Tutorial: First Day of School Bunting Banners Using Oly*Fun

I know we're on the later end around here, but our kids just started back to school yesterday...at least two of them did.  Katie is starting 4th grade.  (How did that happen?!?!)

And Seth is going into 2nd grade...

Kindergarteners have to wait until Thursday, but Becca did get lucky enough to have her little interview with her teacher today, so we took her picture too.

You might not be able to tell by some of her pictures...but she is SO ready to go to school.  Just a bit nervous about how many people she'll have to talk to.  She pretty good about talking to kids, but there are MANY adults in our acquaintance that have never heard her talk.  I expect a week or so from now, she'll be a kindergarten pro and feeling much more confident.

Anyway, I haven't made any First Day of School photo props since Katie was in Kindergarten, so I wanted to do something fun for the first day of school pictures, so I made these bunting banners.

Oly*Fun was the perfect craft material for it since I didn't have to worry about raw edges unravelling.

Have you heard of Oly*Fun yet?  I just recently tried some and now I'm in love.  It's got a weight similar to fabric, but it won't fray at all...sort of like felt, but a different texture.  You could also use it in a lot of projects you'd normally make with paper...but it won't tear and it is water-resistant.  It's really similar to the stuff that reusable shopping bags are made out of...except that it comes in a ton of fun colors.  The crafting possibilities are really endless.  (Note: I am a Master Maker for Fairfield World and am compensated and given product to design projects using their products and blog about my experiences.  However, all opinions, ideas, are entirely my own.)


Here's how to make your own Bunting Banner:

Supplies:  45 inches double fold bias tape or ribbon, thread, scissors, sewing machine and related supplies, and Oly*Fun Grab and Go packs in two or more contrasting colors.  I used Jelly and Snow White for the 4th Grade banner.  Cherry Pop and Sky Blue for the 2nd Grade Banner.  The kindergarten banner is made out of Bubblegum and Jet Black, and we used Sea Green with Jet Black for a 5th grade banner we made for a friend.  I used Orange Crush and Jet Black for a Halloween banner.

I cut out my background color of Oly*fun into triangles that were 7 inches across and 8 inches tall.  ("Kindergarten" is so long that I made the triangles and letters smaller.  Those were 6 inches tall and 5 inches across).

I printed out the letters onto cardstock and cut then out of the cardstock and Oly*Fun at the same time.  (I was reusing the D for a second banner, so it looks like I cut the letters out beforehand, but  I didn't.)  For the larger triangles I used "Ariel Black" font in 300 pt lettering.  For the smaller triangles, I used "Ariel Black" in 200 pt lettering.

Because of the way the Grab and Go packs come all rolled up, you may have some creases in your material that you want to iron out.  You want to be very careful to use only a slightly warm iron with these.  I found I got the best results by using my iron on the lowest setting and I unfolded a paper napkin and placed it over the top of the Oly*Fun to protect my iron.

Then I turned all my letters upside down and sprayed the back with a temporary adhesive.  I think you could buy permanent adhesive spray that would save you the sewing step, but this was what I had on hand.

Then I stuck the letters onto the bunting...

...and stitched around the edges.  I made sure to use matching thread, so that I didn't have to be super careful with the stitching.

I made sure to use matching thread, so that I didn't have to be super careful with the stitching.

Once all the letters were sewn on, I took my double-fold bias tape.  Start by sewing about 4 inches of the bias tape closed.

Then slip your flags in between the layers and sew them in place.

And then sew the last bit closed, and you're done!

All ready for the first day of school.

And while I was at it, I couldn't help but work ahead a bit and make a Happy Halloween Banner.  I'm thinking August might be a little too early to hang it in the house yet, though, what do you think?

The Halloween Bat quilt in the background is available for sale here.

(Note: I am a Master Maker for Fairfield World and am compensated and given product to design projects using their products and blog about my experiences.  However, all opinions, ideas, are entirely my own.)

Connect with me on...

I'll be linking to: