The following is a guest post from my sweet friend Myra of My Blessed Life.
How to make a Birthday Banner
As soon as Christmas was over and the decorations that normally stay up until at least mid-January were put away, my mind switched immediately onto a birthday track. During a brainstorming session about my son’s upcoming 1 year birthday (gasp!), I decided that blue and red with splashes of green, yellow, orange and brown would be the “theme.”
Being my entertaining-loving, decorating-loving self, I first thought of the decorations. The vision in my head was a super cute birthday banner. I checked out Etsy’s custom birthday banners and found some for $30.00 or more, yikes! I knew that I could make something just as cute for a lot less.
I hit Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite stores) where I purchased red, blue and brown cardstock, assorted scrapbook papers, ribbon and cardboard letters – for less than $18.00!
At home I gathered decorative scissors, a hole punch, paper cutter and plain scissors and I was ready to roll!
Instructions:
1. Cut the blue and red cardstock in 4 equal pieces per sheet. Then cut scrapbook paper “squares” slightly smaller than cardstock, so that the cardstock will act as a border.
2. Only purchase one set of lowercase cardboard letters because they are $4.99/package. Yikes! Trace the letters on the brown cardstock. Cut the letters out carefully.
3. Place the cardstock and scrapbook papers in an alternating order.
Next, make sure all the letters are correct and in the right order. Then glue the scrapbook paper and cardstock together, and glue the letters to the scrapbook paper.
Using a hole punch, punch 2 holes in each card. (Note: In this photo, you will see that I made two rows on the banner, so I punched 4 holes in the cards where I attached the lower letters.)
Tie the cards together using ribbon. You can alternate the ribbon and knot it behind each card like I did, or you can thread one long piece of ribbon through all the cards.
Wah-lah!
There you have it – a super cute, easy, (sort of frugal) birthday banner. That works for me!
Myra enjoys her days as a SAHM and wife to her childhood sweetheart. She blogs at My Blessed Life about various topics to inspire your heart and your home. You can also find Myra on twitter @blessedlife2 .
That looks great! My daughters fourth birthday is coming up and I am trying to thing of fun frugal things to spice up the party. I just may copy your idea. She wants Strawberry Shortcake. I bet I can find strawberry paper. Thank you for the inspiration!
Awww, I think a Strawberry Shortcake Party will be so cute! You might even be able to cut red cardstock into the shapes of strawberries! How fun would that be!?!
That’s a great idea. I hope I can find a stencil for a strawberry. My art is well lets say not my best attribute 🙂 I love that idea!
.-= Julie The Thrift Momma Says´s last blog ..New $5 Off $25 Rite Aid Printable Coupon =-.
@Myra,
you will have a great banner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is so cute! You are right, personalized birthday banners are way too expensive. Thanks for this cute and frugal alternative!
.-= Stephanie @ Couponing 101´s last blog ..Walmart Deals: Free Post-Its and More! =-.
That turned out great, very cute. i hear ya I don’t buy anything over $5 from the craft stores without coupons, it can get expensive.
.-= heatherg´s last blog ..The Makeover =-.
I can’t wait to be able to make cute things like this for my girls…double the fun!!!! Awesome job Myra!!
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Taco Soup =-.
Aww, thanks Kristen! You are going to have so so much fun with your baby girls! 🙂
This is awesome! My son’s first birthday is about a month away and we’re doing the same colors. I’ll definitely be doing some thing similar! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks Alexis! I’m thinking about re-using the banner next year. I’ll just change out the card that says “1st” and maybe use a Dr. Seuss theme!
That is so cute! My son’s birthday is coming up soon. He would love having something special with his name on it like that.
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..The Toys! =-.
great blog. just stumbled across it!
🙂 a
That is such a cute banner. Don’t forget when Hobby Lobby has a printable coupon for 40% off you can get the letters even cheaper…
.-= Charissa Smith´s last blog ..Chocolate Brown Striped Crochet Beanie Hat – Size Newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month, Toddler, and Child Available – Great Photography Prop =-.
Thanks Charissa! I should have remembered to take a coupon with me! Great tip! 🙂
Oh, my!! This is so cute! I think I may have to seal this idea for an upcoming birthday.
Monica, you just steal away! 🙂 That’s what it’s there for!
