adjustable fabric bunting...

Ummm...I accidentally took a 3-month-long blogging hiatus.

Whoops.

I guess I figured I wouldn't look back 20 years from now and wish I had blogged more often.  And I spent years praying for a baby, so I'm going to enjoy him!

With that said, I have really missed documenting my creative endeavors.  I {obviously} don't spend as much time making things, but you didn't think I'd given it up entirely, did you??

Anyway...

Now that my son is 10 months old, I'd better finish sharing the little DIYs I did for his nursery. (And then I'll show you the finished product!)

Fabric buntings aren't anything new.  However, I wanted one that was easy to rearrange or change-up.  A lot of tutorials out there have fabric flags sewn onto a ribbon or bias tape or something... I made mine adjustable!

I began with 6 fabrics that I had leftover from my kiddo's quilt.

I cut twenty-five 5x12 inch rectangles.

I'd like to share some brilliant mathematical equation I used to come up with this number...but I pretty much just looked at the wall where I wanted to hang it and guessed how many flags I would need.  I estimated perfectly...a.k.a. got lucky. :)  But if you over- or under-estimate it's no big deal.  It's adjustable, remember?  You can easily add or remove flags.

Next, I pressed the both of the short ends 1/4" toward the wrong side of the fabric.

(Don't mind my hideous, water-stained ironing board cover!)

Then I folded each rectangle in half, right-sides together, with the pressed ends at the top and sewed 1/4" down each side, leaving the top open for turning.

Then I clipped the corners, turned right-side out, and pressed flat.  The top is still open, but the raw edges are inside.

Next, I pressed the top edge down 1/2" and stitched as close to that open edge as I could to create a little pocket.

I threaded some twine through the top of each flag, hung it up, and slid the flags around until they were spaced to my liking.

The bunting looks bright and festive hanging over my little one's closet.

And if he decides he hates dinosaurs when he gets older, I can easily swap out the offending fabrics.  Or if we move into a new house, I can add or remove flags to fit it to a different length of wall without having to re-do the whole thing! 

"One Nation Under God" hanging banner...

Independence Day is just around the corner, so I made a patriotic banner for my (conveniently) red front door.  I used my favorite part of the Pledge of Allegiance as inspiration...

It's part of the Red White Blue series at Sugar Bee Crafts!

{Be sure to check out the other patriotic goodness.}

Back to the banner...

This project requires a little straight line sewing and an easy freezer paper stencil.  Here are the supplies you'll need:

2 pieces of canvas cut to 11.25"x 14.5"
12 inch craft dowel
fabric paint
freezer paper
free template
xacto knife
twine
printer & sewing machine

Start by cutting your two pieces of canvas to 11.25 x 14.5 inches.

Then cut a notch in the bottom by making a mark in the center of your fabric 1.5" from the bottom...

...then cut from that center mark down to each corner.

Now sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving the top open for turning.

Clip the corners, turn right side out, then press well using a hot iron.

Next, fold the top down 3/4" and sew straight across to create a pocket for your dowel.

(Yes, I left that edge raw.  It's not really going to get much wear-and-tear and I'm lazy.  But feel free to serge it or fold it down 1/4", then 3/4" to encase the raw edge.  This will add bulk, though.)

Now for the stencil...
(If you've never worked with freezer paper stencil before, check out this tutorial for tips.  It should answer most questions you might have.)

Download the template HERE.

Cut a piece of freezer paper 8.5" x 11" and tape it to a regular sheet of copy paper (shiny side down) and load it into your printer so the design will print on the freezer paper.

If it smears, don't worry.  It won't matter.

Cut out the design with an xacto knife.
(Make sure you reserve the center pieces of the O's, A, D and R.)

Then iron the stencil to your canvas banner.

Now paint in each shape with your fabric paint.  It may take two coats.  (You may also get blue paint all over your thumbnail trying to peel the little foam seal-thingy off the top of the paint bottle...)

Since my door is red, I did black lettering with blue stars.  But you could easily do red and blue instead.

Peel off your stencil and let the paint dry.
Then tie on some twine or string for hanging.

Now display your hanging banner on a door or wall...wherever you please.

In Utah, we have two July holidays--Independence Day on July 4th as well as Pioneer Day on July 24th (to celebrate the founding of our state).  It kind of turns into a month-long patriotic celebration, so this baby will be on my front door until August!