Spider Celebrations

Be Kind to Spiders Week 2020: Appreciation Banner

Kicking off Be Kind to Spiders Week celebrations, I have a very simple DIY banner you can make to hang up and show off your love of spiders all week. Or if you love the result as much as I do, hang it up all throughout the spring to remind your neighbors how important it is to be kind to our insect-dining pals.

What is Be Kind to Spiders Week? This magical week celebrates respecting the spider from the first Sunday of April through the following Saturday. This year is extra special because the final day happens to be on my birthday! What a treat for me. And you can bet I have a fun finale to wrap up the cel”web”rations on Saturday.

As with any crafting project, let’s start with gathering the supplies!

Be Kind to Spiders Appreciation Banner Supplies

  • Paper Doilies / Paper Cobwebs
    • I was lucky to find these paper cobweb cutouts from the Etsy shop, VinylPlusPaper. It was very inexpensive for a set of 25 and I ended up buying them in three different sizes (I have…some other plans for these webs for later in the week…). I loved finding these cutout because of the option to pick pretty much any color you want. I stuck with traditional white, but you can bet I’ll be buying from this shop again in other fun colors for future projects!
    • If you’re eager to get started on this project pronto, normal paper doilies will work just as well. Doilies have always given me cobweb vibes so if you want to keep this on the cheaper end, you can get a pack of 40 paper doilies in 4 various sizes for $1 from the Dollar Tree. (and this is something they sell all the time! I used them for Little Monster’s baptism decor in October two years ago, but I saw them last month as well.) I’ve also seen paper doilies in the bakery sections of craft stores if you’re still on the hunt for them.
    • OR! If you’re feeling extra crafty and don’t want to spend any money, you can take whatever color paper you plan to use for your cobwebs and cut out the webs like in this how-to (https://www.skiptomylou.org/how-to-make-a-paper-spider-web/)!
  • Letter & Heart (optional)  stickers or cutouts
    • I found a pack of letter stickers I really liked at Joann’s, but you can use cutout letters as well. I just liked the idea of stickers to minimize the work. If you get cutout letters with no back adhesive, be sure to have some kind of glue or adhesive of preference handy. Same applies for the heart shapes if you choose to add those as well.
    • OR! If you’re feeling extra crafty and, like the cobwebs, don’t want to spend any money, you can take some red or pink paper you have around and cut out some hearts! Same for the letters. Print out some letters in a font and color you like then cut them out. It’s a little extra work, but perfect for the crafter on a budget!
    • The banner I’m making today will say “Be Kind to Spiders”. With the letters, make sure you have enough of each letter. Or make sure that the pack you pick up has at least two of each letter: D, E, I, and S. (Most packs will have this much, but I think we’ve all run into a lettering issue where we were short just one letter and couldn’t finish our project until we bought a second set. Oh, just me? >.<;; )
  • Ribbon
    • I chose a pink ribbon, but you can use any color you like. I wanted to go for a spring look and with the white cobwebs, I’m pulling off a more feminine look, but the beauty of this DIY is you can completely change the feel of the final result with your color choices.
  • Glue
    • You can use regular liquid Elmer’s glue if you have the space to let this project sit and dry, but because I have a very curious toddler, I don’t have that kind of time or space. So I’m using a hot glue gun. Depending on the weight of your doilies and letters, adhesive dots could also work well.

Once you have all your supplies gathered, it’s pretty simple and quick to throw your banner together!

Be Kind to Spiders Banner Instructions

I wanted to make my banner in two tiers, but you can make it in one length if you like. Don’t you love how many options you can choose from with this project? I laid out my cobwebs (or doilies if you’re using those instead) in two rows.

Then I applied my sticker letters; one letter per web. If you’re doing hearts, go ahead and glue those onto webs too. Get your hot glue gun warmed up while you do this part.

Once your letters are applied to the webs, cut your ribbon to desired length. Take the webbed letters and lay them out on the ribbon in desired position. I would recommend leaving about a foot at each end for tying to hang.

Glue the webs to the ribbon then tie together if you did multiple tiers.

Hang your banner proudly to let your neighbors know it’s time to be kind to spiders!

How are you hanging your banner this week? Please be sure to share your finished product with me. I’d love to see the spider love out in the wild!

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