I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t have a little denim in their wardrobe. Personally, I live in blue jeans as it is perfect for my on-the-go creative lifestyle. The tough cotton twill textile has been widely used since the 18th century and there’s not a decade goes by that the fabric doesn’t seem to make an appearance in whatever fashion trend is doing the rounds. But it’s not often we think of crafting with denim. Michaels has named denim the craft trend of 2015 so we challenged ourselves to create a kid’s party kit with denim products found in our local Michaels store here in Portland – what better fabric to incorporate into the rough and tumble of a child’s birthday party?

We began by scouring Michaels for as many denim clad crafting goodies as we could – we had such fun. From rolls of printed fabrics and cloth tape to charger plates and cute denim fronted clothes pegs we left with a basket full of indigo colored supplies to play with.

My designer Krista and I then got to work coming up with ideas and designs for a cowboy themed children’s party. Below you will find printable invitations that can be customized with your party details and slotted into perfect denim pockets, printable goodie bag labels that we have attached to brown paper bags with those cute denim covered clothes pins. We used denim tape to make little flags for our drinking straws, and sheets of denim gift wrap paper to create popcorn holders. The birthday banner was simple to make with iron-on lettering and the denim bunting, and the charger plates look adorable with bright red bandana napkins folded neatly on top.

A party isn’t complete with a few games so we used the denim canvas to create a “pin-the-tail” game and gave our favorite felt stick horses new bridles with the denim ribbon from Michaels. (For the pattern and tutorial for these adorable and easy felt stick horses, click here). We are big fans of this DIY party theme and spent the weekend wondering if we could get away with throwing such a party for ourselves…….?

If you are looking for some spring project inspiration, take a look at Michaels’ new Make Market line for DIY project and home décor ideas – all made with simple, on-trend surfaces and textures like chalk, denim, galvanized, burlap and cork. Michaels Makers readers are getting the inside scoop on an upcoming craft contest that will send one lucky crafter on the trip of a lifetime to Paris – ooh la la! Check back on my blog March 2 to get all the details on how to enter. Enjoy! ~ Lia

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