Tractor Party Decor

My son's second birthday was this month and tractors are his very favorite things in the world right now (we live in the country, and he loves to watch everyone in the neighborhood mow their lawn).  September is the perfect time for a farm- and tractor-themed party, and I used CutCardStock products to create everything from custom invitations to favor tags and decorations.  Today I thought I would share a few of my favorite party elements!

Banners are quick and easy to make and instantly add a personal touch to any party.  I wanted to channel the look of a very popular tractor company's logo with this piece, so I created the four-sided background shape and lettered overlays by hand in Silhouette Studio and cut them out from Curious Metallic Botanic Cardstock and Stardream Metallic Gold Cardstock using my Silhouette CAMEO.

With only two layers, I thought it was important that I add a little dimension to the banner by adhering the letter layers to the green backdrops with foam squares.  Foam adhesive strips were a lifesaver for this step because they were narrow enough to hide behind the thin borders around my letters.

Once adhered, I punched two small holes in the top corners of the banner flags with a hole punch.

I strung all of the letters together with some natural jute twine (for that country feel) until I had spelled out "Happy Birthday" in two rows.

We used the banner to decorate a fun farm backdrop for our guests to sit and take a photo to remember the occasion.  A few cornstalks, hay bales, vinyl barnyard, and paper piglets completed the scene.

Tags for party favors came together just as quickly.  I started by trimming a piece of Environment Desert Storm Cardstock to 2.5" by 5" and cutting it with a tag topper punch.  Then, I stamped a cute farm sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Tractor and wagon embellishments were die-cut from Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock before inking them with green, yellow, brown, and black inks using sponge daubers.  I had a lot of favors to make tags for, and this was a quick way to add some soft color!

A few foam squares added some interest and dimension to otherwise simple favor tags.

Custom embossed envelopes are always my favorite way to send out invitations because they make such a huge impact!  Keeping with the color scheme, I stamped Gamma Green Astrobright A7 envelopes with barn and tractor images in Versamark ink, added yellow embossing powder, and melted it with my heat tool.

The coordinating invitations were designed by hand in a graphics program and printed on 110 lb Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock.  Since this cardstock is super thick, you will likely need a straight-feed printer in order to use it, but it really makes for high quality notecard-type invitations!

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at a few of my favorite tractor-themed party items made with gorgeous products from CutCardStock.  Gold, brown, and orange cardstocks are on sale this month, so be sure to stock up for your next farm party!

~ Annie