Easy Birthday Banner {Bunting Tutorial}

I created this super easy and inexpensive bunting for my daughter's 1st birthday. 

1. We headed out to Home Depot and looked through the Glidden paint samples and found a rainbow of colors to use do display a Happy Birthday Banner.  I used the larger solid paint color samples, one for each letter.
2. I borrows my good friend's Cricut to cut out letters saying ‘Happy Birthday Anna,” 
3. I then glued the white letters onto the paint samples. 
4. To complete the banner top, I used a package of double fold bias tape.  Each paint sample letter was placed in-between the bias tape fold, spaced evenly and then sewn into place with my sewing machine.  
   

   

Wizard of Oz Party

We are off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Anna turned one and mom decided to use her favorite movie of all time as the theme for her party. I figured I might as well choose while I can. 

Invitation:

The first item to complete was the invitation. I took some inspiration for the font from an invite I found via Pinterest (Inspiration via Pinterest/Etsy), but designed and created all the other graphics myself using Photoshop Elements. I was very happy at the way it turned out, even though it took me probably longer than it should have to complete. 

Invitation

 

Return Address Label

Thank You Card

Dress:   

The next item to complete was the birthday dress.  I definitely wanted Anna to have a Dorothy dress, but wasn’t sure that I wanted it to be an exact match.  So after searching Pinterest and Etsy, I still didn’t find what I wanted and went shopping for a pattern and designed my own.  Knowing how well (or not so well) that Anna keeps shoes on, I wanted to make sure the dress had some red sparkle.  I found ruby slippers, to go with the outfit but since Anna is walking everywhere the slipper style didn’t last on her feet long.    I found my blue gingham fabric and red sparkle buttons at Hobby Lobby.  Then, I found a cute plain white T with pucker sleeves at Wal-Mart to wear underneath as well as the Red sequin accent fabric.  I love how the dress turned out. Now she can wear it for the 4^th of July too, if I want.  I also created a hair accessory flower using the gingham fabric and a sparkly button center.   

 

Birthday Bib: 

After going through all the work to sew Anna’s dress I didn’t want her to ruin it with her cake eating. I then decided I would strip her down for the Cake eating but give her a special bib to wear.  I used a current bib as a guide to create a pattern. I traced the bib and then gave myself extra room for seam allowance.  I cut 2 pieces of fabric.  I drew and cutout patterns for a number “1” and two heeled shoes.  I then ironed WonderUnder to the gingham and sequin fabric before using my patterns to cutout the appliques for the front of the bib.  I ironed the cutout fabric into place and then zigzag stitched to finish the edges.  I then baste-stitched red ribbon and gathered it to form a ruffle to sew around the edge of the bib.  Finally, I sewed on hook-and-loop tape to fasten the bib.

 

 

 

Decorations:

While I could have gone nuts with decorations I was on a budget since I was currently loving my time as a stay-at-home mom.  Here is how I brightly decorated Anna’s party.

The cake table was a red table cloth with a yellow runner displaying Anna’s first year of pictures by month. 

Cake Table Centerpiece:  The table centerpiece display was created using vases that were inspired by the famous movie characters with poppies and her pictures by month. I found my vases at Dollar Tree and designed and painted each of them to resemble a movie character. I filled with floral foam to hold inexpensive silk poppy flowers that I found at Old Time Pottery.  I designed and printed Anna’s pictures by month to create a flower photo. I then printed 2, cutout and glued two of them together onto bamboo skewers to add to each vase. 

 

Bunting: Anna and I headed out to Home Depot and looked through the Glidden paint samples and found a rainbow of colors to use to display a Happy Birthday Banner.  I used the larger solid paint color samples, one for each letter. I then used a Cricut to cut out letters saying ‘Happy Birthday Anna,” in white.  Next I glued the white letters onto the paint samples.  To complete the banner, I used a package of double fold bias tape to hold it all together.  Each paint sample letter was placed in-between the bias tape fold, spaced evenly and then sewn into place. {see tutorial for additional photos and details}

Entry:   On the front door, I used a blue berry wreath and accented it with red poppies and a gingham fabric bow.  I then tied rainbow colored balloons outside and used brightly colored pinwheels (from Dollar Tree) in the front pots that flank the front door.
 

