I scoured the internet high and low for our son Ellis’ Wild Things first birthday party. We decided it needed to be under a certain budget, so I knew making some DIY projects would be a must to get the look I wanted but stay in budget. At the same time, I’m not really a sewer or artist that can draw freehand so I needed projects that were simple enough- like mostly gluing, printing, and tracing. After my research, I found some great and easy DIY projects for a Wild Things Party. What makes these the 6 best projects is they can be as simple or as detailed as you want to make them, and look just like stuff you can buy on Etsy. They also came from sites with detailed instructions that were easy to follow. 
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The Crown
I decided to tackle the projects in order of how much I wanted it done. You never know what life will throw at you or if something takes longer than anticipated. Making a crown for the birthday boy was my first big goal. I thought it created such a cute look to distinguish him from the other kids and make him be the true king of the wild things.
There are a few tutorials out there, but I found a great one that was no sew which was essential for me! Now, I did do some hand stitches at the top, but that is because I didn’t get double sided heat and bond. :-/ Make sure you do! This tutorial includes a template and took about an hour. AND the birthday boy wore it the whole time! The fact that it was soft and had a good fit made him forget he had anything up there.
What you Need:
- Felt- 4 pieces
- Heat and Bond
- Elastic
- Glue gun
- Template printed from original site
Masks
These were soo fun to have! This awesome blogger already did most of the work! They enlarged the pictures to fill a page each. All you do is print them, cut out the faces and tape them onto large popsicle sticks. Instant entertainment! I really wanted to make sure that there were activities for the kids, and it was nice that there was something to play with that aligned with the theme. There was another post with a craft project but since the majority of our kid guests were under 3, these were perfect. If you’ll have older kids at the party, they’ll probably run around even more with them.
What you Need:
- Print masks from original site
- Card stock to print on
- Glue
- Large popsicle sticks
Wooden Signs
I fell in love with the wooden signs I saw on Pinterest and Etsy. They were essential for the wilderness feel of the party. I thought there had to be a way to make these on a budget! And there is!
If you don’t have wood or don’t want to transfer it yourself onto wood, you can download my designs and print them in poster size at either Office Depot, Fedex Kinkos or Vistaprint. Just look around and see who has the best deal at the moment.
- Ways to get cheap wood: In addition to the art pieces, you can also get tree trunk pieces to use as serving trays (I borrowed some from a friend). I found my wood in the free ads on craigslist. There was a guy donating a bunch of pieces sized perfectly for signs. I had to wash and stain them, but they were free so it was worth it. Other options are asking for leftover wood pieces at Home Depot. Many times if people get wood cut in certain sizes, there may be some left over that they keep in a pile. Or go to a nearby lumber yard.
- Like I mentioned, I’m not an artist. Nor did I trust myself to draw letters that looked alike and were actually straight. This explanation of transferring printed pieces was my life saver! I designed the signs on the computer (attached in the freebies below!), then followed the instructions to transfer to wood. Finally, I used a chalk marker to fill it in. This is what I already had in house, but a paint marker would also be perfect. You wouldn’t want to use a brush, unless you have an incredibly steady hand.
What you Need:
- 1-2 Wood pieces that are poster size
- Wood stain (optional)
- Printer
- Scissors
- Pencil and Pen
- Paint or Chalk marker
Birthday Banner
After I learned how to trace and transfer printed letters, I felt inspired to create my own “Happy Birthday” banner and “One” banner for the high chair. I used the same steps I used for the wooden signs and similar fonts so it would match (also included in printable download!). The only difference is that I filled them in with black sharpie and outlined with a gold marker. Triangle paper came in a pack of 24 at Michael’s, and it was super cheap with a 40% coupon. I’m sure they have them at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores. They had lots of different colors and designs.
What you Need:
- Banner Triangles (or whichever shape you want)
- Twine or string (if not included with your banner paper)
- Pencil and pen
- Sharpie or Marker to fill in letters
TeePee
Okay, so our teepee struggled in the looks department. We tied it a little too low, and by we I mean my husband after I left to go do other things. Lol. He thought it was sturdier that way, we had a super windy morning so it was kind of rough putting it up under those conditions. There was also a lot going on, as I waited until the morning of to put together. Definitely should have done it sooner! The tutorials are great, but my execution needed some work. 🙂 This one is no drill needed and this one drills holes in the sticks to anchor more.
Kids were definitely crawling in there and having fun. I vowed to be completely honest with you guys at all time. No kids were hurt, but it totally blew over on little Marty. I told you my execution needed work. Thankfully his mom is one of my best friends and didn’t sue me. He also is one of the widest of them all so he wasn’t phased one bit. LOL. Overall, it was a perfect addition to the theme. We had the Wild Things book in the teepee and one little girl had her dad read it to her several times. It would be a nice touch to have several books, flashlights or other toys to play with inside.
What you Need:
- 4 wooden sticks- I got the ones linked in original site at Home Depot
- Canvas drop cloth (6×9)
- Jute twine
- Drill (Optional)
- Cushion or blanket for the bottom
Printables
One of the best parts of having a book theme is there are lots of great quotes that work perfectly for a party! You can really make it come to life with quotes and images set around the space. There were two I found on this blog, I made the rest myself and just printed them at home (Scroll to end to download!). Recycling frames from the house is the way to go! I put them above the pictures, and just took the quotes out after the party.
What you Need:
- Paper
- Printer
- Frames
So that’s it! Just give yourself enough time to buy any supplies you need and complete the projects. If you want to read more about the rest of the party, check out the wild things party post.
Download Your Free Wild Things Party Printables!
6 Wild Things Party signs! Includes 2 large posters, 3 8 x 10 signs and letters to make a Happy Birthday banner.
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do you know what font the picture frame quote is
Hi! I use picmonkey online. I found the font on there so not too sure which programs it’s one. But it’s Amatic Small Caps.
Great job with this, I might give this a try but not convinced it will come out as good haha
Thank you! You never know until you try. 🙂