It is not long until I hit the BIG 4-0……

I have been planning ‘the party’ in my head since the beginning of the year and it is now time to knuckle down and get making.

As you can see, I have been busy cutting out circles today!! This is a small proportion of the number I intend to cut out, I have a large room in a football club that I need to prettify.

Oh, how I love my Fiskars circle cutter ( I had to get it sent from the US via Ebay) Although it doesn’t perform 100% of the time, it is far superior to the other cutters I have tried. I also picked up a (4 or 5 cm) scalloped circle punch in a charity shop in Cambridge earlier this year, solely with this project in mind (& for just £1.50).

I saw this paper circle bunting in the Cox & Cox catalogue earlier this year (no longer on their website though) and obviously thought ‘Well, I can make them’.

The paper is much cheaper than buying a load of fabric to make proper bunting, especially as I have amassed a large selection of decorative papers from Craftseller magazine, Homemaker magazines paper packs (that come free with the magazine occasionally). I am even using adverts from magazines and travel brochures. This is also much lighter, an important factor when considering sticking it up with blu-tac!!

The other decorations I’m planning to make are these (again light and relatively cheap) tissue paper pom-poms.

I had seen them in a number of places and decided I wanted to make them too, and then, what do you know, my Craftseller magazine came with instructions for how to make them (result!!)

I have quite a few colours of tissue paper stashed away, but have also found these brilliant packs at IKEA. (Only £1.30 for 16 sheets in blues, greens, pinks and black & white)

I’m also thinking about the food too. I am decidedly happier now that I have between 60 and 70 guests coming (most just needed a text to remind them they had forgotten to reply!!)

I am not planning to make lots of food, we have an award winning bakery that makes lovely pork pies (with a variety of additions) and a number of friends and family have offered to make cakes and help with other food items. Of course, I will be making lovely little washi tape flags to stick in various food items, so people know what they are.

I am also hoping to finish the large chalkboard I started ….. well months ago! So I can write a lovely message to all who attend.

Expect updates on all these goodies over the next few weeks (only 4 weeks left of my thirties)

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I have recently become aware of adverts appearing at the bottom of my posts. These are nothing to do with me, I don’t know why they are there or indeed how to get rid of them. I apologise.