The Stories My Scissors Could Tell

I absolutely love celebrating special occasions!! And for me, having bright and flamboyant decorations is a must in making an event special. It’s the fluttering birthday banner hanging across the room, the glitter encrusted ribbon on the gift, or the carefully crafted decor atop the decadent cupcakes that make an event stand out and transform a blank room into a stage of festivity. From the time I was a child, I dreamed and drew pictures of these special events: the lace ornate wedding with a 6 tiered cake, a birthday party bursting with streamers or the pastel painted baby shower filled with beautiful decorations. Even more, now, as a mother, I have loved making decorations for my children’s birthdays. I have hand made strawberry, Cookie Monster, ballerina, Ninja Turtle, and Frozen birthday themed decorations.

From the birthday banner, to the smallest detail of utensil wraps, I have made countless decorations by hand. And while there are more advanced tools available for creating and crafting now, throughout my life, I knew the one tool I could count on to be available and affordable was a dependable pair of scissors. The stories my scissors could tell would be innumerable…from curling ribbon for the gift of the loved one that is now past, to planning and creating an extravagant Thanksgiving dinner. The dependable scissors have been featured in many important roles in my life, among them, the hobby of creating colorful and extravagant decorations. So yes, making, not buying, party decorations is a hobby of mine. And when life allows me time to indulge in this hobby, I am delighted by the opportunity to paint a room from an artistic palate of balloons, ribbons, fabrics, sparkles and luster.

The inspiration behind the process I take starts with the individuals for whom the event is being planned and the emotion I desire to evoke through the decorations. For example, if the event is for an energetic nine-year-old little boy who does flips when he sees his favorite celebrity boxer, I would then create a boxing ring in the middle of the party room with a life size cutout of the celebrity. I would then accompany this with streamers, banners, and balloons in the child’s favorite colors. Or in the case of creating an event for a family gathering, I would utilize warm tones accompanied by comforting scents such as vanilla or cinnamon to create a stronger sense of bonding. In both cases, the inspiration is derived from what the individuals enjoy and the emotions of excitement or bonding that I wish to encourage through the specific theme of the decorations.

Creating and organizing the details of a party is to build a foundation for a memory that can last a lifetime. This is why there are event planners that dedicate themselves to the creation of these memories. While this is not the career path I have chosen, I do still thoroughly enjoy the moments that I can invest into event planning. It is energizing to see the expression of wonder from a child’s face entering a birthday party planned exactly for them, or to enjoy a carefully planned and executed event that caters to the likes of the individuals attending it. Because we are immersed in a world that fully stimulates all of our senses, the sparkles on the ribbon and the burst of colors from the banners and balloons are just as important as the icing on the cake.

To many, a banner is simply a piece of paper that is expected at a party. But to me, a personalized birthday banner can be a reminder to an individual that they are celebrated, they are known, and they are special. All this, I do believe, can come from a pair of scissors. And while I fully comprehend that decorations cannot solve the problems in a person’s life, I do believe that they can make the momentary escape from the problems a little more satisfying. The stories my scissors would tell would take you through these momentary escapes in my life like the details of my handcrafted wedding and the sweetest and most genuinely celebrated birthdays with my children. These are the stories my scissors would tell.