Image

Archive for printables – Page 10

make . DIY Paper Stars

paperstars1

Last month, we celebrated my oldest son’s 8th birthday around the Montgomery household! While I was getting over the shock that he could possibly be eight, I decided to create some fun decorations for our dining room chandelier. We decided to have just a “family party” rather than a “kid party” with friends this year, but I still wanted him to feel special — for a couple of weeks 🙂

Maybe I’ll share the “8yo Birthday Blast-Off” rocket centerpiece I made him to hang from the light in another post, but for this one I decided to offer a little how-to on some paper stars I created for the rocket’s airspace. These are really simple, and you can make them with any solid or patterned paper. I decided to print out some silly patterns in the colors I wanted, and you can download those if you like them. The stars are so whimsical that those white spaces left at the edges when you “print to page” from an inkjet printer aren’t even noticeable. So, I can even see these stars as a neat and festive way to recycle used printouts! Enjoy and have a blast in your own starry celebrations!

paperstars2

What you’ll need:

>> Sheets of paper — any size, where the width = about 1/3 the length.
** I used a 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet cut in half to make two stars
[you’ll need that approximate width/length to be sure your star can easily open to a full circle]
>> Tape
>> Scissors
>> Twine or string

paperstars3 paperstars4 paperstars5 paperstars6

How to make it:

1. Gather your materials so you’re ready to begin — the more fun the paper and string, the better!

2. Fold your piece of paper accordion style along the narrow side. It doesn’t matter how wide the fold it, just try to keep it consistent.

3. When your folding is complete, cut the strip in half. You’ll be able to make a star out of each half? When cut, carefully fold the strip in half. You can use a straight-edge to help crease the fold. Then, tie a string around your folded strip at the crease.

4. Now you can get creative! Using the scissors, cut various shapes into the sides and/or ends of the folded strip. Your cuts will create light holes for more twinkly stars.

5. Pull the top and bottom ends of the accordion folds toward each other and secure with tape to create a full circle. you’ll tape on the opposite end of a fold as shown above.

6. Thread a string or ribbon through one of the star holes and you’re ready to hang for a stellar celebration!

paperstars7

make . Easter Cards & Bookmarks [printable]

blog_basket1

Two weeks ago when the kids and I went to our family farm for Spring Break, my intention was to have some creative down time. And, I did! But, I also took my watercolor paints. As things happen, I really enjoyed getting to play around with them and just have fun with the joy of painting. I painted some plein air landscapes as we enjoyed the outdoors, and I also created a few fun illustrations springing from some of my sketch journal entries. My daughter enjoyed the bunny creations, so I decided to turn them into some sweet little printables for Easter. There are a set of two printable notecards and three bookmarks that could also double as jumbo gift tags. I hope you enjoy them as you celebrate Easter with your little bunnies.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLES

blog_basket2

PLOP_easterprintable-1 PLOP_easterprintable-2

making . Saint Patrick’s Day Mini-Banner [printable]

We’re “hangers” around here. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I hang decorations and signs and pictures to the wrought-iron chandelier above our dining table every chance I get. Whether it’s “happy birthday” banners across the picture window or the latest crayon creations on the entryway or even Baby Girl’s intricate tape sculptures on my office door, we all seem to get into the “hanging” mood. And, I love it! I love the chance to create an air of celebration out of just ordinary days.

I’ve been inspired by some of the really cool paper DIY banners popping up around the internet these days! So, last week I decided to design one of my own in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day…

pats6

For my DIY mini banner, I decided OUR Saint Patrick’s Day message should be B.L.E.S.S.E.D. The “luck of the Irish” is tons of fun and you can’t go wrong wearing green, in my opinion! BUT, I don’t really believe all our abundant blessings come from that “lucky” clover. They are birthed from God’s gracious hand, paired with our own hard work, the love and generosity of those around us and a pinch of the amazement God set in motion when He made this great world with humans beings in it. So, BLESSED, it is!

I put together some mini-banner flags that can be strung together and hung in celebration of March. AND, with the extra space on the printable, I also threw in a couple of “pinch me anyway” mini folded notes with a more traditional St. Patty’s feel.

Feel free to DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE HERE.

pats1

What you’ll need:
>> card stock to print the PDF file
>> cutting mat
>> x-acto or small utility knife
>> metal straight edge
>> string or ribbon for hanging
>> glue

pats2 pats3 pats4 pats5 pats9

How to make it:
1. Print both pages of your “printable” PDF onto white card stock paper. The flags are set up so that your banner will read “blessed” from both front and back.

2. Cut out the diamond shapes of your mini flags using a utility knife and straight edge. On the printable, you’ll cut along the diagonal lines. [Save the horizontal lines for scoring only]

3. Now, use your straight edge and a very light touch with your knife to score the center line of each diamond shape and fold to create your triangular flags.

4. Arrange the mini flags in the right order with your string positioned in the crease. You can determine the space between each flag.

5. Squeeze some glue onto the lower triangle and press the two sides together. I drew a small triangle with the glue, keeping it away for the edges and about a half inch from the string in the crease. This way the flags are secure enough to stay in place when hung, but you can also carefully slide them if you want to change the spacing.

6. Give it a couple of minutes to dry. Then, hang and be blessed!

** For your mini folded notes, just cut out the rectangular shapes (the printable includes 2 folded notes) and score at the center line to fold. The notes would be pretty cute as placecards or mini tabletop decorations!

pats7 pats8

A Birthday Project

This past weekend, we had a fun time with a Pirate birthday party for my 7-year-old. It’s always fun for me to do silly projects for my kiddos, so I thought I would share. I created a mustache-wearing pirate party invitation with a fold-over eye patch and a sucker for an “earring.” I got a “cool” from said 7yo, so I claimed that as a success.

To put the invitation together, I found some black decorative tape with numbers printed on it in my tape jar to create a silly flag on those big, round “bank” suckers. I threaded the stick through slits in the invitation to hold the eye patch flap in place.

I’ve included a generic version of the invitation here that you can print if there is a pirate birthday celebration coming up in your family. Just click the sample instructions below to download a pdf copy. Ahoy Matey!

Divider Footer