“Free Candy” Banner

$5 - $10 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one banner

Zombies and clowns are the two themes, in my opinion, which have been overdone in yard haunts and professional attractions. Because of this, I was a little leery when my office selected a demented circus theme for 2017. To tackle the challenge, I decided to focus on the twisted carnival idea and draw inspiration from turn-of-the-century travelling shows. I wanted something that looked vintage and did not relying too heavily on clowns.

• One deck of large playing cards (roughly 3.5” x 6” in size)
• One sheet of forty- to sixty-grit sandpaper
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the cards
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in cherry cobbler*
• One hole punch
• Three to four yards of brown twine
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
  

1. Begin the distressing process for the cards by roughening their surfaces and removing parts of the print with sandpaper. Once this is done, boil enough water to completely submerge them and pour it into the pan. Add the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Submerge the cards in the coffee mixture and soak them until they reach the color you desire. I soaked mine for one day and scattered the coffee grounds over the tops to add spots. You may have to work in small batches if you cannot find a container large enough to hold all of the cards at once.

2. Once the cards have dried, use cherry cobbler paint to write “free candy” onto their surfaces. You want the wording to be haphazard. To achieve this, exaggerate curves, create sharp points, and elongate certain aspects. You could also write letters backwards and deliberately misspell words. Keep in mind, though, that the banner need to be readable, so try not to overdo your artistic flairs.

3. Punch holes into both sides of the cards. If you want the banner to have a haphazard look, stagger the holes’ placement; otherwise, keep them relatively uniform.

4. Tie the cards together with twine, knot the ends, trim the excess, and glue the knots for reinforcement. To make hanging easier, leave about a foot of twine on both ends of the banner.

5. You can embellish the banner with additional details, such as aged bones or severed fingers.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.