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

Thirty Days of Thanks

 

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.

A feast fit for a king...

With all of my Christmas talk lately, I figured I'd reassure you that I am most definitely NOT skipping Thanksgiving!! Below are a few of my must haves for Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy!

Starting at the top left and headin' left...

Sweet potatoes--no marshmallows please. Scott's mom makes these and it is AMAZING!!! 

Jello--the classic. We call it ribbon cake at Scott's family's.

Green Fluff--or pistachio fluff. One of my absolute must haves! I'm totally obsessed with this! I'm the one that makes it so I can bring the left overs home :) 

I cannot make it through T-Dinner without a tall glass of milk--straight from the bulk tank thank you very much.

Veggies--I love either corn or garlicky green beans--or both! 

Mashed potatoes--the main food of T-Day!! It would never be Thanksgiving without mashers and gravy made from the bird!!

Turkey of course!--we use a Nesco to cook ours, lots of homemade wine and delicious spices to help in basting. Mmmm...White meat only please.

Stuffing--I never liked stuffing until a few years ago, and now I make a Gluten Free version with corn bread! AMAZING!! I'm always glad to have leftovers of this one!

Cranberry sauce--Again, not until recently. Nothing beats a little cranberry sauce with your turkey!!

Rolls--Although I miss terribly those non-rolls (brown n serve), or any for that matter. I do make a few gluten free, but there is nothing like a crusty roll all steamy and soft on the inside...just begging for butter and potato gravy goodness!!

That's all for now. I'll have to do a dessert collage later, it mostly consists of pies, but I just couldnt fit it on here. My favorite dessert memory: My grandma grabbing the pie and running with it because for some reason she doesnt stuff her self full of dinner and she wants dessert right away. My mom told her no, and chased after her for it--mind you my mom is hobbling along since she has a hard time walking these days, and my mom wrestled my grandma for the pie...sigh...nothing's better than that!! I love my family!

N.