Easy Birthday Banner

Quick Note: Amy over at Total Tippins Takeover has a fun giveaway from Willow House. Go over there and win it!

As I was prepping my house on Friday afternoon for our company that evening, I realized the house was wanting in birthday decor. I love birthdays, so how could this be? I didn't have time to get the baby loaded and off to the party supply store, so I started racking my brain for ideas. In the age of Pinterest, none of us should have any shortage of ideas, amen? I headed to my little craft closet and took inventory. I have almost an entire bolt of burlap that my aunt gave me leftover from my cousin's rehearsal dinner last summer. I decided to put some of it to work.

I needed something simple - no time for the sewing machine! I always have to budget at least 30 minutes to wind the bobbin and thread the needle. I am sad in that respect. I made a quick little template from poster board that I very randomly keep hidden behind the hutch in my dining area. As for the template, I eyeballed it. Thinking that I would want to fold the top over whatever I used to string it together, I gave a little extra length.

Using my rotary cutter and self-healing mat, I made quick work of the banner flags. No one is more challenged than I am in the skill of using a rotary cutter. But usually even I get straighter lines than I do with scissors.


After my cuts were made and I had ironed my fold over at the top, I pulled out my faaaaaabulous Christmas present from my parents. A Silhouette Cameo!

(My cutting sheet is extremely dirty. I should work on that.)
One tip I found online for the Cameo: if your paper is tearing when you pull it off the sticky mat, blot it with a clean old t-shirt to lessen the stickiness. That worked for me.
With one sheet of card stock, I cut out 'happy birthday' to create a stencil. I just eyeballed the letter position on each flag and used silver glitter glue on the stencil because that's what I had on hand. After the letters were on, I grabbed some jute and spaced the flags to my liking, then hot glued the fold to create a little sleeve where I could adjust if needed.

When I hung it up on my mantle, I decided it needed a little color, so I ripped some scraps from my scrap bag and tied them on. In the end, a happy birthday banner in 30 minutes, made with things I had on hand.

A little hard to see the glitter in this light.

And where was little Jack during all this, you ask?

Rearranging the pantry, naturally.