Easy DIY Marquee Sign: Party Decor

When I was brainstorming ideas for Little B's Moon and Star birthday party I stumbled across a similar celebration over at A Beautiful Mess blog. I kept coming back to the cute moon marquee sign that they shared. So I put together our own DIY marquee art, and surprisingly it was incredibly simple!

Here's what you need:

• 1 piece of large foam board (Size depends on your personal preference)
• Pencil 
• X-acto knife
• Spray paint
• Strong, permanent glue
• Paint and small brush or a paint pen for writing your message
• Packaging tape or any strong holding tape
• Marquee lights ( I used these from the Heidi Swapp collection)
• Screwdriver or knife to poke holes in foam board
• Optional: something large and round to trace for your template if you suck at freehand drawing like me

Now for the instructions. I apologize I don't have a lot of step-by-step photos and the few that I do have are horrible quality but I was rushed trying to get this project done one evening before the party so please forgive me. I'm quite certain you can make this without a picture tutorial, it's really that easy! I believe in you.

Step 1:  Start your project by tracing a large circle on your foam board and cut it out using your x-acto blade. Sidenote: I'm only 5'2 so you can only imagine how comical I looked trying to carry the world's largest foam board ever through Hobby Lobby.

As you can see, I amuse myself when I'm home alone and the kiddo is asleep.

I used a large round clock to trace out my circle. Round mirrors or the top of small tables are examples of some other items you can use. Or rock on with your bad self if you're just really good at drawing circles.

Step 2: After your circle is cut out, use that as a template to create your crescent-shaped moon on the scrap pieces of your foam board. Then cut that out with your x-acto blade.

Step 3: Spraypaint the shapes the color of your choice.  I used Rust-oleum's satin Aqua and flat Black.

Step 4: After the paint has dried, it's time to add the marquee lights. First, count how many bulbs you have so that you know how many holes you need to make. Then either eye it or use a ruler to plot out the distance you desire between each bulb. Once you have your placement marked, you can start making your holes. I just used a screwdriver and carefully poked the holes along the side of the crescent moon. 

Step 5: Start adding your lights through the back of the moon. Use tape where needed.

Step 6: Similiar to step 5 over on A Beautiful Mess, I also added a couple pieces of scrap foam blocks to create a buffer between the moon and the back piece of the sign. The marquee light kit is battery operated ( Yay! For fire-free projects!), and the buffers allowed more space to be able to turn the light switch on and off without getting my fingers stuck between the two pieces of foam board.

Step 7: Glue the moon to the back piece and allow to dry.

Step 8: Write your message across the sign with your paint and small paintbrush or paint marker. 

Here she is in all her glory! I just used a couple 3M strips to stick her to the wall.

I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. Is that weird to say about your own project? Little B on the other hand was not. After hanging this magnificant piece of fine art on the wall I asked him if he thought it looked like a moon?  He paused for a second, then with a disgusted look on his face shouted "Nooooooooooo!" *Shrugs* You can't win them all.

You can check out more of the party here.

**This post contains affiliate links, which means if you decide to make a purchase through my link, I will receive a small commission for it. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. This in no way affects my opinion on these products. Thanks for supporting a craftaholic.


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Lolly Jane

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DIY Baby Shower Wood Sign

Just 3 more days till my baby shower & I couldn't contain myself from not crafting up something for the soiree! The brunch shower is being held in our back yard so I whipped up this fun little wooden sign to help direct people on where to enter. We have a large fence with two gates on opposite sides of the house. One gate I've never been able to open in my entire time living here {no explanation needed just take my word for it}. Ummm.....so yeah I want to make sure our guest go to the gate that is actually operable & not think they have to  climb over the fence {although what a sight that would be!} Never a good idea to frustrate people when they have gifts for you.

 

I had this sign idea in mind for awhile but I didn't really find any inspiration for it until I came across this cute little sign over at The Happy Scraps blog.

 

This project should have been a quickie but once again I had another failed adventure with stenciling. Sigh....one of these days I'll give up this pro-stenciling dream of mine.

But if you're interested in making your own party sign here's the deets!

 

ROUND ONE

 

First, I spray painted my wooden arrow {found at Michael's} Krylon Pumpkin Orange {shower colors are going to be the same as the nursery colors}.

 

While the orange paint dried I used my Silhouette machine to cut circles {polka dots} out of some black vinyl I had lying around. I applied the dots to my arrow and then covered the wooden sign with a few coats of white spray paint.

Before the white paint completely dried I removed the vinyl polka dots.

This is where the project took it's ugly turn........

In my last step, I used my Silhouette machine  to cut the words "Baby Shower" out of vinyl in order to use as a stencil to paint the saying on the sign.

This is what I discovered when I went to remove the vinyl stencil.

Womp womp.

 

Much to my dismay the paint bled {despite me even trying the Mod Podge trick some one else had recommended on my previous failed vinyl stenciling project!}

Like I said I'm just not cut to be a stenciler!

 

So I dusted myself off and tried again.

 

ROUND TWO {I'll spare sharing the pics since it's pretty much the same process as above!}

I followed all the steps I did in round one up until the last part.

