{DIY} Create A Team Banner
The day we signed up Brady for t-ball was a glorious day, not just for him (the boy LOVES playing baseball!), but also for me. The Boy Mom in me was bubbling over with excitement filling out his registration, especially when I got to the “parent participation” portion…
“Would you like to be a Team Parent?”
Would I? WOULD I?!?
I was born to be a team parent.
So imagine my excitement when my first order of business as a team parent was to create a banner for the kids to carry at the town’s spring parade!
My mind was immediately filled with grand images of team logos, t-shirts, baseballs, etc., but I went ahead and consulted Pinterest anyway, for a little inspiration. Luckily for me I came across this banner from Blue Susan Makes, and I used it as my starting point. Since I don’t own a sewing machine, and I have a Mac, our process and end product is a little different.
Here is how I went about making my banner–
{I probably should have ironed that felt first. Oops!}
…
Materials
One large piece of felt (our finished banner was 3′ x 5′)*
Half-yard of white felt (for logo and baseballs)
Half-yard of colored felt to match your team’s logo
Pre-cut felt letters and numbers (like these purchased at Joann Fabrics or Michaels).
White dimensional fabric paint (aka, “puffy paint”)
Red marker (or red “puffy paint” if you want that extra flair)
Hot glue gun & glue sticks
Fabric glue (like Tacky Glue)
Fabric shears
Scotch tape
Circle stencil, or something round like a bowl (for baseballs)
6′ Wooden rounder
…
How To
Print your team’s logo in a “poster” size. If you have a PC, you can use Microsoft Publisher and follow these directions. I have a Mac, so I downloaded the Mindcad Tiler App ($4.99 on iTunes) and created a logo that was approx. 20″ x 15″. The logo prints on 4 sheets of paper, so you will need to line up the outline and tape them together to form the logo. To save on ink, I suggest printing in black & white.
Carefully cut out the paper logo and secure it to the felt with tape (however you feel comfortable), then trace the outline with a marker. Cut out the felt logo with fabric shears. If your logo has two different layers/colors, trim the paper logo and retrace on the second (inside) color felt. (Note: Once I cut the bottom layer, I decided I wanted to swap colors in the logo. So I just cut out the large logo again in white, then trimmed down the orange logo to fit inside it.)
Layer the logos on top of one another and glue together with fabric glue. Place the logo aside and let dry completely. Creating the logo was the most time/labor intensive. The rest is super easy!
Using a circle stencil, or another round object like a bowl, trace outlines for your baseballs onto the white felt. My circles were 4″ round. I made enough balls for each player on the team and the coach, as well as one extra for good measure 
Cut out the circles and create the ball stitching by using either a red marker (I used my son’s Crayola) or red puffy paint. I had intended to use the paint but defaulted to marker because it was approx. 11pm at this point and I didn’t have time to let the paint dry. They ended up turning out just fine! Then, I put the 1″ felt sticker numbers on each of the baseballs.
At this point I decided to wrap the felt over the wooden rounder, so I knew exactly where my center point was before adhering the logo, letters, and baseballs. Because I don’t have a sewing machine, I just folded over approx. 3 ” of fabric at the top of the banner and used my glue gun to secure the flap. Be careful not to use too much glue as it can show through to the front of your banner.
Now it was time to lay all the pieces on the banner. I started with the logo and placed it directly in the center, securing it with the fabric glue. Then, I used the felt stickers to spell out the town and the year. If you don’t want to use the stickers (which believe me, saves a TON of time), then you can always hand write everything with puffy paint. Next, I glued the balls in a random fashion on each side of the logo.
Once all the baseballs were placed, I wrote the first name of each boy, and the coach, above the corresponding number/ball. Then I went to bed, ‘cuz it was late. Everything finished drying overnight and we were ready to go first thing in the morning!
I was really pleased with how it turned out, and more so that I could do it all in one evening (~3 hours) without being totally overwhelmed. If you have time and want to space it out, go for it!
Oh, and one last piece of advice… if you are making your banner for a t-ball team, you may want to go a little shorter than I did (maybe 4′ x 2′), otherwise, they may end up looking like this in the parade…
{gotta love them shorties!}
Thanks again to Blue Susan Makes for the inspiration!
