on the cheap: fabric pennant banner.

this was a quickie decor idea for my baby girl's all-pink, all-cupcake first birthday party, which co-ordinated perfectly with her pink and brown 'happy birthday' banner. this one worked just right on the mantel of our fireplace in the kitchen.
you will need:

* a couple of fabric squares (i alternated 5 inch and 6 inch squares)
*a 3 yard-ish spool of ribbon
*pinking shears
*sewing machine or hot glue

this can be a completely free project if you have these basic things in your craft stash, but if you don't, it's not too expensive to find a spool of ribbon and a half-yard or so of fabric (or a scrap-bag!).

here are the steps:
(you can click on the pictures to enlarge them!)
and ta-da! hang and enjoy! you can also use bias tape if you want it a little more secure [or just have that on hand]. i think this would be really cute in a mix of reds and greens to hang at christmas if you have a little empty corner that needs something festive, or maybe make one with teeny tiny squares to wrap around the tree!
i also reused it with my crocheted heart garland for valentine's day:
and it's currently adding some girly sweetness between the two windows of my daughter's nursery! here are a couple of great tutorials for other simple pennant-style banners:

diy fabric garland

celebration flags

or you could just buy some sweet little scalloped ones on etsy if you didn't feel like diy-ing!