How to Make a Christmas Banner

Hey guys!
I'll be honest, I have no idea why I decided to do this craft. I think I just wanted to 

make some sort of holiday banner or garland, and I ended up making this! Haha! 

I've never made a banner this way before, so it's a pretty shaky tutorial 

(in my mind anyways), but I'll do my best to guide you through it! 

Step 1. Print out your quote in a font that you really like! You can download FREE fonts through Dafont.com! I am constantly on their site looking for new fonts! I love it! Make sure that you are printing these words out at the desired size. I was satisfied with mine being almost the size of a standard piece of paper.

You will need:
An xacto knife.

Card-stock

Colored Cardstock (this will be what your garland is made out of)

Surface safe for cutting

Tape (optional)

Step 2. Start cutting! Grab your xacto knife and cut out the font. You will want the word to hold together, so connect the letters by cutting a tiny bit wider along the areas that run extremely close. Example: The top of the "T" will easily connect to the top of the "h". The bottom curve on the "h" will easily connect to the "e".

 Step 3. Take your plain card-stock and put it on top of the colored card-stock so that you can see your quote on the colored card-stock like below. (I used gold. Sorry it's hard to tell the difference between the background and the gold paper.) I taped the two together in the edges so that it wouldn't wiggle as I cut.

Step 4. Cut out your quote with the xacto knife. (Believe it or not the colored card-stock was easier to cut than the plain card-stock!) Don't forget to cut so that the letters connect (if they don't, there are ways to work around it, but it'll make it easier for you). 

 Step 5. Hang it where you see best fit! I taped them to my mantle! I was debating on hanging it by thread or string, but I didn't know where I'd hang it that would keep Hannah from getting to it. So I taped it to the mantle. Haha!
 

I am pretty proud of this piece, mostly because it was my first time I have tried anything like this, but it definitely adds to the Christmas decor in our home! I love it!

Other things on our mantle: Pine branches I picked up from my yard decorate and fill the sides of my mantle. Two gold bowls found at a Goodwill over a year ago. They were less than $1 each. White bucket in the center was a hunter green bucket I found at Goodwill for under $1. I used regular acrylic paint to paint the bucket. Depending on it's use, plain acrylic is just fine. No special treatment. Stockings made by my lovely husband!

Please do share any tips or ideas you have that might better this piece the next time I make one! I'd love the advice and help!