DIY NAUTICAL BUNTING

I just wanted to show a quick little easy sew garland that I made for my pal Bina's Sip-n-See she hosted last weekend.  If you can sew a straight line, you can sew this. Don't forget, you could always use a running stitch and assemble this by hand, hot glue it or use iron on hem tape.

1.  I cut a triangle template and cut out a bunch of pennants from chunky muslin.  This fabric has a thicker feel to it and has texture like linen.  I use it for everything, it's like the poor girl's linen and at $1.25/yard I said yes to a whole bolt.  Use what ever fabric suits your fancy.

2.  I used my YUDU to screen print the anchors on.  It was pretty easy to use and it was only my 2nd time ever screen printing; it was my first time solo.  I was pleased with the results. You could also iron on designs or letters printed on t-shirt transfer paper.  Another option, use some large Helvetica font letter stencils to paint a phrase or name. Or skip this step, and rock a plain bunting.

3.  Once dry, iron according to paint/ink's directions.  With design side down, iron the tab over to create a nook for the twine to rest.

To sew, insert twine under tab, keeping it close to the fold and sew a straight line to close.  You need to keep the stitches away from the twine itself or you will not be able to move the placement later.

Sew on as many little flags as you like and ENJOY! As always, if you have any questions, ask away I'd love to help!

ILLUSTRATED GARLANDS BY KAYE BLEGVAD

AMAZING garland I happened upon with illustrated feathers and birds by KAYE BLEGVAD.

Paper Straw Garland

 I am obsessed with garland and today I bring you a wonderful talent from across the Bugger-Dixon line...the other Jenny.  I think she might be my creative twin and she shares my *love* for people quoting Forrest Gump or asking if my phone number is 865-5309. {did that song just pop into your head?  good.} But more than that she runs a great little blog called CROSSING THE BUGGER-DIXON LINE which is chopped full of great party inspiration.  But wait...she made this gorgeous and SUPER SIMPLE garland from those fabulous striped paper straws! 

 

I love it. LOVE IT! 

So stay tuned, Jenny made this garland for her son's party which I'm chomping at the bit to see later this week.

Garland DIYs

Hello Lovelies! I made the crazy decision at the last minute to NOT bring my laptop on our little adventure to visit the inlaws.  So, if you've been wondering where I am... But, I had to pop on and share this little lovely with you. Sharon, of Cupcakes and Cutlery, sent me a preview after she made a tester of this lovely little garland. It was amazing!  It's totally weather proof, which is hard to find in the party world...rain, wind...bring it ON! Of course, since it's from Sharon it's mega freaking awesome! Oh, did I mention you can make oodles for like a BUCK? Go see her lovely DIY HERE!

But wait...there's more.  If you haven't seen it already...over on The Sweetest Occasion is my DIY for the original Hank + Hunt RUFFLED GARLAND. I promised I would share the secret recipe and I delivered.  It's super easy but it takes patience and a bit of time.  But, I promise you it's worth it! Enjoy!  

**if you love them and would like me to make them for you...just shoot me an email or convo me in the shop!**

DIY Braided Garland by Cupcakes and Cutlery

I begged Sharon, of Cupcakes and Cutlery, to give me the tutorial for the adorable little garlands she made me for my birthday.  As a girl that loves parties and plans every single one she can get her hands on, the best present EVER was getting one in the mail. Everything, right down to the snacks

AND balloons - the BIG ones.  **pictures of my party don't do these lovelies justice, taken by me in bad light**

How amazing is that?  I got a super cute birthday party and didn't have to do any of the work. Sharon is tops on my list. So, today I can't wait to share Sharon's super easy DIY garland with you. You are in for a treat, for certain the funniest girl I know. Take it away Sharon...

DIY BRAIDED GARLAND

You will need:

scissors and fabric



I created the fabric braided garland because I wanted Jenny to have cute walls for her birthday without having to sew her own. But, as I lack a working sewing machine, oh, and the skill to create the gorgeous, finished garlands a la Hank and Hunt, I did what I know. My style of crafts is a mix of cute, rough and a little undone. These garlands are stupid easy to make, I mean, it's really just braiding fabric. But in case you can't figure it out on your own, here is how to do it.

