love art will travel: DIY Hanging Sign Post

So I was looking for a lovely way to hang my banner for the upcoming Holiday Bazaar and was envisioning something like this:

I searched far and wide for a beautiful hanging bracket, but couldn't find one that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I also couldn't figure out what I was going to attach it to, being that I wasn't erecting a building.

I also didn't want a post that was going to have a huge footprint or base that would be a tripping hazard for folks walking by.

So the hubby and I went to B&Q (the English equivalent to Home Depot) to see what we could find to build such a creature ourselves.

We moseyed out into the garden section, and the magical aisle of fence posts and stair banisters quickly presented the solution.

Here are all the ingredients for the project:

The stair banister already had the holes drilled in it (yay!). We got 4 metal brackets to stabilize the base, the screws to match, some walnut stain and some cheap brushes. The curtain rod was an extra I had laying around, probably from Target. And of course my trusty sander!

Start by sanding. The banister was a bit weathered from being outside so it needed it on the upward facing surfaces.

Then stain. I chose walnut, but personal preference wins! It only needed one coat to get the colour I wanted.

Then prop it up to dry. It is hella windy where I live so it dried in like 5 minutes.

Once dry, affix the short side of the brackets to all four sides of the base.

It stands! Yay!

Now, shove the curtain rod in the hole - the curtain rod I had was a bit skinny, so I took the foam heads off of two foam brushes to make it fit tightly.

Attach the other end of the rod afterwards.

Then up goes the banner! For reference, my banner is 36" wide and 24" long. I had planned on hanging the banner on the rod with some small S-hooks, but they slid back and forth too easily, causing the banner to droop in the middle. Not cool. So the jute took over, which looks nicer anyway.

I also tied it to the post as well as over the lip on the far side to keep it taut.

And that's it! Sign post complete! I have two banners, so they are back to back - I'll be placing this on a table so it can be read coming from both directions.