Patriotic wreath

Time is flying by and the 4th of July holiday is next week! Do you do any patriotic decorating at your home? We typicaly hang the flag, of course, but this year I decided to make a wreath for my door. I am so happy with the way it turned out, I thought I'd share it with you today.

Supplies:
3  bandanas (red, white, and bue)...or 4 if you want to make roses out of a bandana
Scissors
Foam wreath (from craft store)
Straight pins
Embellishments of your choice (fabric flags, diecut stars, patriotic ribbon, patriotic scrapbook paper)
Glue gun (or other adhesives)

I cut each bandana into 3 even strips.  Starting with a red bandana piece on the inside edge, wrap it around the wreath making sure  to twist it so it doesn't look flat. Use straight pins to pin the end into the foam wreath on the back side. You may have to play with the first strip to know where to start it so the strip will end on the back side. Repeat with the next two red pieces so that all 3 red pieces are next to each other. Then, do the same, alternating the blue and white, ending so that it slight overlaps with the red bandana. Note: you could use any number of variations...skinnier strips of bandana, or grouping all of the colors, rather than alternating, alternating them all...you get the idea.

Then it's time to embellish. I tucked two fabric flags behind one of the bandana strips, stagering their heighth and secured them with a ribbon around the outside. The rose is made from 1" wide strips of red bandana. I folded each strip lengthwise and started winding it tightly with the fold side up, turning the strip every so often to make it roll out. I glued the rose to a circle of cardstock and added to the wreath near the bow. These were kind of fun to make. =)

I didn't like the flag to just stick out straight, so I used adhesive to roll mine out and back in to give it a more furled look. You could also use pins to help secure the flags, but I used hot glue and adhesive foam squares.

On the other side of the wreath I added some die cut stars. The "God Bless America" paper was from Hobby Lobby and it worked nicely for the medallion. I used a star shaped gem for the middle of it. The larger diecut star was wound with blue twine and topped with a red star shaped gem.

Here's a slightly closer look. Again, the idea is to embellish it to your own taste.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope you are inspired to make a wreath or show your patriotism in some other creative way. Have fun!!