Memorial Day Patriotic Banner: Memories from the Past

Hello, Friends! Today is Memorial Day: a time to remember and honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. It’s a somber day, but a joyous one as well, as we celebrate the freedom that sacrifice provided to us as Americans. Now, more than ever, it’s good to remember the price that was paid for our freedom. It is a thing to be cherished, guarded and appreciated every day of the year. Coming from a family where my brothers and dad served our country, I am thankful.

Growing up in Vermont, Memorial Day meant rising early to pick lilacs. The fragrant blooms were still heavy with dew as we gently laid them in a laundry basket to carry home. Then the work of arranging them in big fan-shaped metal urns began. Once that task was finished, we drove over to the family cemetery plot where we placed them on the graves of family members who had served. We always brought along a bucket, soap and a scrub brush along with gardening tools so we could clean up the graves. It sounds morbid, but I loved this tradition. It was heavenly to breathe in the scent of those glorious lilacs as we worked in the warmth of the sun under the bright blue sky.

After that, we would travel to the main street in our small town to observe the Memorial Day Parade. Cars filled with Gold Star Mothers, a few marching bands, civic groups and Shriners filled the street for about 30 minutes. Then we all traveled up to the Warm Memorial in the park where a prayer of gratitude was offered by local clergy. As a wreath was placed on the memorial, someone always played “Taps” on the trumpet. The haunting notes of that melody always left me with goosebumps and a tear in my eye. How I miss those wonderful traditions!

Memorial Day Patriotic Banner: Tips and Tricks

Banners are one of my absolute favorite things to make. I just wish they weren’t so hard to photograph! But I think you can easily see that this red, white and blue beauty made with Authentique Paper’s Liberty Collection is filled with lots of fun details. While I don’t have a tutorial, I will share some tips and tricks with you.

Begin by cutting the banner pieces from red ticking canvas. Use the Eileen Hull House Die for this step. Lay the die on the fabric and cut around it with scissors. Use the large die for the outer pennant, then trace around the inside of that die for the natural canvas.
Next, cut red glitter paper using the smaller die from the set. To create the perforated edge, trim half the die cut holes using a pair of scissors.
Create smaller pennants with Graphic 45 ATC tags. Cut covers for the tags with the G45 ATC Die.
Rosettes are a must on a patriotic banner. Cut designer paper with the Tim Holtz Sizzix Rosette Die. Top with buttons.

Memorial Day Patriotic Banner: Finishing Touches

Cut a 2 yard section of 1 1/2″ wide Royal Blue Plaid Ribbon.
Arrange the pennants along the ribbon. Hold them in place with binder clips.
Now stitch the pieces onto the ribbon. I added a border of White Ruffled Ribbon stitched with Red Zig Zag Ribbon in the center.
Next, tie bows between the pennants with Scarlet Checkerboard Satin Ribbon.
Then add images and flowers to finish the banner.

How do you celebrate Memorial Day? I know this is not a typical year, but if it was, what would you be doing? A trip to the beach? Family picnic? Back yard barbecue? I’d love to hear your memories of Memorial Day past, and how you intend to honor the day this year.

Winner of my YouTube Throwback Thursday Giveaway

And, today is the day I announce the winner of my YouTube Throwback Thursday giveaway! The randomly chosen comment came from Crafty Carolina Gal. Please contact me at kathybydesign@hotmail.com with your address so I can ship your goodies off to you!

Wishing you all a blessed, happy and safe Memorial Day!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Authentique Liberty Collection Pack (retired) but you can Pre-Order this new Authentique 4th of July Collection.
Eileen Hull House/Pocket Stitchlets Die (retired)
Tim Holtz Thinlets Rosette Set
Ribbon
- 1 1/2″ Royal Blue Gingham
- 5/8″ Scarlet Checkerboard Satin
- 3/8″ Red, White and Blue Dots Satin
- Elastic Double Ruffle White Ribbon
- Red Ric-Rac (out of stock)
- 3/8″ Red, White and Blue Chevron Stripe Ribbon
Buttons and Flowers from my stash
Red Ticking and Canvas from the fabric store

Vintage Patriotic Memorial Day Portfolio for Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog Hop

Hello, Ribbon Lovers! Welcome to the Really Reasonable Ribbon May 2016 Blog Hop! I’ve prepared a Vintage Patriotic Memorial Day Portfolio to share with you today.

You should have made your way here from Karen’s always inspirational blog. If not, you’ll want to go back to the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog so you don’t miss one single stop along the way.

This month, we are working with the May 2016 Ribbon Club assortment. This collection of patriotic ribbons is perfect for all the upcoming summer holidays: Memorial Day, Flag Day and 4th of July. Here’s a peek:

I can remember getting up early in the morning on Memorial Day when I was a young girl growing up in Vermont. We would go pick armloads of lilacs and arrange them in baskets to place on the graves of our family members. Then we would line up on the sidewalks in town to watch Gold Star Mothers, veterans of both World Wars and young ROTC candidates march in the annual parade. I can still see my father removing his hat and placing his hand over his heart whenever the flag passed by. A memorial wreath would be placed on the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument in the park, and then the crowd would become absolutely silent as a lone trumpeter played “Taps” to honor those who had died in service to our country. It still gives me goosebumps when I think about that moment.

The afternoon was usually spent with family, enjoying picnic food and games. It was always the first big celebration of summer, and a wonderful day from beginning to end. I thought about all these wonderful traditions as I was deciding what to do with these gorgeous ribbons. Finally, I decided to create a small portfolio album with a strong patriotic theme in red, white and blue.

The portfolio measures about 6.5″ square, with a flap on the side. I used the ribbons from the collection to create a ribbon banner beneath all my rosettes. The Stars and Stripes Ribbon and Electric Blue Diamond Satin ribbon were used to create a colorful border that I topped off with a triple loop bow that I tied with Poppy Red Checkerboard Satin ribbon. Doesn’t the cover make you think of fireworks and bunting and small town America?

I used Authentique’s “Freedom” paper collection and I love how well it works with these ribbons.

The inside of the portfolio has two sides plus a flap on the right. I used Tammy Tutterow’s new Waterfall 2 dies to create my little flip albums.

The inside pages are not really decorated, but I did add a few stickers and some washi tape to dress things up a little.

There is a pocket beneath the waterfall where you can add more photos or do some journaling on the cards that are inserted in the pocket.

The right hand side has a smaller photo waterfall, space for a larger photo and another pocket.

Vintage Patriotic Memorial Day Portfolio

You could tuck larger photos into the pocket, and mount them on the reverse of the journal cards, too.

I did a little decorating on the back of the portfolio, but left most of it blank so that larger photos could be mounted here.

Now, hop on over to see what delightful designs Deborah has in store for you. And once you’ve visited all the stops along the way in this Red, White and Blue Blog Hop, be sure to finish up at the RRR BLOG so you can answer Bonnie’s question of the month and be entered to win your very own Ribbon Club Assortment.

And, if you’re not a member of the Ribbon Club yet, now is a great time to sign up because for a limited time,Bonnie is offering a special deal for new subscribers. It’s always a happy day for me when my new Ribbon Club assortment arrives in the mail! Just like my birthday!

Did your family have special Memorial Day traditions? Do you have special plans for Memorial Day weekend? I’d love to hear about your memories in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!