Crafternoon: Eco Printed Bunting

        If there is one thing I have learned about my kids it's that they like picking flowers and smashing things with rocks- simple truth here folks- I'm raising highly evolved beings. As brutal as the delivery sounds the results yielded are quite pretty and ephemeral. These simple Eco-printed flags look great outside as a garden accent or brought indoors as a reminder of sunnier days!

        To start this project you will need to gather a variety of deeply hued flowers- we found geraniums worked very well as did lavender and petunias. Cut squares of fabric for your flags- I used pinking shears to give a decorative zig zag cut on the edge of the fabric- make your squares about 8"x 10"- they can always be trimmed down later. Find a rock that feels good in your hand for the smashing.

     Lay your fabric out on a hard surface- we worked on a board that had a bit of give to it- place your gathered flowers out- I tried to do a bit of a design- the Littles were completely random in their placement. One option is to just take the rock and start gently mashing the flowers into the fabric- another way is to place a second piece of fabric over the flowers and hammer on that. Gently pound or mash the flowers until they start to bleed into the fabric- the  flower's pigment will stain the fabric. Carefully peel away the ponded flower remains. Set your fabric aside to dry completely- I put ours in the sun to heat set but you can also iron to heat set.

     You can use the fabric for a multitude of projects- unique throw cushions, tote bags or as we did a festive bunting for the garden. To make the bunting simply take your printed fabric and sew onto a piece of webbing- a simple straight stitch on a machine will do but so will hand stitching, stapling or hot glue!

       What I loved about this little project is that the Littles were able to engage in something similar to the eco bundling I did a few weeks ago- they were ever so curious and so this enabled them to be a part of that process. Working along side my Littles is so fun- nothing like an afternoon spent out in the garden at Mommo and Poppa's!

     Friends it is Friday again and the long weekend- we are halfway through summer holiday already! Hard to believe but true- we have some heavy duty plans that include hitting the beach and hitting the beach! Happy Pride Vancouver and Happy Friday Friends!