DIY - Fabric Crosses

So I was perusing Pinterest lately, well everyday, but this particular day I came across this adorable fabric crosses on a piece of wood. Instantly I thought well I could do that, plus the $60 price tag was a little more than I wanted to spend on them.

So here is the step-by-step tutorial to make these adorable crosses. They can hang on a wall or even sit on a shelf or on an easel. My plan is to use this one for my holiday decorations!!!

Supplies:
1 - 2x8 board cut 13 inches long (my awesome hubby cut mine, if you don't have access to a saw ask the lumber yard to cut them for you)
Hand sander or sandpaper
Wood stain
Old Sock (or something to stain your board with)
Rubber gloves
Fabric of your choice
Fabric cutting mat
Cutting Wheel and Straight Edge
Staple gun
Hot glue gun
Fabric/burlap/metal flowers (I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section in packs of 4 for $3.99)


Step 1: Cut the boards, if they are already cut then you can skip this step

Step 2: Sand the boards on all sides and ends, I used 60 grit sandpaper and my trusty little hand sander. You don't need to go crazy just smooth any rough spots and the cut edges.

Step 3: Wipe down the boards and stain them. I put on nitrile gloves use a sock because I can put it on my hand and rub it on and work it into the grain of the wood. This method works great for me, if you have a different method then please use that. Set the boards on a covered surface and let them fully dry.

Step 4: Cut the fabric. I love my cutting mat and cutting wheel...I should have a nice plastic guide but unfortunately I've not seen that since we moved so I used a trusty carpenter's square for my straight edge. Make sure that your right edge is clean and straight, if not make a cut there and then measure out anywhere from 3.5-5 inches and make a clean strip. Your strip needs to be at least 30 inches long. If you don't have a cutting mat you can use scissors, I'm just not that steady so I stick to my mat. Note: if you have a patter that includes straight edges or repeating items use that as a guide how wide to make your fabric.

Step 5: Once the boards are dry position the fabric below the board leaving at least 1 inch hanging over after you wrap it to the back on both the top and bottom. Starting with one end pull the fabric around the end and place three staples across the back, go to the other end and pull the fabric taut but not too tight and place three more staples.

Step 6: Flip the board over and gauge where you want your cross to be, start in the middle and fold the fabric over to gather it and place a staple, repeat the process on either side and again on either side if you want. You can gather the fabric as many times as you want. I tend to do 3 or 4.

Step 7: Prep another strip of fabric to go across about 1/3 of the way down from the top, staple across the back as you did in Step 5.

Step 8: Flip the board over and repeat step 6, keeping in mind to keep your staples need to stay close enough together that your flower covers them completely.

Step 9: Remove your flower from the package and cover the back with hot glue and adhere it to the fabric covering all the staples.

This makes a great gift. If you want to make it so it can be hung on the wall you can simply add a picture hanger to the back or give it with a pretty metal easel.