 

On the dining table I continued the use of the red table cloth & yellow runner along with a variety of other Wizard of Oz collectibles that I already had from my collection to add to the theme. 

I ordered personalized plates from Hallmark.com

Cake:  My cake decorating skills are just a step above novice and so anything too elaborate was out of the question. I loved the ideas on Pinterest for ‘Rainbow’ or ‘tie dye’ cakes.  I created a two layer 9x13 pink, blue, green & yellow cake.  I then decorated the top of the cake to resemble the yellow brick road.   My favorite part was creating a rice krisipy treat shoe to top the cake.  I molded the rice krispy treats into the shape of a highheel shoe, frosted it with red frosting and added lots of sugar crystals to create some sparkle.

 

 

 

 

Sweets: I baked cutout high heel sugar cookies, decorated with red frosting and sugar crystals, and a large bowl of jelly beans in a rainbow of colors. I was fortunate that Anna’s birthday was near Easter so the accessibility of finding brightly colored, tasty, jelly beans was easy.  My favorite are the Jolly Rancher flavored ones. 

Alternative Wrapping for Large Gifts {Plastic Tablecloths}

Tip: 
Do you have one of those presents that you just don’t know how to wrap or are too big?  I went to the dollar store and purchased a coordinating color plastic table cloth and used it to wrap a large pillow that was a present for my son’s friend’s birthday party.  This easy and inexpensive wrapping material fit the job perfectly and I didn’t have to deal with ripped paper or search for a bag large enough to fit it.  Tape it together and tie a ribbon around it and you’re done. 

Easy Cupcake Toppers {Superhero}

Why make cupcake toppers that only serve the purpose of looking cute?  Add decorations to suckers to give an extra theme-oriented punch to your cupcakes. 

 

1. I printed Spiderman clipart onto plain white copy paper and cut out the shapes with a circle punch.
2. Then I used red paper to cutout a larger circle with a paper punch.
3. I glued the two together circles together with a glue stick
4. Then using a small dab of hot glue, I adhered the Spiderman décor to the sucker wrapper.

The suckers I used were found at Dollar Tree for $1.00 a bag.  Because I had the red paper and copy paper at home, these added cupcake features only cost me $2.00 and about 20 minutes of my time. 

Superhero Cape Tutorial

Here is how I made my Superhero capes for my son's 4th birthday party.  They took some time to make, but turned out great and the kids loved them.

Materials:

• Scissors, straight pins
• Fabric & matching thread
• Wonder Under
• Wrapping Paper
•  Applique design / pattern
 

First, I measured my soon to be four year old to see how big I would need to make the cape for the kids at his party. 

 

• Shoulder width (of cape)
• Length from neck to below buttock
• Length from back of shoulder to front of neck
• Approximate the width of the base of the cape
 

1. I used the back side of some wrapping paper to draw out and create my cape pattern from my measurements.
    
   
   
   
    


2. Fold wrapping paper in half the length of the cape.  Use measurements to draw out pattern to size. 


3. Cutout pattern – I unfolded the pattern to test on my son to make sure I had the appropriate size.


4. Layout desired fabric and fold in half. Lay folded in half pattern, pin in place and cutout.  Cut 2 of pattern for front and back in desired fabric.
    
   
   


5. 


6. Choose applique design.  Develop your own or print a pattern from online.  Cutout shapes.


7. Iron WonderUnder to back side of applique fabric.


8. Pin applique pattern onto fabric (that you just added WonderUnder to) and cutout 


9. Iron applique onto cape


10. Use sewing machine to stitch on the design. I like to zigzag. While the design is adhered with the WonderUnder, I like to make sure to sew it on securely so that it doesn’t eventually fray or peel off.
     
    
    


11. Once applique is complete, Pin two sides of the cape together with right sides together.


12. Sew around edges leaving a small 3-4 inch gap in order to turn inside out. I left this gap at the bottom of the cape. 


