Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Here in the United States, early summer is time for a few different patriotic holidays: Memorial Day (5-30) is coming up, not to mention Flag Day (6-14) and Independence Day (7-4). I have to confess that these are not holidays for which I always send cards, but Eyelet Outlet has so many cool patriotic products, I found that this year I couldn't resist!

If I was going to pick a favorite, the Flag and Hat Brads might be it. They're just so fun and festive! On the other hand, the Blue Nautical Washi is really pretty, and somehow when I was looking at those jaunty flags and thinking about summer, the idea of making pinwheels just seemed totally natural. I have to confess that mine don't actually SPIN... they're just decorative, but they're so easy to make and I love how they came out.

I took a square scrap of thin patterned paper, covered the back with washi tape (I've also used the Music Note tape) and drew lines connecting the opposing corners to each other, but leaving about half and inch at the center intact. I cut along all four lines, then bent one point of each triangle in towards the center, securing it with a glue dot.

When all four "petals" of my pinwheel were complete, I added a White Paper Flower and a brad to secure it. For my card base, instead of patterned paper, I cut a square mat from an old pair of jeans (if you don't have "extras", ask a friend to save their kid's next stained, torn and outgrown pair!) tacked it lightly to my card base with a tape runner, then sewed around the perimeter with my sewing machine, to add texture and interest.

But back to those Flag and Hat Brads-- as much as I like them separately, I love using them together even more, so my second card features a whole line of them! I used my vintage typewriter and favorite alphabet stamps to create the sentiment on a scrap of stripey blue paper... which made me think about what other fun embellies I could add in stripes? 5mm White Pearl Strips and 4mm Red Pearl Strips make this a bit flag-like, I think; and a little more Blue Nautical Washi rounds things off nicely!

 

I think my in-laws will be a bit surprised to get a Memorial Day card, but in a good way, lol! ♥♥♥