host post: welcome spring

The front door is usually my first target when it's time to start decorating for a season or holiday. With our Spring welcome, I wanted something colorful with natural elements that didn't include burlap (you would agree that I've been a little overload with the burlap). The result was something that I started to dream up but didn't put together until it was time to start cutting fabric.

First, I cut this adorable fabric from Ikea. Here are the measurements:

• front fabric piece: 16" x 24"
• fusing material: 15" x 20"
• back fabric piece: 15" x 21"

Now, you can easily make the two pieces the same size and turn this inside out, similar to the striped Valentine's Day table runner that I made last month. But I want the challenge of sewing edges.

Fuse the material to the front fabric piece, leaving 1" below and 3" on top, and a little space on the edges.

The top space is key so that you can slide something through the top to hold the sign. In this case, I asked the hubs to cut down some branches in the yard.

The challenge was the corners. I pinned a great tutorial from Fiesta Resistance that walked me through making nice corners.

Iron down and sew all of the edges. My lines are still a little off, but the point here was to practice. Again, this project is a great candidate for the pillow sewing trick.

Because we have the 3" at the top of the front fabric piece, take a lesson from Young House Love - use some fusible bonding web! Folding over your fabric, fuse the hem to the back fabric piece.

Since being the proud owner of the Silhouette (thanks KC-K), I have patiently waited for the clean cut fabric interfacing ... just waiting for Amazon to tell me that it's on the way! In the meantime, I did score a great deal on vinyl at Pick Your Plum so I cut 5" x 6" letters - and it turns out to be a better option because I can remove the stickers to create other signs like happy birthday. I'm so smart.

Slide a stick, branch or any other sturdy object through your newly fused opening, and tie jute or cute ribbon to your branch to hang the sign.

Why did I choose to make the 'R' a blue-ish color? Answer: because I ran out of the pink. Crafters make the best out of any situation! And I think it just looks so cute!

thank you to Sweetly Scrapped for the free Spring printable. click here for more.