DIY: Burlap Door Hanger

My friends and I love to get together for DIY Day. Danielle came up with the idea to do some sort of Burlap Door Hanger she'd seen on Pinterest. So I found a few (they're on my DIY board) and we went to town. 

These were fairly easy crafts to do - the supply list was short to: 

• burlap ($3/yard)
• patterned material (if you want)
• glue gun ($3 gun - $3 sticks)
• scissors 
• paint ($1/bottle)
• brushes ($2/pack of foam)
• wire ($4)
• newspaper

Luckily for us - Dani & Rachel had most all of the supplies so our cost was minimal and if you buy the supplies - you'll have plenty left over to make more. 

 The first step was to decide on your design and then either cut it out of the material/burlap or make a pattern on paper - then cut. Danielle, well known for her lack of DIY patience, went straight for the material. Rachel and I traced patterns on paper and then cut.

 I went freehand on the cross just looking at the designs on Pinterest - it was pretty simple. If you're not confident going freehand - you can find lots of patterns on the internet that are printable. I went for double burlap and then painted - my friends did burlap on the bottom and then material on top.

We did figure out a few tricks of the trade - here's a step by step with tricks for you to keep in mind:

1. Trace your pattern on paper
2. Cut out your pattern from the burlap
3. Hot glue the two pieces of burlap around the edges
   * Be sure to do this on top of newspaper to keep your floors/tables glue-free
   * Keep the glue line fairly thin so you have plenty of room for stuffing
   * Do NOT glue the whole thing all the way around!!! Be sure to leave a hole for the stuffing!
   * If you have curves or bends in your item, you might want to have your opening on the side so you can stuff it more easily.
4. Let the glue dry for 10 minutes or so. While that's drying - take plastic grocery bags and pull them (holding end to end) and cut the bag into strips.
   * Don't get too hung up on this one - just grab a bag and cut it up.
5. After the glue is set, you can start painting! I used a white base and then black & yellow polka dots.
6. After the paint dries a bit, take the end of a paint brush and start stuffing the grocery bag pieces into the opening. You don't have to stuff it really full - just so it has some dimension to it.
7. Once aptly stuffed, you can seal the opening with your glue gun.
8. After stuffed and dried, cut off a snip of the wire that's probably 8-12 inches long. Bend around in a circle. Take each end and poke it through the front of the burlap and bend it up on the backside to hold it in place.
   * You can get fancy and bend this in a curly q - but we weren't fancy
9. Attach any embellishments (ribbons, flowers, etc..)

All told - this took us a couple of hours - but there was talking, gossiping and the eating of clementine pie in the middle. So to bang one out - would probably take 30-45 minutes.

And here's my door hanger. I saw a couple of cute ones with the flowers - I just free-handed the flower out of burlap and then cut a circle on top for the center. Paint - dry - glue - done.

I really love mine - and I was shocked at how easy it was and cute it turned out. People are charging $35 for these on Etsy!  Even if I bought the supplies - I could make 10 of these for $16!

Mine is hanging in my kitchen - I already have a wreath on the door - but my kitchen is that same yellow - so it looks fantastic. LOVE IT! What a fun DIY Day with my girls!!!