Happy Memorial Day

 In honor of the day and, in deference to the heat, I am staying inside again and was looking for another red, white and blue idea. I'm not sure why but this popped out at me from my Pinterest scroll. I wish I could give credit to someone but it was just the picture with no link so I'm not sure who it originated from.

In any case, it caught my eye and I've had some wood things out in the garage that I've been thinking I could use in a craft some way and then I remembered that when we took down the bunk beds in the "dormitory" there were some extra ball finials that I saved in case I ever put the bed back together. Now that I have gotten rid of the top part of the bunk it will no longer be going back together and, I remembered exactly where I put those finials. And, to my surprise, there were four other wooden ball things in that box. I obviously stained them and used them for something but right at this moment, I couldn't tell you what. Lol I also pulled out a few other odd wood pieces that I had and started playing. I loved the first way I put things together but then I realized that once I had added the dowel and medallion, the thing would be so tall it would probably only fit in very few places so I did a rework and like what I came up with...although it now doesn't use that initial wood piece I've been wanting to use up!

I needed my Dremel to start a small hole in the ball and then the big guns where I went up two more times to get to the size hole I needed for the dowel. The wood on that thing was very hard and the bit shifted a bit so the hole isn't exactly centered but I can live with it. I think once I hang all of the ribbons you probably won't even see any of it. I did take a nick out of the ball as I was cutting off the large dowel it had attached to it so I had to get out my wood fill and do a bit more damage control but I think in the end it will all look primitive and I am fine with that.

I used wood glue to glue it all together.

And then I got to painting. Again, I'm not concerned that the paints don't meet up perfectly because next I will give it a quick spray of sealer and then go over it all with antique wax.

I'm going to stop here for the day because tomorrow will involve some fabric coffee staining and a bit of sewing before I can move on. I'll be back.

So here we are on Tuesday morning. I'm ready to start the medallion and, after going back and forth, I decided to make it the size of a thin wood circle that I have in my stash and to use the circle as a base so the fabric doesn't just flop around.

I ripped a piece of fabric the width of the radius of the circle and then did a simple running stitch along the bottom before pulling it into a circle. Over the years, I sewed a lot for my three girls, my first four grand daughters ( and actually costumes for all seven) and lots and lots of doll clothes and, gathering and making ruffles was always one of my least favorite things to do. My machine had a ruffling tool that I NEVER quite caught onto so it was always like this and by hand...and, if I remember correctly, I would often be just about done when the thread would break! But, I digress. Lol This wasn't too bad because it didn't involve much fabric.

I used some hot glue around the middle opening and then just a dot or two here and there for the outer area.

I decided to just do two layers and went with a 4th print I had left over from actually making a 4th of July outfit that I had made for grand daughter #1's doll that I made and dressed for every holiday. Sooo, that means that fabric is about 26 years old!!! Since the fabric is a bit "polished" with a sparkly hint, I went with the watered down antique wax stain instead of just a coffee stain. I didn't think the coffee would penetrate the fabric as well and this seemed to work just fine.

Then, I did the next circle just a bit smaller but the same way.

 I then hot glued the dowel to the back of the circle and covered the "seam" with a piece of stained muslin.

While that was setting, I painted a small star blue for the middle of the medallion and stamped the word on another piece of stained muslin.

Then came the embellishing-I used pieces of silk ribbon, stained striped ribbon and a small red star that I drilled a small hole into. Then the things that needed it were hit with some distressing ink and the star and "freedom" were safety pinned on using some small rusty pins that I found in my stash.

And here she is. I think I really like her and I enjoyed doing a craft that had a few more steps and took a bit more time. Now I just need to find places for all of the new crafts. 

I am off to clean up, grab a quick lunch and get ready to head to my grand children's lacrosse ceremony. Not sure when I'll be back but the swap will be coming soon...just need to get all of my ducks in a row. Stay safe and stay tuned.