Fringed Crepe Party Garlands

We love garlands. We love crepe paper streamers. And we love getting a little crafty! Victoria from asubtlerevelry.com has a super simple tutorial on how to create reams and reams of wonderful fringed garlands, perfect for adding a little fiesta fun to your party!

asubtlerevelry.com

Make your own Fringed Fiesta Garlands:

1. Stack four lengths of paper streamers on top of each other and pass them through the sewing machine (or stitch tightly by hand). 
2. Fold the stack in half on the stitched line. 
3. An optional step is to use pinking sheers on the edge, for extra texture and fluff.
4. Fringe the length of the unsewn edge making sure not to cut through the thread. 
5. When the fringing is complete, use your fingers to fluff the garland strands by separating the layers and ruffling the fringed edges.
6. Find the perfect spot to hang your creation, sit back and appreciate your work!

The great thing about using crepe paper streamers to decorate your home, an event or a birthday party, is that the colour options are endless! Pick a selection of coloured creme streamers which will co-ordinate with your party theme or even just the time of year. We think Victoria’s choices of whites, greys, oranges and reds are perfect for an Autumn party.

Order some crepe paper streamers online at Flingers and you are sure to find the perfect colour for your crafty creation! Delivery starts from just £1.40. Or pop in store to pick out your favourite colour in person.

Do you like this crepe paper garland idea?

Lego Cake Tutorial

We love Lego. And we love cake. So what could be better than a Lego Cake!

We love this idea and are really surprised by just how simple it is recreate. All you need is a freshly baked cake, lots of frosting, food colourings and marshmallows. Yep, marshmallows are the secret ingredient which completes the cake and creates the famous Lego studs on the top of the bricks.

This awesome idea was first thought by the lovely bloggers at Betty Crocker and you can read their recipe and instructions below. It would make a great birthday cake for any young Lego fan and would be perfect to top off any Lego inspired party you might be planning.

Building Block Cakes:

• 1Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.
• 2Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Refrigerate or freeze cake about 1 hour or until firm.
• 3Meanwhile, in small bowl for each color, tint 1 cup frosting red, 1 cup frosting yellow and 2/3 cup frosting blue with food colors. Leave remaining frosting white.
• 4Using serrated knife, cut rounded dome from top of cake to make flat surface; place cake cut side down. Cut cake crosswise into thirds. Cut one of the thirds in half crosswise to make 2 squares. Place cake pieces on tray.
• 5To seal in crumbs, frost top and sides of 1 square cake with thin layer of blue frosting and 1 square cake with thin layer of white frosting. Frost 1 rectangular cake with thin layer of yellow frosting and 1 rectangular cake with thin layer of red frosting. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting.
• 6Add final coat of frosting to each cake. Frost 4 marshmallow halves with blue frosting; place in square design on blue cake. Frost 4 marshmallow halves with white frosting; place in square design on white cake. Frost 8 marshmallow halves with yellow frosting; place on yellow cake. Frost 8 marshmallow halves with red frosting; place on red cake. Store loosely covered.

To help give you a better idea of how to follow these tips and see how easy it is to create the lego building block cakes, check out the tutorial below to guide you through step by step.

Will you be trying out this Lego Cake idea?

Milestone Birthdays

We love to celebrate a milestone birthday here at Flingers! Whether its first birthdays, 21st birthdays or 100th birthdays. Just recently a customer planned a sophisticated 80th birthday garden party, shopping all the party decorations in store at Flingers Party Shop.

Going for a smart black and silver theme, this garden party was a delightful surprise for the birthday girl! See how they styled the party below and get some ideas on how to decorate a milestone birthday you may be planning.

The stylish Black and Silver 80th Centrepiece can also be used a balloon weight as well as a table decoration.

We have lots of age specific bunting to suit all birthday parties.

It isn’t a party without some balloons. The 80th Glitz Foil Balloon is perfect for this party.

Of course, not forgetting the cake and candles! The Glitz Ice Fountain Candles add an extra bit of sparkle to top of the amazing looking cake.

All these items and more can be found online and in store. Whatever the age, whatever the theme, we love to help you chose the best decorations for your birthday party. Pop in store and get a quote for your own personalised balloon cluster to feature as the centrepiece for your party. 

Are you planning a milestone birthday party soon?

Festival in Glitter

Festival season is drawing to a close but some may say the best have been left to the last. With Bestival, Shambala, Reading and Leeds still to go along with Notting Hill Carnival, there is plenty of festival action left on the calendar to enjoy.

