{DIY Party Projects} Mini Cake Bunting Tutorial & Free Printable Alphabet Pages!

We are sharing something super fun to celebrate our big milestone of reaching 10,000 fans on Facebook! I can't explain how thrilled I am that you love what we are doing here on The TomKat Studio and that you are telling your friends about us, too! If you aren't a fan on Facebook yet, JOIN THE PARTY HERE!
I enlisted the help of one of my favorite party girls, Sharnel Dollar of Sharnel Dollar Designs to share a fun MINI CAKE BUNTING tutorial with you! She created one (below) recently for a party and I fell in LOVE! If you don't know Sharnel, you should. This fabulous party girl is full of ideas and style. I swoon over her gorgeous dessert tables, party styling and projects!
Along with her instructions, I have designed several printable PDF alphabet pages that will work perfectly for this project! I also took a few shortcuts when I created my own bunting to celebrate our 10,000 fans! So, check out her tutorial and below you will find my shortcuts!

What you will need:

2 Bamboo Skewers
2 Striped Paper Straws
Embrodiery Thread
Needle
Scissors
Cardstock

Download and print the free printable alphabet pages of your choice on cardstock. Cut out bunting flags and arrange them in order on a flat surface. Thread your needle with embrodiery thread (it's perfectly ok to make funny faces when completing this task.) We pre-punched two holes on the top corners of each flag to make it easier to push the needle through the card. Embrodiery needles aren't sharp enough normally to pierce without making a mess of the card. Thread each of the flags from the top row then pop the needle through one of the straws. Take the needle off the thread and re-thread the other end to enable you to attach the loose end to the remaining straw. Place your skewers in your cake and then insert the straws over the skewers. Tie the end off with two or three knots to secure the bunting in place. Continue this with the remaining bunting.

My Tips:When I made mine, I used a few shortcuts. I didn't have time to pull out a thread and needle, so I designed the flags as foldover diamonds so that I could secure the folded flags over thin ribbon with double-sided tape. I didn't have skewers on hand, so I used 6" lollipop sticks instead. Then just tied the two strings of bunting on the straws. It was really easy and super fun!

Here's the fun part!
Download your FREE printable alphabet flag pages now!

Download PASTEL pages HERE
Download BRIGHT pages HERE
Download BOLD pages HERE

fyi...in the scribd preview, the letters appear to be lopsided but when printed they are not!

Thank you to Sharnel for this fabulous idea! I would also like to thank Melissa at Decadent Delights for the gorgeous cake, Laura Winslow for the fabulous photos, Smeeks for the fab photo shoot location & paper straws, Sally at Polka Dot Market for the Balloons, and Serena, our intern for making the adorable mini pinwheels for the cake stand!

Looking for cake bunting with custom fonts/colors?
Coming soon to the shop! Email us for information!

{DIY Tutorial} Scallop Circle Paper Garland!

Today over at Project Nursery, I am sharing how I created the paper garland for our dessert table disply at the She's Having a Baby Event in Beverly Hills {more details here}! Hop over to check out the tutorial! It is super easy and can be used for any holiday or event!

VISIT MY POST for the full instructions!

We would love to see your photos if you make these for your events!

{Fabulous Tutorial & Giveaway} Super Sweet Bon Bon Necklaces!

This post is FULL of eye candy!
Jill, a super creative momma emailed me to let me know that she wanted to create something special for Kate McRae for her upcoming birthday. After visiting her blog, Pocket Full of Posies and spending a VERY long time there, I am so excited to see what she comes up with for Kate!

I went back and read so many of her posts, and when I came upon these Bon Bon necklaces she had made, I begged her to create a tutorial to share with you, my readers! With so many of you creating sweet lollipop & candy parties for your daughters, I thought these would be absolutely DIY perfect party favors! Thankfully, Jill agreed and has posted the full tutorial on her blog today! Not only did she sweetly share the instructions, but she also offered to give a completed necklace away to one of you lucky ladies! Thanks, Jill!

So, hop over for more photos and the full tutorial, and then ENTER TO WIN here:
There are 5 ways to enter!
(Enter up to 5 times by doing the following):

1. Visit Pocket Full of Posies, and thank Jill for sharing this sweet tutorial with us! :) Leave me a comment here letting me know you did.
2. Become a fan of The TomKat Studio on Facebook, and let me know you did, or let me know that you already a fan on Facebook!
3. Post about this giveaway on Facebook, comment here with the link!
4. Tweet about this giveaway, comment here with the link!
5. Post about this giveaway on your own Blog, and comment here with the link!

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 9th at 11:00pm (MST).
Any entries received after this time, will not be considered. Open to US residents only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org, Prize will be shipped directly from giveaway hostess.

VISIT Pocket Full of Posies HERE....trust me, you'll be there awhile!
A few of my other favorite things that Jill has created:

So creative and original, right?! Amazing work, Jill!

Free Printable: August 2009 Calendar!

To start off my new DIY files, I've decided to post a printable calendar at the end of each month for the upcoming month! For years, I've been making monthly calendars that I print on regular paper. I don't know about you, but I like to see the entire month at a glance on one page.

My inspiration for this was Jessica at JP Creative (fabulous graphic designer). She posts an adorable calendar each month on her blog and lists her goals for the month. I'm not sure if it's printable, but it sparked my idea of sharing my monthly calendar design with you!

I love this color combination of turquoise & red! Every time my daughter wears her Roxy bikini in these colors, it reminds me to design some invitations using them! They are also similar to the colors of one of my fave party girl's blog, Birthday Girl! Fabulous!

I will be posting free printable files regularly, so let's start out by giving the calendar a try!

Here's how it should work:

1. Double click on the calendar to open the large jpeg file of it

2. Save it to your computer

3. Open it on your computer and print!

Let me know if you print this and if it works well for you!

The TomKat Studio: DIY (Do It Yourself, Please!)

I am excited to tell you that the DIY kits are in production for my frames! I am quickly figuring out that I cannot keep up with demand for everything I make, so it's time to put YOU to work!
{small custom frame I made recently}
The frame kits will include a 12x12 frame (custom made locally for my shop!), hardware, instructions, and possibly paper and flower options to choose from. Adding rhinestones will also be an option. Certain papers work better (bubbling can be an issue) and I would offer papers that I have the best success with. What are your thoughts? Would you just want the frames/hardware/instructions, or the decorative options, too?

{custom frame made for heather}
You may have noticed that my Etsy shop continues to be "on vacation". Trust me, I am not on vacation. Things were just getting too busy and stressful that I decided to take a break, re-evaluate and figure out the best way to move forward! I have so many ideas but really need to take time to figure out what makes the most sense on my limited time schedule. Thank you for your patience if you've tried to email/convo me and I haven't replied yet!

Other exciting news about the DIY branch of The TomKat Studio....

I am starting to work on PRINTABLE invitation designs and party supplies! I can't seem to find the time to design/print/cut/fold/assemble/package/ship all of my orders, so I'm ready for you to Do-It-Yourself! I design, you print & assemble?

What do you say? Are you up for it?

Get ready to get your craft on!