Easy DIY Party Decorations

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We featured a myriad of lovely cake toppers in the Spring-Summer issue of Cincinnati Wedding, so I decided to try my hand at making a few decorative pieces of my own at the Contemporary Arts Center’s One Night, One Craft event. I am decidedly un-crafty due to a combination of extreme laziness and general impatience, but with the help of the Cincy Craft Cartel’s detailed instructions, even I managed to churn out some passably cute decorations! Here’s what I learned:

Tissue Paper Flowers

Use for: Table decorations in a vase or jar, end points for streamers, or a festive hair fascinator

You’ll need:

  • An assortment of colorful tissue paper
  • Pipe cleaners (or floral wire or string)
  • Scissors


What to do:

1. Stack three sheets of tissue paper and cut them down to the flower size you want. I found it easier to work with smaller sheets, approximately 7” in diameter.

2. Accordion fold the paper together and tie pipe cleaner around the center.

3. Cut the edges of the paper to create your flower petal shape. I fringed my edges, which resulted in a nice, fluffy flower.

4. Starting with the top layer, spread each layer of tissue paper towards the center of the flower. Be careful!

5. Once you have it fluffed out to your liking, you’re done! The fluffier, the better.

Small Strung Banner

Use for: Food or cake toppers, table centerpieces

You’ll need:

  • String or twine
  • Washi tape
  • Scissors

What to do:

1. Determine how long your banner will be and cut the string to the desired length. I made mine too long, learn from my mistakes and MEASURE.

2. Peel a length of Washi tape that’s twice as long as you want your flag to be, and place the string in the center. Fold the tape over the string, making sure the edges line up evenly. This part is hard; please note that you will need some sort of engineering degree, a t-square, and the focus of a panther zeroing in on its prey to make the edges line up perfectly. Or, you can flub it like I did and cut the edges of the flags into shapes to hide it. 

3. Repeat until the string is covered. Try to make sure the tapes are all the same length and there’s an equal amount of space between each flag.

4. Tie the ends to long sticks (I used straws), and place on cakes, in plants, in jars, or wherever you want. Voila et voila!


Above image courtesy Cincy Craft Cartel (mine didn’t look quite as, um, neat)

If you’re on a budget (and who isn’t?), a DIY craft session with your bridal party just might be the perfect way to bond and put everyone to work. Win-win.

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