Prima Lavender Lilac Season Banner
Hello, Friends! How about a little Prima Lavender Lilac Season Banner on this fine Friday morning?
Growing up in Vermont, I looked forward to lilac season every year. Our little town was filled with ancient lilac bushes that had actually grown into trees. Branches groaned under the weight of the fragrant blossoms. Lilac Season was a favorite because it also meant that winter was well and truly over. Lilacs always seemed to manage to bloom in time for Memorial Day (which was on May 30th when I was growing up.) My mother and I would get up early and pick lilacs that were dripping with dew. Then we would arrange them in large baskets to decorate the family graves at the local cemetery. I know that sounds morbid, but it was actually a joyful day. We shared memories and stories of our loved ones while we cleaned up the grave site. Did anyone else have this experience growing up?
I love to make banners, and this one was created as a special order in my Etsy shop for a dear friend. They sure are hard to photograph, though! Let me share some detail photos, tips and tricks with you.
Prima Lavender Lilac Season Banner: Getting Started
I used the same basic techniques to make this banner as the ones used for my Prima Spring Farmhouse Country Chic Banner. Here’s how it comes together:
- First, die cut 4 pennants from Prima Lavender Paper Collection using the largest ( #1) die in the My Favorite Things STAX Stitched Banner Die Set.
- Next, die cut 4 of the #4 pennants.
- Then machine stitch each pennant on to canvas or burlap. Cut around the pennant shape and fringe the edges.
- Now adhere onto MFT Wild Wisteria cardstock and trim around the shape, leaving about an eighth of an inch border on all sides.
- Now, space the banners out evenly on a long piece ( about 4 feet) of 1 1/2″ wide Champagne Silky Crush Ribbon. Hold the pennants in place with binder clips.
- Stitch all the pennants onto the ribbon along the top edge. Then turn the banner and stitch a second time along the bottom edge of the ribbon. This will cause the banner to lay nice and flat.
- Tie bows with Light Orchid Double Faced Satin Ribbon, and hot glue onto the pennants.
Now you are ready to decorate!
Prima Lavender Lilac Season Banner: Detail Shots
Flowers, buttons, burlap string, journal cards and mini doilies are great ways to add texture and interest to a banner. But you can also just make the basic pennant shape and hang it, as this paper is soooo pretty. Here’s a look at the details:
If you’d like to see more banner ideas, you can check the Banner Archives on my blog. You’ll find lots of inspiration, tips and tricks there!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
Cheerio,
kathy
Kathy, I’m always happy to see your banners. The papers you’ve used for this are one of my favorite collections. I’m sure the recipient will be treasuring this for years to come! I loved reading about your memories of your Memorial Day tradition. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers and those and peonies remind me of my Mom, because no matter how busy she was with us kids and tending the farm, she always made sure to take care of her flower beds. We had a huge lilac tree under my bedroom window, and it was magical. As a child, I often played under that tree and it was a favorite photo spot. Thank you for the memories! Hugs!
Wow, this is gorgeous!
I am smiling with creative joy at seeing this beautifully designed banner!! Love your style of decorating between the banner units..very attractive. LOVE your color choices for a memorial to a lovely lady! When I was a child, lilacs (and peonies) were favorites to gift to our teachers. Family resting sites were clear across the country, so Memorial Day always meant decorating the graves of Military. When my kids were growing up, our local Boy Scout leaders always organized a massive effort (on the Saturday before Memorial Day) to place a Flag at each and every grave in a National Memorial Park…17,000 flags were planted by Boy Scouts and their family members. It was an amazing sight to behold!! Cemetery staff placed crates of Flags at various locations around the park and decorated the perimeter of the large park with several hundred large Flags. We all started at 5AM and the entire park was finished by about 12Noon. It was so beautiful that it took your breath away! !! We’d follow all the heartfelt Flag plating with a meal at a local restaurant. We did this for 9 years, rain or shine. By the end of the week, park staff would store all the Flags for the following year. We always wished the Flags could fly longer! Thanks for all your details on building this gorgeous banner! Much appreciated!
Hi kathy, What eye candy! You bought a special touch of sweetness to my day with this post.
Thank you…you busy little bee!
Beautiful as always!
So pretty. Our lilacs are blooming right now.
Absolutely stunning, Kathy! Those lavender and earthy toned ribbons are just gorgeous. And what a fantastic idea to use those beautiful mini doilies . They make such a pretty background for the flowers. Love this collection and the sentiments so much! I sure wish this was for sale in your shop. Thank you for sharing! Hugs!
Awww Kathy …this is just gorgeous! Absolutely luv this collection! Just finished a Mother’s day mini album …actually I made 3 …2 of them were from these Prima papers …dog gone it, for once …there’s barely any scraps left! You would be proud! Lol!!! And I also got myself some of this gorgeous gold ribbon from another project you used it on! Luv, luv, luv this beautiful ribbon! And, I used it on my Prima Lavender album! Yes, I made a trial album and kept it…for myself! Lol! And …about cemetary decorating … my cousin Joy and I call it cemetary hopping …for we have about 6 cemeteries in a 22 mile radius, we visit 3 times a year and decorate according to the season …and we relate stories about our ancestors that go back 5 generations! Let’s face it if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be here! We’ve been doing this for the last 6 or 7 years. Sorry, we luv it! When you see the final result ….it says to me, here lies someone who still has family left that’s watching over them. Big hugs, Suzy Q
Gorgeous creation Kathy – the colors are so pretty – and where all my family are buried, the cemetary association always has a covered lunch get together while cleaning and taking care of gravesites – this has gone on for as long as I can remember and I am 75 years of age. Friends and family get to visit during this Day of Remembrance.
This is so beautiful. What a wonderful memory with your mother. I just love the beauty and the wonderful fragrance of lilacs in the spring.
Just lovely Kathy! What a creation. I have lilacs sitting in my living room as we speak. As a young girl we would make journeys from Philadelphia to New Jersey to put flowers on my mother’s family gravesite. For some reason all the graves were covered in broken green glass, I’m not sure why. I remember thinking how magical it looked when the sun hit it. I never felt afraid to be there. Thank you for sharing your memories.
ohh my gosh…Kathy I love this…what torture that its already promised…..my favorite colors and all….sigh
such beauty you have created..im sure it will be treasured….have a great weekend friend