Showing posts with label Party Banners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Party Banners. Show all posts

Monday, October 1, 2012

Eerie & Cheery Halloween Party Ideas

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for. I get so excited every Halloween to see all of the little trick-or-treaters knocking on my door and what costumes they've chosen that year.  Because of this, I really prefer to decorate with a cheery, kid-friendly Halloween style. That's why I was so thrilled to collaborate with Party City on an Eery and Cheery Halloween Party for some little friends this year.

Halloween Printable Pictures

Party City has a fabulous selection of kids costumes from the latest cartoon and superheros characters to updated classics, like the adorable Frankenstein, Skeleton, Candy Corn Witch, Black Cat, and Vampire costumes you see in these fantastic shots captured by Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer. If you ever need family photos or a special event photographed in the North Alabama area, Sarah is the best.

Cute Halloween Costumes from Party City
Halloween Photos of Kids Parties

Plus, Party City really has everything you need to get a party going from big decorations to little details like this small ornate picture frame featuring one of my mini "Happy Halloween" candy bar wrappers. And, you know me...I love details! Plus, they've got a great selection of candy for any type of celebration, especially if you love to color coordinate your treats like I do. Party City even has lots of elegant, shimmery plastic serving pieces that would be lovely enough to use for Thanksgiving.

Halloween Candy Party City

I love creating a fun focal point for my parties with a touch of unexpected. I used five black tissue paper fans from Party City to create a dramatic backdrop for my Printable "Trick or Treat" party banner.  In front of that, I used two coordinating 12 ft tissue paper garland to create a unique up-side-down pumpkin chandelier for the party. These tissue paper fans and garland give you a lot of bang for your buck and are super easy to work with!

Printable Halloween Party

What's a spooky Halloween party without some sweets? Party City has all of the candy you need for Halloween, too. You've probably seen me use Party City's solid gumballs for parties in the past.  They are such a fabulous way to add a pop of color, and you should see how excited the kids get to reach inside a candy jar of these.  That's why these gumballs are a must-have for any of my kids' parties.  I also got some candy corn, ghost Peeps, and cute black candy sticks there, too. Even though the candy sticks are black, they have a super yummy grape flavor and don't leave your mouth dyed black, which I love for keeping the kids cute and clean in their costumes.

Halloween Dessert Buffet
Halloween Pics from Kids Party

The main attraction of the menu were definitely the fabulous cookies designed by Lindsey Agree of Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique.  They were so stunning in person with a sparkly finish and intricate details. Not only did they perfectly coordinate with the eerie and cheery Halloween Printables, but they also tasted AMAZING with a hint of almond extract that made them absolutely irresistible. Lindsey was fantastic to work with, too.  I sent her some inspiration images, and she came up with these coordinating cookies that couldn't have been more perfect on this shimmery plastic tray from Party City.  Lindsey books up fast, so if you'd like to get some holiday cookies, place your order now.  Sarah Brewer and I have already booked her for our Christmas cookies...yes, they are that good!  Lindsey ships, too.

Halloween Cookies by Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique
Halloween Sweets by Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique

We had lots of easy Halloween snacks at the party, too, such as Ghost S'Mores, Candy Corn Popcorn Balls, Mini Chocolate Bars, Little Debbie Cupcakes, Witch's Potion Punch, and Cutie Clementines for a healthy treat.

Halloween Snacks for Party
Halloweeen Food for Kids Party
Printable Wrappers for Halloween Candy Bars

And, what's a Belly Feathers Party without a party favor? I couldn't resist sending the kids home with a little something cute from a party. These adorable chevron bags came from Hey Yo Yo, and I added a little Halloween flair by attaching the mini candy bar wrappers from my Halloween Printables collection to the front.  You can have so much fun with printables by using the items in unexpected ways like this.  Inside the bag, I added a fun little trumpet flute whistle from Party City that was STEAL at only 35 cents, along with a package of Little Debbie Orange Peanut Butter crackers that perfectly coordinated with the party's color scheme.  Plus, the kids got to load up their bags with as many Halloween sweets as they wanted...there were a lot of questions about those gumballs and candy sticks, let me tell you!

