DIY: save-the-date banner

my best friend sammie recently got engaged, and i'm so excited for her to get married next year! since i love any excuse to break out the craft supplies, i made a banner with their wedding date for the engagement photoshoot she has planned next month.

this banner was super easy to make, and i'm already thinking of all the different kinds of banners i could make with this process. it would be great for birthdays, baby showers, seasonal decorations...really anything you can think of!

to make your own banner, you will need:

1. a computer and printer. i used photoshop, but you can use microsoft word or any word processing software.

2. two (or more) sheets of 12x12" decorative cardstock/foil/scrapbooking papers. the scrapbooking section of michael's has an incredible selection of different colors and patterns to choose from. how many sheets you'll need depends on how many numbers or letters you need to complete your banner.

3. (optional) one (or more) 12x12" contrast paper. since i created a banner with a date, i wanted to use a contrast color to separate the month, day, and year.

4. twine, string, yarn, or ribbon. choose a string color and material that fits with the design of your banner. i chose this navy paper twine:

5. scissors.

6. glue stick. i think a "traditional" glue stick would work great on most scrapbooking paper, but since i chose glitter cardstock i knew i'd need something a little more heavy-duty. i like ones like this:

the first thing i did was pick a font (i chose one with a hand-lettered feel), typed out the wedding date in 250pt, and printed it out in a navy color. if you need some font-spiration, check out dafont, where you can choose from and download a huge variety of font styles for free.

next, i carefully cut out the numbers. some fonts will be easier to cut out than others! the font i chose has some interesting brush marks, so i kept a very thin white border around the numbers to make sure the details of the font would pop against the background and in photos.

for the next step, i measured out and cut the glitter cardstock. i measured out 4x7" rectangles to keep my design simple. i love the idea of measuring out triangles to make it look like a flag bunting, or cutting out a small triangle in the bottom of a rectangle to make it look like cut ribbon. you could also cut the backing paper around the number or letter for a more free-floating look.

once all my glitter cardstock pieces were cut, i simply glued the cut-out number on top. to prevent any buckling in the paper, i immediately put them under a few heavy books and left it to dry for a few hours.