INSPIRATION CAFE #5 - QUICK WALL BANNER

This is my first post for the Inspiration Cafe!  I'm excited and a little nervous, because the ladies who posted prior to me have set the bar so high! 

I really do live on a farm.  We grow corn and pumpkins.  Lots of pumpkins!  Every fall we open our farm to the public for a Fall Festival, complete with Corn Mazes, Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Horse-drawn Hayrides and tons of activities for kids.  But when I'm not busy farming, I'm a crafter and that's what I'm here to do today!

This Wall Banner is a really quick and inexpensive project that can be made in under an hour and can be easily adjusted to suit any decor style. (This just happens to be mine...for now...in this room.)

One of the biggest problems I have with being a crafter is I tend to save things I don't really use anymore because I think I can make something out of them.  This project is just such an example.  I found a single placemat underneath my towels in my linen closet.  I hadn't used these placemats in years, and I didn't save the whole set...just this one.  (I guess I can show some restraint, since I didn't save them all!)  Although I don't remember even saving it, as soon as I "found" it, I knew what I wanted to do with it.  

Here's the story morning glory:

I grabbed some craft paint, some buttons, a small dowel rod, a foam stamp and a make-up wedge/sponge/thing, which is great for putting craft paint on a foam stamp.  I have no idea how it is for putting makeup on.

I laid everything out on the placemat the way I thought I might like it to look and then I stamped the center. 

I sewed the buttons on the sides.  (You could glue them on, but every now and then I think I should sew a little something so I don't lose that barely acquired skill.)

For the dowel rod in the back, I took the easy route, as I so often do. 

I just made 3 pairs of slits in just one layer of the fabric on the back side and slid the tiny dowel rod through.  Then I tied a ribbon on to both ends of it.

 Now you could skip the whole dowel rod thing and just sew or glue the ribbon on.  I just had it in my head that the mini dowel rod would help it lay flat and straight.  By the way, that mini dowel rod came from Hobby Lobby a long time ago, and isn't much bigger than one of those little bamboo skewers, which would also work.

 There ya go!  A cute little piece of wall art made out of something that might have been thrown away.......and still can be, when I'm tired of it.  (But, I'll take the buttons off first, in case I want to use them for something else, some other day.)

If you enjoyed this post, it's simplicity, renewability, and it's versatility, please check out some of my other posts on my blog, because most of them fall into these categories.

Thanks for coming to the Inspiration Cafe today!

Don't forget to come back next Monday and see who's bringing their fabulous talent to the Cafe next!

 Oh, and because I am crazy busy and seem to be meeting myself coming and going this week, I somehow managed to double-book myself and am also guest-posting at 

Chica es Artistica 

 today for the fabulous Miss Margaret.  So if you want to see my final 4th of July project, hop on over and check that out!