If you’ve made a team banner for your kiddos, share the link in the comments and I’ll pin it to our {DIY} Ideas board on Pinterest! And if you have any suggestions to add, please feel free to do so as well.
** We’re linking up with House of Hepworths, The Taylor House & Skip To My Lou. Check out their blogs and all the other awesome posts in their link-up parties! **
{DIY} Quotable Artwork
I am in the midst of trying to find art to put on the walls of our new home. It’s not that easy here in the Caribbean, or at least finding pieces that I like. Everything is very expensive! So… I thought I would just find a saying that I like off of Pinterest and make art myself. I have to say, painting was very therapeutic! I will definitely be making more “art” again soon.
Here is what you need to make this painting:
Canvas (any size that works in your space)
Sponge brush
Krylon silver paint pen
Paint (I chose Windsor Blue by Pratt & Lambert)
Martha Stewart Typewriter Stencil Set
How to:
1. Decide on your phrase/quote. If you need a little inspiration, check out our “Quotes for Art” board on Pinterest.
2. Paint entire canvas with paint sponge. Let it dry completely.
3. Measure out the letters first (I was brave and did all mine by sight).
4. Line up the words and use the silver pen to fill in the letters.
Voila!! You have a very sweet, inexpensive piece of art.
I decided to surprise my husband with mine in our bedroom.
See how easy that was? What are you waiting for, get painting!
Fairies Here And There And Everywhere!
I LOVE creating children’s birthday parties. But what I loved more than anything else was seeing my daughter’s face when she opened the door to her fairy wonderland!
We started the party with four different stations: (1) hair braiding with butterfly and rose accessories, (2) face painting, (3) craft- making butterflies and (4) decorating hair combs with gems. After all the girls were done, they were able to put on fairy wings and dance around. They ate fairy snacks which consisted of mini crossiants, mini chocolate chip muffins, fruit kabobs made to look like magic wands, little cheese cubes with crackers, and pink cupcakes with pearl sprinkles in a flower cup. The girls had fun playing “Pass The Wand”, “Freeze Dance” and “Fairy Says”. When the party was over, they took fairy loot bags home with all their fun prizes, fairy wings and wands. I think it’s pretty safe to say, these little girls had a magical time!
Happy 5th Birthday, Skyler! You are a true blessing and such a fun-loving ball of energy!!! We love you!!!
Paper goods, loot bags, banner and fairy centerpiece by Meri Meri; laterns by The TomKat Studio Party Shop; pom poms by Lily Pultizer, fairy wings and wands by Target.
{DIY} Football Yarn Wreath
I know what you’re thinking… “This girl is addicted to yarn!! Is there anything she won’t wrap up in the stuff??” Well, you might be right. It’s just way too easy (and cheap!) to jazz stuff up with yarn. And for the record, I’ve really only made 2 wreaths and a handful of initials/letters… so far. What can I say, it’s addicting!
I wasn’t even planning on making a new wreath right now, since I’m just about to put up my Spooktacular Halloween wreath. But when I saw some navy/orange combo yarn at Joann’s Fabric, the idea just popped into my head. I knew right then and there that I had to make a Bears wreath for my front door for football season!
Being a Chicago Bears fan in 49′ers country is tough. Not as tough as say, living in Green Bay, but it’s hard to get into the spirit when everyone around you is in red & gold (and winning games, for that matter). Bears fans are the best fans in the world and it absolutely sucks cheering by myself (seriously, I’m all by myself. Have I ever mentioned how The Hubs is a Steelers fan?! Seriously.)
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to show my Bears pride in other ways then just sporting my Urlacher jersey to the Farmer’s Market every Sunday. A wreath seemed like a quick and easy way to do it.
