Adorable 1st Birthday Cardboard Balloons Photo Backdrop!

A first birthday is exciting indeed, and creating a DIY cardboard balloon backdrop is well worth the small effort, as believe me it looks great in the photos and is just downright cute! While we celebrated this birthday during the week of Succot, that is in the middle of a holiday week in which crafting is generally not permitted, so I had to create decorations before the holiday while also decoratoing the succah and cooking and preparing! Fortunately I thought of this recycled cardboard balloons idea, (without any googling/pinterest to confuse me) and I was really happy with the outcome. This photo backdrop goes with the classic smash cake, topped with a cardboard number 1, and together with other similar decorations, that I’ll share soon, the birthday decor was truly a success! And is case you are wondering, the crown was not taped to the wall, just needed it to make the photo more exciting……in reality the plain brown cardboard with white outlines and real ribbon does the job as is!

You’ll Need:

• recycled cardboard, original dark color as seen here, might be the inside of a box

• a white medium tip paint pen, (mine is 1-2.5mm) ideally 2 sizes of white paint pen, namely also a finer one, mine is a Posca

• curling ribbon in a pastel or neutral color, mine is silver (not to steal the show)

How To:

1. Draw individual balloons and 1 grouping of balloons on backside of cardboard, and cut out. In grouping you may need to cut out a tiny triangle to insert ribbon, as with the E balloon.
2. Add details with a white paint pen, possibly writing with a pencil first (I just winged it, no time!)
3. Add long ribbons, and voila!
4. I taped these to the wall with masking tape, which works short term.

And friends, this idea isn’t just for a 1st Birthday, it would look great at any age, and especially in an interior where bright/primary colors just don’t do the space justice.

Tips For Creating Birthday Decor That You’ll Want To Leave Up!

After all the effort that goes into DIY birthday decorations, wouldn’t you love something that you could enjoy for more than just the party? I’ll admit, the decorations I’ve shared here have been up for 2 weeks or so, and I’m planning to leave them up just a bit longer, as they look great!

In my living room which is a mix of dark green, grey and white, with ethnic touches, primary or bright colors are not something that I prefer at this point, and a year or so ago I realized that neutral decorations using cardboard look their very best. Of course some metallic gold and silver add elegance where warranted, and with the use of a white paint pen, everything pops and looks truly wonderful. And while I haven’t tried it yet, dark green might also work with the mix, as of course does anything wood/burlap/linen, for ribbons, table runners, and table decor.

So, when it comes to birthday decorations it doesn’t have to be all about bright colors and overwhelming quantity of anything, go neutral and enjoy your efforts for weeks afterwards, and in many cases the decorations can be used again, so pack them away neatly. The cardboard balloons without the initials are certainly something I’ll use again, and I do happen to have a flat box of birthday decor, so I know just where to put them when the time come to take them down.