DIY Flag Banner & New Playroom!

 The playroom in the new house is complete! Yea! Bee is overjoyed... or not but I am. James was undecided about the teal when I picked it but I wanted to go crazy. I feel that you can do crazy colors in appropriate places and a playroom is one of them!

We started with a wall mounted TV so I can watch my Today Show and drink my coffee in peace. We also added the much loved Ikea bookshelf with black fabric totes to hide toys.

 The leather couch was selected because my baby still throws up quite a bit so wipe down furniture is essential. Some black and white curtains from Target completed the far wall.

The photo collage is my favorite part of the playroom. Not only does it showcase photos of our 4 sets of families but it breaks up the teal.

The wall over the TV just looked so sad and so teal so I set out to find something to put over it. I had just spent too much on frames for the photo was so this needed to be on the cheap.

I headed to Hancock to search for some coordinating black and white fabrics. First I hit the remnant bin- all the odds, ends and leftovers that are marked down. I found 1/2 a yard of the chevron and zebra print half off! I grabbed one more print off the rack (1/4 yard) and 3 yards of black ribbon. If you use your fabric wisely and depending on wall length you should only need 1/4-1/2 yard of each fabric. 3-4 patterns provide a nice mix.

I also grabbed a package of stitch witch and rounded out my purchases for only $8.

Shopping list:
1/4-1/2 yard of 3-4 coordinating fabrics
ribbon of any kind 1- 1/2"
small roll stitch witch

To have at home:
Access to a sewing machine
scissors
flat pins
iron

I headed home to make my pattern. I found a sturdy catalogue cover- sorry Anthro I can't afford you full price anyway- and cut out my 8 1/2 x 9" triangle pattern.

I turned on a DVR'd episode of some reality show that you don't need to pay too much attention to to get the point and got to work. I laid my fabric out double sided on the floor and planned out my triangles in advance. You don't have to do the fabric double sided and that would eliminate the need for the stitch witch but then you also run the risk of your flags not lying flat on the wall and curling. Alternating the triangle up and down I straight pinned my pattern to the fabric and cut.

After all my fabric was cut I laid out my triangles on the ribbon and arranged them in alternating patterns. I sewed a quick seam with my mom's sewing machine. It's yellow and from the 70's but I looooove it. Sewing machines are one of those classic work horses that just keep on chugging.

After that the lazy part comes in. I didn't feel like sewing seams on the banner pieces so I stitch witched them together. I did the stitch witching after sewing the flags to the ribbon because it meant one less seam to close. Like I said. Lazy. Did I mention I have a 9 month old and my down time is precious?

After a quick steam of the iron the banner was ready to hand. Two tiny nails later and we had a piece of cheap art for the playroom!