Prayer Flag Tutorial & Giveaway ...

I listen to the wind,

the wind

of my soul

~Cat Stevens~

I received a few e-mails asking me how I created my prayer flags

and since they are so much fun to create, so easy,

and so lovely to look at in the garden,

I thought I would show you how I make mine here today.

Each flag takes very little fabric & is the perfect way to use up scraps of fabric

and bits and pieces of lace and trim which is perfect for me since I have trouble throwing away ANYTHING.

I keep all my small pieces of fabric in a vintage picnic basket.

 

Because I am using up scraps, each flag may vary slightly in size ...

I try to keep them approx. 5" wide by 11" long.  You will be turning over a top hem of 3", so your actual flag will be 5" x 8".  I've made a template using the stiff cardboard from the back of a Watercolour pad { told you ... can't throw away ANYTHING } :-D

You could use anything you have on hand ... cereal boxes work great too ... the sturdier the better as you will want to use it over and over.

Now the fun part...

lay out your fabric, buttons, ribbon,

anything you want to adorn your flag.

Start by turning over the top hem and stitching in place.

Play around with the placement & when you are happy with the way everything looks

you can begin to stitch in place, either by hand or machine. 

 

I keep my buttons and trinkets and beads

 stored in this vintage tin.

A garage sale treasure with the sweetest little vignettes all around the sides.

You can write a favourite quote on your fabric ...

or message to be sent out to the Universe ♥

This is the perfect way to give new life to broken bits of jewelry ...

like this tarnished heart from a charm bracelet ...

topped with the tiniest little bow

I like to add streamers to the bottom ...

they look so pretty on a windy day ...

and make a small knot in the bottom of lace to hold beads in place.

Sea shells also look pretty & are a wonderful keepsake from Summertime vacations.

Stamps are also a great way to add a message ...

Sometimes I like to watercolour my flags ...

Muslin works especially well for this...

your only limitation is imagination ♥

Remember to sign and date each flag on the back when you are finished.

I have flags hanging outside on my windows - this seems to be the best spot for flags like the water coloured ones that wouldn't hold up well to the rain.

I just attach a small suction cup, run a branch through the top seam of the flag, and tie twine to either end of the branch to form a hanger ♥

You could run ribbon through a grouping of flags, or find a large branch to hang them on.

I am partial to branches & find the pussy willow branches in our yard work perfectly - just the right diameter.

I hope you add making a prayer flag to your Summer Wish List ~ but in the meantime,

if you would like one of mine  ...

leave me a message here

and I will pick a name on August 1st ♥

***

 

Bigger by the day ...

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird:

it would be a jolly sight harder

for it to learn to fly

while remaining an egg.

We are like eggs at present.

And you cannot go on indefinitely

being just an ordinary, decent egg.

We must be hatched

or go bad.

~C.S. Lewis~

***

It wasn't that long ago that we were in awe at 3 beautiful, perfect, blue eggs.

One was especially lovely - it looked like batik ... maybe Mum Robin is an artist :-)

Mum & Dad have been a busy tag team going back and forth feeding their babies who are getting bigger and bigger by the day!

It won't be long until they are flying and enjoying the garden pond like their parents ♥

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

flower child ...

~she was gathering wild flowers ~

and working on summer wish list crafts ...

the weather has been amazing lately,

perfect for this cool weather loving girl

if summer would stay like this, I would be very happy :-D

one of the items I've been able to cross off my summer to-do list is my flower gathering tote...

my daughter & I spend our Saturday mornings going to garage sales ~ we've done this since she was a little girl & over the years we've found some great treasures ... and some that turned out to be "not so great" ... one of those not so great finds was what appeared to be a beautiful vintage Swiss dot shower curtain.  Beautifully packaged, we didn't think to ask to have it opened to check the condition.  Once home, we found that it was a bit of a patchwork quilt, cut and sewn in various spots & could not be used as intended! I washed it, folded it up and it joined the fabric pile.

There was a lot of fabric in the shower curtain, and over the years I've used it to create quite a lot of items.  My gathering tote for  "Sentimental Sparrow" published in the Winter 2013 of Belle Armoire was made from the Swiss dot fabric, as were the cuff bracelet and key chain, found in the same issue.

