Pink Polka Dot Birthday Wreath

Happy Monday! Guess what? We moved last Saturday! Well, not everything, but we loaded up a 26' U-Haul and moved most everything out of our house and into a storage unit. It's so weird to see basically your entire life all piled up in a 10x15 cement space. We will move the rest this Saturday (and by "the rest" I mean just our beds!). My husband is gone almost this entire week for a work trip, so I'm kind of on my own to finish up. The appraisal on our house is Wednesday, and there are a few minor repairs from the home inspection and maybe a couple more from the appraisal, since it's FHA. Selling a house is definitely an adventure, and I truly hope we never have to move again. This week is going to be CRAZY - I just know it - but I'm super grateful to have my little Avabean to hang out with the whole time and make time for reading her new book from Grandpa's trip to England ("Peppa the Pig Meets the Queen") and eating lots of Chick-Fil-A, of course. :) What are you up to this week? Anything wild and crazy or exciting? Or just the same ol' same ol'? Which is truly a blessing, too!

Today, I've got a fun wreath tutorial for you that includes my 2 craft faves: POLKA DOTS + BURLAP. I could probably do a roundup of polka dot + burlap crafts from my own portfolio and fill up an entire blog post - I've done so many! Hopefully you aren't tired of polka dots + burlap yet. ;) I made this wreath for Ava's 1st Birthday last December. It may have stayed on my front door through Christmas, and New Year's AND Valentine's Day. My > St. Patrick's Day Wreath < was the only thing that finally brought it down, ha ha. This little ol' wreath is very simple & easy (classic Put A Bird On It, right?!). My fave part? The pink balloons pretending to be bows! 

POLKA DOT & BURLAP BIRTHDAY WREATH

You'll need a wreath form {I liked this straw one, because I didn't have to worry about metal or green styrofoam showing through}, balloons, polka dot burlap wire ribbon, floral pins

Wrap the ribbon around the wreath. The one spool was JUST enough.

I used one floral pin to pin down the end of the ribbon. You could use hot glue, too, if you don't plan to switch out your ribbon ever to reuse your wreath {I took this one apart to make my St. Patrick's Day Wreath!}. 

I wanted to share this photo, because it took a few tries before I found a technique to get my balloons to look like bows for the banner. Crafting isn't easy! Luckily, balloons are cheap, because I wasted several cutting them...blowing them up...and tying them, before I found a style I liked.

Simply take one balloon and tie it in a knot. That's it! It looks like a cute pink birthday balloon bow! Hot glue them in position on your wreath.

For the banner, I used a specialty paper that was a thin burlap/canvas material. I cut the letters using my Silhouette Cameo. You could purchase letters already cut out or just trace them on paper and cut! If you craft a lot, I will always recommend investing in a good quality cutting machine -- aka -- the Silhouette Cameo. Before packing up everything to move, I seriously used mine almost every day {click HERE for more Silhouette ideas!}. I then cut out two mini pennant flags out of sparkly gold paper {yep - with my Cameo!}. I just used hot glue to attach the 'A - V - A' and the pennants to bakers twine, which I then tied around the balloon bows {this way, I could switch out the banner easily without committing by using hot glue}. 

Voila! So easy, right?! And so adorable. I mean, POLKA DOTS & BURLAP?! Swoon.

People may have thought I was a little weird for going "all out" for Ava's birthday party. I designed & made my own invitations, had pink & gold themed cupcakes, her wreath, themed decor, and a DELICIOUS hot cocoa bar {with the BEST crockpot cocoa EVER, recipe HERE}. But I'm really glad I did. This little kid is our greatest joy & blessing, and my husband and I said that night, after everyone was gone & the tot was in bed, that we knew miss Ava felt special and knew today was different. I'm excited to plan her next birthday when she is more aware and understands everything that's happening!

Thanks for hanging out with ME on your Monday! If you have any fave kid's birthday parties, you should link them up in the comments. I'd love to PIN them to my Party Board on Pinterest! Have the best day!

xo

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