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Today we’re painting one of my favorite spring door hanger designs — the Tulip Welcome Door Hanger! This one is an 18-inch wood cutout with vibrant tulips, playful polka dots, and a simple 3D “welcome” word that pulls it all together. It’s a fun one, that’s for sure!
If you’ve been itching to bring a little spring to your front porch, or maybe you’re just craving a fun and easy project to help you unwind, this one’s for you. Catch the video tutorial below or read the notes on this blog!
Supplies You’ll Need for Your Spring Door Hanger:
Of course, you’ll need a door hanger template and a wood blank for this project. You can grab both in the shop here:
I also included everything I used in this tutorial below, including my favorite brushes and even the glitter (yes, glitter!). You can find most of these in our shop, on my Amazon storefront, or at your local craft store.
Paint Colors:
For this project, I used paint from DecoArt in the following shades:
- Background Navy: Mix True Blue and a drop of black, or use Royal Navy lightened with a touch of white/gray
- Greenery: Irish Moss
- Yellow Tulips & Polka Dots: Cadmium Yellow (add a touch of white to soften)
- Orange Tulips & Dots: Fresh Mango
- Pink Tulips & Dots: Bubble Gum Pink
- Purple Tulips & Dots: Purple Cow, Gentle Heather, or Lavender Haze
- White Paint: For highlights and base coats under lighter colors
Brushes and Tools:
To put it all together, I used:
- 1-inch flat tip brush (for the backgrounds)
- Round detail brush
- 1/4-inch flat brush (for the stems)
- Filbert brush (great for polka dots!)
- Painter’s Tape (although I recommend Frog Tape if you can find it!)
- Heat Gun or hair dryer
- Fine mist spray bottle with water
- Super Glue (for the 3D part of the design)
- Craft Twinkles Glitter in “Holographic Crystal”
- Optional: Fine-tip white paint pen for accents
- Ice cube tray or paint palette
- Baby wipes or damp paper towels
- Optional: Cardboard/swatch sheets or popsicle sticks for testing colors
Overview of steps
Below, you’ll see a quick overview of each of these steps. This is perfect if you want to skim to see what’s included. Or you can use it as a quick reference if you need to come back to this tutorial later.
To paint this design, I followed these steps:
- Step #1: Paint the background
- Step #2: Add the polka dots
- Step #3: Paint the “welcome” bar
- Step #4: Paint the tulips
- Step #5: Paint the greenery
- Step #6: Paint and attach your 3D piece
- Step #7: Add the details and sparkle
- Step #8: Add the finishing touches
Now then…let’s get to that tutorial!
Step #1: Paint the Background
To get the perfect background color for this design, you’ll want to use the navy color and apply it with your 1-inch flat brush. You can either:
- Paint around the tulips, middle bar, and dots (takes more time but keeps light colors bright)
- Paint the entire background navy and add a base coat of white on top of each tulip before painting over them
When you’re done, let everything dry before moving on.
Keep in mind that if you paint the entire door hanger navy and forgo the white, you will need lots of paint to get the colors of the tulips to show up. It will also take significantly longer to create this door hanger since you’ll be waiting for a lot of paint to dry.
Step #2: Add the Polka Dots
Use a filbert brush or round brush to paint the bottom polka dots in the same colors as the tulips. I used pink, yellow, orange, and purple. Start slightly inside the edge of each dot and pull the paint out to avoid a raised edge.
Step #3: Paint the “Welcome” Bar
Make sure everything is dry, then tape off the bar with painter’s tape. Paint with Spa Blue, using light coats and misting with water to help the paint glide. Once dry, gently peel the tape.
Don’t have a lighter blue on hand? You can mix the colors to get the saturation level you need. Just keep adding white to the navy until it’s just right.
Step #4: Paint Your Tulips
Using your smaller brushes, fill in the tulips with their matching colors. You may need 2–3 coats for this part, specifically the yellow and orange. Once complete, let them dry between coats to keep everything crisp.
PRO TIP: If you want to speed up the drying process, use a hair dryer! I show you how in this tutorial!
Step #5: Add Greenery
Use a 1/4-inch flat brush and the Irish Moss green to paint the stems and leaves. This will tie the whole design together, add some depth, and make it more eye-catching!
Step #6: Paint and Attach the 3D Piece
You won’t have to worry about hand-lettering anything on this design! The 3D piece is super easy to paint and attach.
When painting, just secure it to your work surface using double-sided tape (sticky side up), then sponge on the navy paint using a makeup sponge or sponge dauber. Let it dry, then glue it right onto your door hanger. Easy peasy!
Step #7: Add the Details and Sparkle
Here comes the best part! I love adding these small details because I really feel like they make a door hanger more fun and unique.
For this project, you’ll want to add white highlights to the tulips and dots for extra depth. You can use either a white paint pen or a small brush. Then, bring the sparkle with a coat of Holographic Crystal glitter — especially on the flowers and polka dots.
Add as much, or as little, as you’d like!
Step #8: Final Touch-Ups
Once everything is dry, go back and clean up any edges if needed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but if you see something that needs a touch-up, now is the time to do it!
If you used paint pens, I recommend a spray sealer to avoid smearing. If you didn’t use paint pens, you can use a spray sealer or a brush-on sealer.
Don’t skip this step! Sealing up your project will keep it looking fresh for years to come, even as it sits outside on your porch!
More Door Hanger Tutorials in the Painter’s Clubhouse
If you loved this project and you’re ready to take your painting to the next level, I want to personally invite you to join me in the Painter’s Clubhouse! This is my door hanger painting group that will give you access to projects like this every single month (and so much more!).
We only open the doors a couple of times a year, and right now, they’re open for new PC Sisters! So get in on this opportunity while it lasts. Learn more and sign up here!
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