Celebrate Summer Birthdays

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Summer is a very busy time for us here in the Artsy House, and it’s filled with lots of reasons to celebrate! August is especially fun because we get to celebrate Little Crafter’s birthday on the 11th and my mom’s birthday on the 13th! That means I’ve got gifts to buy and wrap, cards to choose, and celebrations to plan. Since they share a mutual love for the beach, I thought it would be perfect to create a luau themed birthday banner that works for both Mom and LC. Here’s how I did it and you can too!

You need:

Kraft Paper {or pre-cut pennants}
Scissors/Paper Cutter
Jute or Twine
Markers
Mini Clothespins
Washi Tape
Cardstock or White Paper  cut into small rectangles

Birthday Banner Supplies

Step 1: Write the letters of the message “Happy Birthday” on your white paper/cardstock pieces using colored markers. 

I used my favorites, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and simply printed each letter using the wide brush tip. I alternated between six colors; two shades of blue, two shades of green, a purple, and a pink.

My pennants were pre-cut and in a package at Walmart, along with jute and the mini clothespins. Based on their size, I trimmed my white paper to 2 1/2″ x 3″ rectangles. Your size may vary, depending on whether you buy pre-cut pennants or create your own.

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Step 2: Outline each letter in black.

For this step, I used my Micron pen and simply traced around the marker lines.

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Step 3: Attach each letter to a pennant using two pieces of washi tape.

I had some fabulous tape with what looked to me like luau flowers in my stash, so I used that and it coordinated perfectly with my marker colors.

Birthday Banner: Luau Theme

Step 4: Cover one side of each clothespin with washi tape.

I used two different tapes for this; one was teal with tiny polka dots and the other was bright green with larger dots. Just lay the flat side of the clothespin on the tape, lining up one edge with the edge of the tape. Then, use scissors to trim off the excess.

Step 5: Clip the pennants to a piece of jute or twine to create your banner.

Happy Birthday Banner

The finished banner is pretty long, so it will look great along a fence or deck {as long as there’s no rain!}, or along a wall. If you have a smaller space, you can always make two separate banners, one saying, “happy,” and the other saying, “birthday,” and hang one below the other.

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In between the words, I have a pennant with a flower illustration that I modeled after the flowers on the washi tape. You can easily just use a blank pennant too if you want to create space.

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Ta-da! I’m loving how fun and festive the banner is, and I can’t wait to display it in celebration of two of my favorite people!

Now that my banner is complete, it’s time to start thinking about gifts and cards. As someone who writes for a living, I have a real appreciation for a great card that expresses how I feel about the person I’m celebrating. My hubby can testify to the fact that I’ll spend as long as necessary in the card aisle to make sure I find the perfect one. Gifts are great, but greeting cards are our opportunity to tell the people in our lives the things we don’t always say every day and to let them know how much we care.

Some of my favorite card choices are from the American Greetings Lily Pad Press line, found at my local Walmart. Lily Pad Press cards are nature-themed and many of them are comedic.

American Greetings

The one I chose for my mom isn’t funny, though, it’s sweet and meaningful. Plus, it has some gorgeous hydrangea blooms on the front, which she loves.

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While I was in the card section at Walmart, I also picked up what I needed for wrapping gifts. There were lots of gift bags, tissue paper, bows, and wrapping paper to choose from.

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I chose a pretty, sparkly “Happy Birthday” bag and some tissue paper for my mom’s present, and I opted to wrap Little Crafter’s gifts in TMNT paper. Hubby was with me and he helped pick out the fun blue bow.

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Now, I’m all ready to celebrate two of the most special people in my life this week!

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I can’t wait to give them their cards and gifts as one more way to show them how much they mean to me. What are your favorite ways to celebrate birthdays in your family? For more creative ideas, be sure to visit this website full of tutorials and ways to incorporate American Greetings into your own celebrations. And don’t forget to check out American Greetings on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Instagram! Happy celebrating!

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6 Comments

  1. That banner is darling. My daughter hates having a Summer birthday because she doesn’t get to celebrate at school with her friends! What a fun way to make someone feel special.

  2. My ENTIRE family is August birthdays. Well, not everyone, but a lot of them! Also a ton of good friends and Steve too. I guess I just like Leos! Cute ideas . . . my brothers LOVED TMNT when they were little so I think I’m going to surprise them with the paper . . . they’d still love it!

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