A Banner Day
Over the summer, Kate's Primary teacher called with a request. For an end-of-year gift last school year, I made her a PEACE banner from fabric scraps and pieces of an upcycled wool blanket. Of course, I finished it the night before we were going to give it to her, so I didn't take pictures. But I knew it went with the whole philosophy of her school, since it was recycled, simple, and promoted peace. I loved it. Kate said her teacher loved it and actually screamed when she opened it, and she hung it up right away.
So I was thrilled when she called over the summer and wanted to know if I could make her another one. This time, she wanted to know if I could make one that read "The Children's House" so they could hang it in the entryway to the Primary hall in her school. Of course I could! This is what I made:
The design and styling were totally up to me, and I added a tree at one end and a house at the other. It now hangs in a prominent place in her school; Kate sees it every day as she walks down the hall to her own classroom. I know it makes her feel good to know it was made in our dining room. She even told one of her friends, "My mom and I made that." Unfortunately, she said her friend just looked at her blankly and said nothing, so I don't know what she thought....I prefer to think her friend's thought was, "Wow! That is so amazing that I am not sure what you mean when you say you and your mom made it. Is such a thing possible? Are you also saying that you can make ponies and rainbows and butterflies from scratch on your dining room table, too?"
Anyhoo, I loved it so much, and I had so much of the blanket left over, that I made a similar one for our own living room a couple weeks ago:
I absolutely love the way the banners make something ordinary look festive and special. And I adore the way they can easily be made from upcycled and recycled materials.
Last night, I made a traditional collegiate-style banner using stuff from the scrap basket:
The "ribbon" is a piece of a sheet; I cut it about 3" wide and folded it like bias tape to enclose the flags, which are pieces from other sheets or my scraps from other projects. The back of each flag is a piece of upcycled white fabric that came in a giant bag we got from a thrift store in the spring.
I'll make a Christmas one for our house. The simple, uncluttered design of it is soothing to me. I want to say CHRISTMAS without being gaudy or overdone or glam. Like Kate said today, the best part of holidays is spending time together. I want a flag that reflects that.
So I was thrilled when she called over the summer and wanted to know if I could make her another one. This time, she wanted to know if I could make one that read "The Children's House" so they could hang it in the entryway to the Primary hall in her school. Of course I could! This is what I made:
The design and styling were totally up to me, and I added a tree at one end and a house at the other. It now hangs in a prominent place in her school; Kate sees it every day as she walks down the hall to her own classroom. I know it makes her feel good to know it was made in our dining room. She even told one of her friends, "My mom and I made that." Unfortunately, she said her friend just looked at her blankly and said nothing, so I don't know what she thought....I prefer to think her friend's thought was, "Wow! That is so amazing that I am not sure what you mean when you say you and your mom made it. Is such a thing possible? Are you also saying that you can make ponies and rainbows and butterflies from scratch on your dining room table, too?"Anyhoo, I loved it so much, and I had so much of the blanket left over, that I made a similar one for our own living room a couple weeks ago:
I absolutely love the way the banners make something ordinary look festive and special. And I adore the way they can easily be made from upcycled and recycled materials.
Last night, I made a traditional collegiate-style banner using stuff from the scrap basket:
The "ribbon" is a piece of a sheet; I cut it about 3" wide and folded it like bias tape to enclose the flags, which are pieces from other sheets or my scraps from other projects. The back of each flag is a piece of upcycled white fabric that came in a giant bag we got from a thrift store in the spring.
I'll make a Christmas one for our house. The simple, uncluttered design of it is soothing to me. I want to say CHRISTMAS without being gaudy or overdone or glam. Like Kate said today, the best part of holidays is spending time together. I want a flag that reflects that.
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