Halloween Printable Party Favors

This party has too many details to share in just one post, so stay tuned all month long to learn more about the Party City costumes, Halloween treats, decorations, easy craft how-tos, and more. For a larger list of my favorite Halloween party items from Party City, check out this Halloween - Party City Favorites board on Pinterest.

Party City, Click Photo Designs, Tickled Pink Cookie Boutique, & Belly Feathers
Sources:
Party City - candy, costumes, frame, paper fans, streamers, orange serving platter, favor whitsles
Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer - photography
Tickeled Pink Cookie Boutique - cookies
Hey Yo Yo - Straws, monster mix cups, treat bags
Belly Feathers - Halloween Party Printables and event styling

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Paper Doll Tea Party :: Sweet Simplicity

Paper Dolls Tea Party

Ever since I saw Lily & Thistle's Mini Me Paper Dolls, I have been *dreaming* about throwing a Paper Dolls Tea Party.  I absolutely love that you can personalize the dolls to look like your daughter and her friends. Plus, there's just something charming and timeless about paper dolls that goes perfectly with a tea party. Well, this grown-up little girl got her wish thanks to some help from my good friend Sarah Brewer at Click Photo Designs, Bonnie Blue Boutique, Madison Living magazine, and of course,  the very talented Hannah Stevenson at Mini Me Paper Dolls.

Printable Paper Dolls

I had so much fun cutting out these paper dolls! I went with Mini Me's printable option, which super affordable and allows you to print off as many copies as you want.  For example, you could have a paper doll designed to look like your daughter for $14.50 and give a copy to all of the guests at her party for one flat price. If you're having a small party, it's super special to have a doll designed to look like each of your guests (discounted party packages are available), and you can print off copies of all of these friends for your daughter to play with long after the party. As guests arrive, I highly recommend having scissors, so they can start cutting out outfits for their paper dolls. Have fun bling like rhinestones, glitter, mini flowers, ribbon, and other accessories for them to add extra flair, too.

Dress Up Tea Party

Tulle is one of my go-to crafting supplies because its so easy to work with and makes a big impact.  It was perfect for adding a little flair to this tea tray I found at Home Goods. (By the way, I'm so excited to finally be getting a Home Good in my town...YAY!)  I found some adorable punch cups at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store, which were perfect of a little girl's tea party. Thanks to my Facebook fan, Shannon Belew, for tipping me off to all the great finds there.

Personalized Paper Dolls

Even though it's a tea party, I think pink lemonade is a little more fun and girly, so I served that up decanted in these inexpensive bottles from IKEA. I kept the menu super simple: pink lemonade, teddy grahams, iced sugar cookies, and gumballs.

Easy Tea Party Cookies Cakes

Aren't these tea cookies cute?!  I just stacked up mini frosted cookies from the Target bakery and poked a ribbon-topped sandwich pick through the center. I love to bake, but as full-time working girl, its nice just to take something store bought and make it fab.

Kids High Tea Party

One of the biggest hits at the tea party were these Teddy Grahams.  Who would have thought?!  I'll definitely be adding these to more of my kids party menus. If you haven't seen my trick for making candy jars look fuller with less contents, you have to check it out.  I definitely used that in all my jars at this party, including the gumball jar below.

Paper Dolls Printable Party

Paper dolls aren't just for play. They make wonderful decorations in this shadow box and peeking out of the flower arrangement.

Paper Dolls Party Girls

Love the coincidence of how close their outfits a match in this shot.  You can get a better look at some of the glitter sparkle I added to the paper doll's cotton candy, too...I had so fun blinging up my paper dolls.

Party Bubbles Favors

Sarah Brewer did such a fantastic job of capturing the personality of all the little girls at the party.  Love this precious smile! Bubbles are my favorite party favor for little ones, too.  You'll get lots of smiles with these at a party for sure.