Oh, and I also switched up my colors. Instead of painting my arrow orange I painted it a dark aqua before applying the vinyl polka dots and the final white coat of paint.

Then this time instead of attempting to screw up stenciling the words on again I just cut the words from some orange vinyl and stuck that straight to the sign. Should have done that the first time and saved my raging pregnancy hormones from going into overdrive!

To complete the project I grabbed some left over wood from the garage that would serve as the stake, spray painted it white, and adhered it to the back of the arrow with some wood glue.

 

 

I've been working on some paper goodies for the shower too.

Can't wait to see it all come together!

 

Sharing with friends here:
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4

When Inspiration Comes in the Form of Mork & Mindy

Remember the sitcom “Mork & Mindy” starring the then-unknown Robin Williams?  I have very little recollection of the show since the series ended pretty early on in my life. A matter of fact I’m thinking I must have watched re-runs. I do, however, recall even as a child thinking the science fiction show was a little odd.  Mork {Robin Williams}, was an alien who landed on Earth in some egg-shaped spaceship clearly looking as if he had raided the closest of Rainbow Brite.

  Him and his roommate Mindy were always throwing up gang signs, too.

Image: Eyes Peeled, Always

{What up!}

Well, apparently over the years I must have been suppressing some deep routed issues with this show because the other night I ended up dreaming that Mork & Mindy were our neighbors. Isn’t it funny the things you can dream of?  No matter how ridiculously awesome that would be to have this quirky pair as neighbors, I do have them to thank for this new invitation design!

{Retro "Our Little Sweetheart" Invites from Delightfully Noted} 

It is strange sometimes where artist and crafters find their inspiration!  Soon after my dream of good ‘ol Mork & Mindy this retro rainbow design kept coming to mind. “Our Little Sweetheart” invites are such a darling and unique way to celebrate your little one’s big day. They’d even make for adorable baby shower invitations.

{Cupcake toppers are the perfect way to add that special touch to yor baked goods!}

Did you know Delightfully Noted also offers other coordinating party decor?  Favor tags, cupcake toppers, and thank you cards are also available. Contact me for details.

Oh, and just incase some of you are looking to waste some time here's a video of Mork & Mindy's pilot show.  You can thank me later.

What's the strangest inspiration you've ever had?

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Goldfish Party Ideas

I had a light bulb moment a few months ago when I was pouring a bowl of goldfish crackers for my four-year-old neighbor.  I thought to myself wouldn’t these little guys make an adorable fishing invitation! A few weekends ago I finally found some time to put together the design that had been bobbin around in my head. We all know with summer comes pool and beach parties so these puppies couldn’t have debut at a better time.  Since “under the sea” themed parties are quite popular you don’t have to throw your fishing line very far to find party inspiration and ideas {I really just like to throw cheesy lines in my post so I can hear my husband make fun of me later}.

Goldfish Party

1. Fishing game image from Create My Event

2. Personalized Fish Invitations from Delightfully Noted

3. Fun Felt Foods Goldfish Cracker from Sam Mclean Designs {Image via The Life of a Suburban Princess}

4. Fish Shaped Bowl image via Kaboodle {Item available at Target}

5. Go Fish Glycerin Soap from Morning Glory Naturals

6. Plano “Take Me Fishing” Kid’s Tackle Box from Amazon

7. Go Fish Cake recipe from Disney Family Fun

8. Goldfish Brownie Pops from The Rouche Shop

9. Goldfish Bar from CupKate's Event via Catch My Party

 l'd love to know what was the theme of the last

party you or your child attended?

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Ladybug Party Ideas

What better way to celebrate your little lady’s big day than with a ladybug themed party? Despite being a beetle, people can’t get enough of these bright and joyful looking bugs. A matter of fact, it is said to be good luck if a ladybug lands on you. Fortunately, there’s a lot of inspiration out

there for ladybug parties!

Ladybug Party

1~Ladybug themed dessert table by Glorious Treats and featured at Kara’s Party Ideas

2~NEW Our Little Lady Invitations from yours truly at Delightfully Noted

3~Decorated Ladybug Sugar Cookies from The Cookie Jar

4~Ladybug pretzels featured at Bee in our Bonnet blog

5~Personalized Ladybug Placemat from My Personalized TShirt

6~Ladybug Tablecloth Weights from Amazon

What are some of your favorite types of birthday themes?

3

Digit Décor: How to Style a Party with Numbers

Sometimes in the midst of brainstorming centerpieces or party themes we forget about the simplicity and natural fun that numbers can bring to any special occasion. I love the idea of adding numeral party décor to announce a child’s age or the number of years a couple has been married. There are countless ways {ha ha get it? countless?} to incorporate the theme of digits into your event; from sweet edibles, to table numbers, to candles; whatever it may be there is a guarantee your guests will be impressed. Here are a few of my favorite examples!

DIY Number Candle by Olivet, Wooden Block Number Décor by Style Me Gorgeous, Number-themed Cupcakes and Ice Cubes by Martha Stewart, & DIY Hole Punched Tin Table Numbers by Project Wedding

 I’d love to hear how you would incorporate
numbers into your celebration?

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