Get into the spirit of the carnival atmosphere whatever festival you are heading to over the next few weeks by getting creative with your make up. Glitter make up is the easiest way to add some sparkle to your festival outfits.

We’ve been getting inspired by some awesome glitter face paint ideas. From glitter lightning bolts Fearne Cotton style to big golden stars Kate Moss style and much more. Use a coloured base of face paint to add more definition to your glitter and create a bolder colour. Don’t be afraid to use black eye liner to help define your features and define your glitter face paint design too.

Stock up on your Glitter resources ready for whatever festival, carnival or party you still have planned this summer. And don’t forget your face painting brushes and sponges to help achieve a professional finish and get shimmering all night long!

Glitter Gels from Flingers - Available in Gold, Red and Silver.

However, if floral face paints are more your thing, remember to check out out Festival Face Paint Tutorial featured on the blog earlier in the year for some top tips!

Order online now with delivery from just £1.40 or try out of brand new click and collect service.

Have you tried out any glittery make up designs this summer?

Desert Island Disco

The Summer is flying by and the end of the festival season is closing in. Bestival is on the horizon! Held on the Isle of Wight between 4th-7th September, Bestival is a fun music festival with huge emphasis upon the element of fancy dress!

This year's theme is set as 'Desert Island Disco'. Last month we uncovered some awesome Bestival fancy dress ideas inspired by the Shipwrecked element of the Desert Island, but seeing as this is a music festival, we think Disco is where it is at!

Superstar Sunglasses  |  Blonde Afro  |  Silver Glitter Wig  | 1970s Black Afro  |  Silver Glitter Microphone

We're thinking all things silver, shiny, funky and groovy! Channel your inner 1970s Disco Queen by popping on some metallic hotpants, a super groovy afro and a pair of superstar sunglasses! At Flingers we have a huge range of fancy dress perfect for this Disco inspired theme. Browse the whole range online now.

Or if you are going in a group of five, then surely you have no better option than to go as the kings of D.I.S.C.O. themselves. The Village People.

Get your Village People vibe | Cowboy  |  Motorcycle Cop  |  Navy Officer  |  Biker  |  Construction Worker

Order your Bestival fancy dress essentials and collect in store for free with our new Click and Collect service. Can't make it in store? Don't worry, UK delivery starts from as little as £1.40! And stay tuned to the blog as we will be bring you even more Bestival fancy dress ideas for over the next few weeks. Bring on the Desert Island Disco!

Are you heading to Bestival this year?

Garden Party Lawn Games

Time to plan your next Summer garden party! We're hoping the sun makes an appearance this weekend so that we can attempt to recreate some of these great DIY lawn games.

From a chic game of ring toss using painted bottles and repurposed embroidery hoops to knocking down a stack of vintage inspired tin cans, decorated with lace and floral fabrics! These are traditional but fun lawn games which will appeal to both young and old party guests. We love the simplicity of the using some paving stones and pebbles for a very rustic game of noughts and crosses.

But our favourite must be a game of alfresco Twister! Cut a large circle from the bottom of a cardboard box or a large piece of paper to use as a stencil and spray rows of coloured circles to map out the twister board. Use spray paint for a semi-permanent twister feature to play on until you next cut the grass or consider using coloured hairsprays to easily wash away the circles after the party.

No true garden party is complete without a good bash of a piñata! Especially great to occupy the kids with the promise of sweeties and toys raining down upon them if they manage to smash it open.

Party Perfect Piñatas -  Unicorn   |   Monkey   |   Treasure Chest   |   Donkey   |   Dragon

Pick a piñata to suit your part theme the best. From Unicorns, Castles, Footballs, Dinosaurs, and many more, including a Buzz Lightyear Piñata - great for a Toy Story themed party! Fill with sweets and party favours but most importantly, remember your piñata busters and blindfolds! Then let the games commence.

Are you planning a Garden Party this Summer?

Tie Dye Cookies

When isn't a good time to bake cookies? If you're looking for an activity to keep the little ones occupied this weekend or whilst they are off school this summer, why not attempt to create these awesome tie dye cookies.

Bold, colourful and tasty, they are a great summer treat!

We discovered these beauties over on BakedBee.com and wanted to share them with you as we love our colourful recipes! You may remember the Rainbow Tie Dye cake recipe we shared with you recently and the Polka Dot cake tutorial too?