Cut your fabric in to 3 approximately equal lengths (try to keep the widths consistent as well, but only get out a ruler if you are planning on rapping someone on the knuckles with it).

Lay the strips on top of each other and tie them into a simple knot leaving a few inches of fabric at the end.

Find something heavy enough to tie it to (a chair rail or small child will work) and braid. I found that a lose braid showed the fabric better and also I was conscious of keeping the printed side showing out (this will make the garlands more colorful - using a solid color fabric? Braid it as haphazardly as you want!).

Braid the length of the fabric and tie off the other end, again leaving a little bit left at the end. Duh.

After I made them for Jenny's little bday in a box, I decided I was going to use them at my son's birthday party as well. I really enjoy the finished look and will probably make them for everything and people will start to tell me they are tired of seeing them and that I need to retire them. I also googled braided garland and found out that one of my fave looks by Ashley Meaders was actually made from braided garlands. Since I think she is an event design genius I geeked out that for a moment, I was on the same wavelength as her. But only for a minute and then I came crashing back to reality. Also check out these braided garlands on  Celebrate at Home by Kristi of Luna and Chloe. Hers are made with yarn and I love how those look too!

And Sharon is taunting me with this...she won't let me see ANY pictures of Mile's party. All we get is this cute little snapshot of the birthday boy.  How cute are those garlands up top?  I NEED more, Sharon!!! 

Thank you sweetie for sending us this little DIY.

xo,

j

Lolly Garland Tutorial over on A FABULOUS FETE

Hello all! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday.  It's my favorite time of year...when it's officially time to celebrate Christmas, even though my tree has been up for possibly one or two weeks...ahem. Anyhoo, without further ado...Go get your craft on with a super simple and super cute garland/ornament/cupcake topper tutorial I did for Lauren over on a fabulous fete. Enjoy!

Harry's Half Birthday Party

Baby Harry is turning 6 months old.  I always wanted to throw my boys a half birthday party, but being a new mommy, extra time was hard to come by.  So, as random surprise goodie for my sis-n-law, I thought I would make a party kit for her.  Ready to hang garland, precut letters, bday invites with matching paperies (straws, cups from HeyYoYo), precut fondant 1/2 logo to stick on half a cake, be it store bought or fanagled out of Grandma Bub. I am also including a coupon for her favorite cupcake bakery Trophy Cupcakes (gosh I could live in that store...) To make it super easy, I did mock up party pics so she can just take it out of the box, add some baked goods and snacks from her local grocer and voila! Instant party.  Perfect for family and friends to taste while canoodleing with Harry.  My little guy starts preschool at the end of August, so we can't sneak away for vacation.  Phooey. Oh well, ship it baby!

Below are some of my homemade cupcakes, I am personally quite proud of the cupcake swirl on top.   I finally got the right icing tip (Ateco 845) and used mini cupcakes (way easier to decorate.)

The inspiration for the color scheme and background garland was a birthday card from Rifle Paper Co.Using helvetica 4" stencils, I traced and cut out Harry's name and glued each letter to lollipop sticks.

A little bit of healthy snacks, some not so healthy snacks, and Ding Dongs cut in half to match the cake.

A few more little bits...including the little onesies for Harry to wear to the party (and some backups in case he gets into the cake)

 

Wood Garland

As I am working on a DIY for awesome fabric swag bunting, I saw this baby last week. WOOD-ent you love this in a shower?  KNOT for the traditional party, it's that little something extra awesome that'll make your guests do a double take.  You can have anything you WOOD want it to say printed on them. When I SAW this I went nuts.  Ha! Ha! I will stop with the wood puns, sorry, I couldn't help myself. Go check out this sweetheart on Etsy, custom wooden bunting at blissinateacup.

i heart yellow

 I have been noticing yellow everywhere lately, since Hunter has declared it as his favorite color. We even found him some yellow converse sneakers the other day.  Are they not the cutest?

