I don’t know about you guys, but I’ll find any reason to gather some friends, eat some food, and have a good time. From holidays to birthdays and everything in between, who can resist a party? When you’re playing hostess, though, the idea of being in charge of a gathering that will impress all of your friends without breaking the bank can be a daunting one. Well, it doesn’t need to be!

I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Gabi from By Gabriella on a new collaborative series called – you guessed it – Any Excuse to Party! Each month we’ll do all of the work for you and style a themed party vignette for your most special occasions, or for no reason at all! Each party will include a killer theme, yummy food, fun (and easy!) DIY, signature cocktail, and a stunning floral arrangement to pull it all together. Combine all of these ingredients, put your own personal touch on it, and you’ve got yourself a party!

To kick us off, we’re launching our first excuse to party in honor of my very own birthday today: The Classic Birthday Party.

Read on for the super fun DIY, and head on over to By Gabriella for the rest of the details. Go ahead! Give yourself Any Excuse to Party!

BALLOON GARLAND DIY

Whenever I plan a party, it’s never enough to me to just have some friends over, order some food, and listen to music. I need to DIY the heck out of that party. What this usually means is that I spend hours daydreaming and planning and thinking of all of the wonderful compliments my friends will give me on how fabulous my party is, but in reality I end up running around like a crazy person two days before the party trying to prep food and make decorations and clean the house, etc. etc. My husband loathes this.

That’s why I’ve learned that when you DIY, it’s best to keep it simple, especially when it comes to decor. Well I’ve got a birthday treat for you! This super simple DIY not only makes an impact, it’s completely customizable and easy to make!

What you’ll need:

• Balloons (any color!)

• Paint (any color!)

• Yarn or string (any color! I did say this was totally customizable, didn’t I?)

• Paintbrush

• Letter stickers (I found mine at Michaels)

Instructions:

1. Select your color scheme and word. I chose “PARTY!” because, duh. It’s a party. I decided on white balloons with gold paint to keep things classy, but you can choose any color scheme you’d like!

2. Inflate your balloons. You’ll need one balloon per letter in the word you’ve chosen.

3. Apply one letter sticker for each balloon. Make sure the stickers are positioned the way you want them! This can take some finagling, but I have faith in you.

4. With your sticker securely on the balloon, start applying paint. It’s best to start your paintbrush at the letter itself and pull the paint away from the letter. This doesn’t need to be perfect! Spread your paint evenly around the letter to your desired effect.

5. Let the paint dry. This shouldn’t take too long!

6. Carefully remove the letter from the balloon. BONUS: If you played your cards right, you now have some colorful letter stickers that you can do with what you please. More crafts!

7. Arrange your balloons in order and tie them together at the knots with your string. They can be spaced as close or as far apart as you’d like! Leave some string at each end for hanging purposes.

8. That’s it! You now have a pretty dang cool balloon garland that will transform your space in a matter of seconds. Hang it up and listen to your friends “oooh” and “aaah” over how cool your party looks, and don’t forget to rub it in that you made it yourself! BONUS: If you’re feeling extra crafty, feel free to customize! We added pops of color with some tissue paper tassels to tie it back into our theme.