13. Before turning right side, notch around curved edges so that the pieces will lay nice and flat.


14. Turn right-side out and iron to create crisp edges


15. Cut hook & loop tape to desired length and sew to neckline openings.


16. Topstitch along the bottom to finish off the cape.

Superhero Party

Since Halloween the only thing my then 3 year old could talk about is Superheroes. So obviously we had to be Spiderman for Halloween. Christmas was a Spiderman Christmas full of presents with Spiderman logos, action figures, etc. So, obviously, when discussion of his birthday party came up, we once again were focused on Spiderman, but at least he was also interested in additional superheroes as well.  I would love to host parties at my home, but the thought of 10 or so four year olds running around my house in March, I knew I had to find a different option, but one that didn’t blow the bank. 

Sam loves to bowl, so we decided to make it a Bowling Superhero party.  The Park Lanes Bowling Alley near our house offered a great birthday party package and it was active enough to keep all the kids engaged.  (Bowling, party room & tokens for the arcade).

Invitations:  I designed and created Sam’s invitations using a photo of him in his Spiderman costume and converting it to look like a comic book character in Photoshop Elements. I drew all the other components of the invite in Photoshop as well and was very happy at the way it turned out. 

Capes:  I made each child a superhero cape.  They were reversible blue and red capes with a star applique on one side. Sam asked that he have a different cape, so I put a ‘S’ applique on the blue side for the special birthday boy.  The capes were super easy to make, but required planning and time in order to make enough for each child.  (See Tutorial).  I made 3 different items. The bigger kids got larger capes to fit their frame. The two year olds received blue capes that were smaller in size. The little ones received superhero tank tops with attached cape. 

The bowling alley provided goodie bags, however we also gave each child a Spiderman cup, pencils and tattoos to match the Spiderman cake I made. 

 

I loved watching the little ones all bowling in their capes and so did many other people at the facility.  A fun time was had by all. 

Flower Mobile

As I was contemplating how decorate Anna’s room, I wanted to make sure that it was bright and colorful. Since my walls are a very pale yellow (because we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl) I want to make sure all accents have great 'pops' of color.   One way to bring out color was to create a mobile for above her crib. I searched Etsy & Pinterest to find just the right thing.  In my search, I got a lot of great ideas for inspiration, but nothing that fit exactly with my vision or my budget. Since I had a floral theme started for the room I decided to make a flower mobile.  I headed out and found the base for my mobile, a metal macramé ring.  I wanted the flowers to be bright, sturdy and visually interesting on both sides. I decided to purchase felt in bright colors and cut out many flowers of various sizes.  I wanted them to float so I knew I needed some clear string and fishing line seemed to be the best choice.  The flowers alone, didn’t quite pop like I wanted. Hobby Lobby was having 50% off their beads and I found a few strands that fit my color scheme (black beads, green beads and purple butterfly beads).  I also found a few glitter ornaments at Michael’s in their dollar bin (butterflies  & dragon flies). Assembling the mobile was fairly easy. The hardest part was cutting all of the flower shapes from felt as it was very time-consuming.  Overall this project was easy, inexpensive and provided the interest I needed for Anna's room. 


Materials:

• Metal Macrame Ring
• Felt
• Jewels / Buttons
• Beads
• Fishing Line & Needle
• Ornaments (Butterfly & Dragonfly)
• Optional:  Chain to hang mobile

Instructions: 

1. Cut out flower shapes from felt. I wanted multiple layered flowers so I cut 2-3 layers per flower of varying sizes. (I felt like I would never see the end of flower cutting)
2. Glue Flower layers together to create layered flower
3. Add jewel or button to center of flower on both sides
4. Layout flowers and beads for each strand arrangement. I wanted each flower to be divided by a chunky bead.
5. Cut long strands of fishing line (Measure the length you'd like for the mobile to hang and add at least 1/3 longer than what you actually want to ensure that you have enough to make the proper knots and ties)
6. Thread needle with fishing line. String felt flower onto fishing line and make a knot to hold flower into place.  Leave enough fishing line at the top of the strand to be able to tie it to the macramé ring when your strand is complete.
7. String bead onto fishing line and leave desired length between flower and bead and create a knot around bead to hold into place.
8. Continue to add flowers & beads to line until desired arrangement and length is created for each strand.
9. Wrap the extra fishing line at the top of the finished strand around the macramé ring and tie a knot to secure into place. Do this for each of your completed strands and space evenly around the ring to create proper weight distribution to keep it hanging level.
10. Create top of mobile and hanger by tying 4 smaller strands of fishing line evenly around the macramé ring. Gather those for strands together in the center so that each strand is even and the ring hangs balanced and straight.
11. String a few beads to keep strands in place and knot all lines together at the top. 
12. Attach a chain to the top and hang from a hook that is screwed into the ceiling.