Tea Party Menu for Girls

All of the adorable outfits at the party were provided by Bonnie Blue Boutique in Meridianville, AL.  The two outfits above from Persnickety Clothing are my favs...so frilly.

Customizable Paper Dolls Party

All of the little girls wanted to take the lid off of the tea pot to see what was inside.  If you don't serve tea out of your tea pot, I highly recommend hiding some little surprises for the curious ones at your event.

Mini Bubbles Party Favors

As I mentioned, mini bubbles are one of my favorite party favors for children's parties, and I love to "serve" them up on cake pedestals. It's a great way to give them a more prominence on your table and add height to your display.

Pretty paper Dolls Party

This is my other favorite Persnickety Clothing outfit picked by Bonnie Blue Boutique....so precious!

Tea Pot Party

I think details make a party.  Even my little tea bags got a custom heart-shaped tea party tag. I also love the pop of color the blue gumballs provide in all the shots. Party City has a great selection of large and small gumballs by color, so it was easy to find the perfect shade of blue to match the paper doll tea party's decor.

Paper Dolls Sweets Table

If you'd like to see even more inspiration photos from this Paper Dolls Tea Party, check out the online version of Madison Living magazine on Facebook. I'm so thrilled that the party made the cover!

Madison Living Tea Party

Sources & Credits
Photography: Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer
Wardrobe: Bonnie Blue Boutique featuring Persnickety Clothing
Printable Paper Dolls: Mini Me Paper Dolls
Publication: Madison Living Magazine
Cookies: Target
Candy: Party City
Serving Pieces: Salvation Army Thrift Store, IKEA, Home Goods
Styling and Design: Belly Feathers

Monday, August 22, 2011

How to Have a Successful Yard Sale - Pro Tips

My husband and I are pro yard salers - from both the buying and selling perspective.  We love to load our pockets down with quarters and head out on a Saturday morning for treasures.

Yard Sale Flyers for Free
 
At our own Yard Sale this month, we put all of our years of experience to good use and raked in $913!! What's even more incredible about that is that we didn't have any big-ticket items.  Our most expensive items were
  • $40 - Gigantic framed art piece
  • $15 - Toro weedeater
  • $10 - Toro lawn blower
  • $5 - Headboard/footboard for full-size bed
  • $5 - Collector Barbies, in boxes but obviously opened and LOVED!
  • $1 - 0.50 each for almost everything else
I know you can do just as good or better taking our collective wisdom and running with it.

Here are our tips for for a successful yard sale!

Garage Sale Sign

  • Decide on your #1 Yard Sale goal
    In yard sale speak, this is either to 1) get rid of unwanted things or 2) make money.  Ideally, you want to do both, but knowing what your top priority is ahead of time will help you set a strategy for all of your yard sale preparations, stay focused at the sale, and have no regrets once its over.  If your #1 goal is to get the top price for each of your items, you won't feel bad turning away low-ball offers in the morning.  However, if you ultimately want everything gone, let that stack of books go for $2.  That's better than having to box them back up at the end of the day...why risk not finding another buyer to take them off your lawn?

    Our goal was ultimately to get rid of clutter and not bring anything (well, almost anything) back inside our house, while having a little fun and making some cash in the process.  That's why when we later noticed that a small stereo had been stolen from our sale, our goal kept us from getting upset because we ultimately wanted to get rid of it...besides if someone is so desperate that they need to steal from a yard sale, more power to them! Having a sense of humor is good to have, too!

  • Have way more than you expect to sell
    If you want people to pull over at your sale, you need a lot of stuff to make it worth their while...more than you think you'll sell.  Looking picked over will not be to your advantage, especially late in the day.  Keeping your #1 goal in mind, scour you house with a rutheless eye for stuff to help you reach your target, especially in the last week or two before your sale.  I like to always keep a bag stashed in cabinets or a box hidden under cloth-covered tables around my house for holding yard sale items throughout the year.  When these stashes become unmanageable, it's Yard Sale time!  Then a few weeks before the sale, my husband and I clean out closets, cabinets, and drawers throughout the house. When you start to feel wishy-washy about what should stay or go, break out your #1 priority for the sale, and ask yourself how that item fits with the goal.  That will help you decided whether it goes in the yard sale pile or not. If you still don't have enough stuff for a yard sale, ask a few friends to join in and yard sale with you.

