Okay friends, the household is finally running smoothly again. Everyone is healthy and happy which means we can get the DIY Halloween shindig back on the road. The next tutorial on the list is this super sweet DIY pumpkin banner. The best part about this banner is that it is large. It is perfect to display over a large room opening or to drape around the edges of a doorway.

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[bctt tweet=”Find out how to make this super sweet DIY pumpkin banner for easy party decor! #ad #diy” username=”diyadulation”]

Materials

Halloween Paper Pack
12-Pack of Cardboard Pumpkin Boxes
3-Pack of Halloween Baker’s Twine
Paper Letters (H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N)
12 Inch Ruler
Pencil
Paper Cutter
Mod Podge
Corner Rounder
Hole Punch
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Scissors
Paint Brush
Green Square Brads

Step 1

Open up your package of pumpkin boxes.

Step 2

Separate all of the lids from the boxes. Set the boxes aside for a project coming later this week.

Step 3

Pull a sheet of the banners paper from the Halloween paper pack.

Step 4

Select a lid and trace the outline of it onto your banners paper.

Step 5

Cut out your traced pumpkin image.

Step 6

Brush Mod Podge onto the top of the pumpkin lid.

Step 7

Place your cut out piece of paper over it and add a second coat of Mod Podge to the top.

Step 8

Set your pumpkin lid to the side to dry.

Step 9

Repeat steps 4 through 8 until with all of your remaining pumpkin lids.

Step 10

Trace your paper letters backwards onto the back of a sheet of green paper with black polka dots from your Halloween paper pack.

Step 11

Cut out the traced letters.

Step 12

Add the cut out letter one at a time to the pumpkin lids.

Step 13

Grab 3 of the leftover cut out tags from when you made the invitations.

Step 14

Trim down to the words or designs on your tags. (You want them to be small enough to fit onto your pumpkin lids.)

Step 15

Next, round the corners of your trimmed tags.

Step 16

Attach to your remaining 3 pumpkins using Mod Podge as you did with the letters.

Step 17

Start creating your pennants by first selecting one sheet each of the purple background with black spiders, the black background with multi-patterned stars, the green background with spiderwebs, and the black background with spiderwebs from the Halloween paper pack.

Step 18

Use your ruler to measure 9 inches up on the edge of one sheet of paper. Trim your paper using your paper cutter using that mark.

Step 19

Take your 9 inch piece of paper and mark every 3 inches along each long side (the 12 inch sides).

Step 20

Use your ruler to draw straight lines from the top left corner to the first 3 inch mark on the bottom. Continue connecting following the pattern listed below:

Bottom 3 inch to Top 6 inch

Top 6 inch to Bottom 9 inch

Bottom 9 inch to Top Right Corner

See the picture above for reference.

Step 21

Next, cut out the triangles. Only use the 3 large ones.

Step 22

Repeat steps 18 through 21 for your remaining 3 sheets of paper.

Step 23

Once your pennants are cut out, punch holes in the top left and right corners.

Step 24

Arrange your pennants in the repeating pattern of:

Purple Spider
Black Star
Green Spiderweb
Black Spiderweb

Step 25

Flip the stack of pennants face down onto your work surface.

Step 26

Twist the ends of your 3 baker’s twines together.

Step 27

Grab the pennant from the top of the facedown stack and thread the twines through the punched holes starting with the hole on the right and ending with the hole on the left.

Step 28

Continue threading until all of the pennants are added.

Step 29

Tie a knot in the loose end of the twine. Be sure to leave an excess of 5 inches or so.

Step 30

Next, cut the ends of baker’s twine still attached to the rolls and tie in a knot as well.

Step 31

Ensure that your pennants stay evenly spaces by securing brads through each of the punched corners.

Step 32

The last step is to attach all of your pumpkin lids to your pennants with hot glue. There are two ways to do this:

Place glue on the bottom edge of the lids and press firmly to pennants.

Trace the lid onto the pennant and place glue along the inside of the traced lines. Then secure your lid by placing it into the glue line. (This is the method I found to be most effective.)

Tip:

While attaching the lids, stack your finished pennants as pictured below to make it easy to keep the pennant you are working on in place.

How cool is this banner?! Don’t forget that using paper from the same pack as your wickedly easy invitations means your party is perfectly coordinated effortlessly. Here are some extra party tips for you to bring the décor together easily:

Crepe paper streamers make awesome dividers. Use them to quickly and inexpensively cordon off the party zone for your guests.

