Hand-Drawn

• 1). Write down what you want your banner to say, such as "Happy Birthday" or "Welcome Home". Decide where you are going to hang the banner and how you are going to secure it--with push pins, tape or another method.
  
  
• 2). Pick the paper you'll use. If it is to be a small banner, you can use letter-sized sheets of paper taped together. For larger banners, use a roll of banner paper.
  
  
• 3). Tape the sheets of paper together on one side of the paper only if you're using individual sheets. If you're using a roll of banner paper, cut it to size.
  
  
• 4). Draw your design with a pencil on the untaped side of the paper. Center the lettering and leave spaces to insert any art or clip art you want to include.
  
  
• 5). Outline the letters on the banner carefully in your color of choice to make them stand out and provide a guide to neatly color inside. Color in any art work you're decorating the banner with, such as a picture of a birthday cake for a "Happy Birthday" banner.
  
  
• 6). Trim any clip art to the desired size and glue it on. The banner is ready to mount.
  
  

Computer-Generated Method

• 1). Write down what you want your banner to say, such as "Happy Birthday" or "Welcome Home". Decide where you are going to hang the banner and how you are going to secure it--with push pins, tape or another method.
  
  
• 2). Choose either letter-sized pieces of paper taped together or banner paper. The banner paper will usually be Z-fold (the pages are attached like an accordion), with perforations along the top and bottom of each page. Computer banner paper usually comes in lengths of approximately 20 pages, with several lengths in each box.
  
  
• 3). Open a new document in a word processing program such as Word or Microsoft Publisher and type the banner's message in the font and color of your choice. Size the letters to fit the paper you have chosen. For example, you may fit one letter per page, in either portrait (lengthwise) or landscape (widthwise).
  
  
• 4). Add any clip art you have chosen. Position and resize as needed and click "Save".
  
  
• 5). Click the "Print" button, then go to "Print Preview". Check that the banner looks right.
  
  
• 6). Load the paper into your printer. If you're using single sheets of paper, print as normal. If you are using computer banner paper, place the whole stack in the paper tray. Once the first sheet goes through, the rest of the paper will feed through automatically. Print the banner and check that it printed correctly. If not, make adjustments and do it again.
  
  
• 7). Tape the pages together if you printed on single sheets of paper. If you used banner paper, unfold it carefully to its full length and smooth out any bumps at the perforations. Hang your banner.
  
  

Mounting

• 1). Mount your banner with tape, push pins, nails or twine, depending on its size and where you're hanging it. If you use twine, carefully poke holes through the banner's top corners and feed a piece of string through each that's long enough to hang the banner. If it's a large banner, tape along the back of the banner to take some of the weight of the paper and prevent tearing.
  
  
• 2). Tape the front of your single-sheet banner as well as the back if you plan to mount it outdoors. Likewise, tape the banner perforations front and back to resist windy conditions outside.
  
  
• 3). Use a ladder or ladders (one person at either end of the banner) to display the banner.