DIY Rainbow & Unicorn Felt Ball Backdrop

Hey friends! 

It's been a minute since I shared our last big party adventure -- we've had a crazy couple of weeks dealing with illness, keeping up with work and all the things that go into living life with 3 children. 

I wanted to stop in and give the how-to on how I created the backdrop for her rainbow/unicorn party! 

You won't believe how simple it was and they were the perfect punch of colorful impact I wanted. 

Here's the end result we ended up with: 

A quick run down on the entire backdrop before we get into the DIY garlands. 

The huge, jumbo rainbow was another DIY that I did based off this tutorial found here. 

The only things I changed were not adding the additional balls around the rainbow and obviously changed up the colors :) 

It was a labor of love- about 6-7 hours in all of wrapping. But so worth it. 

It's now hanging in her room as a statement piece so it gave us a double dose of awesome. 

The banner is from the cutest banner shop found here. 

The balloon garland was a quick DIY (my first time doing it and lovedddd it). 

So now we get to those fun hanging garlands :) 

Let's talk supplies: 

Supplies are simple! 

You need: 

*Felt balls in a variety of colors depending on your theme (choose from TONS of options at the lovely Shop Cherry Sprinkles shop here). 

*Gold unicorn (or other shape) in thick cardstock. 

Mine were created by the amazing Festive Fetti, we decided on double sided gold foil and gold glitter for a fun texture mix-up. Choose from tons of options here. 

Don't hesitate to message her for custom ideas too! 

*Felt ball needle (also found here)

*Twine to string your garland (I used bakers twine) 

Grab a starter kit here for all the pieces you need. 

*Hole punch (I used a mini size so the holes would be small)

Gather your supplies and let's start! 

First, punch your holes in your cardstock shapes in order to be able to string them on once you start. For the unicorns, I punched two holes- one towards the top, one towards the bottom. This way they would hand looking like the unicorn was rearing up :) 

Next, gather your felt balls and sort them out depending on how many garlands you are needing. I wanted 4- two longer, two shorter. So I went ahead and sorted them so I wouldn't fall short with any of the garlands. 

Then start threading!!! 

Tie a simple knot at the end of your garland first. 

Use your needle to poke through the felt balls and start stringing them together. It's simple to do and will go faster than you think! 

I strung 5-6 balls on, then strung a unicorn. I chose to flip the unicorns so one would be foil sided, and the next would be glittery, just for a fun texture change through the garland. 

And just like that, you have a custom garland for hanging! Mine were meant to hang vertically down my backdrop but you could just as easily make it to string horizontally for a mantle or other area. 

This is made from the same felt balls- and unicorns or other shapes could easily be added as well :) 

I love how the unicorns look like they are dancing up and down the backdrop!!! 

If you haven't delved into the world of felt garlands, shapes and other items, you need to check it out!! I can't believe how many gorgeous things can be made from these guys! 

The above necklace, rainbows, clouds & felt balls are all from Shop Cherry Sprinkles but you'll have to take a look for yourself to see all the amazing shapes you can get. 

(Dress from Naturally Kamdyn) 

The possibilities are endless- so many colors, textures, sizes and shapes to play around with to get your perfect party decor. I'm obsessed with using them for seasonal decor as well. Think hanging from mantles, tiered shelves or draping over photos, doors, shutters, etc. 

I'd love to see how you use ball garlands (can you even imagine how fun they would be wrapped around a Christmas tree?!). 

I'll be back soon with a quick rundown on how to make easy non-edible favors too so be on the lookout :) 

(Unicorn sign from Zavyanne)