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DIY Door Hanger: Hello Gorgeous!

This crafty DIY Door Hanger will make your visitors smile while they’re waiting for you to open the door.

I love having visitors. To me, they’re like the rare handwritten letter in the middle of a mailbox full of bills and advertisements. Having a visitor at my door (not counting the ones trying to sell me something) is a refreshing break in a day that’s often filled with chores and sometimes even loneliness. And any excuse to fire up the coffeemaker and sit down with a friend is a good thing!

So to make my visitors feel welcome I made this colorful sign, instead of a welcome mat which would inevitably be covered with leaves and dusty footprints. This one is right at eye level and stays clean, no matter what folks may track in with them!

DIY Door Hanger

Want to make your own Door Hanger? It’s easy, and you don’t need any artistic ability, I promise. Here’s how.

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How to Make a Door Hanger

You’ll need:

The Process:

First, prepare your wood plank. I simply had to remove the string from mine and sand it lightly.

Blank board that will become a new door hanger

If you’re making your own, you’ll need to cut the wood to the size you want, drill two holes at the top corners for string, then sand.

Using the small paintbrush, paint several marks of the first color all over your board. You can do dots or slashes, or any pattern you like, but I painted mine at an angle. I think it looks a little like rain.

First layer of blue paint on the door hanger

Continue to paint several layers of paint, using different colors for each layer, until the wood is completely covered.

First two layers of paint on the door hanger

Wash your brush between colors of paint, so they don’t get too smudged together.

In case you’re wondering, the paint colors I used are Anita’s: Topaz, Hawaii, Wasabi, and Navy Blue.

Layer paint on the door hanger

Once your board is completely covered and you like the effect, allow it to dry overnight. If you’re not satisfied, keep applying layers of colors. It gets better and better the more you do this.

The next day, carefully apply your letters, using a straight edge to line them up correctly. I wanted mine right justified, so I applied them backwards from right to left to make sure the spacing worked out. 

Applying letter stickers to the door hanger to spell out hello gorgeous

After thinking about it, I decided to leave the holes in the center of the “O”s to allow more pretty background to show through.

Applying tape to the door hanger before painting

Add blue painter’s tape at the top and bottom of your letters.

Carefully use the foam brush to paint the contrasting color over all the letters, and to the edge of the tape. I used a leftover tester sample of Valspar “Gravity” paint for this part.

Painting over the stickers on a door hanger to create contrast

This was the hardest part for me. I was afraid of covering up all that beautiful painting I had worked so hard on!

Allow the paint to dry until it’s touchable, but for no more than an hour or so. You want it to still be slightly pliable when you peel off the letters and tape.

Peeling letter stickers off the painted door hanger to expose the message "hello gorgeous"

Using a utility knife, pry up the edge of one of the letters and carefully remove it. You can use the knife to cut around the edge of the letter if it doesn’t want to separate from the paint. Continue with all the stickers and tape.

Finished door hanger, waiting to be hung

Have you ever looked at a word so many times that the right spelling looks wrong? When I was peeling off these stickers, after all that work, I was sure I had spelled gorgeous wrong. Argh!

But I looked it up and set my mind at ease. I’d hate for my first impression on visitors to be misspelled! Next time, I should probably look it up before doing all that work.

Tying Knots in the jute string holding the door hanger.

Now you just need to attach the string. I used a hangman’s noose knot, but you could use any knot that you like. If you want to use this one, you can find the easy tutorial on Howcast. Finish by trimming the ends.

Hang your sign on the door. In my last wreath project, I showed you how to hang a command hook upside down on the back of the door, if you don’t want your hooks to be visible. 

Poster Putty on the back of the door hanger.

And be sure to use a little poster putty to anchor the edges or the banging will drive you crazy every time you open the door.

Now when your friends come over, they get an instant compliment while waiting for you to open the door. It’s a great way to start a conversation!

Hello Gorgeous Door Hanger

Come visit me some time – I’ll tell you you’re gorgeous and make you some coffee!

Pretty Pintastic Pinterest Party June 5, 2015

Thursday 8th of June 2017

[…] of crafts and musings on family, and even a few recipes along the way.  Check out her adorable DIY Door Hanger!  Show Meredith some love by following on Pinterest, Instagram, and/or […]

Pretty Pintastic Party - Linkup 57 - Suburban Wife, City Life

Monday 11th of January 2016

[…] of crafts and musings on family, and even a few recipes along the way.  Check out her adorable DIY Door Hanger!  Show Meredith some love by following on Pinterest, Instagram, and/or […]

C.D. Loken

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your door hanger, Meredith!! The colors are just...well, GORGEOUS!!! Thank you so much for sharing at The Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!! I'm definitely PINNING so I can make one for our front door!!

Meredith

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

Thank you C.D! I really enjoyed the blog hop, so glad to find it!

Pretty Pintastic Party

Thursday 11th of June 2015

[…] of crafts and musings on family, and even a few recipes along the way.  Check out her adorable DIY Door Hanger!  Show Meredith some love by following on Pinterest, Instagram, and/or […]

Pretty Pintastic Party - Gloriously Made

Friday 5th of June 2015

[…] of crafts and musings on family, and even a few recipes along the way.  Check out her adorable DIY Door Hanger!  Show Meredith some love by following on Pinterest, Instagram, and/or […]

ABOUT MEREDITH


Creating a color-filled life. Conquering my little world one DIY project at a time. With lots of coffee and chocolate. Albuquerque NM. Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Facebook