Well now its time to crack out your colourful food gels and this time make some cookies.

How to Make Tie Dye Cookies

Images: BakedBee.com

1. Prepare your cookie dough following your favourite cookie recipe. We love this simple recipe from allrecipes.com.
2. Separate the dough into as many bowls as colours you want to make for the cookies.
3. Work in as much food colouring as need to get the desired colour. About 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon food colouring per bowl.
4. Pinch off pieces of the dough and form a loose log shape on a piece of parchment paper. Alternate some really little pieces and some larger for variation in the dough.
5. Roll up the cookies in the parchment to form a log.
6. Chill the dough for about 2 hours or until firm.  Slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake according to the recipe.

We're sure the kids will love creating these colourful treats in the kitchen this Summer. Why not add a more personal touch and get them involved even more by using cookie cutters for extra fun!

How about dinosaurs shaped cookies for the boys? Crown shaped cookies for the princesses in the family? Rocket shaped cookies for the wanna be Astronauts? Or Daisy shaped cookies for a summer garden party? At Flingers we have a huge selection of cookies cutters including Unicorns, Elephants, Planes, Trains, Music Notes, Moustaches and many many more. All starting at just 79p.

Check out the full range online now or in store at 63-65 Gloucester Road, Bristol.

Will you be making these tie dye cookies this summer?

Party Pom Pom Feature

At Flingers, we love to get inspired on Pinterest by some wonderful party decoration ideas. Today, we have been looking at some of the best ways to use paper pom pom decorations to add some colour, fun and quirkiness to a party.

There is something so magical about a scene with a few colourful textured pom poms hanging fro above. A quality which makes paper pom poms a great decoration for kids birthday parties as well as stylish wedding receptions! 

And with fluffy pom poms available in a huge range of colours, they can be suitable for all sorts of events. Use bold colours for a child's garden party, pink and blue for a baby shower or cool white for a wedding. Hang from light fittings, curtain rails, tree branches, balconies..... the list is endless!

Fluffy Paper Pom Poms available at Flingers Party Shop

We love the idea of creating an impressive feature decoration using these pom poms. Cluster some of these colourful decorations in one area, perhaps in front of a window, above a buffet table or from a large tree in the garden. Intersperse the pom poms with co-ordinating paper fans, crepe paper streamers and paper lanterns to add more interesting shapes and textures to the feature. Sure to impress your guests when they arrive!

Paper Fans and Paper Lanterns available at Flingers Party Shop

If you're planning a garden party or have an event coming up you would like to try this pom pom feature at, head to Flingers to stock up on these decoration essentials. Order online with delivery starting from just £1.40 or Click and Collect in store for free!

Do you love these paper decorations as much as we do?

Rainbow Fan Tutorial

With the hot summer weather in full swing, we know there will be fans wizzing all around the country in offices, living rooms and bedrooms to help keep you cool. So why not  liven up any boring old fan you may have going to add a bit of colour to your office or your home! 

DIY Rainbow Fan | Craft Tutorial | Sourced: Pink Stripy Socks

We discovered this super simple but really quirky tutorial on Pink Stripey Socks' wonderful and crafty blog and knew we had to share it with you! Find out how to make your own painted rainbow fan below.

Materials Needed:
- Masking Tape
- White Fan
- White, red, yellow, and blue paint
- Foam Brush

Directions to Make Rainbow Fan:

1.  Remove the grill from the white fan.

2.  Place Masking Tape on the center of your fan to protect the center from getting painted.

3.  If your blades aren't white, paint them white to help the colors really stand out. 

4.  Once the white paint dries, paint different combinations of red, yellow, or blue to create your 8 concentric rainbow rings.Create each color of the rainbow (from inner ring to outer): 

 Red- Three red blade bands

Orange- Two red and one yellow blade bands

Yellow- Three yellow blade bands

Green- One yellow and two blue blade bands

Blue- Three blue blade bands

Purple- Two red and one blue blade bands

5. Now comes the hardest part.  Wait for the paint to dry!  Don't turn on the fan on before the paint is completely dry.

6.  Once your paint dries, carefully remove the Masking tape, replace the cover and turn it on to reveal your rainbow! 

We think this is a great way to add some colour and fun to basic indoor fans that you might use in a kids playroom or bedroom. Or if you are throwing a party this summer and need to keep your guests cool then this tutorial is perfect!

Will you be adding some rainbow fun to home or office this summer?