Blanks and Templates for DIY Door Hangers
Are you ready to DIY your own painted door hangers, from start to finish, but aren’t quite sure where to start? Or maybe you’re not quite a beginner, but want to learn some new tricks and tips. This blog post is for you! I’m sharing everything you need to know about using printable templates or wooden blanks for your paint project!
Note: Affiliate links included within this post for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Choose a Ready-to-Paint Blank from my online shop!
If you follow my blog, you probably saw my last blog post about using a jigsaw to cut door hangers. And how to choose the perfect jigsaw blade for cutting them out.
If you didn’t catch that one yet, take a second to read through it because it has a ton of good info that you can use along with this post!
Now, you might be wondering what the difference is between door hanger “blanks” and “templates”.
Quite simply, the blank is the wooden door hanger piece, cut out and ready to paint. It is literally a blank piece of wood or MDF, shaped like your door hanger design, that you can sit down and start painting right away. (They’re also available in smaller sizes that are perfect for ornaments and wreath accents, too).
Here’s my Cinderella-inspired Princess castle blank to give you an example:
On the other hand, a template is a printable pattern that you download and print from your home printer. Once you have your printed template, you take a whole piece of wood and use the template to trace the shape onto the wood. Then, you use your handy jigsaw and cut out the pattern. With a little touch-up, your door hanger is ready to paint. It’s really just an extra step where you cut and create the “blank” yourself.
(Make sure you’ve signed up for access to my free template library – it’s a great place to start!)
Blanks vs Templates: Which is Right for Me?
If you’re an absolute beginner, cutting out your own door hanger can be intimidating. Maybe you’re eager to get right to painting, and get your first projects finished. Or you don’t have a lot of extra time and want to focus on the creative crafting portion of your door hanger. In that case, start with one of the blanks. Because with the blanks, you can focus just on the painting.
We even sell some of our blanks with the “etched” option. These have the lines already laser etched in the surface like the image below. You can actually paint right over the top of these lines and they will still show through the paint so that you can get outside the lines and still be able to add your finishing touches that would go on top of your face coat. For example in the one below, you could paint the entire face of Frankenstein green and go back and paint the white of his eyes and the black smile on top of the green because the lines would still show you where to paint.
I’m Ready for More of a Challenge…
On the other hand, maybe you’re already a seasoned DIY-er. You’re comfortable with a saw and have done some woodworking in the past. Or, you enjoy the challenge of doing the whole project from start to finish (and maybe saving a little bit of money!)
In that case, you should go for the template option for your door hangers! With only a few supplies (that I listed above), you can print the template and cut it out yourself!
Here’s How to Use a Printable Template for Door Hangers:
Ready to try a template yourself? Here’s a Facebook Live video that I did on my page to show exactly how I use my printed templates.
The template will print onto four pieces of paper, and then you just follow the directions to put them together. You can see that I cut a little extra off the sides to help the pieces line up.
In this video, I used the “Classic Frame” printable template from my shop. I love this door hanger because it is such a versatile design!
Tip: Use white cardstock in your printer to make the template a little sturdier!
Bonus Tip: Make It Even Easier to Use a Template:
Or, maybe you have a template with a more complicated design.
In that case, here’s another video where I show you another great tip – use graphite paper! The graphite paper lets you trace the lines right onto your wood, including any inside lines and details.
Then, it’s easy to follow the lines to cut and paint the design, just like the etched blanks I showed you above! The template that I’m using in this video is my “pumpkin bouquet” printable template.
If you are hosting a paint party, this will make it so much easier for your guests. It’s basically just paint-by-number after this!
Tip: Prep your wood before this, and if you want to do a primer coat, do that first too.
Now You’re Ready to Paint!
Whether you’re planning to use blanks, or starting from a printable template, you’re on the way to painting your own DIY door hangers from home! Don’t forget that my online shop has all of my blanks and all of my printable templates available. And now, all of my printable templates also come with digital cut files, with options in JPEG, SVG, EPS, DXF & PDF!
If you want to try using a template at home for free, sign up for access to my free template library and get access to downloads of some of my popular designs!
I have some of my other favorite paint tools and supplies in my online shop, too, plus even more available in my Amazon storefront.
And make sure you’ve connected with me on Facebook and joined my Facebook painters’ group! I hope you share your next project with me there – I can’t wait to see what you create with these blanks and templates.
Join the Painters’ Clubhouse!
Become a member of my Painters’ Clubhouse and get more insider tips and door hanger tutorials every month! Jump onto the waitlist now and you’ll be one of the first people to find out when new spots become available!
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