TKO: Happy Birthday Banner

Sure, I could have bought a "Happy Birthday" banner, but I wanted something BIG and slightly fancy and I needed an outlet for all of my party-planning frustrations.  So the custom "Happy Birthday" banner was born. Most of the materials I already had, so it was mostly a time investment.

You'll need: 13 sheets of card stock, 8 sheets of colored printer paper, a computer & printer, pencil, ruler, scissors (optional), x-acto (no.11) craft knife, cutting mat, white glue, crepe paper, brads, and 7' of 7/8" grosgrain ribbon and a lighter for heat sealing.

Print large dots on card stock and small (Swiss) dots on colored paper.  These make the background and add a little pizazz and dimension to our banner.  Next, print the words, for this project "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" in all caps on the colored paper.  The the letters should be outlined only, no fill!  We are going to cut them out later.

To make triangular flags: Mark the middle on the bottom of the page (4  1/4").  Draw a line from each top corner, to the bottom middle.  Cut along those lines.  For faster results, stack 3 or 4 sheets together when cutting.

You are left with thirteen of these triangular flags.

This is what your printed message should look like.  Cut letters out with scissors or x-acto.

Done!  Position letters on flags, and glue down.  Let dry before going to the next step.

Now your letters are dry, you can flip these bad boys over and add the crepe paper trim.  You don't have to measure, you can work right off of the roll.  Leave yourself plenty of slack since you will be pleating the paper.  Run a bead of glue about 1/4" from the edge of the banner. Start laying your crepe paper, leaving a little extra hanging at the beginning.  Press down a few inches, then fold back and forth to create pleats.  Just eyeball it.  It doesn't have to be perfect!

Once you reach the point, pleat (as shown below) adding a few dots of glue to keep it secure.

Now you've rounded the corner.  Run another bead of glue back up to the top.  Press and pleat like before.  Let dry before continuing.

With the right side up, fold under any extra crepe paper, so that the  top is all even.  Then, cut  a small dash in each top corner, just big enough to insert a brad.  On the end flags, cut two holes in the corner where the ribbon will be attached.

Stack flags to form two separate banners, one that says "HAPPY" and the other "BIRTHDAY".  Insert brads to attach them together.  I used small scrap book brads,  because I had them laying around already.  You can use whatever kind you have available.

Cut 4 strips of grosgrain ribbon: two pieces at 18" and two pieces at 24".  Cut or poke two holes in the end of each piece.  Use brads to attach 18" pieces to either side of the "HAPPY" banner, and the longer pieces to the "BIRTHDAY" banner.  Make sure that all holes and cuts on the ribbon are heat sealed!

You are a paper crafting master.  Hang as you please.  

TIP: I used 3M Command hooks to hang mine...they worked like a charm!

(Rubber Ducky) Birthday Party Favors

My baby just turned one, and the party was really fun!  I crafted several things for the party, including these party favors.  Mostly, I just assembled them, but I still added a personal touch.  Come hither, let me tell you all about it...

I first got my inspiration while in Dollar Tree.  I scoped out the wedding section, because I knew I wanted these bubbles, but lo, I found these white favor boxes. I put a pinch of paper shreds in each one and hot glued a bow on the front.  The bows are made out of leftover 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

I used regular ol' mailing labels, printed some duck clip art on them, and customized the boxes and the bubbles. But of course there is more...

I used the images that I purchased from The Curious Princess on Etsy and made these simple lollipop covers.  You can purchase printable lollipop covers from the Etsy store, too, but I figured I'd save a few bucks and make my own template.  (Available below!)  Just cut on the solid lines, and fold on the dashed lines.  You could use a hole punch for the stick hole (above), but I didn't have one, so I cut an "X" there.

I filled the box with pre-packaged shredded paper, but recycled shreds would be just fine, too!  Pop in the bubbles, lollipop and these super cute duck squirters.  Ta-da!

Lollipop cover template:  

This does not include the graphics, because that wouldn't be ethical, but you can add whatever clip art that you like.  They are sized to fit Dum Dums because they are a good size for little mouths and are free of all major food allergens!




Cut on the solid lines and fold on the dashed lines.  Happy crafting!