These festive banners will make your outdoor space beautiful whatever the weather. They are so easy to do - and a great way to reuse colorful plastic fruit or frozen food bags that can’t be recycled. Print out the simple pattern then trace, cut, and staple your trash into better-than-bought garden treasure.

• Made with plastic bags - the kind you can’t recycle

• Turn your garden (or balcony, porch, or driveway) into a party zone

• Weatherproof to last all season

Steps At a Glance:

Ready? Here’s how:

1

You’ll need:

• A heavier-weight plastic bag, such as oranges come in, or a frozen food bag

• Scissors

• String or twine

• Stapler

• Ball point pen

• This pattern, printed and cut out

• Paper clips and pushpins, optional, for hanging

2

Cut about a 6-foot length of twine and tie a loop at each end.

3

Place the pattern along an edge of the bag - any edge but the open one at the top. You’ll be cutting banners that are two layers joined at the top (that’s the fold).

Trace the pattern with the ball point pen. Then move the pattern along the edge of the bag and trace again. Trace more banners on the opposite edge.

You have already figured this out, but you don’t want the shapes to overlap.

Also, if your bag has a stiff mesh portion like this one you can definitely use it. It’s colorful and adds a nice texture.

4

Cut the banners out, leaving the two layers attached. Cut slowly if you need to, to keep the plastic from sliding around - it’s slippery. Also, your cutting does not have to be perfect for the banners to look good.

If your scissors have any trouble, try another pair.

5

Open one of your banners and place the prepared string inside the fold.

6

T

7

Staple the two layers of the banner together in five (5) places:

• put one at each of the upper corners, leaving space for the string

• put on in each side about halfway down

• and put one near the point

Otherwise the wind and rain will turn the banner inside out.

Tip: Instead of staples you can tape the layers together using double sided tape (or regular tape wound into a tube with the sticky side out).

8

Repeat until your string is as full as you want. Arrange the spacing of your banners, then put one staple into the top of each banner so it catches the string inside and locks the banner in place. Otherwise they will slide and bunch together.

Your Outdoor Banner is ready to hang! Use pushpins or hang from tree branches using an unbent paper clip as a hook.

Thank you for reading! If you have questions, please drop me a line.