  • One man's trash is another man's treasure - So true!
    You may think to yourself, "This will never sell," or "I'd be embarrassed to put this out...who would want it?" Don't doubt yourself, and just put it out anyway.  Some items that surprisingly have sold well at my yard sales are Martha Stewart Living magazines, half used body sprays and lotions, technical books on dated subjects/concepts, and dingy white t-shirts and dress shirts with ring around the collar.  I always feel the later is a reflection on my poor laundry skills...totally embarrassing to me. Somebody, let me in on that ancient Chinese secret! However, at our sale, I was glad I put them out anyway because almost all of them sold...crazy!  Those shirts alone probably made us at least $20 richer.

  • Look cute, festive, and tidy
    You can really differentiate yourself from other sales here and make it impossible for people to drive by without stopping. Doing this will help you attract a better clientelle, too...people who don't normally yard sale will be willing to stop, and often, they have more cash to spend.  Create a bright, coordinated atmosphere by covering your mis-matched folding tables with dollar-store table cloths.  I'm a cheapsake, so I trimmed some of the plastic table cloths in half to cover smaller tables.  This alone goes a long way.  You can do even more by making a party-style Yard Sale banner to hang (download my free Yard Sale Printables for a template) or by tying a few balloons from Dollar Tree to your mailbox.  When you get your items ready to put out, wipe off any dust or cobwebs...I recommend doing this a week or so before on your bigger items, especially ones that have been in the attic or garage.  I've been known to ignore some interesting items at Yard Sales solely because they were too yucky to put in my car, so I definitely didn't want any deterrents like this at my yard sale. 

    Yard Sale How To Instructions

  • Plan your Yard Sale display ahead of time
    Don't just think you're going to string a line from two trees to hang clothes at the yard sale.  The week before, get the rope out and give it a try.  Often times, you'll find you need a different plan...or wonder, "Where in the world did I put that rope?" These are not mysteries you want to try to solve on the morning of your yard sale.  Maybe you'll want to borrow some extra tables from friends.  We've found that a broom stick between a tree's branches and a ladder makes a really sturdy clothes rack (won't sag all of the clothes together in the middle like a rope).  A piece of paneling or plywood on upside-down buckets or recycling bins can make really nice low tables, too...great for putting toys at kid-level!

  • Merchandise - pretend like you're opening your own Macy's department store for the day
    Think like a store merchandiser, and put some thought into where items should be placed.  I like to put something good like furniture close to the street as a draw, and then have a large, eye-catching item at the back of the driveway to draw people from the street all the way back through my entire stock of goods.  Ever wondered why grocery stores put the milk and eggs at the back of the store?  They want you to walk through the cookie and potato chip isle first, so you'll load up your cart on the way.  Learn from their example!  I had a gigantic framed art piece that I placed toward the back of my yard sale, and it worked like a charm to draw people back to get a good look.  Don't be afraid to rearrange items during the sale to get this effect once you figure out what items keep attracting attention.

    Yard Sale Stickers Price Tags

    If you have the luxury of being able to set everything up for your yard sale in your garage the night before, that's the way to go because you can get super organized! Of course, does that make it a garage sale and not a yard sale?...no worries, these tips still apply!  You want to group like items together to make them easy to find: women's clothes, men's clothes, craft supplies/tools, books, kitchen gadgets, picture frames, electronics, etc. We didn't have that luxury, so our sale was a big disorganized mess at the beginning.  No problem, because that leads to my next tip...

