How To: Birthday Banner

This upcoming Thursday is my brother's birthday, so I thought I would get a jump start on things with today's post: how to make a birthday banner. This one is very simple and can turn any room into a party room. All you will need is some colored paper, a marker, string and a hole punch (or anything that can punch holes).

The first step is to cut your paper into small shapes, one for each letter that you are wanting to spell. (For "Happy Birthday" you will need 13 pieces). I chose to cut mine into squares with rounded edges. You can choose to cut the shapes as large or small as you would like, but generally 2"x2" is a good size. Once you have your paper cut, take your marker and write out one letter on each piece. Next, punch a hole on the right and left side of each paper. Take your string (I used birthday wrapping ribbon) and cut it into long strips. You will want a strip for each word, making them slightly different lengths so that the banners droop at different levels. Take your first string and thread it through each letter for your first word. To make things easier for myself, I threaded the middle letter of the word first and worked my way out. When you thread your string/ribbon through the letters, make sure you are threading it so the string is on the back of the letter. Once your first word is spelled out on your string, repeat the steps until all three words are threaded onto their string. Finally, arrange on your wall to display!

Even though I chose to make my banner a birthday banner, you can easily use it to spell out anything, or for a variation, you can easily make this craft into a garland by making the strings longer and using blank shapes instead of letters :)

Bouquet Decoupage

With Valentine's Day being over a week ago, sadly my bouquet of roses and daisies are wilting. I decided to seize the opportunity and turn my wilting roses into something useful and lasting. Here are  the finished products:

I was really excited for how this came out, and it was really easy and inexpensive! Here are the supplies needed, all of which can be found at a craft store:

Modge Podge (I bought mine from Aaron Brother's framing store), a sponge brush (preferably one slightly smaller than the one I used, but the smaller ones were sold out), flowers (the less dried out the better), a surface to work on that can handle messy glue-type materials, and finally the item you will be decorating (I chose a cheap picture frame and a small candle holder).

The steps are simple. Just apply a coat of modge podge onto the item you are decorating, then put on the petals, arranging them however you like. Working in small patches is easiest, so apply a small section with modge podge, then flowers, then move to another section. Once you have finished applying all of the petals, you can quickly go back and fill in the gaps with smaller petals from the center of the roses. Once everything is in place, add another thick coat of modge podge over the petals and let it dry, making sure you brush out all of the bubbles. Making the candle holder is very similar. I worked from the rim of the holder to the base. Just add an inch thick layer of modge podge around the rim, then add the petals. After that first layer, keep going, layering the new petals over the old ones. Then coat the whole thing with a layer of modge podge and let it dry. Once dry, add your candle and watch it glow.

I hope that some of you try this project, especially because you might have a wilting bouquet from Valentine's Day like me  :)