Not For the Faint of Heart

I'm no artist, but I do love learning new art-forms and new crafting techniques. So, when I saw a photo of a new twist on an American flag, I knew I wanted to make one. (It's that time of year.) I looked online for instructions, but all I could find was an artist on etsy.com selling kits to make them for $220 and a blogger through pinterest.com that had photos of many different flags. Since paying $220 wasn't an option, I studied the photo until I "got it."
Usually the crafts I write about are fast and easy to make; many times for the whole family to work on together. This project is none of the above. It is not for the newbie, not for the faint of heart. It's not that it's hard to do, it's just that it will take time and patience and you'll have to figure most of it out for yourself. But in the end, it will be well worth the effort (and money), because this is the cutest flag -- EVER!

What you'll need:
*  navy blue fabric -- it can have stars on it, or you can paint some on, or you can sew buttons on as stars, or whatever you decide is best for you
*  lots and lots of red and white ribbons and fabric strips -- I used lace, ribbon, yards of pom poms, strips of fabric scraps, and you can also use strands of beads and more
*  a dowel
*  cording

From this point, everything you do is dependent upon how you want your flag to look; how wide you want it and how long you want it to hang. I don't have measurements for anything. I just guessed as I went along with my project. I already had the fabric scraps and a lot of red and white ribbon, but I wanted to include lace and pom poms, so I had to buy them.

After deciding how big I wanted the blue starred fabric to be, I laid the whole project out, cutting and layering the ribbons and lace until I was satisfied.

It's easy to already see why I fell in love with this, isn't it?
Then I began sewing the shorter strips of ribbon and fabric to the navy fabric.
After that, I sewed the navy fabric to a strip of binding I made from a scrap of white fabric.

Then I began sewing on all the other longer pieces of ribbon, lace and fabric strips.
I sewed down the binding, put a dowel through the casing, attached the pretty cord for hanging and called it a day.

Isn't it really cute? Even my husband remarked about how nice this is. He wants to hang it in his shop!
In full disclosure, it took me four nights (after dinner and dishes) to complete it. It tested both my patience and my math skills, and I likely wouldn't do it, again.


Since leaving the comfort of a job I had for 16-years and taking on a whole new career, which is still very new to me, I've been kind of stretching my limits in new-to-me ways. Everything was on auto-pilot where I worked prior to becoming the development director for a non-profit medical and dental clinic for those in need.

I'm learning more than I ever imagined I would, especially at my age. From the intricacies of  today's healthcare system to the dirtiness of local, state and federal politics, my brain is taxed. From the pressure of raising funds to support this free clinic to the distress of trying to save the jobs of those I've grown to appreciate, my heart aches.

Don't think for a minute there aren't days when I'm ready to concede and let "them" win.
Luckily, those days are few, thanks to the energy fueled by the sudden desire to learn and become an expert in my field, which is not at all for the faint of heart.

A question on an application for membership into the Association of Fundraising Professionals asked, "What do you expect to get from this organization?"
My response included being provided with the tools I need to help me succeed, but I also said that I want to be the best at what I do; rivaled by others in the field.

I've never felt that way, but it's true today.

Well, that's all for tonight. I do hope you'll try making the flag. You'll see lots of examples of it on Pinterest.com


Love you, Mom