  • Don't let early birds get you frazzled
    In fact, use those early birds to your advantage...they're more than willing to help you bring out and unpack boxes. These people are professionals!  I don't care how early you try to set up before the start-time of your sale, these people will be lurking and ready to pounce.  This can be a little stressful because things won't get put out and organized the way you want, but you'll have all day to get things sorted out...rearranging and looking busy actually attracts more people to stop by.  When dealing with early birds, you'll also be glad you had a #1 goal in mind.  If your main goal is to make money, you won't feel bad turning away low-ball offers.  But, be smart about it!  Be polite and offer to take down their name and number in case that item is still available at the end of the day...you might both come out really happy in this case.

  • Price with your Yard Sale goal in mind
    I'm a big fan of not having anything priced at your yard sale because when people go to negotiate, a lot of times they name a price higher than what I have in mind...SCORE!  Plus, this makes less work for you because you don't have to tag every single thing or reduce the tagged prices as the day goes on. On some big ticket items, you may want to mark a dollar value if you're not willing to accept less than a certain price.  Even if you don't tag, it's good to have some general price guidelines in mind ahead of time, which you can note on signs, such as Books - $1, Magazines $0.25, etc. if you want.  If your #1 goal is to make money, you probably do want to go through the extra trouble to price tag all of your items, though, so you can put some thought into how much each item should sell for.  This makes things fool-proof if you need to step inside and let someone else man the register for a few minutes, too.

    How to Have a Yard Sale

  • Knowing what to say to improve sales
    After years of yard sales shopping, I've witnessed a few techniques that caused me to hand over a little extra cash for items, so of course, I made note!  Apply these in a warm, polite manner, and you'll do well. I don't recommend doing anything that would make you feel smarmy at the end of the day, so ultimately, do what feels comfortable for you.

    • "Whatever you think is fair..." or "Just name a fair price..."
      You may find it hard go with an un-marked pricing style. For cases like this, I recommend placing a few signs up around your sale that say, "Make an offer," to let people know how to approach you.  Then if someone asks you the price of something, break out a variation of, "Whatever you think is fair."  This can stop a low-ball offer in its tracks...works like a charm!  Be prepared for them to say, "I don't know..." To this I just continue with, "Oh, just make an offer that you think is fair." A yard sale customer feels happy when they get something at a price that pleases them, and if they name the price, that is generally what happens.  Plus, remember I said earlier that if I let the customer name the price, they'll generally offer more than I had in mind.

    • "No reasonable offer refused"
      This can really create a buying frenzy, so whether you verbalize this phrase or just put up a few signs at your entrance and "cash register", absolutely use it! (See my free Printable Yard Sales Signs for these.) Keep in mind, you get to decided what's reasonable. If someone throws out an offer that's too low, just politely decline.  In these cases, I might give them a counter offer to let them know where I expect the price to be.

      Yard Sale Signs to Print

    • "Hmmm..." and a ton of awkward silence
      You'll have some customers that won't name a price; use this phrase.  Or if someone names a low-ball price; use it here, too.  This is just a good all-purpose way to encourage them to make an offer or up their price.  I like to throw in a "no" head shake or maybe a crazy confused face along with this for good measure to give the buyer some visual clues as to what I think about their price...seriously, try it.  You'll be shocked at some of the nice offers you get, as a result...the awkward silence is really the key.

    • Use some positive customer quotes to your advantage
      If someone tells you something positive about the sale, use this to whip up a buyer frenzy.  I do this by loudly saying, "Thanks!" in response, and then shouting back to my husband across the entire yard sale, "Did you hear that, Rog?  She said we have the best yard sale prices, she's seen all year."  This with get other yard salers excited, and lets them know that good things are happening right NOW.  Encourage them to snatch things up before they are gone.

