Patriotic Decor

I'm typically a sucker for holidays. I use any chance I get to be creative and switch up what we're staring at around the house on a day to day basis. I rarely ever buy anything- I like to use what's around the house and today's post is no different. I didn't buy a single thing!

I had this brilliant idea that I wanted to pay tribute to the men in my family who have sacrificed their time to serve this great country of ours. I wanted to celebrate them in some way...but how? I began asking around for photos of great grandparents, grandparents, my step-dad, and others who served in our nation's armed forces. Of course I would include Captain J, too! After gathering a few pictures of them in uniform,  I began to get some inspiration. I chose to use the deeper colors of the red, white, and blue because that's what I had around the house.

The Bunting Banner:

You Will Need:

• red cloth
• 1 cereal box
• white paint + paint brush
• twine/rope
• scissors
• glue gun

Step One: Cut the large sides off of the cereal box so that both are flat on the ground. Then draw a star shape on one (Use a stencil or print-off if you want them to be perfect). Cut out the star and then use it as a guide to cut out the second one on the other piece of cereal box. This ensures that the two will be roughly the same size.

Step Two: Time to paint! Place the stars on a surface you don't mind getting dirty, but beware of slopping too much paint on the edges of the stars as this will cause it to stick to the surface making it really difficult to get off in one piece (not that I did that or anything). You'll probably want a couple coats on there.

Step Three: While those are drying, get out your fabric and eyeball those nifty little triangles. I used a fabric cutting board and a rotary cutter (from all that sewing I do- ha, yeah right) which made it so much easier, but scissors will work fine, too. Again, use the first cut out you make as your guide for the other two.

Step Four: Measure the area you want your bunting banner to cover then cut your twine or rope accordingly. I used a sharpie to mark the places my stars and triangles would look nicely. But you can eyeball this, too- just find a large area to spread out the entire length of your rope.

 Step Five: Glue time! Use your hot glue gun to attach the pieces to your twine or rope. Just to make certain it would hold, I placed text books on top of each piece while it dried.

Voila! A patriotic banner for your July, Memorial Day, or Veteran's Day. 

Free Printable:

It reads, "Home of the free because of the brave" and you can download it free of charge here.

 Here are some other aspects of my patriotic mantel:

Top: (Step)Grandfather- "POP" in Saudi Arabia

Left: Great Grandfather KIA 1945

Right: (Step) Great Grandfather in Japan WWII and

Captain J in Iraq 2009

That's all you can see right now. It's not quite done! I still have a few more pictures I need and some finishing touches that I'll purchase from Hobby Lobby, no doubt. I've just got to make the trip there. Thanks for viewing!