You must think I am on a DIY/crafting hiatus. I just realized that most of my posts for the month of September, are recipes. What with planning a birthday and coming up with the October Photo Styling Challenge post, crafting has taken a back seat. Not to worry, I have an easy one to share with you today.
I made some lovely paper accordions to make into a banner for Boy’s birthday party. Paper accordions are so simple to make and the end result is so pretty. I’ve made some earlier for my book page wreath. Go here to take a look at them. The possibilities of using these pretty accordion fans are endless. Make them into wreaths, hang them on the walls, fix them on skewers or sticks to resemble flowers, make banners out of them or place them on party tables for added pops of color.
There are a couple of ways to make paper accordions. I follow the method of folding a sheet of paper to make a fan shape, and joining two such fans to form a circle shape. Since I didn’t take pictures of the process, here is a good tutorial.
As I wanted to use them for Boy’s birthday, I used bright-colored craft paper and used regular white glue to hold the accordions together.
The above picture roughly illustrates what I did.
You will need:
- Paper
- Glue
- Stapler or string
- Ribbon or yarn to make into a banner
How to:
- Fold a sheet of paper in accordion style (hence the name).
- Use a stapler or string at the middle to hold the folds together. Fold it in half and glue two of the end folds together. This makes a fan shape. See the brown fan in the picture above.
- Join a couple of them to make a full circle.
Note: The size of the paper used determines the end size and also how many fans are needed to make a full circle. If you are using smaller size paper, it may not fan out much and you will need 3-4 of them to make a full circle. Just experiment to see what works best.
- I cut out circles of white paper to fix on each one and spell Boy’s name.
- Glue a piece of paper at the back and join the accordions together with yarn or ribbon to make an easy, colorful banner!
Here it is in action at the party place. Would you look at that bright blue wall? I am sure some well-meaning soul thought it looks super festive!
So there you have it, a fun little craft!
How fun it would be to make little book page accordions for fall decorating? Can’t wait!
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I am linking this up at October Before & After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick and at these awesome blogs.
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- By Stephanie Lynn
Hi there Anjana – thanks so much for the link to my blog and tutorial. I’ve only recently started my blog and have been getting loads of looks via your blog. Love your recipes too. Cheers, Deb xx
That’s great, Deb! You have a lovey blog. Glad to have helped!
Awe! How cute are these? & what a perfect touch to any birthday party. Heck, I even want to make some just to hang around my house because, they are just that cute. Thank you for sharing and for linking up to Thrifty Thursday.
Thank you, Ruth. I was just thinking the same thing. A little banner made of book pages would be perfect for fall decor now, isn’t it?!
Great post! I love working with paper – this is my blog – http://www.origamigirl.co.uk/#/blog/4579209219
Thank you, Vicki. Lovely blog you’e got there!
I love paper accordions, they look so cute as a banner, great job.
Thank you, Sarah!
These are really fun and addicting to make – visiting thru Domestic Super Hero party
Thanks you. They are so simple and don’t take any time at all!
Great idea! It looks wonderful. I’m hosing a state art giveaway that you should enter! http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/10/state-art-giveaway-from-word-lust.html
Thanks a ton, Kayla.
And what a fun giveaway. I’ve entered. Hope I win a Texas sign!
This is so clever. Love it. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
Thanks Marty!
Beautiful idea!
Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see you on my blog:)
Thank you!
How fun and festive. Great birthday colors as well!!!!
🙂
hugs x, Crystelle
Crystelle Boutique
Thank you. Glad you liked it!
And forgot to add I made an easy and glamourous Halloween wreath:
http://junkandglue.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/halloween-glamour/
That looks glamorous!
I love making these out of book pages, and adding buttons to the middle. Oh, and I trim the ends in a curve to make them look more “flower” like, too. But I never thought to put letters and spell out something in a banner! What a great idea!
Thank you. I had made little book page accordions for a wreath. And the colorful banner idea just came to me while I was planning his party decor.
This is beautiful!
Thank you!