How To :: Make A Paper Party Flag

Hello party peeps! Today, with the help of Crafty Jan, I am going to teach you how to make a really simple paper flag. I love this concept so much because you can do so much with it! But we’ll talk about that in a sec. Now, let’s figure out how to make this bad boy.Gather your gear, my dears! You’ll need:
a small wood dowel or a fruit skewer
a wooden bead
tacky glue
pretty glitter (oh that Martha strikes again… she does make the prettiest glitter.)
assorted ribbons
double stick tape (or a trusty tape gun)
paper or design to use as the flag about 8.5″ x 2.75″ – I print on standard 20lb paper so it waves like a flag should!
and a paper plate to catch any messy mess
Crafty Jan makes these a ton so she’s got some great time-saving tricks. So what are we waiting for? Let’s hop to!
1. Dip the tip of your skewer into the glue bottle. So clean and easy! I probably would have poured glue all over the plate. No waste! Love it.
2.  Now put that wood bead onto the glued part of the skewer. Now this is important info right here: WAIT until that glue dries or you will lose that bead on the next step. Isn’t waiting so dang hard?  3. All dry? Okay, now dip the ball into the glue.
4. What you’ve got is a nice little gluey mess. 5. Now use your fingers to make the glue less messy and more uniform.
6. Get ready to dip into the glitter! Same way as dipping into the glue! No mess!7. Out comes a pretty glittered ball. Nice work, Lady! (Or do dudes read this blog too? In that case, nice work to you too, Dude!)
8. Now leave that pretty ball alone. Find a nice place for it to hang out for a bit while we get to the next part. 9. Grab your pretty paper or flag design.10. Now you’ll need to make a little flag cut. An easy way to do this is to gently fold – but NOT crease – the flag at it’s center…
11. …Then snip it diagonally so you’re left with…12. …Something like this!13. Now grab your tape! You’ll need to tape the back of squared edge of the flag. Make the taped area about 1″ or so wide.
14. Fold the taped portion around the skewer. Easy enough, right?15. Make sure you leave a little room between the flag and the glitter ball. This space will be used for ribbons!
16. Speaking of ribbons… grab a few of your favs and either pinch the center of each ribbon together or tie it in a knot.17. Tie the ribbons onto the flag with using your smallest ribbon. Baker’s twine is actually a great option because it’s thin and looks super cute, but you can make anything work!And what do you know? You’re all done! So cute! Now what can you do with a flag like this?
Oh no, no! The question is what can’t you do with a flag like this? They make fun additions to flower arrangements or wine bottles if you need a hostess gift, they’re great for birthday gals or guys, small versions would be darling as place cards, they are cute for the holidays as decorations, and my sister even used one and mailed them out as her daughter’s baby announcement. (If you do want to mail them, lose the bead and just use ribbons. It will mail better and be less expensive to send.)
Have fun creating, friends, and thanks Crafty Jan for your tutorial!
Now let’s all wave our flags as I wave bye bye!

How To :: Make Tissue Poms

So you want to dazzle your friends with floating pom poms, do ya? Okay! You’ve got two options here. 1. Spend beaucoup bucks and buy them on etsy like I did (still a great option if you’re short on time!) or 2. make them yourself! Let’s save some moola and make them ourselves today.You’ll need 8 sheets of tissue paper per pom, floral wire, scissors, and fishing line (or monofilament as the pros call it but I like fishing line.)Start by accordion folding the tissue paper into about 1-ish inch folds. Crease each fold nicely.When you get to this point, wrap that wire around the center and twist, twist, twist. I also attach the fishing line to the wire at this point in the process. It’s easier to do it before you start fluffing the pom.Now cut the edges of the tissue paper in either a V or U shape. Both are super cute. You’ll end up with something like this:Now, layer by layer, gently pull and fluff the tissue paper up, pulling away from the center.Now hang that sucker up and admire your hard work. Repeat about 20 times… or until your hands fall off. Now go grab your husband, mom, friend, or random on the street and make them tell you how creative you are. You know… because we’re only doing all this work for the compliments, right? Oh so pretty! Happy fluffing!
And PS: if you want to learn from the pro, you should really just check out Martha’s pretty tutorial. I try, but I’m no Martha.

How To :: Make Favor Bags Like A Pro

Another simple way to add a little “wow” to a party is by repackaging whatever you are giving as the favor. Whether it be a knick knack, candy, a cookie, or a little flower clip like this, it makes saying “thanks for coming” so much cuter.Print your design or find a pretty paper you’d like to use, and cut it down to the width + about 1/4 inch of the cellophane bag you are using. Height should be about 3.75″ unfolded, and just less than 2″ folded.Cut your design down to size……and if you’re feeling extra crafty, you can add something small on the back (like “love, your name” or in this case, my web address.) Just make sure it’s upside down when it’s printed. That way you’ll ensure that when you fold it, both sides will be right side up.If your cellophane bag is too long for what you’re putting inside, give it a trim and get ready to assemble.I used this tape gun (probably the most useful thing I own) but you can also use double stick tape or a stapler-which is the easiest route.After putting your favor inside the bag, you can tape it shut if that helps. Then, tape the outer edges and sides of your folded paper.Make sure you keep the tape as close to the edge as possible so that when you fold it over the bag, it sticks to the other side of the label… remember it should hang over about an eighth of an inch on each side. And there you have it!Here’s the same flower in a smaller bag that I stapled instead of taping. Same idea, but much easier. Both look great. Have fun repackaging! And coming up one day soon, I will teach you how to make that flower.

How To :: Make Personalized Water Bottle Labels

One really simple party trick that we beat to death use a ton around here is make personalized water bottle labels. This is the easiest thing in the world but adds so much to a party. How to do it? Well, keep reading my dear.First, figure out what you want to put on the water bottle. I keep the image to 8.5″ wide by 1.5″ tall and repeat the design so that it fits onto an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. I realize that you may not be able to design something from scratch on your computer but don’t fear! You can use clipart, just type something fun like “Happy Birthday George!”, or even just use pretty paper from your nearest craft store. I print on standard 20 lb. white paper. Nothing fancy here, my friends.Once you’ve got your design printed out, get out a paper cutter (or scissors) and chop, chop, chop it into 8.5″x1.5″ strips. Don’t fuss about being exact. Just eyeball it but keep it in that size ballpark.Now you have your labels! Big pats on the back! Grab a water bottle and strip it of that ugly wrapper it comes with.Ahh! Much better already! Now get out some clear packaging tape.Then rip a strip that’s just a little bit longer than the label… say 9 inches or so.Lay the tape sticky side up and place the label pretty side down on top of it, leaving room around all sides for the tape to show.Oooh… we’re getting closer!Make sure to leave about 1/4 inch of tape (or more) on the end of each label.Now it’s time to put that sucker on!I start by positioning the main graphic where I want it to go, then wrap one side then the other around the bottle.Don’t get your knickers in a twist if the back doesn’t match up. You will go insane if you try to make it perfect (especially if you’re having a big party) and no one will notice or care. And who likes a fussy host? Oh, not me!
The only drawback to wrapping the bottles with tape is that if you put the finished products into a tub of ice, the ink will smear and your pretty design will look dreary. I just keep the water room temp and no one ever seems to mind.So kazaam! You’re done! And just like that, you’re so super cool! The toast of the town! They will be singing your praises in the streets of your city! And all because you’re making the world a prettier place one water bottle at a time.