After creating a few parties, I feel like I finally have all the tools I need to make my life easier…so to keep you from having to go through the trial and error of party design, I’ve compiled a list of my very favorite party tools:
Paper
Obviously, if you go through all the work of cutting, printing, taping, pasting…you don’t want to ruin your printables with a crappy piece of paper. I sent for tons of paper samples and visited my local paper store numerous times and I ended up liking Mohawk’s paper the best. Most of you probably have an inkjet printer and this paper is fabulous to work with and it’s extremely affordable at about 5 cents a sheet. Here is a sample of the paper with my Under the Sea Printables.
Mohawk White 100 lb. Card stock (SMOOTH COVER)- This paper is super smooth, yet works well with inkjets (no smudging) and really bright. It also lasts forever. I’ve done tons of parties, printed out business cards and I still have half the pack. Use the card stock for toppers, invites, treat bag toppers, tent cards, and banners and anything else that needs to be super stable.
Mohawk White 28 lb. Paper– Use this for cupcake wrappers, straw flags and paper fans like I used for my Hot Chocolate Party.
Hole Punches
Unless you want to spend hours cutting out circles, you MUST get a hole punch. I love these punches by Fiskars. They’re really easy to use and can easily cut through card stock. They’re also easier to use for printables because you can see where you are cutting. All my printables are designed to use a 2″ hole punch…scalloped or round.
Fiskars 2″ Round Hole Punch– Must have! This works well with any party…boy or girl, young or old!
Fiskars 2″ Scalloped Hole Punch– These worked wonderfully with my Cowgirl Party for Riley. The colors were more masculine so the scalloped edges gave the party a feminine touch.
Fiskars 1″ Round Hole Punch– I used this to cut out confetti for my Hot Chocolate Party…worked out great!
I also recommend getting a border punch like this one. I created snowflake fans from my Hot Chocolate Party using a scalloped punch. They were so easy and they turned out beautiful!
Martha Stewart Border Hole Punch– Fold the fans every two our three scallops using a scorer (shown below).
Paper Trimmers and Scorers
I like to use a large paper trimmer. I cut up all the invites, banner edges and cut in between the cupcake toppers with one of these trimmers. I couldn’t find my exact one, but the trimmer on the left had good reviews on Amazon.com. The small one on the right is good for thinner paper and nice if you don’t want to drag around a huge trimmer.
Paper Trimmer
Small Paper Trimmer
So, this scoring board from Martha Stewart pretty much saved my life for the last party. I couldn’t find it after moving for the past two parties, but I searched through boxes to find it so I could make my snowflake fans. They were so easy to make using this thing. This also makes clean creases for tent cards and treat bag toppers. It’s a steal on Amazon for only $13!
Sticky Stuff
Plain old tape just doesn’t cut it if you want your decorations to last for hours. My trip to Hobby Lobby made me fall in love with these! The tacky works perfectly for attaching paper decor to the wall…It’s super durable and easy to remove when you’re finished. No worries about your paint job. The glue dots worked perfectly for attaching the labels to glass and I also used it for the banner because I wanted it to lay flat. Get it in this dispenser for easy application!
I’m sure there is much, much more…but these are the basics and if you collect them gradually, very easy on the budget! What are some of your favorite party or crafting tools?
Candace says
OH, this post is so what I needed to not be intimidated to do this baby shower, THANKS! 🙂