Learn how to DIY a first day of school pennant flag using materials you already have on hand. Perfect for a prop in pictures and to compare growth over the school year!
Back to school has become such a big event since the popularity of social media. Everyone wants that perfect shot on the first day back. Bonus points if you can take another picture on the last day of school so you can see how much they’ve grown and matured over the year. I used to think this was silly, but now that I have a baby of my own I am on board.
Let’s learn how to make a DIY first day of school pennant flag using supplies you probably already have laying around the house. That’s right, I made this for free!
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Supplies for your DIY First Day of School Pennant Flag
For a completely handmade first day of school pennant
-Pencil
-Ruler
-Scissors
-Acrylic paint
-Craft Paintbrushes
-Hand lettering pen
If you want to electronically design & print your sign:
-Access to www.Canva.com
-Paper & printer
-Scrapbook paper
Find direct links to the supplies listed above here!
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience which may reward me in the event of a sale. Note that I only recommend tools and products I have personally used and loved.
Step 1: Gather Supplies
This idea came to me as I was cleaning out this vintage hand me down dresser for my nursery project, and found this old wooden ruler. I decided it would make the perfect handle for a fun DIY flag or pennant, which then snowballed into a first day of infant daycare sign.
In addition to the ruler, I gathered the other supplies listed above.
You can choose to make this sign one of two ways. First, you can freehand your design. If you don’t trust your freehand ability, you can use Canva.com to electronically create your design to print + paired with patterned scrapbook paper. Or even a combination of both!
Step 2: Plan, Draw & Cut
Next, decide if you want to draw and paint your sign, use some scrapbook paper, or print the words. Choose your base piece of paper. Measure and mark the middle, then draw diagonal lines from the middle to the corners to create your pennant flag shape.
If you choose the electronic route, use the online graphic design website Canva to create your words and images for your first day of school pennant flag. Using a mix of cursive and capital fonts, I created visual interest with the different words. I also found clip art stars for the top. Once your sizing looks about right, save your design as a PDF and print.
I’ve used Canva to create these custom cornhole boards, a birth announcement sign, and a one year milestone photo display board.
To create the border, I hand painted one while choosing a patterned piece of scrapbook paper for the other. Hand lettering accompanied the hand painted border. I used my favorite Tombow dual brush pens linked here.
Step 3: Put Your First Day of School Pennant Flag Together
I used double sided tape to attach the pages together, and attach to the ruler. That way, you can easily change out pennant flags for the first and last days, and year after year.
This is such a fun and easy craft to commemorate the first day of school for your little one, even if it is just the first day of daycare!
Enjoy the process,
