Home ยป handmade

Category: handmade

Birthday Banner DIY: Tassels

I love a good tassel. I’m not a fan of tasseled shoes or curtains, but give me some pretty yarn tassels in a bunting banner, and I just might swoon. I’ve seen some tassel DIY’s out on the interwebs, but I just wanted something really really simple. So, I decided to create my own DIY.

 photo P5120643.jpg
First, cut and gather a handful of 12″ strips of yarn. Let’s say, about 10 strips total for a thinner tassel. Add as many more strips as you’d like to beef up the effect.

 photo P5120644.jpg

Fold the strips over the top of what will be your hanging string.

 photo P5120645.jpg

Then, take one side of the tassel, wind it around the other tail,
and form a knot around the banner string.

 photo P5120646.jpg

By wrapping one tail around the other, versus just tying a knot at the bottom, 
you create the tassel-like effect seen here:

 photo P5120647.jpg

Continue making and attaching tassels until you get the desired effect.

Yarn Tassel Banner photo P5120641.jpg
I then made a “happy birthday” banner overlay using alpha stencils and matching scrapbook paper.
*Brushes hands together* That’s it, my friends! Another birthday celebrated in handmade style.
Check out my other birthday banner creations:

Birthday Banner DIY #1: Fringe Benefits

At work, in my department, we skipped a year or two of celebrating birthdays. That made me sad. So, I took it upon myself to resurrect the whole birthday scene. I promised to make one tasteful, personalized banner for each birthday person. Nearly everything that I’ve made so far has been from supplies I already had on-hand (scrapbook paper, tissue paper, tree branches, etc), so it didn’t break my budget. I just think that birthdays are worth celebrating with something lovely.

Since I’ve been working my way through different designs for this past year, I thought it would be fun to share a few of them to perhaps inspire you for your next celebration.

I’ll begin with one of the simplest banners, cut from tissue paper.

Fringe Benefits Banner

1. Fold about 3-4 sheets of tissue paper in half. Then, fold in half again.

Photobucket
Photobucket

2. Cut along the folds on the side with open ends.

Photobucket

3. Using the side with the open ends, cut slits about halfway up every 1/2-inch to inch or so. They don’t need to be equal. This will give the banner a fringe-ish look.

Photobucket

4. Now, open the banner at the center and attach a length of string right down the middle with tape.

Photobucket

5. Flip back over and you’re finished. Use the ends of the string to attach your banner any way you wish. Use some coordinating scrapbook paper cut into 3″ x 3″ squares and some alphabet stickers to create the “Happy Birthday.” Staple the squares to a coordinating length of ribbon.

Photobucket

tissue paper banner

I used this same technique for the Concessions banner, except I cut a zig-zags along the end of the tissue paper before I cut the fringe. Feel free to play around with this design. These banners would be especially festive for a Hawaiian-themed party.

Photobucket

There’s more where that came from. I have some map banners, tassels and driftwood designs up my sleeve. Stay tuned!

*Hey, did anyone notice we got a new fence in the middle of this project? Hee hee!