Tutorial Tuesday: Circus Party Hat

Happy Tuesday! We're switching it up today. While I'm over at Bird's Party sharing part 2 of my pie in a jar for Dad tutorial, we've got Mae of Mae Armstrong Designs in the house. When Mae sent me details of her aqua and blue circus theme birthday party for her twins and husband, I was totally blown away by all of the DIY elements. I'm ecstatic that she is sharing her party hat tutorial with us, complete with a free download.

I am so happy to be a part of Pure Joy Events Tutorial Tuesday series. I would like to share the party hat I created for my boys. This project was designed using Illustrator. I have saved a copy of the PDF file for those who needed a Acrobat file instead of an Illustrator file. If you wish to use a .AI file please feel free to email me and I can share the file with you.

Materials:
Printable Party Hat (PDF File can be downloaded here)
Cutting Mat
X-acto Knife
Yarn (pick a color that matches your theme)
Card Stock (3.5x5)
Colorful Thick Elastic Cord
Scissors
Small Hole Puncher
Clear Tape
Glue Gun

Print the PDF file. I like using the maximum amount of space for this project so I chose "borderless printing for 8.5x11" print option.

Colorful Thick Elastic Cord can be purchased at any craft supply stores. I did some research and these are the best party hat stretchy cord you can find. It's also very inexpensive. You can use it for other crafts, but when I spotted them at Michael's, I knew they will be perfect for my party hats.

Preparing the Pom-pom Embellishment

I started creating the pom-pom embellishment first. It's really simple. I suggest doing a bunch then attach your pretty pom-poms at the end of your assembly line. Pull out your yarn, card stock and glue gun.

Wrap the yarn around a scrap piece of card stock. When you're making pom-poms volume is key. Remove the wrapped yarn from the card stock and prepare a 12-13" yarn and tie it around. Knot twice to secure the yarn. You don't want it too loose.

Trim all the loops carefully. Set aside and start the hat assembly.

Preparing the Paper Hat

Cut along the lines. Use your X-acto knife to slice the slits. Shape the hat like a cone and insert the tab through the slit. Secure with tape.

Using the tip of your scissors. Carefully slide the tail of your pom-pom inside the hat. Pull down and secure with tape. I like to secure the pom-pom with silicone glue. Keeps your embellishment in place.

Punch holes using your small paper puncher and trim 13-14" of elastic cord. Knot on each sides and enjoy!

Ta-da! Your hat is ready. Looks like there's a bunch of steps but it's really simple and easy to do. If you have handy helpers around the house ask them to trim the hats and snip the loops for the pom-poms. Delegating helps. Hope you enjoy this tutorial. :)