...banner how-to...

a few months ago, i posted pictures of this banner and this banner that i made for kalle's & emerson's birthdays. i said that i would post instructions on how to do it...and lo and behold it has taken me like 6 months to get around to doing it. weird i know! better late than never, right?

so you'll want to print off some letters spelling out whatever it is you're wanting to say. i sometimes like to use different fonts for each letter...but it all depends on how much time i have because that is a little more time consuming. you'll want to make sure and space the letters out on the page so you have room to cut them out. i usually can fit around 6 letters on each 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper.

i like to round the edges of my letters. this isn't something you HAVE to do, but i just like the look of it for most of the banners i make.

i also like to distress the letters. it just gives it a nice finishing touch...

then what you'll want to do, is cut down your 12 x 12" sheets of paper to a regular size sheet of paper which is 8.5 x 11". also, i usually like to use around 3-4 different styles of paper...all coordinating of course!

flip the paper over onto the side that won't be seen and make a marking in the middle of the longest side of the paper. this would mean, you'll make a marking at the 5.5" mark.

then straight across from the marking you just made (on the other longest side of the paper), you want to make two more markings. they will be at the 2.75" & 8.25" marks. is this making any sense at all??! scroll down to the next picture, it'll make more sense then.

so you'll draw some lines, connecting the marks you just made like this...and then cut along the lines. super easy, if it sounds complicated, it's just because i don't know how to explain the simplest of tasks. after you have cut all the triangles out, tape the letters on and whatever little embellishments you want to add. i also usually distress the triangles as well...

then you'll want to place them out on some ribbon, just to get them all centered right. i like to use a ribbon that's around 1" thick, it works great...but i haven't used anything else to be honest. once you've laid them out and know where you want them placed use some REALLY good double stick tape to adhere them to the ribbon. if the tape you have doesn't work all that well, i would try using a hot glue gun.

also, make sure to leave some extra ribbon at the ends of the banner for hanging purposes. i made this banner for a friend of mine who was throwing a baby shower...so this isn't really the finished product...i think it would have been cute to add some sort of extra ribbon/tule/flowers or something to the ends...just to frill it up a bit. it's up to you though!

anyway...hopefully this atleast gives you an idea as to how i make the banners. they're fun and are a nice little touch to those special occassions!