I just love making banners and signs for family parties. For many years I would buy cardstock, bakers twine, and a pack of large letter stickers to make a paper bunting banner. It was an easy way to make a space festive. Those packages of stickers got to be expensive though, and I found myself buying more materials every time I needed to make a new banner. Although we do reuse many of those paper banners still, I am happy to share that have made something for my mom this time around that fits better in our budget and is less wasteful.
My mom’s birthday is in April, so greens and yellows came to mind with the onset of spring. Green is also one of her favorite colors – and mine too! I checked out my local Goodwill and found these three bundles of fabric scraps and two pillow cases for a total of $10. I later got some ivory colored bias tape at a craft store with a coupon for about $1.50.
I have recently discovered a new passion in thrifting. What a beautiful way to give new life to things! It is easy to get distracted, so to stay focused, I keep a running list of things to look for in my note app in my phone. Another sweet recent thrift store find was a small water pitcher for the kids to practice pouring their own water at meals. I bought it for $3 because it fit the function we needed, and took it home only to find later the word “FRANCE” in etched in tiny letters above the handle. As a Francophile and former French teacher, I thought it was just meant to be. Of course this adorable little pitcher had been made in France and made its way into our home!
My mom taught me how to sew. I’m still very much an amateur but find it very therapeutic. She bought me my first sewing machine for my birthday the year my first child was born. I hope she finds joy in seeing this little banner in her home on her birthday.
Details: I used the Fabric Bunting Tutorial fromwww.patchworkposse.com. I am very much a sewing newbie and found it straightforward. I cut my fabric triangles about 6 inches wide at the top and about 8 inches tall, but of course due to the seam allowance the final flags ended up being about half an inch smaller – 5 ½ inches wide and 7 ½ inches tall. I used the whole package of my bias tape – 3 yards. The bias tape was ½ in. wide. I used 15 triangle flags and chose not to leave a gap between them.
