You know we’re no strangers to fun new craft projects around here! So in this week’s post, I’m going to be showing you how to take your door hanger painting skills, and turn them into an adorable banner sign instead!

While I’ll be painting a winter-themed design (at the time of this post, it’s February and still quite chilly here in Kentucky), you can use this tutorial for any design you’d like. 

This paper banner is a great way for teachers to freshen up their classroom bulletin boards, church volunteers to help announcement boards pop, or just a fun way to hang out and craft with your kids!

Ready? Let’s see how you can paint a paper banner, step-by-step!

Supplies you’ll need to paint your paper banner 

To paint this adorable design, all you’ll need is:

• A large bulletin board (more details about sizing below)
• The Procreate App and an iPad (or something similar)
• Crafting Paper: 36”x4’ (length will be determined by how large you want to scale your banner – can be  more or less than 4’)
• Painter’s tape
• A projector
• A sharpie or pencil
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes in varying sizes
• Water cups for your paint

Now that you have all the supplies you need, let’s get to the good stuff!

How to paint your paper banner

Step 1: Get your bulletin board set up

First, you’ll want to measure the dimensions of your bulletin board. I use a 4:3 size, but you can get whatever size you want as long as it can fit the size banner you’re going for. 

Then, cut out your craft paper, and tape it over the bulletin board like so:

I use painter’s tape to do this. Not only does it cause the least amount of damage to your paper, but it’s also super durable and can hold the paper banner up well. 

You can usually find these boards and paper at your local craft store or even Walmart!

Step 2: Draw out your design 

Next, you can draw out your design in the Procreate app. Make sure you use the same ratio size for your bulletin board! For example, if your bulletin board is a square, don’t create your design on a rectangular artboard, and vice versa.

Don’t have Procreate or an iPad? You could also use Canva to create a design, or use a door hanger template as a substitute!

Step 3: Use a projector to trace your design

To get your image onto the paper for tracing, I recommend using a projector. You can easily hover your design over the paper and trace the elements before you start painting. 

Some people like to use a sharpie or paint the outline directly on the craft paper, but I prefer to trace in pencil, and THEN put my paper on a flat surface to paint. This gives me more control over both the tracing and painting part of the project. 

Step 4: Time to paint!

If you’re using a flat surface like I mentioned above, make sure you’re able to get your paper down flat enough to paint on. This can be done with clamps or by using painter’s tape again.

 It makes it MUCH easier to paint along the edges of your design.

For paint, I use DecoArt Americana craft acrylic paint. Y’all know I’m a BIG fan of their acrylic paint! 

It seriously has the best quality and is super easy to work with. Plus, acrylic paint is easier to clean up than most other paints. So even if you’re doing this craft with kiddos, there’s much less fuss on your end!

Step 5: Hang up your final product

You’ll want to let your final product dry first, but after that, you’re ready to hang it up and proudly display it wherever you see fit!

Want more fun craft projects?

If you want more fun craft projects like this…good news! There’s plenty more where that came from! Check out a few of my favorites to date:

• How to Make a Welcome Porch Sign
• Using a Template with an Acrylic Frame
• How to Etch with the Thunder Laser on Wood Trays
• DIY Coir Doormat Tutorial

And of course, if you’re looking for some door hanger-related craft projects, be sure to check out our Big Box of Blanks subscription! With it, you get three, 18-inch wood blanks with accompanying door hanger painting tutorials delivered four times a year. 

Just sign up, wait for your box to arrive each quarter, watch the accompanying tutorials, and paint. It’s that simple!

????Learn more or sign up here.