  

 

  

Hair Bow Holder {Wall Frame}

Anna’s basket of hair accessories on her dresser was overflowing, and each time I searched for a matching accessory, I made a bigger mess or couldn’t find what I wanted. I’ve seen so many cute hair bow holders online {Pinterest} and so I attempted to make my own.

I went to the local thrift store and found a frame for $3.00.  While I would have liked a more ornate frame, this one fit the size I wanted and I knew it would be easy to drill through and staple.  I was at Michael’s and in their seasonal bins, I found 3 pink crystal looking butterfly drawer pulls and two votive holders to help create the look I was going for and was excited that they were all a dollar a piece.  I went to the local hardware store and purchased some one inch chicken wire. I happened to get an email for 50% off of an item under $30, so the roll of wire ended up being just under $5 and I have plenty left over to make more for gifts or use for other projects.

Frame I found at a Thrift Store $3



Tealight Holders to use as small baskets to hold small clips, pony tail holders, etc. 

Drawer Pulls - to hang headbands

Anna’s room decorating continues to evolve and I knew that I wanted something bright.  I decided to paint the frame a bright blue so that the hardware I found would ‘pop.’

Frame painted Blue

 3 holes were drilled on the bottom of the frame for the pulls to serve as hangers for the headbands.  The two votive holders were screwed to the side to serve as holders for small barrettes that don’t easily clip to the wire.  The wire was cut and stapled to the frame and 2 hangers were add to the back. 



Basket & Drawer Pull screwed to the frame

Chicken wire cut to size and stapled to the back

Finished bow holder on the wall

I’m pleased at how the project turned out and for just around $13.  




WELCOME {About Me}

Welcome to Little Journey Designs. My name is Janet.  I'm a wife and mom of an almost 4 year old boy and an almost 1 year old girl.  For as long as I can remember, I've always loved to craft, draw, paint, sew, bead and so much more.  I enjoy learning new things and the whole 'Pinterest' craze has me spending so much time on the computer getting inspired.  

My blog’s name, Little Journey, has multiple meanings. First, when I was a kid, my younger sister couldn’t say ‘Janet’ and she would call me ‘Journey’.  So, to my immediate family, I’m known as Journey. I also realized that my crafting evolves and expands with each little journey in life.  There has been a crafting evolution for me which began many years ago when I was in the “Busy Bee” 4-H club in elementary school.  Then there was college sorority life, to living on my own, to making gifts for others,  wedding planning and now kid & family crafts.

These days I have a little more time on my hands. Until recently I had spent the last 13 years working for a large consulting company as well as a large baking and snack company doing project management, change management, organization effectiveness and training & development. (blah, blah, blah)… and as much as I hated it, my job along with many other people’s jobs was lost due to foreclosure.  If you ‘Wonder’ what company this was, I won’t take you long to figure it out.  Any SuziQ or DingDong who likes bread or snack cakes will know right away. J  I’m lucky because I have decided to view this change as a gift and I get to spend it with two amazing little kiddos.

With my extra time at home, I decided I needed to start a crafting journal so that I could remember the many projects I’ve tackled.  I figured the easiest way for me to document and share this information was to post it online. I'm hopeful that maybe someone else out there may benefit from a project or two that I've done, just as I've learned from so many others out there. 

The next journey is to offer some of my items to others. I’ve had family and friends ask me to make gifts for them so I’ve decided to offer some items, as time permits, on Etsy.  You can find my offerings at http://littlejourneydesigns.etsy.com

Thanks for taking the time to look at my site and feel free to share my ideas with others.