Party

I made the above numbers to use as a Graduation party decoration for my oldest son’s high school graduation party last year. I used photos from each of his high school years so that the number “two” was covered in Freshmen photos, the number “zero” was patched with Sophomore memories, the number “one” included highlights from his Junior year and finally the “three” showcased his Senior year.

These photo covered numbers would work just as well for birthday parties using either the age or the birth year of the guest of honor. And another super cute idea would be to cover letters of the birthday girl or boy’s name to display later in their bedroom.

To create these numbers for your own event you will need three items: Numbers/Letter, Photos and Modge Podge.

I was able to find the Paper Mache numbers at Hobby Lobby. After selecting all the photos I wanted to use I organized them in a Publisher document so that several photos would print per page. I went to Kinkos to print my pages of photos because I wanted to select a heavier paper to print them on. It only took Kinkos a few minutes to print the photo pages off of my jump drive and then I was on my way home to create a custom “2013”.

I cut out each photo and began my scrapbook numbers. I used Modge Podge to glue each photo onto the numbers while creating an overlapping collage. After the numbers were wrapped in photos and all the brown was covered I used a paint brush to smooth Modge Podge over the photos as a sealant. The brushstrokes will show and so I suggest using long straight strokes. After the first coat of Modge Podge was completely dry (a few hours) I added a second coat to ensure the edges of my photos would not lift.

The result – AWESOME. Not only did my son love and appreciate having his high school years reflected on his graduating year, 2013, I received countless compliments at his graduation party. They were a hit all around and they now sit on a shelf in his bedroom and serve as room décor.

Happy Party Planning!
– T