DIY Party Decorations: Banner and Pom Poms

I’m back with another DIY Party project from the apple themed bridal shower.  Just to refresh your memory, here is our inspiration board:

apple centerpiece, apple cupcakes, green tissue pom poms, apple cookies, heart garland, apple snack, caramel apples, apple tarts, apple martini jar 

The next couple of projects on my list, after the heart garland, were the tissue pom poms and a pennant banner (not pictured).  

For the pom poms, I used Martha Stewart’s tutorial and regular ole tissue paper in shades of green, red, and orange.  I bought a couple packs for $1 each and reused some pieces leftover from holidays past, so overall, this was a very inexpensive decoration!

I recommend a feline assistant for this project, too, just be sure to get him out of the bag full of tissue paper before he shreds it too much. :) 

After a bit of folding, tying and clipping, this is what I was left with: 

Here they are at the party, mingling with a couple paper lanterns:

Easy, affordable and cheerful party decor!

For the next project, I wanted to make a congratulatory banner for the bride.  Something to hang over the party table and incorporate all the colors and patterns of fall.  I chose to do a printed pennant banner with the message “Congrats Katie”.  I used Microsoft Publisher to design each pennant.  A drew a triangle shape and filled it in with a picture background; each one is different, some are image files from scrapbook paper, and some are actually images of fabric swatches.  I chose lighter colored backgrounds to save ink when printing.  Some of the images were darker at the start, so I just increased the translucency of those to make them less colorful.  Inside each triangle I added a letter. Then I simply printed each page and cut out the triangles.  It’s actually a two-sided banner, with the opposite side bearing white pennants and colored letters with the same message.  I arranged the pennants in order with the appropriate white one on reverse so it spelled out the message correctly front and back (it took a few tries to get it right!)  Then I punched holes in the top and strung them on twine.

Here is how it looks hanging in my sewing room:

It’s quite long, but works well for our big party room.  For a shorter banner you could print two smaller pennants per page, or break up your message into two banners and hang them one on top of the other.

And here are some of those pretty background prints:

Here’s a view of the flip side… taken at the party:

There you are, another easy and colorful party project, for just the cost of ink and paper.

Throw in some crepe paper streamers and our heart garland, and you’ve got a room ready for a celebration!