So today it’s all about yellow.

I saw this wedding over at Southern Weddings and I am loving the cowboy boots and the dobby cotton yellow dresses. Did I say loving. Must admit, rather obsessed.

While searching for the world’s cutest yellow garland, I came across this lovely. I envy anyone who can crochet. And...you could hang it if you wanted. Double-bonus. I think they would be just lovely with a strapless gauzy sundress.  So  pretty.  Petite leaves neck garland by kanokwalee on Etsy.

Kate Greiner has the most adorable paper garlands. I just want all of them in her shop. Yes, every single one.  Then I could sort them by color in a box and I’d be set for anything. Wait…lightbulb…what an awesome idea for a present. Box O’ Garland. Ms. Ang and Ms. Bina close your eyes and remember to act surprised!

Mostly yellow sewn paper circus flag garland decoration by Kate Greiner on Etsy.

I love tissue paper decorations almost as much as I love fabric. I have my own stockpile of Martha poms, handmade pom dahlias, arcade style garlands, and some big pink hanging lanterns. What's great about these is once you fluff them up, you can store them in the attic and use them again, instantly.  I am loving the colors of these perfectly light Summer Love Poms by MySillyBear on papernstich.

This banner, which can be customized in any…well...er, anyway you’d like or think of, is adorable. There’s a reason they’ve sold a ton of them. I think I want one in my favorite quote "Never Settle."  Just Married Banner in Sunshine by Earmark on Etsy.

I get a kick out of this girl’s blog, super cute Tuesdays! YAY! And what party is complete without a cupcake. Okay, this one’s great for one too many lemon drops at the party, or for melting away the weeks stresses before. Either way...yummy, and better for my waistline. Cupcake bath fizzie in lemongrass by yourdirtylaundry on Etsy.

Father's Day Chain Garland DIY

Hello! In celebration of Father's Day, the boys and I made this little fabric chain.  The chain is just like those cool paper ones we made in kindergarten, except I used fabric so its softer and more durable for reusing. It's more "manly" than my usual garland, boys need love, too. It took about 1.5 hours total (time including interruptions by two mini men.)  Ready? Great...

What you will need:
~roll of WonderUnder (regular weight paper-backed fusible web)
~four (or more) half yard pieces of coordinating fabric - 18" x 44"
~iron
~ironing board
~pinking shears or my favorite pinking bladed rotary cutter (could_not_live_with_out)
~ruler (I regularly use a yardstick)
~cutting board (if using rolling cutter)
~sewing machine

Step 1:
Stretch out fabric piece wrong side up on ironing board.  Iron out wrinkles, if any.
Cut out a sheet of WonderUnder about 18" x 22" . 

Follow the directions for your fusible webbing.  Place rough side of webbing down on the left half of your fabric piece. Iron as directed.  Let cool.  Peel back paper, interfacing should stay, if it is ripping up, place paper carefully back down and reiron. 

Step 2:
Fold fabric over in half, so right sides stay together. Iron as directed.  You now have a stiffened piece of fabric with no wrong sides showing. 

Repeat steps 1 + 2 for all pieces of fabric.

Step 3:
Place fabric on cutting board and square up edges with rotary cutter. Fabric should be about 9" wide on the shortest side.

Step 4:
Line up yardstick with edge (9"side) and using the rotary cutter, cut fabric on opposite side of yardstick.

Repeat down the length of the fabric piece.  You will now have strips of fabric, all pinked and cute, about 1.25" x 9". Repeat for all pieces of fabric.

Step 5:
Make your first link.  Take a strip and curve up into a circle, overlapping edges abut 3/4". 

Using your sewing machine's zigzag stitch the edges together. 

Slip the second strip (of a different fabric) through the center of the circle.  Stitch and repeat.  and repeat.  and repeat.  Until your chain is your desired length. 

Step 6: (Optional)
Cut two pieces of twill tape about 1.5' long.  Tie on each end of chain.  You could sew if you wanted, too.

Viola! Enjoy! Hang it up and marvel at its cuteness, then hide it away for Sunday's celebrations!