How to Make a Fall Wall Hanging Banner
Ever since Emmy and I made our boho peace sign banner for our porch, I’ve been on a roll with banners made from drop cloths. They’re simple enough to make, so inexpensive, and you can create whatever look you want and have something that is unique and special to you. With fall soon upon us, it was time to replace our porch banner with something that fit the season a bit more. Today I am going to show you what I created, how I put it together, and then you can make your own banner and put something on it that holds meaning for you. I am joining several other bloggers today to share fall DIY projects, and you can find them all at the bottom of this post. A huge thank you to Krista at The Happy Housie for always organizing these hops and including me. Now let’s get on to the DIY! By the way, if you try this, I’d love for you to send me photos of what you make. (I am an Amazon Associate, and I use affiliate links on this blog. I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases and appreciate your support greatly!)
Before we get to the instructions, I want to mention the saying that I selected for my banner. As I searched for inspirational fall quotes and images, I came across this saying that spoke to me in this moment of my life. I actually wrote myself a little poem about it one day as I was in the shower reflecting on life right now. Do you also do your best thinking in the shower? As soon as I hopped out, I wrapped myself in a towel and wrote it down in the notes of my phone so I wouldn’t forget it:
It is said that we learn how beautiful letting go can be in the fall. With each leaf that fades from green, blazes orange, then ultimately releases itself from the tree, I let go.
I let go of the expectation that this was finally going to be my year. Maybe it still is my year, even more brilliant than I could have imagined.
I let go of the vision of the woman I was going to be, and let myself sit in stillness as a new image starts to sketch itself.
I let go of doubt, and allow the space for trust to replace it in a new season.
I let go. I let go. I let go. And I rest.
That sums up how I am feeling at this moment, and why that saying really touched my heart. It’s scary and hard to let go of what was or what we thought would be, but sometimes it can produce magic we didn’t know was possible. I am hoping some of that magic comes my way this fall. When you create your own fall banner, I encourage you to find something that really speaks to you. I smile and feel encouraged and at peace each time I walk by my porch banner now, and that’s how I want you to feel. Now let’s dive into how I actually created this piece once I had my wording.
Materials Needed
- small drop cloth or piece of drop cloth (I buy these then trim to my scaled size)
- acrylic or latex paints in the colors of your choice
- artist brushes
- pencil
- 1″x2″ board cut to size to fit the top and bottom of your drop cloth (I bought a 6′ piece and cut two 31″ sections from it)
- stain of choice
- staple gun/staples
- twine/rope for hanging
Instructions
- Sketch or plan your design. I knew that I was going to paint a tree to the side with leaves scattering above my lettering. I didn’t sketch the tree, but free handed it with paint. You can sketch if you need to. Once I painted that portion, I used a pencil to write the wording.
- Fill in your sketch with paint. Don’t worry about pencil marks showing because you can erase them from the drop cloth after. My lettering was a little off, and I simply used my pencil eraser to clean it off.
A little note here about how I had finished, minus the leaves, and was happy with the result…
And then I dropped my brush right on that last “g,” leaving a nice black mark in the center. Oops.I had not yet added the leaves to my design and had planned to just have them on the right side of the lettering as well as a few on the tree, but this mess-up had me alter my plans and I painted leaves (using a combination of rust and orange paints) and added one right onto that “g” to cover it up. The leaf below is not that leaf, but I wanted to include it so you could see closely how I painted them, very simply. You will see in the final images the one leaf that looks like it’s behind the “g,” but truly it’s coving up my mistake. - While the design dried, I stained my two boards. I used whatever I had on hand, and you don’t even have to stain them if you prefer raw wood, but I wanted a touch of warmth. Allow the boards to dry overnight.
- Staple the boards to the top and bottom of your drop cloth so that the board sits in front of the cloth. Below you can see that I simply folded up the bottom and stapled it along the back side of the board.
- Cut a piece of twine or rope that is longer than your board by at least 10″ and staple it to each side of the back of the top board. You will be able to slide the rope through the staple a bit and that will allow you to adjust it so that you can hang as high or low as you like.
- Once you’ve established how low you want your hanging to be in relation to the nail you are going to hang it from, tie the twine or rope in a knot so that it can no longer slide or adjust, and will instead be securely in place.
- Finally, hang it on your wall or porch like I did and enjoy.
As you can see, I am not artist, but the beauty of this craft is that you don’t have to be. A simple design and words that make you feel something are all you need to add a festive touch to your home whatever the season. In addition to being rather simple, it’s super inexpensive and I spent less than $10 as I used paints and stain I already had, and only had to buy one board and one small drop cloth. You can’t beat that! 
Creating this banner got me in the mood for fall, and luckily Costco obliged with beautiful huge mums this past weekend. Lowes also had a big sale on mums so I grabbed some smaller ones there. I can’t wait to show you what else I’m doing on this porch this fall. We may not have trick or treaters or fall get togethers, sometimes you have to just decorate for yourself. Fall is my favorite season, and I am going to enjoy it no matter what 2020 brings.
Now be sure to check out all of these other beautiful fall crafts and DIYs!
DIY Fall Acrylic Abstract Landscape Painting at The Happy Housie
Five Fun Fall Arrangements at Finding Silver Pennies
How to Make a Dried Floral Wreath at the Tattered Pew
DIY Painted Pumpkins that Look Like Cement at Modern Glam
How to Make a Doormat with a Cricut at The DIY Mommy
DIY Fall Sign at Clean & Scentsible
Scrap Wood Fall Pumpkins at Tatertots and Jello
Macrame Garland at Life is a Party
DIY Abstract Art Our Best Tips at The Handmade Home
Modern Fall Lunaria Wreath at This is Simplicite
Painted Mason Jars at Dans le Lakehouse
Fall Macrame Wreath at Place of My Taste
Easy DIY Fall Shelf Decor at Cherished Bliss
DIY Glitter Pumpkins at Lolly Jane
DIY Rustic Fall Flower Arrangement at Pretty Life in the Suburbs
How to Make a Handmade Clay Bead Garland at My Sweet Savannah
DIY Rustic Wood Centerpiece Box at She Gave it a Go
How to Make a Fall Wall Hanging at Cassie Bustamante
Elegant Fall Flower Arrangement at Rambling Renovators
Blush Fall Hoop Wreath Tutorial at Chrissy Marie Blog
DIY Blue and White Chinoiserie Pumpkins at Jennifer Maune
