DIY Apple Bunting – A Simple Printmaking Activity

I’ve been wanting to make an apple bunting with my kids ever since I saw this simple stamped apple garland on Multiples & More.

Where she used burlap, though, I decided to try creating the bunting on the pages of an old book for the interesting contrast between the red apple prints and the black-and-white text.

It worked beautifully!

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Not only were the apple prints fun for the kids to make, of course, but the finished bunting adds a lovely note of Autumn to our living room.

How To Make A DIY Apple Bunting

MATERIALS

• Apple, sliced in half vertically
• Old chapter book (or any paper, really)
• X-Acto knife (or scissors)
• Self healing mat (or piece of cardboard)
• Red printing ink (or red paint such as acrylic or tempera)
• Mini trim roller (found with the painting supplies in the hardware store)
• Plate for rolling the ink around on (we use an acrylic box frame for our printing projects)
• Green marker
• Glue Dots (or other glue)
• Hemp cord (or twine, ribbon, yarn etc.)

That’s a lot of alternatives in parentheses, isn’t it? I hope it’s helpful to see that there are options when creating a project like this. I’m a big fan of using what you have and these are the materials that I happened to have on hand.

If you want to use red paint instead of printers ink, though, go for it! If you don’t have glue dots, then use a hot glue gun or even Elmer’s glue.

You can take this idea (an apple print bunting) and adapt it to your own materials and aesthetic.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut triangles

Cut the book pages into triangles with the X-Acto Knife, using the self healing mat to protect your work surface. I used a piece of cardboard cut into a triangle as a template but you can also just eyeball it or use a ruler. Continue with as many book pages as desired.

If you don’t have a book that has been loved to pieces (as with Harry Potter above), you can find an old book at a yard sale or thrift store.

2. Add paint to apple

Squeeze some red ink (or paint) onto the plate and roll it around until the mini paint roller is coated with it. Use the roller to coat an apple half with ink.

3. Stamp apple shape

Press the apple, ink side down, on one of the triangular book pages.

4. See your print!

Lift up the apple to reveal your apple print!

5. Continue stamping 

Repeat to make as many apple prints as desired. Let dry.

6. Draw stem & leaf

Use a green marker to draw a stem and leaf on each of your apples. You can even draw apple seeds inside the hollow if you like (Maia did on one of the apple prints).

7. Gather materials

Finally, prepare to string your apple prints together into a colorful Autumn bunting! 

I used hemp cord (sent to us for free from Craft Project Ideas) to string our apple bunting together. If you don’t have hemp cord, you could use twine, ribbon, or yarn.

And I used Glue Dots (sent to us for free from the Glue Dots people) to attach the cord to the book pages. If you don’t have Glue Dots, you could use little dabs from a hot glue gun or some Elmer’s glue. I have to admit that I really liked using the Glue Dots though. They were easy to use, super lightweight (so they worked well with these lightweight book pages), and the adhesive was strong.

8. String bunting

Roll one of the Glue Dots onto each of the top two corners, then stretch your cord or twine between them and press down to stick. Continue with the rest of the apple prints you want to add to your bunting.

9. Hang and admire!

We made two of the apple print buntings and hung one across a window…

…and one across the chalkboard.

Here Daphne is writing AUTUMN across the apple bunting (with my chalk letters above to guide her).

So there you have it! Easy peasy and a great way to decorate your house for Autumn with the apple prints you were probably going to do anyway this fall. (Right?)

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