Halloween Banner

Halloween is right around the corner, so I’ve begun planning for an All Hallow's Eve party extraordinaire! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (and thankfully Aaron's too!), and lends itself to a wide array of festive treats and spooky tidings. As a child, on October 1^st, I would beg my parents to put up the Halloween decorations on our front porch. I couldn’t wait to pull the tattered box of decor down from the attic and get to work! My mom used to place a scarecrow on the porch chair along with our carved pumpkins. However, as soon as I was old enough, I took it to a whole new level. Before long, there were coffins, witches, skeletons and more! (I’m still grateful to them for allowing me to fuel my creativity and go completely overboard). 

Now I'm living in a New York City apartment, and while I'm still tempted by the haunted enthusiasm of my childhood, I'll be scaling it back due to space limitations. But much like in my youth, I’ve decided to get a head start and create this “Happy Halloween” banner to hang above our fireplace. I like the idea of decorations that are fun, inexpensive, yet stand the test of time. I get annoyed by those paper banners that crumble or tear before they’re ever even hung up. The great thing about this banner is that it folds nicely and takes up very little space, not to mention cheap to make!  

Here’s what I did:

• Buy orange and yellow felt (about 10 cents a square), thin black ribbon, and self-adhesive black felt letters from your local craft store. 
• Cut each rectangular piece of felt into four smaller ones (you'll need 14 flags in all).
• Using pinking shears, cut the smaller rectangles into v-shaped flags. 
• Next, attach the felt letters to the flags, alternating flag colors. No glue necessary! 
• Pierce the top corners of the flags with a toothpick.
• Cut one long piece of ribbon the length of all your flags lined up. 
• Using the ribbon, tie the flags (through the holes) to the long ribbon, using simple bows. 

Now I have a custom made banner to ring in Halloween for many years to come!