~birthday banner-Tim Gunn style~

Remember the list of projects I told you about

the other day? I decided to start off with the

easiest project......the birthday banner.

It turned out adorable!

I totally winged it.

I didn't take pics during the process because

I figured it's pretty self explanatory.

Pretty easy and IMPOSSIBLE to screw up.....RIGHT?

WRONG!

The process of getting it to this final result was 

not as easy as it would have been if I'd given

it a little thought before I dived (is this a word?) 

into it. Maybe I should have researched and

read some tutorials about them eh?

Anyway-I cut the triangle flags out with a pattern

I made out of a piece of paper. 

I used fabric scraps I had on hand here.

The letters are from a cardboard birthday banner that

I have been using for years to decorate with.

I cut the letters out and painted over

them with some Martha Stewart acrylic glitter paint.

Next, I sewed the letters onto the flags.

I decided to use a piece of thick, gigantic rick-rack

to sew the flags onto. 

I folded it in half and started with the center flag

and worked my way out, pinning the flags to the rick-rack.

Last step was to sew the flags onto the rick-rack.

I finished it late Thursday night and was

excited to hang it up and show my son Friday morning,

as we had been working on it together and talking about it.

Well-I hang it up and soon realize,

"CRAP! This sucker is huge!"

I forgot to measure the space I would be hanging it in.

I normally would hang it in my bay window above 

my dining room table. Well-I tried that and it 

swooped down to the floor.

(sorry-no pic)

I thought to myself,

"Well-I'll try it on my main living room wall."

This is what it looked like on that:

Not the look I was going for.

B-A-D......BAD!

So....in true Tim Gunn fashion I

was faced with a "make it work" moment.

I didn't want to take the time to unpick

the flags and cut the rick-rack smaller so I decided

instead to do a gathering stitch on the part

of the flags that lay behind the rick-rack.

Like this:

(Wow....this is a really bad picture....sorry.

You get the idea right?)

Notice my stubby fingernails.

Projects such as this make me chew my nails :(

After I adjusted the gathers across the 

entire banner I LOVED the result.

I think it gives it a happier vibe and 

it's different than any I have seen around.

It fits perfectly in the bay window

and I can't wait for our birthdays to roll around

so I can hang it up.

The banner was easily fixed......

my nails on the other hand

will take a couple weeks. 

OUCH!