Like the Car: Party Themes: A Tutorial on How to Make a Party Banner

After helping family and friends decorate so many parties over the years, I've created a recipe for a party banner that really works for me and the aesthetic that I enjoy. This recipe also highlights some of my favorite techniques using my Xyron adhesive machines. For this tutorial, I will be using this Happy Birthday Banner as my sample.

Supplies: Xyron 5" Creative Station (Permanent Adhesive), Xyron Creatopia (Shapez Component), Patterned Paper and Stickers (Echo Park - Splash); Cardstock (American Crafts, Recollections, Neena Paper); Digital Elements (Echo Park - Splash Alpha); Sizzix Framelits - Banners, Pennant Scallop and Banners, Pennant Plain; Martha Stewart Crafts Edger Punch - Threader; Ribbon (American Crafts); Silhouette Cameo with Designer Studio Software.

1. Choose the Papers for the Banner Pennants. I like to use two layers of paper for my banner pennants. The bottom layer is usually scalloped and the top layer a plain version of the same shape. For this whale themed birthday party banner, I used patterned paper from Echo Park - Splash and white cardstock from my scrap stash (a combination of American Crafts, Recollections, and Neena Paper).

2. Cut Out the Banner Pennants. There are a number of options on how too cut out banner pennant shapes. For this banner, I used steel dies (Sizzix Framelits - Banners, Pennant Scallop and Banners, Pennant Plain) and my Xyron Creatopia (Shapez Component).

TIP: My other favorite way to cut pennants is with an electronic die cutting machine. If you're using the Cricut, I absolutely adore the options available on the Birthday Bash Cricut Cartridge. I still own my Cricut just for those banner pennants. If you have a Silhouette, there are a TON of options in the Silhouette Online Store.

3. Adhere Plain Pennants to the Scallop Pennants. Before I owned a Xyron machine, I would use a glue stick or small tape runner to adhere my pennant layers together. WHAT A PAIN!! And if I used a tape runner instead of a glue stick, the edges of my top layer would always catch on something and eventually rip off. Enter Xyron. Edge to edge adhesive that literally takes no time. I used my Xyron 5" Creative Station (Permanent Adhesive) to quickly add adhesive to my white plain pennant shapes. LOVE THIS TECHNIQUE!

And in no time at all, I had a beautiful pile of pennants. To make the holes for the ribbon, I used the Martha Stewart Crafts Edger Punch - Threader. Obviously a normal hole punch would work too. :)

4. Create Banner Sentiment. For the banner sentiment, I place one letter on each pennant with an image on a pennant between words. I usually just use my Silhouette Cameo or Cricut to cut letters large enough to cover 3/4 of the pennant shape. However, I wanted my letters to match the alpha set used in the Echo Park - Splash collection (which I used in the banner pennants and throughout the entire party). Enter digital scrapbooking files!!!

Echo Park sells almost all of their paper collections in a digital format at Jessica Sprague. So with the Echo Park - Splash Alpha downloaded onto my computer, I dragged the letters (PNG files) into the Silhouette Studio Software, resized it, traced them, offset the original images, made sure that the cut lines were there, and then print and cut each letter with a nice white border around it.

5. Adhere Letters to Banner Pennants. To quickly create dimension, I just adhere all of my letters onto the banner pennants with foam tape. This is my second favorite technique using my Xyron machine. MAKE YOUR OWN FOAM TAPE!!!! If you only use your Xyron to make DIY foam tape, it is worth it's weight in gold!

6. Embellish. You can be as simple or fancy as you want. For this banner, I simply added DIY Foam Tape to the back of some stickers that came in the collection pack with my patterned paper and adhered them onto the pennants between the words in the sentiment.

TIP: Sometimes, I will scatter flowers or rosettes or other small embellishments throughout the different banner,

7. String it Up! I used to tie each pennant together using lots of ribbon like this one here. But over the years, I found that it took way too much time and that effort, to me at least, was not worth it. Instead, I simply string either ribbon or twine through the pennant holes and call it a day. That way, I can also move the individual pennants as needed. And even this step still takes me forever (especially when my ribbon is the twice the size as my hole)!

Well I hope that helped give you a basic guideline on how to make your own banner. I've included some images below of other banners I've made and posted on the blog.

Thanksgiving Banner.