Quick Banners and Garlands and Bunting, Oh My!
Before kids, do you want to know how many banners , garlands, or buntings I made in my life? None. Not a single one. Bachellorette party? Bought a party banner. Work colleague retiring? Bought a banner. Now however, I think we make 2 of these a week. Every new tea party needs a new bunting, right? “Right,” says my nearly 3 year old hostess.
Nowadays if I see something that could even hint at becoming a garland, I swoop it up and stash it. During a ‘mommy recovery’ session, I broke into that stash, folks.
For those of you who’ve been with Ruffles and Rain Boots awhile, you know that Elise and I took a trip from Seattle, WA to New York without Jeff. We were lucky with great travel days however, we were not so lucky with the little one actually sleeping during that trip. This is no exaggeration: there were nights that 3 hours of sleep were a blessing.
We had a wonderful week basking with friends and family in that sunny New York summer, but when we got home Jeff knew what. was. up. He took the little one and left me alone for about a day and half – a much needed day and a half – for “mommy recovery.” And wouldn’t you know it? That kid slept like 12 hours the night she was gone. Can we say it all together now? Not. Fair.
During my recovery, I crafted – big surprise – and I’m just now getting to write all of that stuff up, so you’re going to see summery crafts like this popping up here and there. I could schedule them for next summer, but I need a little bright in my life now that we’re in the throes of the rainy season here in the Pacific North West.
But back to the banners and garlands and bunting, oh my! bit of this…
[Tweet “What little change to a bunting can make a world of difference? Find out with @RufflesandRain”]
I came across these pre-cut wooden shapes at a craft store and because they were on clearance for 5 cents each (AWESOME!!!), I bought about 4,324,142 of them. I have a ton of these things in various shapes and I thought I would whip up a couple of generic party banners for our various events: tea parties, ‘school’ sessions, and mommy’s favorite type of celebration: we made it through the day without a single tantrum!
Materials
- wooden pre-cut banner shapes
- We R Memory Keepers Shape ‘N Tape LINEUP (decorative adhesive sheets)
- Thickers Letter Stickers (these are dimensional letters, not flat)
- Pencil, Scissors, Jute / Twine / Ribbon for stringing, and blue (Painter’s) tape (optional)
Instructions
1. Determine your saying. I wanted to have one saying on one side of the banner and use the other side for something else. I chose “Oh Happy Day!” and “Party Time!” for the other. You’ll see that banner just a bit later because I added a step that you might consider adding.
2. Trace your shapes onto the back of the decorative adhesive sheets after determining the number of each pattern you need.
3. Cut each shape from the sheet and adhere it to the wooden shape. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. If you have a little hang over of the pattern, just wrap it around the edge. Or, you could be like me and cut it to make it line up because it will. not. beat. you. Ahem…
4. Next, I used a piece of blue tape lined up at the bottom of the shape to guide where I would place each letter. It made easy and quick work of adding the letters. Add the letters and punctuation.
So you’ll end up with however many of these easily decorated little shapes. Use the tip of your scissors to poke a hole through the sheet over the pre-drilled holes (do as I say, not as I do). I forgot to do that until I tried to string up my banner and realized, “Yeah, holes would help.”
If You Have Some Time…
For the other side of the same shapes, I wanted to see if a white background would make the colors POP! more. I sealed and painted the shapes white before proceeding with the same steps above.
Because I used the back of the shapes, I should have probably given them a quick sand before sealing and painting, but because I was using the adhesive sheets on top of it, I took the lazy crafter’s way out and just ignored all those “texturizing” bonus bits. Some pieces were smoother than others, so it’s a judgement call.
I can safely say that it makes a difference – a difference in person, people, not in my horrible photos. The colors are more vibrant, specifically the lighter colors.
Either way you decide to go, keep your eye out for these handy pre-drilled garland shapes – they make quick work of a spontaneous soirée or a planned party! Right now, we’re probably hosting a tea party for teddies in tutus but if you could take the time to share this with your friends and followers, we’d really appreciate it!
If you’re looking for more garland ideas, check out this fringe-filled burst of color!
Leia says
Those are super cute! What a steal to get those wooden shapes for $.05!! I would have bought a ton, as well. Thanks for sharing at On Display Thursday, glad to have you party with us!!
Jennifer Dawn says
Such a cute idea! Thanks for sharing!
Lou Lou Girls says
Hello cute lady! I love it. Pinned. We really appreciate you taking the time to stop by our party. It wouldn’t be a party without you. Please join us on Monday at 7 pm. Happy Sunday! Lou Lou Girls
Jen says
I have never made a banner, how sad is that? I should rectify that and make one!
It would be cute to have even a Christmas themed one, that is very high out of the toddler’s reach.
Pam@over50feeling40 says
You made it look so easy…and really cute! Thanks for sharing your creativity on the Thursday Blog Hop!
Stella Lee (@Purfylle) says
I particularly like your spacing tip for the letters. It’s often simple stuff that make such a huge difference!
Katie says
So cute and simple! Thanks for sharing. I’m making bunting for my kids’ room soon. I’ll have to give this a try!
Katie http://babyyourbabies.wordpress.com
Katie says
So cute and simple! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to make bunting for my kids’ room- I’ll have to give this a try.
Katie
http://babyyourbabies.wordpress.com
Kyla @HouseOfHipsters says
Oh are these garlands cute! Thanks for sharing! Also wanted to let you know about a new linky party starting this Saturday at 8pm called “Found & Foraged” Can’t wait to party with you at http://www.houseofhipsters.com
Heather {Woods of Bell Trees} says
Oh girl I feel your pain! Totally not fair! haha This bunting is so cute and I hear ya – Memphis gets a little dreary and overcast during the cold months and it makes it tough. A little bright makes things so much better!
Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Memphis kind of gets the best of the north and the south, doesn’t it? You have the gray days in winter but so many are filled with temperate weather that you can still get out and enjoy them. I haven’t been to Tennessee in ages (we used to drive through it often) and you’re kind of making me long for it with your beautiful posts on Instagram. :)
Laura Irion // Avery Street Design says
This is too cute! And you totally have me laughing about the difference between pre- and post-kid life. It’s so true!! I’d love to have you link up with me this weekend at “Found & Foraged”…it’s a new linky party I’m hosting on Saturdays at 8 pm at http://www.averystreetdesign.com. Hope to see you there! Hopefully some of your mommy recovery time crafts can add color to the dreary days hitting the midwest too. We’re supposed to be in the 30’s! Yikes!
Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Oooh, that’s too cold for November, Laura! I’ll check out the party- what a great name. :)
Tanya Anurag says
Super cute :) Love the colors.
-Tanya
http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/