How cute is that? Great job Myra!
~Liz
.-= Liz@HoosierHomemade´s last blog ..Power of 3 =-.
Thanks Liz! 🙂 It was so fun to make!!
Myra – adorable….save that for every year. 🙂 I will live vicariously through yours since I will never get to making such a cute banner like that, but the Dollar Store ones have served us quite nicely…hee hee
.-= Jen@Balancing Beauty and Bedlam´s last blog ..Easy Homemade Waffles without butter =-.
Such a great idea sis!! It really turned out so well! All of us at the birthday party just kept staring at it and saying what a great job you did on it! I think you definitely should use it next year.
That is cool! It looks fun and festive!
.-= Sherry´s last blog ..365-12 Frosty Morning =-.
Do that banner say Happy Birthday Riddler? Who y’all call Riddler? Y’all mean like that bad guy from them Bat Attack movies?
I thought it said that too, but looking at it again it says Ridley. Cute name!
Such an adorable banner, thanks for the inspiration! And I have to know, what color is the paint on your walls behind the banner? I’ve been looking for a good neutral tone like that.
Hey Julie! Thanks! The paint color is a custom color by Sherwin Williams called Desert Castle. I took a picture of the label and I will e-mail you the picture, if you can get me your e-mail address! 🙂
I was just noticing in the background of your picture the wall words and cute curtains. . . and I was curious, is that a sliding glass door? If so, is there any chance that you could email a pic of your door and the window treatment/drapes you have there? I really like that look and am looking for something to put in my kitchen where my sliding glass door is.
It might be too much to ask, but even if you don’t have a pic and could just tell me what you have up there, I would GREATLY appreciate it.
Love the birthday banner idea. 🙂
Thanks,
Amy
rickamyl@hotmai.com
Thanks for your comment! It’s actually not a glass door, but I have a better picture of it here: http://myblessedlife.net/2009/11/design-on-a-dime.html
I made the curtains myself. Don’t look too close because they’re not perfect! 🙂
I hope that helps!
That’s AWESOME!!! I am gonna get started on one for a “WELCOME HOME” `for my soldier who is due home on leave in the next month or two. And will hope to reuse it when he is home for good from Afghanistan this summer. I am really trying to find as much creativity as possible for his signs and banners to show him how much we’ve missed him! Thanks for sharing!
Cindi! That is such a sweet idea! I know that your husband will love it!
This is great! I’m going to make a banner for my son and his cousin’s birthday.
.-= Allison´s last blog ..Hope for Haiti =-.
Love it! It looks fantastic!
.-= SkylarKD´s last blog ..New music for our collection =-.
this birthday banner is adorable and doesn’t seem too hard to make! too bad my nephew JUST had his first bday party b/c i could have made this banner for that party! oh well, i will bookmark this page for future bday parties! =)
What a great idea! If I’d only read this post 3 hrs ago, before going into Michael’s! Maybe I’ll see if I can find some stuff at Walmart when I go. Party is Sunday
.-= Paula´s last blog ..Thirsty Thursday – Butternut Rum Lifesaver =-.
Very cute banner! I made a similar one for my son’s 1st birthday recently but instead of “Happy Birthday” I used a picture from each month of his first year and made a monkey face for each end (we did a monkey theme). It turned out really cute and after the party I put all the pieces together, sort of like a book.
That’s such a wonderful idea, Beth! Love it! I’m thinking about a monkey theme for next year! 🙂
.-= Myra´s last blog ..Eat From The Pantry Plan – Week 4 =-.
OMG that is such a cute idea….curious how long did that take?
.-= Sheri´s last blog ..Help For Haiti Drive =-.
Rats! Why did you ask how long it took! LOL
Um, probably too long. Maybe 2-3 hours at most. Of course, since I’m chasing a 1yo, the I spent on it was very divided here and there. 🙂
Wonderful Idea… the banner is adorable and even the pictures
are cool.
Thx for sharing.
.-= Netta´s last blog ..Startin’ from Scratch =-.
What a cute idea! I’d love to make one for my son’s 1st birthday next week. What are the dimensions for each piece? I’m going to try to piece it together from leftover scrapbook stuff.
Thanks!
