[party planner] birthday banner

My daughter's 1st birthday is quickly arriving! Luckily I've been staying on top of things using my planning binder.

Other than balloons and cake, what does every birthday party need? A fabulous banner! I could have simply bought one, but finding the colors I wanted and personalizing it, I would have pulled my hair out & spent more than I desired. So I made my own, with the hope of using parts of it again. This project only takes an hour or so and cost me about $22. And I LOVE it!

Head to your local craft store (Hobby Lobby for me because it's within a mile of my house!) and pick up a few things. This banner is made of felt and chipboard letters, with a pom-pom trim. The phrase "Happy Birthday" is 13 letters long so you'll need at least 13 pieces to your banner. If you add a name, or an exclamation mark, or even the birthday number (1st, 30th, etc), you'll need more obviously. My daughter's name is 6 letters long, so I needed 19 pieces in all.

I was able to make two pieces from each piece of felt, too. I also wanted the colors to match the theme of the birthday party. I'm doing an Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss theme.

I'm also using a lot of polka dot decor so that's what I chose to put the letters on.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Felt pieces.
    These are usually 25 cents a piece so if you mess something up, you can cheaply get more. I knew I needed 19 banner pieces and could make 2 per sheet. I also had 6 colors I wanted to use, so I bought 2 of each color. I knew I'd have some leftover in case I needed it.

2. Patterned felt.
    I used this polka dot patterned felt for the background of my letters. It's perfect for my theme! I needed 19 circles and could fit 4 on each sheet, so I bought 5 sheets.

3. Pom-Pom Trim.
    I bought 4 yards and have a bit left over.

4. Letters.
    I probably could have bought any letters for this--or made my own. But I loved the font in these 3" chipboard letters. I also like the idea of using them again so I wanted something sturdy. The packages I bought contain all the letters of the alphabet with two of each vowel. I needed 3 "H"s, 3"R"s and 3 "P"s so I had to buy 3 packages.

5. Spray paint.
    Or any paint, for the letters. Unless you buy them already colored. I chose black to stand out well. Plus it seems a neutral enough color to use again!

Don't forget all the tools you'll need! Some adhesives, cutting tools & banner templates.

Okay, let's get started. Since your paint will need time to dry (if you've chosen letters that need painting), you better paint them first.

Remember I had to use 3 boxes of letters in order to spell out "Happy Birthday Harper." I'm already thinking of other ways I can use all the other letters here!!!

!!!!!

Head outside or to a well ventilated area. Lay out your letters. Use a dropcloth, otherwise you'll end up with a really bad paint job on the ground. And a very unhappy husband.

I tested craft paint on a letter to see if it would work. I didn't like the outcome, thus, I spray-painted.

Apply several coats. The chipboard REALLY absorbed the spray paint. 

Next, go inside and relax. Maybe take a nap (yeah right). Or make a margarita (right!).

Okay, back to work!!!

Now, let me pause here to say that you've got some figuring to do. I knew my banner had to accommodate the letters I chose. I also knew I wanted my letters on a circle. So I started there. I went all over the house picking up circular objects to use as a guide and set the letters on them to see if they would fit. It took some time but then I found a cup that would work. I traced a circle from the cup on a piece of paper. It was about 4" in diameter. THEN I took that paper circle and had to find banner pieces to fit the circle. I printed several templates online before I found one that worked. It had to be at least 4". It was almost 5". And I had to make my own triangle using the measurements from the paper circle. The triangles are 6.75" long on the top. Once I had the banner pieces figured out, THEN I measured how much pom-pom trim I needed. So essentially you work backwards.

Decide what shapes you'll want your banner to be in. I wanted triangles and two-point (or swallowtail) shapes. So I found a template for the swallowtail shape here. I used the largest one. As for the triangle, I just made a quick shape in Microsoft Word. You can get that here.

I used a rotary cutter to cut out my banner pieces.

Fold your felt piece in half "hamburger style"...

 

Lay your pattern on top and cut.

Since you folded your felt piece in half, you did twice the work in one cut =)

Do this for the rest of your banner pieces. For the triangles, I could only cut one at a time.

Next you'll need to cut the circles for the background for your letters. I used the top of a cup as my pattern (equaling about 4" in diameter) and then used my rotary cutter to cut the circles. I cut 19 circles - 4 on one sheet of felt.