Utilize plastic tablecloths for more than covering the snack table. These are an easy way to dress up your walls or add separation between rooms as you see in the pictures above.

Throwing an amazing party doesn’t have to break the bank or your back. It is all about utilizing your supplies in multiple creative ways. Wow your guests while still having the energy to enjoy their company. Come back on Wednesday for more Halloween party DIY!

Looking for a deal at Oriental Trading? Visit their coupon page for the latest in sales.

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If you are looking to set your Halloween party apart from the others this year then these wickedly easy DIY Halloween invitations are perfect for you. Most of the components come from the same set of Halloween paper from <arel=”nofollow” href=”http://www.orientaltrading.com/holidays/halloween-a1-550760.fltr” target=”_blank”>Oriental Trading making it easy to achieve perfectly coordinated invites. Don’t limit yourself to a prefab party this year and instead make a unique fest that will keep your guests talking for years. These invites are the first tutorial in our Rocking DIY Halloween Party Series!

[bctt tweet=”Set your party apart this year with these wickedly easy DIY Halloween invitations. #ad #diy” username=”diyadulation”]

Materials

Halloween Paper Pack
Vellum Halloween Overlays
Halloween Chipboard Phrases
Paper Cutter
Glue Runner
Glue Dots
Orange Sheet of Cardstock
Square Green Brads
Halloween Baker’s Twine
Invitation Stamp
Black Pigment Ink
Hole Punch
Small Halloween Stickers

Step 1

Pull the purple and black polka dot sheets and the purple and black striped sheets out of your paper pack. (4 sheets total, 2 of each style)

Step 2

Take one sheet of paper and fold it in half.

Step 3

Open folded sheet of paper and cut along the fold line with your paper cutter.

Step 4

Next fold each newly created half in half again.

Step 5

Again, open your folded sheets and cut along the fold lines.

Step 6

Repeat steps 2-5 with your remaining 3 sheets of paper.

Step 7

Next attach opposite designs of paper. Start by placing glue along the edges of one square and then running an “x” in the center.

Note:

This ensures that your square sheets of paper stick firmly together.

Step 8

Carefully align the edges of paper together and press firmly to attach.

Tip:

If the sheets don’t align perfectly trim excess around the edges with your paper cutter.

Step 9

Continue repeating steps 7 and 8 until all of your squares are attached. Set finished squares off to the side.

Step 10

Next find the sheets in your Halloween paper stack that have tags on them. (See picture for references.) Pull out one sheet.

Step 11

Cut out all of the tags.

Step 12

Start assembling the fronts of your invitations following the formula listed below for each:

1 square + 1 tag + 1 vellum embellishment + 1 chipboard saying = Complete Invitation

Step 13

Next get your sheet of orange cardstock and cut into 9 equal(-ish) pieces.

Tip:

You can measure these if you want but I chose to just eyeball it. Uneven sizes kind of fit with the Halloween vibe.

Step 14

Mount your stamp on an acrylic block.

Note:

You will notice that my stamp is for a shower invitation however it still contains all of the pertinent information for an R.S.V.P. invite. By inking only the parts I want I am able to use this stamp for any invitation.

Step 15

Ink your stamp and press firmly onto the bottom two-thirds of your orange cardstock piece. Do this for each one.

Step 16

Next use your hole punch to put holes in the top corners of each piece of stamped cardstock.

Step 17

Now pull out your brads and your baker’s twine.

Step 18

Put the end of your baker’s twine through the top left hole of your orange cardstock and secure with a brad.

Step 19

Next cut your baker’s twine so that it is slightly longer than the end of your card. Then thread the loose end through the top right hole of the orange cardstock and secure it with a second brad.

Step 20

Flip the orange cardstock over and trim the excess baker’s twine.

Step 21

Repeat steps 18 through 20 for the remaining pieces of cardstock.

Step 22

Attach your pieces of cardstock to the back of your invitations by placing a glue dot on each back corner of the cardstock and pressing firmly to the center of your invitations.

Step 23

Lastly, add your little Halloween stickers to the bottom left corner of your orange cardstock. (See the picture above for reference.)

Looking for a deal at Oriental Trading? Visit their coupon page for the latest in sales.

