{diy} a pennant banner

thanks so much for all the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! {{hugs}} to you all!

*****

Several years ago, my mom got a birthday banner that she puts up for every. single. birthday.

She loves it. Me? Not so much...

I should have snapped a picture of it, but just imagine

pink, purple, yellow and tootsie rolls. Not my style at all!

I decided that a new birthday banner was in order. So I made one myself!

I love these pennant-type banners :: I like the neutrality, with the ability to dress it up if you want to. It was really easy to put together, with just a little time and effort.

I used:

- kraft cardstock paper

{bought at Michael's in a pack of 50 for $3.99, used a coupon}

- letter stencils

{you could buy these, or make your own. i printed the letters

out on plain cardstock and cut them out very carefully to make the stencils.

this was the most time-consuming part!}

- a sharpie or other marker

- ribbon

- hole punch

-small silver brads

{i got these at Michael's a couple of years ago}

Once you've gathered your supplies, you'll need to cut out the pennant shapes.

I made my own template, and it's easy to customize the size you want.

I was able to cut 3 pennants out of one 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock.

If you aren't sure of the size, play around with it.

Next, trace out the letters onto the pennants.

I made 2 banners, "hurray" & "happy birthday".

Once I got the outlines traced, I filled them in with a black sharpie.

I used mini brads, so I ended up punching the holes with my paper piercer.

Then I just attached all of the pennants together.

The brads make it easy to fold up the banner to store it.

Last step!

Punch holes at each end of the banner and string some ribbon through for hanging.

See?

I love it!

And it's so easy to personalize for any occasion.

I used the instructions from Erin's blog for the paper "thing" {I'm not sure what it's called!} - I just added a '20' to the middle for fun!

Happy crafting!