I already had a handful of supplies at home, so in addition to the yarn, all I had to buy was a few pieces of grey, brown and orange felt (they didn’t have navy blue), some ribbon with footballs on it, and some other football embellishments (which I didn’t even end up using). I also got these at Joann’s, all for under $10. I ended up finding bunch of small foam wreaths in the $1 bins at Target. No lie. I, of course, bought a handful of them (wreaths for all occasions!) They are a little on the “tiny” side, but I think that makes them even more fun. Here is the “before” photo:
I wasn’t exactly sure how to dress up a wreath for a sports team, given that wreaths aren’t exactly… sporty. I like making felt flowers for my wreaths, so I thought I could modify the flowers and make them look more like pom poms. I also thought I could use the felt to create a banner, where I would spell out “BEARS” with some wooden letters I bought on clearance forever ago but have never used. Lastly, I decided to cut out a football shape out of cardboard and glue brown felt on it. With such a small wreath, there really wasn’t room for much more.
{There are a lot of great resources online to teach you how to make felt flowers, so I won’t go into the details here. The way I modified it to make them look like pom poms was just by cutting the strips much closer together and only leaving about a quarter of an inch of solid felt at the base. This made them poof out more.}
And here is my “after” photo:
Overall, I am super happy with my little impromptu project. Mostly because I didn’t stress too much over the design and I actually put this together in two short evenings, but also because it’s just so gosh darn cute! The best thing about this project is that it can be used for any sport, and team, any season. And if you stick with a small wreath, it can also be hung inside as well.
What do you think?
{Pinterest} Halloween Highlights
Holidays make perfect Pinterest board themes, and Halloween is one of the best! Our Mama Dish Halloween board has a variety of different ideas that range from “Martha Stewart would struggle” to “even my husband could do it”. So if you’re looking for costume suggestions, home/outdoor decor inspiration, crafts for the kiddos, or yummy spooky treats, be sure to check us out. Below are a few of our favorites. And, of course, be sure to check out the Spooktacular Halloween Yarn Wreath that Heather made last year!
The No-Sew Fabric Pumpkin
Source: twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com via Mama on Pinterest
Pumpkin Pretzels
Source: athriftymom.com via Mama on Pinterest
An Easy DIY Halloween Costume
Source: amazingartichoke.blogspot.com via Mama on Pinterest
An Adorable Porch Decoration
Source: Uploaded by user via Mama on Pinterest
It’s a PJ Party!!
My daughter wanted to have a PJ party for her 6th birthday! This was a great way to have a “fake sleepover” for little ones not quite ready for staying overnight (or for Mamas who aren’t quite ready for that!)
The girls arrived in their PJs at 5 p.m. to deocrate their own pillow case with fabric markers. For dinner, we served fruit cups, raw veggies and pizza. After dinner, we played some fun games to get the girls moving; pass the pillow (whomever got out was able to pick a prize), bingo (all the words had to do with a sleepover birthday party) and freeze dance (we saw some “moves like Jagger”).
Cupcakes were followed by popcorn and a “Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Dreams” movie. I didn’t want to send the kids home too wound up! Their loot bags consisted of a star wand, hair ties, a friendship bracelet and a star sugar cookie. Each girl also took home a box that had homemade blueberry muffins and juice for breakfast the next morning.
I still can’t believe I have a six year old! Happy birthday to a sweet and wonderful daughter that brightened our world 6 years ago. You are a true miracle. Mommy and Daddy love you!
Credits: The color scheme we chose was yellow and blue, to represent the moon and stars. All of the plates, napkins, cups, straws, loot bags, boxes, twine, cupcake liners and lanterns were purchased online at the TomKat Studio Shop. Please go and check this website out! They have a fabulous selection and their prices are extremely reasonable. The cupcake stands were designed for the The Cake Girls in Chicago and should be available for sale on their site soon!
Read More
About Mama Dish
With all that you have on your plate, do you feel like you have Mama ADD, OCD and PMS all at the same time?
Mama Dish is a blog that's as... eclectic as you are. Looking for ways to entertain your toddler? We have some ideas. You like decorating, fashion and reading? We have a little bit of that. Crafts? Yep. Recipes for two, and recipes for two-year olds? We've got those. Need a good laugh or a virtual hug? Well, we hope you'll find that here too.
Powered by women who have strengths and talents in a variety of areas (and happen to be friends for the last 20 years!), we hope to bring you useful tips, new ideas, and refreshing points-of-view that help make juggling all the different pieces of you a little easier.
Thanks for stopping by. We hope you'll visit us again!
Heather, Natalie & Kristin
Our Recent Pins