Next, glue your circles to the banner pieces. You have several options for adhesives here. I honestly tried several:

 ~Elmer's Glue worked okay. But I noticed later that the circle easily came off. It doesn't stick to felt very well for very long.
~Hot Glue worked great! But hot glue is, well, hot. And it dries fast. And can get messy with all the little hot glue string thingys. So you've got to work quickly. And considering I had so many circles to do, I didn't want such a high maintenance option.
~Spray Adhesive won the competition. It worked the best, but it can be so messy. Watch your overspray.
~Rubber Cement has a trick to it. If you put the rubber cement on both surfaces, it'll be a stronger bond. If you only apply the adhesive to one surface, it becomes temporary and you can peel it off later. Don't believe me? Simply read the back of the bottle. This tidbit of information will come in handy later!

So now you've got your circles glued on, no matter which option you choose.

 It's time to add your trim. This will connect each banner piece and allow you to hang it from the wall. You can really use anything. I just love the way the pom-pom trim looks.



Lay out your pieces side by side. I left about 1/4" between each piece. Leave a few inches of trim hanging off the end to attach to push pins or tape or however you end up hanging the banner. Cut the trim.

Apply a quick line of hot glue to the top of your banner piece.

Firmly press the pom-pom trim down on top of the glue. Make sure your trim is straight as you add each piece of the banner!

Repeat with each section.

Lastly you'll add your letters.
 
Remember when I said I'd like to reuse the letters from this banner? Well how can I reuse them if I use permanent adhesive?

And remember how I said the back of the bottle of rubber cement said that it can be a temporary adhesive if you apply a layer of glue to only one surface?

Eureka!

So apply a layer of rubber cement on the back of the letter and then press your letter down firmly on the felt.

Before you know it, your banner is done!!

I knew it would be difficult (and/or expensive) to find a banner that was exactly the colors I wanted. Plus one I could easily take apart & reuse. WITH my daughter's name. Out of curiosity I grabbed the receipts and added up my total.

Pom-Pom trim - 4 yards @ $1.99/yd - $7.96
Chipboard letters - 3 boxes @ $2.49/box - $7.47
Solid Color Felt - 12 pieces @ $0.25/piece - $3.00
Polka Dot Felt - 5 pieces @ $0.50/piece - $2.50
Spray Paint - $1
TOTAL - $21.93 (plus a few bucks for tax so really about $24)
*Adhesives (already owned, but throw in a couple of dollars here if you don't have any)*

This banner could be even cheaper if you used yarn instead of pom-pom trim. Or buy a spool of cute ribbon for a few dollars. You can handpaint the letters or use stencils. Or print some off your computer. I can use the remaining chipboard letters in other projects and even reuse the letters I've used here. So $7.47 might seem like a lot of money, but you'll get more use out of the box of letters.

It may seem like a lot of trouble (& money) for a birthday banner, but I love it and know it will be perfect!!

[party planner] party planning binder

My daughter turns 1 in a month. I've been thinking about this party since she was 6 months old. Not because I'm soooooooo excited or because I think it's soooooo much fun to plan. I've been thinking about it for 5 months because I don't like events sneaking up on me. And I don't want to feel overwhelmed. And despite the fact that I've been thinking it over for many months, I don't want a big over the top affair here. I'm working on a budget and I need to stay on track.

So I want it simple and special.

I know there's a million little things to think about. And the way my mind works is that I need all these million things written down in front of me. I need to be able to physically cross them off or write down my ideas. So what else would one do in such a circumstance but make a binder?!

That's right!

Another binder.

I did some research to figure out what all I needed to consider and plan when it comes to a birthday party. Then I typed it all up into planning sheets. I can use these planning sheets for future birthday parties, too. I'll just print them out again and plan away!

The cover was made using this design by Sarah Helm on TeachersPayTeachers.

  It was editable so I could add my own words.

Here are the pages I made:

 

8 in all. See the pink line in the upper right corner? That's where I've written "1st Birthday - 2014." When I use these sheets next year, I'll write "2nd Birthday - 2015." And so on....

OMG.

I just freaked out a little over that.

....


If you'd like a copy of my planning sheets, you can download them for free here (pdf or Word)! The Word file might be weird looking because of the fonts and formatting. Be advised.

I'm one month away from this party and I'm feeling good! I've been using this binder for a while now and it's helping!!!!

[head cook] Weekly Meal Planning

My background as a classroom teacher has taught me many valuable skills that come in handy as a homemaker.

My classroom was a mecca for organizational fanatics. Everything had a place. And was labeled. Even my labels were labeled.

Told ya.

So it should come as no surprise that my home is the same.