    • "Are you looking for anything in particular?"
      Be as helpful as you can to your customers.  I'm not a very pushy person by nature, but if I notice someone is holding a skirt and I have a top that matches perfectly, I'd be doing them a disservice if I didn't at least point it out to them...who am I to keep them from finding their new favorite outfit?! ( ;  This phrase is particularly good to use with early birds, especially if you haven't had a chance to unpack and set every thing up.  Chances are they saw something in your yard sale ad that piqued their interest, so be sure to find out what it is and unpack those things first....whatever they're looking for, help them find it.  A lot of people don't feel comfortable saying that they came solely for XYZ and will just leave...don't let them.

  • Identify unknown or confusing items
    It may be hard for your customers to figure out what something is. Give them some visual clues if you can, and then place a little sign or tag on it stating what it is.  This will go a long way in facilitating the sale of these things, as you won't always have the time to notice someone staring at this item and get the opportunity to explain.  For example, I had a fold-able rack for wrapping paper and ribbon.  Who knows what it is when it's just sitting bare, so I put an almost-gone roll of wrapping paper on it, along with a tag explaining that it was great for Christmas wrapping. I included some large blank price tags and tent signs in my free Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags package precisely for this reason. Noting the history of an item might be helpful for adding value, too...people like a good story. 


    Printable Yard Sale Price Tags for Free

  • Be prepared
    A little preparation will make the big day go a lot smoother and help you sell more.

    • Have a lot of small change on hand...more than you think you'll need.  For our sale, I withdrew $50 from the bank - 1-$10, 2- $5, and 30 - $1 bills.  Then I pulled a bunch of quarters out of my husband's change stash.  Be sure to note how much change you have on hand, so you won't count this in your profit at the end of the day. Also, know that a lot of people will pay with $20 bills.
       
    • Save up lots of plastic shopping bags, as well as some newspaper for wrapping breakables.  Having some spare boxes can help people carry off their treasures.  Offer boxes to customers holding a lot of items, too, to encourage them to buy more than they can easily carry.
       
    • Keep a roll of paper towels or Swiffers around for wiping off dust or cobwebs you might have missed.
       
    • Have an extension cord, power strip, or plug around, so people can try things before they buy.  When people ask if something works, offer them the plug....this will go a long way toward buyer confidence and help you fetch a better price.
     
  • Create the yard sale you'd want to go to
    When it comes to all other yard sale decisions, just put yourself in your clients shoes to help you come to a conclusion.  For example, I'm not a morning person, so I usually hit yard sales up late in the day. If the ad or sign says, it extends until 1:00 or later, then it will make my cut of places to go that day.  Of course, we didn't want to miss out on those early birds either, so we set our yard sale hours for 7:00 am - 2:00 pm.

  • Get creative with your Yard Sale goal - our "FREE HOUR"
    Throughout your sale, make sure you're hitting your goal. Yard Sales are fluid, so don't be afraid to change your strategy midstream.  If something isn't working, try something else.  Toward the end of the sale, we realized we still had a lot of stuff that we'd have to pack up and haul away.  Keeping in mind our #1 goal was to get rid of  clutter, my husband came up with the brilliant idea to do a Free Hour for the last hour of our sale. At this point, we took out a few items that we decided we'd keep or sell on Craigslist. Then when people walked up, we just told them whatever they wanted was free and to take as much as they wanted. I wish we could have bottled the joy people expressed!!  It was absolutely incredible to watch people light up when we told them. We helped them, and they helped us. Such an awesome feeling that I can't even describe it....absolutely one of the best things we've ever done.

    Garage Sale Tips

  • Advertise your Yard Sale
    This is such an important piece of the yard sale puzzle that I'll be devoting an entire post to advertising and signage in the future! (Did I mention my full-time job is in marketing, and that I have a degree in advertising?) But for now the basics...create a Craigslist post, or if your area doesn't have Craigslist, an ad in your local newspaper might be a good bet. Try to think of other advertising options you have, such as classified listings at work or your church bulletin.

  • Schedule end-of-sale charity pick-ups earlier in the week
    It's pretty hard to find a charity that will do same-day pick up of your leftover items, at least it was in our area. From talking with many operators, I learned it's best to schedule these at least a week in advance, so they'll show up shortly after your sale ends.  If you don't mind making a delivery, our Salvation Army had the most convenient Saturday drop-off hours for us, as they were open a lot later into the afternoon.

