Cute Inexpensive Banner Idea

I turned 40 the end of May and we had a fantastic party at the house with a DJ and everything.  The entire event was just perfect.  The decorations were kept to a minimum to keep the feel of the party simple, yet elegant.

I made some banners and some centerpieces for the tables.

For the banner I started with a small (5 inch) doily...since I have a couple thousand of them.  I ended up with a box of them when a business closed a few years ago. 

I purchased a set of stencils at Hobby Lobby.

Using a make-up sponge I had and a black ink pad, I stamped each doily to spell out what I wanted.

Once the doilies were stamped I used a low temp glue gun and glued some satin ribbon behind the doilies in order to hang them.

It's kind of far away, but here is one that said "Happy Birthday."

And just to tag onto this post, the other thing I made were tin can vases.  I rummaged through our cabinets and found some old canned food that could be tossed.  Using scrapbook paper I measured, cut, and wrapped it around the can.  I glued it in place to initially hold the paper, and then glued it again at the seam.  Then I glued some ribbon at the top and bottom.  For a couple of the "vases" I added some orange felt rosettes.