Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tutorial: Easy Felt Thanksgiving Banner



Well, here's my first tutorial :) 
I made this banner this weekend, and I love how it turned out! I had the leftover fabric and felt from our wedding decorations and needed a use for it. All I had to buy was the ribbon. 
Supplies: Felt, Fabric, banner shaped templates, scissors, pinking shears, pins, ribbon, thread

I forgot to take a pictures of me cutting the letters, but I just free-handed them. I found a font I liked and tried to mimic it. Then cut out the banner shapes. I needed 13 of each.

Here you can see the pieces as I am setting them up together.

First I sew the shape/letter to the fabric. I used a straight stitch and slowly went around the cruvy shapes. Clearly its not perfect, but I dont mind. Then is clearly handmade with love :)
Finished turkey.

After the shape is attached, I attached the fabric to the felt banner. I did it this way so there were less layers to have to sew through, plus its a better look on the backside--not that that really matters much.


After they are all finished, I laid them all on the floor and pinned them to the ribbon.
I sewed right on top of the other stitching. I back-stitched at either end of each banner and just lifted the foot and moved to the next. This was less waste, and less hassle as far as cutting the thread in between each banner.
Here you can see what I mean. After It was all attached, I went back through and snipped the extra thread off each one.

The just fold over the ribbon to create the loop to hang it from. And thats it! :)


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 If I would do it over, and wanted to spend more time on it, then I would turn and stitch each fabric banner before attaching it to the felt layer. It would definitely look more finished or professional, but like I said, I really like the handmade look of it. Its more rustic and more homey. :) I hope this has inspired some of you!
Nikky

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Thirty Days of Thanks

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No doubt November makes you think of all the wonderful things in your life. Each day I will be posting something I am grateful for. Here are my days 1 and 2. 



Day 1: Today I am thankful for my amazing husband Scott! Without him I would be so entirely lost. Today I had a really crappy day, and he listened to my woes and is always so supportive. 

Day 2: Today I am thankful for my best girlfriend Billie! I went to visit her in her new apartment. It was so nice to get away for a bit and catch up. She is a shining light in my life!


 Looking for and recognizing the fantastic things in your life can really help you be more positive. It really has uplifted my mood today.