Crafty Crafts

I know, I know... it's been ages since I last posted, and my only excuses are motherhood, music and my daughter's incredibly busy social life. But I have been busy inventing awesome new ways to spend rainy days, holidays, weekends any other time you're at a loss of what on earth to do to keep your kiddos occupied. Here is a fun and simple project to keep busy the everyday diva way!

Welcome Banner
We made this for a friend who came to stay with us last week. Her name is Isabelle, but we call her Isa for short. It was Mia's idea to decorate the guestroom and make her feel at home with this funky and easy-to-make welcome banner!

You can make a banner for just about any ocassion - a birthday, an anniversary, a sunny day... use your imagination! This is also a great exercise for kids learning to write letters.



What you'll need:
- colored paper
- markers, paint, crayons, colored pencils, etc.
- stuff to glue on like bits of ribbon, tissue paper, beads, sequins, etc.
- glue stick
- scissors
- long bit of string/ribbon

Step 1: Decide what you want your banner to say. It could say Welcome, but could also say Happy Birthday, or just someone's name. Once you decide, count how many letters are in the words. That's how many pieces of paper you'll need. Fold the top edge of each piece of paper about 2 inches from the top and write each letter of the words on a separate piece of paper.

Step 2: Now, the fun part! Spread out all the materials on a table and get decorating! If the letters get hard to read, just have the kids trace over them again to make them legible again.

*Tip: capital letters are generally easier to read













Step 3: Once all the letters are decorated, lay them out next to each other on the table or floor. 

* Make sure you leave a space if your banner consists of more than one word!

Measure out a piece of ribbon or string as long as the letters, leaving at least 12 inches over on either end so you have enough space to tie the banner up.




Step 4: Turn each letter upside-down as shown, and put a generous amount of glue on the folded edge.




 

Fold each letter back right-ways up with the ribbon or string sanwiched inbetween, and press down firmly.

Hang your banner up and enjoy!