So sorry I didn’t see your comment until now! 🙁 I just cut the cardstock pieces (I think they’re 12×12) into 4 equal pieces. I hope that helps!
super cool!
to make it cheaper instead of buying the packaged letters and tracing them onto brown paper you can just print the letters out oon your computer!
microsoft publisher (or any other very basic graphics programs, and many word processing programs) give you the option of making your text “outline” only. Just type out the words, select the font and click “outline”, print them, cut along the outline and viola your letters are done! and of course, print out as many letters on one page as you can get, doesn’t have to go in order since you’re cutting them individually you can rearrange the order!
Dee, that’s a fabulous idea!!!
@Dee, Thank you for this tip. I have been using Publisher for over two years and had no idea what it can do.
Thanks for the great idea…I made one this week for my son’s 6th birthday. We hung it up today a couple day’s early because we had a small celebration with my parents tonight. He loved it! He asked who made it, and when I told him I did he gave me a great big Thank You! I took your idea and used it as inspiration to make one that will coordinate with the Toy Story theme cake I am making him. I really like how it turned out.
Awww, I’m so glad that your son loved his banner! 🙂 Toy Story would be such a fun theme!
How were you able to purchase everything under$18? I tried to look for them on Hobby Lobby. Do you still have the names of the brand? I couldn’t find the lower case lettering either. I would love to do this for my son’s birthday.
I bought the cardstock and scrapbook paper when it was half price. I found the lowercase letters with the stamping/photo album products. There are many different colors/styles of letters.
I didn’t use the 40% off coupon that Hobby Lobby often has online. You can print it out and use it on a regularly priced item.
Hope that helps! 🙂
.-= Myra´s last blog ..Deal of the Week! =-.
Wow, I like half off. I will look into it. Thank you for the help. I’m having some girls over to make this banner. Thank for the idea. I love it.
I feel the same way about the etsy banners! Thanks for doing a step by step with pictures (I am a visual person)! I want to do a pink & green one for my little girls 1st birthday.
Thank you so much for sharing this! My twins’ first birthday (as well as their older brother’s 4th birthday) is coming up in a few weeks and I’ve been wanting to make them a handmade banner. I think I might add some pics of them as well!
.-= Leslie Esparza´s last blog ..Cool Mother’s Day Gift Ideas =-.
I’m going to use your ideas and make a banner for my family!
One question though, what is the size of the letters?
I can’t seem to find the cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby, so I may have to end up improvising with my computer.
You’re banner is too cute!!!
My daughter’s birthday is still 6 months away (LOL) but I like to plan early for her parties. I would like to make a homemade banner myself to lessen the cost of the party and to make it look a little more personal. Thanks for sharing!!!
Brena
I have seen this banners before, and I was going to venture to do one for my little boy’s 1st birthday; we are planning a Dr. Seuss theme! I thought it would be perfect! Now that have step-by-step instructions I know it will! thanks!
What is th efont for the letters? I am planning to print out the letters 🙂
Thank you Myra for this step by step guide! I am starting my party planning business soon and have my first party this month! I have all my cute banner flags made, just wasn’t sure how to put them together. Thanks again! Yours turned out just beautiful. This is my first time here, but I will be back often!
I would love to do this but how would I for a bee themed birthday?
You did a great job! For those of you who aren’t crafty you can find some great handmade party decorations from GetThePartyStarted – http://www.etsy.com/shop/getthepartystarted
I was wondering what size are your cardstock letters I am making a similar banner and I LOVE your letters but I only found little ones at Hobby Lobby.
Thanks
Eileen
hi i am looking for a banner for my sons 3 rd bday. I need by thanksgiving, please let me know if you have the time. If so i love to tell you what im looking for. Thanks so much
Thanks for the tutorial! To increase the frugal factor you could increase the font in microsoftword and cut out the letters then trace onto your cardstock.
Love your banner. I had a question. What is the size of the alpahbet’s you used? Can I find it elsewhere such as amazon etc? What is it called?
Thanks!
Shweta
I needed a banner for my parents’ 25th anniversary and I thought ‘hey, let me try making one’. I clicked on this website, without much hope, and boy… was I amazed!! That’s amazing, it’s unique and creative and homemade! Thanks a lot! You saved my butt.
Thanks for your valuable knowledge information because of useful updated for me, thank you for share this wonderful article.