 

I was able to use the TOP of the shower curtain for my flower gathering tote.

Grommets already in place.

the ruffle fabric was left over from an apron I created for Apron*ology 2013

fallen branches & twine

 attach a favourite gathering quote {of course} :-D

{I found 2 gorgeous fallen white birch branches on a recent walk with Archer, that I am going to use in place of the pussy willow I have here - they just need to be cut to size }

 

In my garden ...

prayer flags are blowing in the wind...

letting the sentiment  be carried away

to all the wind touches

on it's journey

 ♥

sending messages of love & gratitude ...

Robin nests to the right of this flag and was watching me as I took photos.  Babies are getting so big ... it has been difficult to get a photo as she is back & forth with worms all day & I don't want to disturb her.

~Gather Joy~

hand painted & nestled amongst the trumpet vine  

I used garden pussy willow branches to hang the flags.

Life

isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish.

And what a privilege

even to be alive.

In spite of all the pollutions & horrors,

how beautiful this world is.

Supposing you only saw the stars

once every year.

Think what you would think.

The wonder of it!

~Tasha Tudor~

Sunday Serenity ...

Three new treasures ...

we were worried about them

after the storm

heavy winds broke branches off of trees

and left our garden covered in leaves

mama Robin built a strong nest

and everyone is safe & sound

{and hungry} :-)

My Spirit

was lifted

and my soul

nourished

by my time in the garden.

It gave me

a calm connection with all of life

and an awareness

that remains with me now,

long after leaving the garden

~Nancy Ross~

Texture Tuesdays ...

Stay Awhile

Kim Klassen Texture: Stay

***

Stay awhile!

'Tis sweet, ...

The rare occasion

when our hearts can speak

our selves unseen,

unseeing!

~Edmond Rostand~

 

Linking with Texture Tuesday today.

How did it get so late so soon? ...

I was so surprised to see it had been so long since I posted last ...

Summertime ...made me think of the Dr. Seuss quote " How did it get so late so soon?"

There is a lot of nesting going on in our garden .

Robin has chosen a nice spot amongst the honeysuckle  to build her nest.

Usually, it is atop our pergola, but this year it is on top of the fence.

We have a wonderful view when sitting on the deck so will be checking in often ♥

Where the doves usually nest, Black squirrel chose instead . I wonder where the Doves made their nest? ... they are both in our garden everyday.

A first for us though to have a squirrels nest :-)

And as always, Sparrow babies are chirping happily in their little nest made atop the downspout.

Our weekend walks have been filled with Dragonflies ...

they have been EVERYWHERE.

Dragon fly days ...

looking so elegant ...

and wildflowers ...

big patches of wildflowers that look better than anything manmade ...

and everywhere we looked we saw dragonflies and butterflies and bees

and I wish I had a audio recording I could play with these photos so you could hear

how happy the birds were here ...

and the last little bits of wish makers waiting to be set free ...

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late

so soon?

~Dr, Seuss~

 

Looking ...

 

There are two ways

to look at life.

One is as though

nothing is a miracle;

the other

is as though

everything is.

~Albert Einstein~

***

The beautiful blue eye of a Cabbage White which reminds me of a little blue button ♥

 

Walk in balance & beauty ...

Wanted to share a few photos of some of the beauty

spotted on  our  walks this past long Canada Day weekend ...

 

I switched lenses & looking through the Macro is like having my own magnify glass :-)

I spent a lot of time watching this bee ... I was mesmerized by the method of extracting nectar.  This bee had a particularly long and very pointed proboscis.

some moths and bugs seem to be very colour co-ordinated :-)

and then near the end of our walk, I stopped and had a conversation with a very sweet little chipmunk.  Just look at that precious little face ♥

Honour the Sacred.

Honour the Earth, our Mother.

Honour the Elders.

Honour all with whom we share the Earth:

four legged, two legged,

winged ones,

swimmers,

crawlers, plant and rock people.

Walk in

balance and beauty.

~Native Wisdom~