Happy Birthday Banner

Tuesday at MOPS we did this really fun craft that I just had to show yall!  It's a Birthday banner made out of cardstock and scrapbook paper! Here's how we did it.

What you need:

4 patterned scrapbook pages. (12 x 12) (pick one pattern that you really like and get 2 pages of that same pattern. Then choose two other patterns that match the color scheme of the first. This will leave you with 3 different patterns.)
4 plain colored cardstock  also 12 x 12 (you'll want 2 different colors)
2 scrapbook pages to trace your letters on. It can be black, white, or another color that matches your theme.
Glue stick
scissors
pen
letter stencil
Ribbon or yarn.

First you'll need to cut your cardstock and scrapbook pages into individual squares. For the cardstock you'll want to fold it into 4's

(note: Because I started this craft at MOPS I didnt have any 12 x 12 pages at home! So for illustrative purposes I just used a regular 8x11 page. hope this doesnt confuse you!)

Cut along the lines either using scissors, or for a cleaner cut if you have it use a paper cutter!

For the patterned paper you want it to be slightly smaller than the background cardstock. So before you fold and cut it into 4's, measure and cut 1.5" inches off two sides.  Bear with me as I try and explain this: You're starting out with a 12 x 12 page. measure out 1.5 inches off of any side and cut. Now you will have a long side and a short side. Turn the page and measure 1.5 inches off the short side and cut that off. Now you're done and can fold your patterned pages into 4's and cut.

(I wanted to explain that so you didnt cut an inch and a half off of all 4 sides! )

You'll end up with fun extra strips that you can choose to use later!

Now you will lay out your cardstock alternating colors. Remember for the cardstock we only have two colors.  Mine were navy and yellow. There will be a few extra pieces so just lay out 13 squares, enough for the "happy birthday".    Now you will glue on your patterned paper in a pattern! Start with the pattern you chose that you had 2 pages of. this will work out nicely. 

You should be able to do one, two, three. with your pattern.  Mine were polka dots, swirls, then stripes. It kind of looks random but because the colors are complimentary it looks pretty! If you start with your main pattern then you'll end with it too. 

Now trace your letters out.  Trace them backwords on your page. This way when you go to cut them out you cant see the lines you drew when tracing!  We were supplied with some letters to trace around but you can use whatever stencil/font you want for this. This is especially easy if you have a silhouette machine! I'm dieing to get one! maybe for mother's day ;) So I had to spend the time tracing and cutting :)

See what I mean with the lines? So trace them backwards so they look nice and pretty :)

Ta-da! Now you are ready to glue them on your squares!

I wanted to add something a little more to mine so I cut some little shapes out of the extra strips from earlier and glued them on to kind of create a little patchwork look. I used some pinking shears to make the jagged pattern

To hang it up you punch holes in the corners of the squares and string either ribbon, or yarn through.  I didnt have any matching ribbon on hand so I used yarn.  I wanted the yarn to be a little thicker so I took three strands and braided them together. I think it turned out cute!

You can choose to keep the yarn behind each square or in front. I alternated.  I can't wait to use this! what a fun way to say happy birthday. And because it's home made it's even more special.  You can make this as a gift, or just keep it at home and have a fun decoration for last minute!  

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