DIY Stocking Hangers

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

. . .

Alas, at my house there is no chimney in sight.

So what to do . . .

Idea!

I'll just make my own. After all I am teeming with plenty of supplies and have been so busy weeding books at work and settling into our new home that I have fallen totally behind on my crafting.

Which led me to create this lovely piece of artwork.

After finishing up I decided that this would indeed be a wonderful library craft event because most of your supplies you can find on the cheap or might (certainly should) already be around in your supply cabinet. It's also pretty easy.

But it is a bit messy and can take some time to dry in between layers, so I will try to give some alternate time-saving suggestions where I can.

DIY Stocking Hangers

First up, gather up your supplies.

Stockings (they can just use ones they already have)

Piece of wood and some small hooks.

I love Plaid's Canvas Panels because they are ready to hang with a hollowed-out back. You could quite easily visit your local lumber yard and see what deal they can make you. And don't forget you can pick whatever sizes you so choose. Mine is this big because I wanted both my husband's stocking and mine on one panel.

A variety of paints, brushes, Mod Podges, dyes, etc.

This really depends on what your preferred style is. The bonus here is that you can offer as many or as few choices as you want when you host this program.
For mine I used:
Wavelry Chalk Paint--"Fern"
FolkArt Milk Paint 
Mod Podge-Extreme Glitter 
Waverly Inspirations Brushes
FolkArt Milk Paint Brushes

Stencils!

Because not all of us are amazing artists freehanding. I love FolkArt stencils. It's a wonderful variety and the "Woodland" set was kind of perfect for the holiday season.

 I thought about the going with a nice simple deer (blue and silver or something), but my husband said it was a bit to "hunting".

So I went with trees. Be sure to keep the punched out portions for later crafts!

Pardon my sideways pictures. I don't know what is going on...

Now let the painting begin. This could easily be a step you do ahead of time to save time (but then you would need color choices ahead of time or everybody gets the same color).

I used Milk Paint for this step because I love how it works with raw wood.

 One coat

 Two coats

Line up your stencils and secure it with painter's tape.

Now get ready to paint it. Be sure to use the right kind of brush because it can make all the difference. These rounded brushes work wonderfully (especially if, like me, you like the dabbing approach to working with stencils). I also love Waverly Chalk paints. They have great coverage and are easy to clean up any "errors" while it's still wet.

 Almost done.... But I want mine sparkling, so bring on the Extreme Glitter Mod Podge!

 Finish it up by adding your hooks.

All done!

I'm loving the finished project. This is the kind of project that is perfect for a group to do together since each one can be so easily customized and by the end of the craft everyone's will look so very, very different.

Happy Crafting!

*Disclaimer
I sometimes receive free products from Plaid Enterprises to test out on projects and use at my discretion. The opinions and projects that result from this relationship are mine.