First if you haven’t read Part 1, be sure to check it out as well as it has an overview of the entire party!
The first thing your guests need to see on the front door when they arrive is a large 80’s sign welcoming them inside. (Let me first say that if you have not read the Totally Radical 80’s Party, check it out as well for a full description of the entire 80’s themed party.)
Bring the decorations outside and give the guests something fun to look at when they arrive as they anticipate what the decorations inside will be like. Your front door décor is always a hint or sneak peak of the fun that is awaiting them just inside.
I first covered the door with a black tablecloth that I first splatter painted with neon paint and large paintbrushes. Man I forgot how much fun it was to just sling paint all over the place and not worry about a mess. I have to say though there wasn’t as much paint on me at the end as I thought there would be. I did find tiny paint specks here and there on me for the next few days even after taking a shower.
I wanted a sign that would represent the theme so why not keep it simple and just have “80’s” hanging on the door which is exactly what I did.
What you will need:
- Bright pink and yellow poster board- any neon color poster board will be great since neon colors were so popular in the 80’s.
- Cricut Expression 2- If you have a Cricut it does make part of this easier. If not you do not have to have one.
- Cricut Alphabet cartridge- or any font cartridge should work
- Cricut mat
- Cricut tools
- Glue or adhesive
I will show you step-by-step directions using the Cricut Expression 2. If you do not have a Cricut, you should still be able to create the same sign by tracing the numbers or cutting them out free hand, but the Cricut does make it easier and also a cleaner cut.
Cut out the pink poster board, or the color of your choice, and stick to the Cricut loading mat. I cut a piece that measured 8”x12” which was the size of my mat so I could get the numbers I want cut to be the largest possible.
Once turning your Cricut machine on, insert the Cricut Alphabet cartridge or any other font cartridge into the machine. Select the “8″.
Then click the home button in the bottom right hand corner and you will see the screen pictured below.
Click the wrench icon for settings and then click the “ABC” icon that has arrows above and below it which mean to “fit to page.” The “8” will now fit the entire size of the mat to get the largest cut out possible.
Place the mat into the Cricut and click home.
Click the load icon which is a printer with an arrow pointing to the right. Your mat should load into the Cricut.
Click the cutting settings icon which is a blade with stars and adjust the settings depending on your specific paper. I selected the cutting options of Heavy paper, Original blade-6, Settings– 5-5-1. Check also to make sure that the actual blade in the Cricut is dialed to 6 or whatever your original blade setting is set to.
Now you are ready to begin cutting. Select the cut or blade icon. Your machine should now start cutting.
Once your cutting is complete and the machine has stopped, unload your mat by clicking the unload icon and remove the “8” with a Cricut spatula.
Do the same above steps to cut out a “0.”
You now need an “s” to make the “80’s” sign complete. I used the “s” that is in the middle of a circle. This cut out is available on the Cricut alphabet cartridge.
Select the letter and then click on the letter to show the pencil icon and select the pencil for more options. Now click the first icon that is a box with an arrow pointing diagonally out.
This icon will allow you to change the size of the letter. Change the measurement to 4.00.
Click save and then it will prompt you to click save again. Then click home to return to home screen and begin cutting.
Again load your paper, check your cutting settings, check your blade, and then begin cutting the image using the above steps used to cut out the “8.” Once it is done cutting, unload the mat and remove the cut out from the mat.
You are now finished using the Cricut. Be sure to replace the plastic cover on your mat to protect its surface.
Lay your cut outs on the yellow poster board and arrange them how you would like. Once you have the lay out the way you would like, attach your numbers and letters using glue or any other adhesive.
Cut out the yellow poster board around your saying leaving a border. I decided to cut different size triangles around the border giving a zig-zag pattern that really added that extra 80’s touch.
Next I hung mine on my door as guests arrived for a sneak peek of the rest of the party. I also had a black plastic tablecloth hanging as a backdrop on the door that had been splattered with neon spray paint.
Another party decoration that I made was two different birthday banners.
I remember as a child always seeing the “Happy Birthday” banners hanging up and thought why not just make one that uses neon colors? I hung one behind the food tables and one on the mantle in my living room above the presents.
You will need:
- Neon yellow and pink poster board
- Ruler
- Neon green ribbon
- Adhesive runner or glue
- Cricut
- Cricut Alphabet cartridge
- Neon starbursts: These are a pack of neon colored cut-outs that were in a pack at my local dollar store, and the pack called them starbursts. I immediately thought of the candy but maybe that’s just me. You can also see the leftover starbursts I had hanging in the picture below under the birthday banner.
Before you begin, you must decide what phrase you would like to use for your banner. Of course something birthday related if it is a birthday party but if throwing an 80’s party for Halloween then any “totally radical” 80’s phrase would be perfect.
I chose for one banner to say “Happy 30th Birthday” which I divided up into two separate banners. The other banner read “Luv the 80’s” that I left on only one banner due to the phrase being shorter.
First using your ruler, measure the individual flag and mark accordingly to how large you want it to be on your poster board. The bottom side of the flag (or actually the top of the flag that will attach to your ribbon) for me was 6 inches and 7.5 inches on the other two sides.
Cut out one flag and use it to trace out the rest of your flags. My first phrase requires 15 flags and the other needed 9 flags.
Using my Cricut and the Alphabet cartridge, I cut out my letters and numbers on the opposite color of poster board that I used for the actual flag so it would show up. See above for directions for using the Cricut if needed to cut out your letters.
You could also use sticker letters or any other kind of letters usually found in scrapbooking supplies at your craft store. I chose to use poster board and the Cricut because I wanted the neon colored letters which can sometimes be hard to find. Plus I could make them whatever size I wanted.
Using your adhesive runner or some type of glue, attach each letter to a starburst if you have them.
If not then attach the letter directly to the flag. You could also cut out your own starbursts using poster board and the same technique I used for the zig-zag pattern on the 80’s sign above.
If you choose to use the starbursts, then you will need to attach each starburst to a separate flag of course.
Now you are ready to attach your flags to the neon ribbon so you can hang it up. I chose a neon green ribbon that would really pop off of the neon yellow and pink once hung up.
Leave about 4-5 inches of ribbon on each end of your banner in order to be able to hang it up. I placed a dot of hot glue on each top corner of my flag and then layed the ribbon on top of the flag and pressed down. Be careful if using hot glue gun with the ribbon. The glue will sometimes come through the ribbon easily depending on the kind you use and can burn you.
Continue gluing your flags to the ribbon leave a small space between each flag. Once all your flags are attached, do not forget to leave another 4-5 inches of ribbon on the end to hang your banner.
You now have your own birthday or party banner ready to hang and celebrate the special occasion. What’s a party without a birthday banner?
Look forward to more about this special 80’s party for my husband and how much it meant to me to be able to do it. I will have more post coming describing other DIY décor pieces. Enjoy yourself at your party, but don’t forget to enjoy the little things in life too!
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