fabric pennant banner

a friend recently said that he was going to be driving through town next week and was wondering if he could stop in. we love seeing old friends and thought our patio needed a little help if we were going to have company. i have been wanting to make fabric buntings for quite awhile now. they are so festive, fun, and just a great decoration to spruce up any old space. this diy could easily could be simplified, but since mine was going to be outside i decided to make it sturdy to withstand the weather. this is a great beginner sewing project.

supplies needed:
- heavy fabric (almost canvas like) since the buntings were going to be used outside. i brought 1 yard and did not even use half of it.
- 7/8' wide ribbon- the length is totally up to you
- sewing machine
- pins, scissors, iron
- triangle template

i first folded the fabric so the back side was showing and started to trace the triangle template and cut them out. after they were cut out out i went ahead and cut on the fold to make them 2 pieces instead of one.

  

i sewed the 2 pieces together. make sure you have the back of the fabric on the outside and the front of the fabric is facing in. Do not sew the top of the triangle.

turn the fabric inside out to show the front of the fabric. i ironed my fabric to make it nice and flat. 

                                         

i ironed the ribbon in half, which made the pinning the triangles to the ribbon so much easier. 

i am just a beginner with sewing and i found that this was very easy to do and not a ton of work either. this project could easily be completed in an evening. it definetely adds a fun element to our patio. since we rent right now we can not do much as far as paint, so this is a perfect way to add color to our outside space.  

whimsical terrariums

 

terrariums have been slowly taking over my living room, kitchen, friend's houses and my life. i hands down can not get enough of these beautiful plant creations. it is a different form of art that i have not played with until recently and i am in 100% in love. 

i am going to explain how you can make one yourself on the cheap, but first here is a few more examples of my terrariums:

not going to lie, but the terrarium i made below was a lot harder to do than the terrariums shown above. i decided to try to make a terrarium out of a light bulb. i saw a video on etsy's how to tuesdays series. 

what you will need to make a light bulb terrarium: 

light bulb (bigger the better)

gloves, safety goggles

screwdriver, needle nose pliers, 12 in. tweezers

sand or small rocks

horticultural charcoal

sheet moss

small succulent plants

soil

salt (only if you have a frosted light bulb)

i first took my light bulb and with the screwdriver and needle nose pliers poked out the ceramic part of the light bulb then gutted the inside so it was empty. my light build was not clear and had a frosted covering. to get rid of the frosting all you do is pour salt inside and shake. the film comes off quickly and pesto... you have a clear light bulb for your terrarium.

add salt then bumpers so the light bulb won't roll away

  

the order i added the supplies: sand, light dusting of charcoal, soil, moss and then the succulent plant

the only downside to the lightbulb terrarium was that the opening was so small i was unable to put any fun trinkets inside. overall, i now have a beautiful terrarium to sit on my desk. 

when i go shopping for terrarium glass i do not spend a lot of money and strictly shop at second hand stores. the best trinkets i have found to place inside the terrariums have been from second hand stores, dollar stores, and surprisingly a store called roses had the most variety of trinkets. as far as soil, moss, sand and rocks i go to lowes. i usually buy succulent plants and through trial and error some plants outshine others. i recently fell in love with air plants. super easy to take care of, they live off the air, and do not need soil. I bought tillandsia air plants through this amazon seller. they have lasted longer than any other place/ seller i have bought in the past. when i have a larger glass container to play with i add the ingredients in this order: rocks or sand, charcoal, moss, soil, plants and trinkets. make sure not to forget the trinkets! they give such a fun whimsical feel to your terrarium.

i hope you get a chance to make your own terrarium. they are so much fun!

it's time to wake up

i am excited to wake up. i feel as though i have been sleeping for quite a long while and it's time for me to come out of my hibernation and share my talents, ideas, and wonders with you beautiful people. as an artist and educator my tiny apartment is filled with with mounds of projects i want to make, projects that are in the works, and finished projects i have no room for. i want to share diy ideas to get you thinking and exploring within yourself. i want to create, explore my city and share my journey with you. there's a lot to share.

i'm ready to make some magic happen. are you?

welcome.

Lucy