Felt Beach Blanket

I am so blessed to live on the shore… there is something about the ocean that grounds me (does that make sense?). It reminds me of how small I am in this vast world and that comforts me… keeps me from letting my everyday stresses take over my life.

Of course, I’m white as a ghost and don’t tolerate the sun for very long, even with SPF ten billion on, but I try anyways. It occurred to me a week or so ago that J and I only own two beach towels… and we always use them to sleep on at the beach as well as dry off with. Which creates a dilemma….sand gets, er, everywhere and the towels stay wet. Growing up, we had an off-white felt beach blanket that we kept in the car at all times. It was huge, it didn’t hold sand, and it dried super fast. I have no idea where my parents got it or if they even know how awesome it was, but it was still perfect. So I decided to try to make one for our beach day this past weekend.

What you will need:
- 2 yards soft felt
- felt decorative decals (made by you or pre-cut)
- The Usual Suspects: thread, sewing machine, scissors

1. After tidying your edges, pin a 2 inch seam. I like a substantial blanket edge. Don’t forget to miter your corners prior to sewing (learn from me, it is a huge pain to try to do it as you go along).

 

 

2. Sew the edge of your blanket. I like the serge stitch – it holds up the best under wear and tear.

3. Sew on some felt decals. You could always embroider, cut your own decals, or go to town with any other accents. I happened upon some cute nautical felt decals at the store (in the kids craft section) for about .75 a piece.

4. Head to the shore!! Super easy beach blanket…. and cost me less than $10!

See? Full of sand already… but shakes right off.

Nice set-up eh? Cheers, from the Mister! For a little town pride we brought some local beer from Two Roads Brewing Co. Delicious craft beer – worth a try!

FYI- I chose baby blue because I wanted something that wouldn’t hold heat. I was so tempted to do a red or cobalt, but I was afraid they would hold too much heat.

Happy Beach-ing!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridge XOXO

July 4th Wreath

Hi all! Is it finally Summer? Yup… July 1 New England hit 90degrees and Summer finally rolled in… a week after J and I went on vacation. Oh well, what can you do? After a week of camping (in the rain), I still feel refreshed and rejuvenated. And all of a sudden, July is here and July 4th is in two days. I had the day off, so I ran to JoAnn’s Fabric for some inspiration and patriotic deals (close to the holidays they always mark down their holiday and seasonal stuff… I just can’t justify spending full price for, well, anything). I headed straight for the clearance isle and with a wreath for the holiday in mind, I nabbed some awesome ribbon (70% off, woop!) and patriotic fabrics, and an .80 mini flag. Giddy with inspiration I hurried home and threw together this wreath… and I’m loving it. Do American’s have a wreath problem? Yes. Let’s not deny it fellow DIY/ craft bloggers… and now that I own a house, I too have an addiction problem; for wreaths and Home Depot purchases. Alas, the wreath:

Supplies:
- 14” wreath (mine happened to be straw and this size… use whatever you have)
- 1 yard burlap (got crazy and bought a bolt a year ago, please don’t do that unless you know you’ll use it)
- Ribbon – I used 3.5 rolls of 12ft, 2.5” wired ribbon
- mini American flag
- scissors, ruler

1. If your wreath has a top… with a hook or anything in it, find it first. Mine did not, but I have made wreaths and forgotten about this and been very sad at the end. My wreath is a straw wreath… I left the plastic wrap on it, just in case. Not sure if it would rot after getting wet in the rain outside.

2. Cut your burlap into 4” x 24” strips (I used a total of 16 strips). It’s cheaper to buy the burlap and cut it, but you can always buy the burlap ribbon and use that instead. I probably would have done the latter if I did not have a lifetime supply of burlap in my closet (thanks to my other problem, impulse craft shopping).

3. Cut ribbon into 30” strips. Don’t worry about being exact… My wreath came out fine and I know for sure I was not precise in my cutting here. But if you have OCD, like many of us do, go ahead and use that ruler.

4. Get to work – tie your burlap around the wreath, overlapping as you go. The more you use, the fuller the wreath will be.

 

5. Tie on your ribbons between each burlap tie using the method below. It will ensure that both strands of the ribbon are showing and creates a fuller wreath.

   

6. Spread out your ribbons, fluff your ends. Then, cut little triangles out of the ribbon ends. This is optional of course, but I like how it gives the wreath some texture and interest.

7. Stick your American flag in one of the ribbon or burlap ties. You can glue this in place, but I just left it as is.

8. String up with fishing line. I hang mine from an upside-down hook on the opposite side of my door.

 

 

C’est fini! (which reminds me, Happy Belated Canada Day! Oh Canada…. eh? :)

Happy Fourth of July!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridge XOXO