Kentucky Derby Craft: Derby Door Decoration

The Kentucky Derby is 2 days away! The city of Louisville is filling with excitement and anticipation. I'm happy to share another Derby craft with you today. This Derby Door Decoration would be a great addition to your home or Derby party and it is pretty simple to make!

For this craft, you will need: One 12 x 12 plywood board Jewelry wire (aluminum, 12 gauge)
Wire cutters/pliers High-gloss acrylic paints Pencil Foam brush Drill to put 2 holes in board Power sander to round edges of board (optional) Jockey silk and hat pattern (download and print at 8.5 x 11)
First take the piece of square plywood outside. If you want, you can round the corners by using sand paper (a hand-held powered sander is the best)! After that, mark the place for two holes with a pencil. Using a drill, create the holes in the place. This will be the place you later add the wire to hang the sign. Shake off the dust.

Take the sign back in the house to paint it. Trace the jockey silk and hat pattern on the board and start to paint the background. Tape off the edges with painting tape (optional) if you want the edges to be a different color. The trick to getting a smooth line is to paint over the edges of the tape, and then remove the tape while the paint is still a little wet. If you try to remove the tape after the paint has dried, it is very difficult.

  Fill in the jockey silk and hat with different color paints. I used yellow and pink. Tape the edges of the blue square so that you can paint the green edge or frame around the background. Add a decoration to your jockey silk! I chose yellow diamonds and stripes, but you could add polka dots, a fleur de lis, or any other pattern to make your Kentucky Derby craft more festive.


Once all the paint has dried, it is time to add the hanging wire! Cut an 9 or 10 inch long piece of your jewelry wire. Stick one end through the first hole and bend the wire into a large circle or curly-q (be sure it is larger than the hole, so the wire won't slip out). Using your fingers, "curl" the wire around and around and then stick the other end into the second hole. Bend the wire on this side into another circle to secure in place.


As a final touch, I took a rectangular piece of yellow polka-dotted fabric and tied a bow to the hanging wire. I did not cut straight lines, or finish the edges of the fabric, because I like the frayed look on this sign.
 
Now you are ready to hang your beautiful jockey silk sign for the Kentucky Derby. Use it as a Derby Door Decoration, or at your Derby party and all the guests will ask where you got it. I hope you have enjoyed another Kentucky Derby craft by Craft E Magee.

I would love to see what you come up with! Drop a link in my comments section if you have made any of the crafts, or post the photo to my facebook page at www.facebook.com/craftemagee!