I am so excited with how these turned out! They are perfect for an adult costume party or a family-friendly soiree. Handmade invitations are always the best (like these awesome luau ones for summer). During the busy Halloween party season handmade invites can be the difference between your guests responding “Yes,” to your party over another. Now that your invites are done it is time to get to work on the party décor with these Easy Painted Pumpkin Coasters. Then come back on Friday to find out how to make a super sweet Halloween pumpkin bunting! **UPDATE** The kiddos came down with something gross and absolutely horrible this week which has resulted in no sleep for this momma due to constantly cleaning up things, that no one should have to clean up, hourly. I promise to get the banner tutorial up a.s.a.p. Mom stuff simply has to come first. Thanks everyone!

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I have been blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home mom since 2009. I wouldn’t trade it for the world but budgets were tight in the beginning. That forced me to put creativity into overdrive to give us the quality of life that we are blessed to have. There are crazy ways to save/make money out there and I’m sharing 5 with you today. These ideas will not make you rich or substitute an income, but they might let you get that $6 Starbucks Caramel Macchiato every now and then without feeling guilty. These 5 ways to earn extra income can also help out around birthdays and holidays especially if you build them up year-round.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

Make extra money for coffee and boot splurges (or ease the holiday financial stress) with these 5 ways to earn extra income.

MPoints (mPLUS Rewards)

This one is actually one of my favorites because I earn points for things that I do on my phone already. For instance, I check my weather app every day and that earns me 10-15 points just for doing so. Basically, you sign in on any eligible apps you are already using (or you can download new ones that earn points) and you earn points for checking the app, playing games, etcetera depending on the app. When you collect those points, you can cash them in for gift cards and items. You can also donate your points to charitable causes and enter sweepstakes, but I tend to stick with the gift cards.

EBates

I love this because I earn money on purchases that I am going to make already. The best way to make sure that you are always getting your earnings is to make sure that you install the button on your browser. It will alert you when you go to a site that offers cashback. Once you check out, you will earn a percentage of what you spend back. Then every 3 months or so, they will mail you a check for the amount you have earned. This is a super easy way to earn a little extra cash.

[bctt tweet=”5 ways to earn extra money for coffee and boot splurges (or ease the holiday financial stress).” username=”diyadulation”]

Swagbucks

This one is similar to MPoints in that you earn “Swagbucks” for doing things that are redeemable for gift cards. The pros of this one are that you need fewer points to earn gift cards and you can get free points by following them on social media and answering their daily poll. The cons are that a lot of the points are earned through surveys which can take up a substantial amount of time. However, you can also earn points on purchases (although not as often as EBates), so again I recommend adding the button to your browser and it will automatically detect when this is an option.

Online Surveys

This one can make you some larger payouts; however it is also a lot more time-consuming. Surveys can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more, and the compensation varies depending on the company. I have done this with a few different sites but just do not have the time available to make it worth my while. I will say that Pinecone Research was one of the best ones I worked with but they also are not always taking on new applicants. Also, for some of them you will have to have certain programs (such as Java) on your computer if you do not already.

Yearly Yard Sale

This idea is actually three-fold: You make some extra cash on items you no longer use or want. You also help keep your house clean of clutter. Lastly, I always recommend donating what you don’t sell to a local church or charity organization. You help those in need and get rid of that clutter. If you’re worried that you don’t have enough stuff to sell, ask friends and family to contribute. Chances are they have stuff that they will happily give you if you cart it off for them. If they want to be in on the earnings, ask them to help you work the yard sale. Extra hands for you and they earn a little cash as well.

Make extra money for coffee and boot splurges (or ease the holiday financial stress) with these 5 ways to earn extra income.

I cannot stress enough how much I love and recommend Ebates and Mpoints. It kind of blows my mind that there are still people not utilizing it. It’s free money, guys! According to Mintel’s online report in 2015 “over two-thirds (69 percent) of US online adults shop online at least monthly…” which means every month they could be earning money. Want to know a little secret? I’ve earned money on free items with Ebates! I love taking advantage of free prints and photo gifts from places like Walgreens and Shutterfly. I have actually earned money back on those purchases that didn’t cost me a dime. If that doesn’t convince you how awesome this is nothing will. Don’t forget to organize your finances before you start earning your extra money. Double-check that your Caramel Macchiato truly is guilt-free.

See where I’m linking up!