Well, let's be honest here. My home is trying to be the same. It's hard to label everything in your home. I don't want it to look like a classroom. Though that might be dreamy for me...

Anyway, one key part of organizing is utilizing binders. They are everywhere in my home and I use them constantly.

One that I use the most is a part of my weekly meal planning routine.

How many of you can relate to this?


You walk into the grocery store. You've got a few things written down that you need on a paper napkin or the back of an old receipt.... toilet paper, shaving cream, milk. You know you've got to get food for some meals so you'll just decide when you're in there.  

Oh, the spaghetti sauce is on sale. Yes, we'll have spaghetti one night.  

Oh, Rotel, cheese dip sounds good right now.

3 hours later you've got a cart full of groceries and you're spending $300. Plus you forgot toilet paper.

Or this?

It's 5pm and it's time to put together something for you and your family to eat for dinner. You dread this. You sulk into the kitchen and stare aimlessly at your pantry. Then your fridge. Then your freezer.

What did I buy at the grocery store?!?!

You consider take-out. Or fast food. Your end decision is usually one you're unhappy with. And you've totally forgotten that you decided on spaghetti one night.

This used to be me. Especially when I was working and HATED coming home and worrying about dinner.

So I decided to start planning my meals. Then making one big grocery list. And STICKING TO IT. Right now I'm feeding my husband, my infant daughter, and me. So meal planning is considerably easy. I imagine it'll be more difficult when Baby starts eating what we're eating. But I'll figure it out then, just like I did now.

So pick a day. Mine is Sunday. After church, I sit down, plan my meals, and run to the grocery store. This is while Baby is sleeping and husband can be in charge of her. This takes all of 2 hours. Faster if I'm not interrupted.

I've got all I need:
1. Recipes
2. Planning Sheet
3. Grocery List


1. To plan your meals you need a recipe database. I rely on my good ole fashioned recipe box. It has handwritten recipes from my mother, printed online recipes, and recipes I've taken out of the Kraft Food & Family magazine.

Then I always have my iPad handy for finding new ideas or using recipes I've found online and pinned to Pinterest.

I also have a silly little idea that I've used for a while now:

Mexican Mondays.
Tilapia (fish) Tuesdays.
Pasta Wednesdays.
Whatever Thursdays.
Pizza or Leftovers Friday.

I very rarely stray from this. Call me weird if you must, but it works for me. I plan my meals around this. Fish every Tuesday gets a little much so that's usually the day I stray.

2. I have a handy little notepad that I bought from Michaels a few years ago. It has the days listed out along with a shopping list. You can find these anywhere. Or make your own. Or browse online. It's not very big, 8" x 6" so it doesn't take up a lot of room. Plus it has a magnet on the back so I can keep it right on my fridge.

3. After I've planned my meals, I make my grocery list. Here's where you might call me crazy. When I walk into the grocery store, I'm like a machine. I don't want to look at my list and run all over the store. I need all my vegetables listed together, meats together, dairy together, etc. So I found this notepad.

This is great and all, but it still kinda leaves me running all over the store. What I needed was a list that was categorized out in the order of the aisles. But who in the world does that?!? Me.

So I made my own list. Customized to the things we buy the most. And listed in the order of the aisles of my local Kroger. If they ever remodel I'll have to start over. Ehhhh....

You can download a copy of my list here. It's a Word file so you can change it up. The formatting will likely be off though because of the different fonts I used. Be advised.

I keep this list on a clipboard in my kitchen. When we run out of something, I run in there and highlight it on the list. Then when Sunday rolls around and it's time to shop, the house needs are already on there.

So my list is ready and I make a trip to the grocery store and ONLY BUY what's on my list. I allow only a few impulse buys and of course there's always the "oh yeah! I need..." I'm strict because my husband and I have a budget and I absolutely must stick with it.

When I get home from the grocery store I hang my plan on the fridge, along with any recipes that I'm using that week. Every evening there's no guessing what I'm cooking. It's there.

At the end of each week I put my plan in a binder. Then if I'm curious about the last time I cooked something, I can quickly look it up.

Yes, that's a utensil holder that I use for writing tools and the like.

The binder is a small binder from Wal-Mart that fits my meal planning sheets perfectly.

The cover was designed using this fabulous template, available on TeachersPayTeachers. I used the font A Gentle Touch from dafont.com.

This planning saves me money each week because I'm not buying a bunch of food that inevitably won't be eaten. Plus, it has the HUGE benefit of not having to decide each night what to cook!

So I guess being a homemaker involves a lot of thoughtful planning! =)