  • Have fun!
    We met lots of great people at our yard sale and had a great time chatting. Plus, I always enjoy seeing something I really like find a new home that will love and enjoy it...sometimes, that makes it a lot easier to let things go.
Do you have any great Yard Sale tips and tricks?  I'd love to hear them!!  Please post a comment, share on Facebook or Twitter, or shoot me an email at Betsy@BellyFeathers.com.

Printable Yard Sale Signs Free 11x17 inches

Be sure to download my cute Printable Yard Sale Signs and Price Tags, too!  They're FREE!

Free Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags

When you have cute Yard Sale Signs, you can attract a better clientele.  That's why I decided to design these Printable Yard Sale Signs & Price Tags for my own garage sale, and now, I'm sharing them with you for FREE!!

Free Printable Yard Sale Signs

I've been designing more and more Printable Party Invitations and Party Supplies for my customers over the last few months.  They're a great way to get a variety of highly coordinated party supplies at a small flat rate.  Once you get your Printable PDF, you can print unlimited copies of the items you need. Plus, they give you the flexibility to get creative and use the graphics in new ways...so much fun!

Yard Sale Stickers and Price Tags

I know I had a fantastic time playing with my Yard Sale Printables.  I had originally designed some graphics for small circular price tags, and then I discovered they would make perfect cards for displaying (and keeping together) earrings for sale! See what I mean about getting creative and having fun?! My jewelry looked so cute on these cards that all of my pieces were snatched up within the first couple of hours...part of that had to be due to the presentation.

Printable Yard Sale Signs Free

Check out my Tips for a Successful Yard Sale.  My husband and I made $913 at our yard sale this month!!

What are you waiting for?!
  Download these Printable Yard Sale Signs and Price Tags now! I promise you'll get a lot of compliments...I did!

Monday, May 2, 2011

DIY Mexican Paper Flags: Easy Papel Picado Alternative

When I was planning my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party, I immediately decided I wanted Mexican Paper Flags, also known as papel picado. If you've ever seen photos of these flags hanging over streets in Mexico, you know how festive they look. However, these can be kind of pricy to purchase, as they should be considering the intricate designs cut into the tissue paper by hand.

Cinco de Mayo Decorations
Photo by Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs

My easy alternative was inspired by a DIY Bunting Tutorial on Project Wedding. I love the clean lines! You can leave your flags blank or stamp a pretty design on them like I did.

DIY Mexican Paper FlagsHow to Make Mexican Paper Flags

Supplies Needed
  • Tissue paper in multiple colors
  • Lever-style paper trimmer or scissors
  • Rubber stamp (optional)
  • Ink (optional)
  • Glue stick
  • Twine


  1. Cut multiple sheets of tissue at once into 8x6" strips using a lever paper trimmer or scissors. Fold in half to create 4x6" flags.

  2. Using a rubber stamp and ink, stamp a design onto your folded flags. I stamped a flower in the upper left corner of all my orange flags, in the center of all my yellow flags, and in the bottom right of all my green flags for variety.

    How to Make Mexican Flags

  3. Unfold one of the flags, and run a glue stick around the four edges of the inside of the bottom half.

    How to Make Papel Picado

  4. Place a length of twine in the fold of the flag, and fold in half to adhere the flags edges together. I used Divine Twine in Lemon by Whisker Graphics.

    How to Make Flag Garland

  5. Leaving 2-3" section of twine from the edge of this flag, adhere the next flag onto the twine. Repeat with desired amount of flags.

    DIY Tissue Paper Flags

  6. Hang and enjoy!

Hanging Papel Picado

DIY Papel Picado

If you missed the photos from my Cinco de Mayo Margarita Party, be sure to check them out!

Hanging Mexican Paper Flags

I'd love to see photos if you make your own Mexican Paper Flags!




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