Easy DIY Bunting Tutorial

Life at N°21 is not just blocking holes in the ceilings and endless scrubbing you know – I spend an awful lot of time just pissing about, too.  Between work, reno-work and my vibrant social life (hah – as if) I like to craft.  Twee, I know, but very relaxing.  Last week we had the pleasure to host a friend’s birthday party and what a wonderful excuse that was to make a ton of bunting.  I don’t want this blog to be just about dirty old floors and a bunch of dead folk that built my house so let’s forget about the history of Chez Nous for a minute and relax:  

Ready, steady… CRAFT!   

You there, yeah, you - why not engage in some serious buntin’ today with these easy-piecy instructions?  You could very well harness your kids on it, as long as they are old enough to hold a pair of scissors safely, or embrace your inner homemaker-goddess/god and fix yourself a smashing garland.  Because life doesn’t need to be so damn serious all the time.

All you need is:

…plenty of pretty paper – this could be scrapbooking paper, wallpaper, etc… whatever you fancy as long as it is big enough for your bunting.  I used several 30x30cm sheets of square scrapping paper that was patterned on both sides, but standard A4 sheet would work too.

 …paper cutter or scissors.

 …twine or string.

 …a hole punch.

First choose your paper.  I went with double sided square sheets of card with a nice floral- and purple background, 30x30cm in size.  Fold and cut the paper in half.  You should be left with two rectangles half as wide as they are tall, 15x30cm in my case.  One rectangle like this will make one “triangle” of finished bunting. 

Don’t worry if your chosen paper is not square – just create rectangles that are half as wide as they are tall and you are good to go:  i.e. 10x20cm, 20x40cm and so on, depending how big you want your “triangles” to be.  

Next, fold your rectangles in half, into little tents and make a small mark on the bottom centre.  Cut them into triangles by starting from the top corners and aiming to the middle bottom mark.  Cut both sides.  Use a hole-punch to make a set of holes on the top of your triangles, going through both sides of your tent-triangles.

Almost done now…

The last step is to thread your bunting.  I used rustic packaging string made from raw linen, but yarn or any old string or thin ribbon would do.  You can make the bunting as long as you want, with as many triangles as you want.  

Have fun trying out different papers and threads and enjoy the buntin’! 

This was really a "Happy Birthday"-bunting with the message spelled out using scrap pieces of the same patterned paper, but after the celebrations I simply reversed the garland and kept it on the wall with the blank side forward.  Re-think, re-use and re-cycle guys!

So here it is - simple bunting tutorial for craft-virgins.  Some people draw mandalas, bake or go jogging, but this is what I do to take my mind off work.  Plus I like this old house to look pretty.  Escapism perhaps, but who is going to pay attention to holes on the walls when there’s a bit of bunting up?

I will be back with more regular updates on our little renovation project Chez Nous in a bit, after spending time with my hubby and our wee dog, as life, especially in the South of France, should never be too serious.  In the meantime, what would you like to hear more about?  Is it the renovation and history of this old house you fancy or tales on the life in France in general?  Did my bunting really get you going?  Let me know in the comments or drop me a message and we’ll see what I can do. 

I love writing this blog but lately I’ve felt it’s been a bit of a burden.  To be honest, keeping it fun for me, as well as you dear reader, has been a struggle.  If staying interested in this project means less updates in favour of better content, so be it.   

With these words I bid you happy crafting.  Don’t let the stress-bugs bite.