DIY Party Decorations

I told you a little bit about Aly's birthday banners here.  Since I received quite a few compliments about the lamp decoration that I made, I going to share it here with you.

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Aly's birthday "chandelier"

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The lamp "before"


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For the paper garlands: Aly and I cut out pink and purple cardboard with craft scissors and taped them on white string.  I draped them around the lamp.  For the middle part, I printed a sort of birthday logo on white cardboard, cut with craft scissors again, glued them on the colored cardboard, taped on purple ribbon and placed them on the center of the lamp.

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This was a sort of last-minute idea but I love the big difference that it made on the lamp: I printed some of my favorite photos of Aly on parchment paper and placed them around with double-sided tape.  Be sure to edit the photos first.  They should be high contrast and very sharp for better effect.

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The lamp from different angles.

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The rest of the party decor.
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Birthday banner.
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More paper garlands.
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I didn't spend a lot on these decorations, by the way.  I don't remember the exact amount, but probably Thb250 (Php350) tops.  Most of the items that we used are leftovers from past events: the string from last year's birthday parties, ribbons and parchment paper from our wedding (almost 4 years old!).  So it really pays to DIY some stuff because you get to save the leftovers and keep them for future use.  Aly and I need a bigger craft/art supplies box!  It's great too that my daughter loves doing crafts with me.  It makes the event more special even if the party is just for the three of us.  But hey, a celebration IS a celebration and what matters most is being with the people that you love, right?  Hope this helps! :)

More On Aly's Birthday Preps

So we bought the gifts already.  This week, I worked on decorations.  We're planning to put them up tonight for maximum exposure.  Haha!  Here's a sneak peek on Aly's birthday banner.

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Materials: pink and purple cardboard (cartolina), craft scissors, glue, pencil + colored pens.

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These are all proudly handmade!  Aly helped me cut the triangles.  I drew all the letters myself (all that doodling during Filipino class in high school are starting to pay off haha!).

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I decorated each letter with this year's theme: flowers and butterflies :)

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Doing these handmade banners is not easy and it's a lot of work.  It took me 2-3 days to finish them (I can only work on them for a couple of hours each day) and at the end of each day, my hands would hurt a little.  But I just can't bring myself to shell out Thb300-500 for a birthday banner when I know that I can make one at a fraction of the cost.  Times like these, I really miss SM and National Bookstore back home.  They have everything there at a much cheaper price!  Then again, even with those around, I know I'd still make these myself.  I'm just glad I'm blessed with the knowhow.

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Aly's birthday is two days away.  I'm so excited!!

Wonderland

We were at Emporium yesterday and we saw their Christmas decor. We couldn't resist taking pictures.
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I think no other holiday makes us giddy with excitement like Christmas. Aly loves it; no doubt about that, but it also seems to bring out the kid in Richard and me.
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I can't wait to go home. Christmas is best enjoyed in the company of family and friends.

Trees

Christmas 2008: our tiny pink tree.
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aToday: tiny pink tree is lonely no more :)
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I wish we had more space at home. Aly would definitely love to have a bigger Christmas tree -- oooh, how I'd love to have a big, bright orange tree at home as well! Ngayon pa na alam ko na magpunta sa Sampeng Lane in Chinatown, where everything is crazy cheap. More space = more decorations. But space is limited, so I just have to make do with table top trees for now.
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I added the masks that we used during last week's party as well, para naman hindi masyadong masayang ang effort ko to make them. Heehee!
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Paskong-pasko na talaga!! 23 days to go na lang! :)

Christmas in Bangkok

Before we proceed with my kwento about our vacation, let's talk about Christmas in Bangkok first. Christmas is not really a Thai holiday, but they still decorate the malls and buildings for the sake of the foreigners. I must say, they really go all out with the decor. Bongga sya in fairness. That's why I want to share these photos with you.

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Emporium. These were taken using my dad's new Sony camera (naks!) last November.

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Ang laki ng snowman! Teka, parang may kulang yata...

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...that's more like it! Para mas realistic yung kuha.

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The gingerbread house.

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Central World Mall. These were taken a day before our flight to Manila.

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A for Alyannah.

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Ang laki ng christmas tree!!

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Next stop: Siam Paragon.

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Ang laki ng christmas balls!!

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And our last stop: Oakwood.
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