christmas cookies. Looking back, I am in awe. How did my mother handle that every year while having child baking assistants who were more into flinging sprinkles at each other and eating the dough?

I still feel that deep need each year to bake multiple batches of Holiday cookies though it often stresses me out. Don’t get me wrong, I can be a great baker (I certainly had lots of practice as a kid), but there is something about baking under perceived pressure that makes things go a bit awry. This year, I wanted to send some cookies over to the neighbors to say thank you for sending us Christmas dinner, as we don’t have any family around during the Winter months. So I selected my favorite recipe from my childhood Christmases to make- Strawberry Jam Pineapple Thumbprint Cookies. [Read more…]