Mini Pennant (and Cake Bunting) Tutorial~

Didja catch that people? Huh? Didja? That's 2 tutorials for the price of 1!! Which is free. Yep. Free. Cuz I'm not charging ya for 'em. I'm generous like that.

Actually, the truth of the matter is that the steps are all the same until the very end, so it would be silly to post them as two separate tutorials, and I don't want to bore you all stiff. That said, I have seen this idea floating around blogland, so I'm not taking credit for it. I'm just showing you how I put mine together. In case you want to do the same thing some time.

Oh yeah, and please ignore my ratty cuticles and dry hands - I'm certainly no hand model, that's for sure. Eeks, but I need a manicure.

Okay, so where were we? Oh yeah...pennant tutorial. Here we go.

First up...how to make mini pennant flags.

Aren't they just the cutest little things??

Here's what you're gonna need:

1. A paper cutter (you don't really need one, but it makes the whole process simpler.)
2. Scrapbook paper that coordinates with your color scheme.
3. A ruler.
4. A pen or pencil.
5. Scissors.
6. Lollipop sticks.
7. Stick Glue.
8. String.


Step One: Measure and cut your paper in a strip that is twice as wide as the length of the pennant flag you're making. (In the case of the flags, I wanted them 2" long so I cut my paper to 4". For the bunting, I wanted each flag 1" long so I cut the paper into a 2" strip.)

Step Two: Using your ruler, measure and draw a line all the way down the center of the paper strip. For the 4" wide strip, draw it at 2" (for the bunting, draw it at 1"). Then mark every 2" all the way down the center (every 1" for the bunting). Along one of the sides - it doesn't matter which one - start marking at 1" and then every 2" after that. (On the bunting strip, start marking at 1/2" and then every 1" after that.) These will be your cutting guides.

Step 3: Now fold the paper in half lengthwise along the line you drew making sure that you can see the markings you made. Begin cutting from the folded side starting at the edge and cutting diagonally up to the first marking on the open side. Move to the next marking on the folded edge and cut back up to the same marking you just cut to on the open edge. This will make a triangle (a diamond when you unfold it).

For your next diamond, start at the same mark you just cut from on the folded edge, begin cutting again up to the next marking on the open edge. You will continue cutting in this manner making diamonds as you go. (You can discard or recycle the pieces that are just triangles).

Step 4: Open each diamond and cover with stick glue on the wrong side of the paper.

Step 5: Take a lollipop stick and place one end inside the fold of your glued diamond.

Step 6: Wrap the diamond around the lollipop stick to form a triangle. Press firmly to make sure it is well glued together. I like to press along the stick to make sure the paper wraps around it leaving no air holes.

Now you have a finished flag. Make several flags in coordinating papers and place inside a small vase of some sort. I used a creamer...I just filled it with macaroni noodles to hold the sticks in place. You could use anything from rice to floral foam. Whatever you have lying around. If you are using a clear container, try filling it with something festive like candy.





If you're making a cake bunting...all the steps are the same until you get to Step 5. Rather than wrapping the diamond around a lollipop stick, you will take 2 lollipop sticks (or dowels if you need the bunting to be taller) and tie some string between the two. The length of the string will depend on the width of your cake.

I like to have two rows of bunting, so I tie two strings...the bottom a little shorter than the top. I secure the knots with glue, so the strings won't slide up and down the sticks. Then simply wrap the glued diamonds around the strings. It will take several small diamonds to create one string of bunting. For the bunting pictured below which measure approximately 8" across, I used 15 diamonds...8 on the top, and 7 on the bottom.

I hope the tutorial made sense. I think I made it sound more complicated than it is. They sure are easy and CUTE!!

I'd love to see how yours turn out if you try them!!

Have a great day~

Linking to these great parties.