The holidays are here and yes, some people actually do continue to send out greeting cards via snail mail! And we’ve come up with a terrific way to show them off.
Our easy DIY hanging card display uses kraft letters, cinnamon sticks and ribbon to create an easy and attractive wall hanging to keep your cards up through the holiday season.
Decide how to decorate your letters. Decoupage, stamp, or paint—the choice is yours! We chose to stencil using decorative sheet metal (available online or at home improvement stores). It comes in several patterns and can be done quickly.
Just lay it the stencil on top of the first letter, lightly dab with acrylic paint using a stencil brush and then remove carefully. Dust glitter on the letter while the paint’s still wet.
Make sure to clean off the metal stencil before moving on to the next letter–we used wet wipes for easy cleanup. While your letters dry, lay the cinnamon sticks side by side and glue together. These will provide the backing for your letters.
Glue the letters individually to the cinnamon sticks. Then glue jute ribbon to the back of each letter. Tie twine to the cinnamon sticks for hanging. Hang your DIY hanging card display then attach your cards with mini clothespins for all to enjoy!
- kraft letters
- cinnamon sticks 16” long (as an option you can use a piece of vintage board to adhere your letters to)
- decorative aluminum sheet
- acrylic paint
- stencil or stipple brush
- glitter
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- jute twine
- jute wired ribbon
- mini clothespins
- Put letters on flat a surface.
- Pour paint in a small bowl (reuse Greek yogurt cups for paint bowls). Add a little water to paint to thin if needed.
- Position metal sheet on top of letters, holding in place with one hand.
- Lightly dip stencil brush in paint then dab on paper towel to remove excess paint (too much paint could cause the loss of the stencil’s detail).
- Begin stenciling by tapping brush in up and down motion, not side to side.
- Place paper under letter and dust with glitter when paint is still wet (the paper catches glitter that doesn’t stick so you can reuse it and it makes for easy cleanup) and let dry.
- Clean stencil off after each application (use wet wipes to clean your stencils while the paint is still slightly wet if you don’t have a sink nearby). Repeat for other letters.
- Lay cinnamon sticks parallel to one another on flat surface. Hot glue together, let dry.
- Arrange letters on top of sticks. Hot glue letters in place, let dry.
- Cut jute twine to desired length for hanging and tie around ends of sticks, secure with knot.
- Cut ribbon to desired length for attaching cards and hot glue to bottom of each letter on back.
- Hang from wall or door with nail or wreath hook. Attach cards to ribbons with clothespins and enjoy the holiday cheer!
