Welcome Fall Mini-Banner Tutorial

Today I'm going to show you the last little bit I added to the fall decor in my entryway. I found these super cute scarecrows in the $1 spot at Target and just knew immediately what I was going to do with them. So I brought them home, put them in a basket, and added some kraft paper raffia. They were cute, but I decided they really did need a little bit more and since they are on my entryway table I thought why not  a "Welcome Fall" banner? 

Cute right?!?! Well, today I'm going to show you how to make this quick miniature kraft banner. It's really a quick tutorial and you don't need any special supplies. If you can use a pair of scissors, a paint brush or marker, and a hot glue gun then you are all set!

Mason Jar Candy Corn Holder Tutorial

Since my little guys birthday is now over & done, I've been able to put back the fall decorations and start working on a few new little things to add to the Fall Decor in my entryway. I wanted to add a little bit more, but not to much since my entryway table is kind of small but just enough to make it a little more festive & fun. 

One of the things new this year is my Mason Jar candy corn holder. I love mason jars, and growing up living in the country and having a 1/4-1/2 acre garden most of my childhood, mason jars were always around for canning purposes.  So crafting with them and using them as part of my decor brings back many, many memories of my childhood. And if you are on Pinterest or follow many blogs at all then you know you see all sorts of crafts made with mason jars, so this is definitely not something new,  just something new to my table decor. :-)

Inviting Fall Decor for Entryway

Today I thought I'd share with you my Fall Decor for my entryway table. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and I can't wait to start decorating for it. Since I have to be careful of what type of decorations I put on my porch, due to the rain, snow, or cold temperatures that we get, my entryway table is a great way for me to say "Fall" and  "Welcome" to anyone who visits. And an added bonus for me is that since it's at the bottom of our stairs it's one of the first things I get to see every morning. :-)

It has several of my favorite fall things: candy corn, burlap, pumpkins, scarecrows, baskets and just all the different fall colors  put together. I already had most of the decorations but I did add a few new homemade touches.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea: Flower Seed Packet

I'm pretty excited about the tutorial I have for you today. Although my little ones aren't old enough for school, I still have an appreciation for Teachers and all the hard work they do every year. I mean I love my little guy but I don't know how many of him all at once I could handle AND still actually teach them something! :-) 

I have this stamp and I loved the quote on it and I LOVE to garden so I was trying to come up with a way to merge the two together. Then it came to me. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of Hot Cocoa Sliders but Kerry over at  Kerry's Craft Blog has made several of these and they are super cute! So I decided to make something similar only instead of Hot Cocoa I'm going to use Seed packets. Something a teacher could definitely use! 

Supplies: 

• 8 1/2" x 11" Kraft paper
• Stamp or Sentiment of choice
• Patterned paper and cardstock for trim
• Ribbon
• Border Punch
• Hole Punch
• Adhesive
• Trimmer/Scissors
• Ruler
• Seed Packet of Choice ( I used carrot seeds because that is what I had on hand, but you could certainly use flowers or maybe even apple seeds!)

Supplies

Measure your seed packet. Mine was 3 1/4"w x 4 1/2"h. This will let you know the measurement for the wrapper. I added 1" to the height and added 5 1/4" to the width. No real scientific reason, I just liked the way it looked when it wrapped around. 

So my final dimensions are:

 Kraft Layer: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Patterned Paper Layer: 8 1/4"x 3 3/4" 

*when using 8 1/2" x 11" Kraft paper, cut the long side (11" side) down to 5 1/2". Why? because you will get two wrappers the exact size you need. Sounds easy, but if you are like me you will need reminded of this little hint. I'm the one that has to measure three times, not two, just to get one cut right! Two just doesn't do it for me. LOL :-)

It's easier to wrap around if you score the wrapper first. 

I scored the Kraft paper at 2 1/2" and 6 1/8" and the patterned paper at 2" and 5 5/8". You might need to adjust the measurements depending on your seed packet and how much "wiggle" room you want. 

*If you don't have a scorer don't worry, just fold over at the measured spot and use a straight edge to flatten. 

Punch out your decorative trim.

 I used a corner/border punch (you could easily use decorative scissors.)

Cut trim to fit front side of wrapper. 1/2" x 3 5/8". 

Stamp image that you will be using. 

*Update: I now have a tutorial on how to create this stamped image here*

Assemble wrapper with adhesive and punch hole about 1/4" from top

*Remember to put trim on under pattern paper BEFORE adhering pattern paper to Kraft paper. 

If not, well, you just might have to redo this step, not that I would know anything about that....

Add ribbon & seed packet.  

I used about 10" or so. You will want to pull ribbon from the outside in.

 Push seed packet to the bottom of the wrapper then tie ribbon in a bow. 

 

All they have to do is untie and pull on the ribbon and ta-da! You've got seeds! 

You could even add a gift card if you wanted. 

How cute it that?!? 

Pair it up with a cute pot or jar and you've got a super cute and functional Teacher Appreciation gift!

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