Party Decor Ideas (cheap and easy!)

First of all... sorry it has been so long since I have added a new post. I have been on vacation, and also just super busy with the kids being home for summer! This post is inspired by the Birthday parties I have thrown for two of my little girls the last couple of months. These ideas are quick, cheap, and easy! I guess that's kind of the theme here on this blog...and my house! Also, most of these projects can be done with items you already have in your home.

Above is a paper cupcake baking cup garland. It turned out darling! I used 3 different designs. All you have to do is get a needle, thread some thick thread, or fishing line through it, and then slide the cups right on. String them facing different ways in a random pattern. Make it as long as you want and hang it up! This is a really fun decoration for a Birthday party, baby shower, wedding shower, or any kind of party. Red, White, and Blue would look so awesome for a 4th of July BBQ!

These little cupcake picks really add a lot to a cupcake. These are baby bottles that I cut out with my cricut and then hot glued to a tooth pick and stuck it right into the cupcake. Perfect for a baby shower! For a Birthday party you could personalize it for the Birthday girl or boy. My daughter loves everything pink, so for her Birthday I did a sparkly pink and turquoise present cut-out on a toothpick. She loved it! You could do princess crowns, dinosaurs, cars, whatever...the possibilities are endless! Once again....think Red, White and Blue for your summer BBQ!

Next are my very favorite party decorations! I love them so much because they are HUGE! I can't think of a better way to add a pop of color to a room than with these. I am sure you have all seen these, but if not, here is a quick tutorial on how to make an awesome "puff ball". 1- see above picture...take 8 sheets of tissue paper and lay them on top of each other. Then fold them into a 1 1/2 inch fan. Then I like to loosely tape the middle. then tie a long piece of fishing line in the middle.

2- Start to carefully pull each piece away from the other. alternate sides.

3- Now you have one half done! ow do the other side the same way. When you have done both sides you have your "puff ball!" You will have to move each piece around a little until it looks nice and full.

4- Hang them up and enjoy!

My last idea for this post is a little thing I did this week for my daughter Brielle's Birthday. I wanted to make her feel special on her special day so I cut her name out with my cricut, and then just used some cute clothes pins that we painted and hung them up on a pennant banner that we already had hanging on the fireplace. I love when you can add to an existing decoration.

This is a really easy way to decorate for someones Birthday without spending much time or money. Think of a way to add their name, or favorite thing to your current decor. This way, it looks great. like you spent lots of time, but really you just embellished an existing look. Also...It does away with those cheesy dollar store Birthday signs! YAY! (sorry if you love those!)

Bedroom Makeover!

A good friend of mine asked me to come over and help with some ideas for her little girls room she was working on. I came over expecting to see a big mess that needed a lot of help, and this is what I saw! It was love at first sight! I was so impressed! She did an amazing job. She was looking for a little more though. She wanted an idea on how to add more color to the room. I usually go straight to window treatments. This room was a little more tricky because she has those awesome plantation shutters on the windows, so curtains would not work. I gave her the idea of a pennant banner. She went and picked out fabric and we made a killer banner!
It turned out AMAZING! It really added the pop of color to the room that she was looking for. It was really simple and we had a lot of fun doing it.We didn't even use a sewing machine! Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own pennant banner:
1-Find some awesome fabric
2-Get a ruler and a piece of card stock paper and make a triangle the size you like.
3-Cut the fabric using the paper pattern you just made.
4-I used pinking shears to go around the edges of the triangles. This helps keep the fabric from fraying, and adds a fun bit of texture to the fabric.
5- get out the hot glue gun and glue those bad boys on! We used jute, but depending on the look you are going for you could use anything. Ribbon, ric-rac, or even rope.
6-Hang it up and enjoy!

We decided that the room needed a big tree. So what did I do? Yep- I painted one right on the wall! My friend was a little nervous I think, but willing to give it a try. (the vinyl ones we found were SUPER expensive!) Her husband had access to a projector at work, so we had him bring it home. I painted trees on my own wall free hand, but I was too scared to do that on hers. So we found an image of a tree that we loved, and projected it onto the wall. Then I traced it, and then painted it. It took about 4 coats of paint, but it turned out great! I adore this!

This room is amazing! I had tons of fun helping with it. Thanks Amy!