Star-Spangled Garland

Looking for a last-minute decoration for your Fourth of July party? This star-spangled garland is super simple, and it can be made with supplies you probably already have. I used light blue paper instead of navy to give the garland a brighter look, but you can use any shades of red, white, and blue you like.

I love making things by hand, but I'm not opposed to taking shortcuts and saving some time when I can. So instead of tracing and cutting out all the paper stars I needed for this project, I cheated and used my computer. I just used the "draw shapes" tool in my word-processing program and created pages of stars in an assortment of sizes. (My stars are 6½", 5½", 4½", 3½", 2½", and 1½".) I just printed them onto sheets of card stock and cut them out with sharp scissors.

The next step was assembling the stars. I used a craft knife to make a slit in the center of a 1½" and 2½" star and then fastened them together with a silver star-shaped paper brad. If you don't have star brads, you can use heart or circle brads instead. I then used glue stick to fasten the small stars to a larger star, and repeated the process until I had a large star made up of layers small stars in alternating colors.

Now it's time to prepare the stars for hanging. I added a silver paper eyelet to two arms of each star, and then threaded a long piece of narrow red rickrack through the holes. If you don't have rickrack, you can use ribbon or twine.

That's it! Your star-spangled garland is ready to hang on your deck, by the pool, or wherever you're gathering to celebrate the Fourth. 

Red and Blue Op-Art Pin

The Fourth of July is on its way, so it's time to show your red, white, and blue. For this op-art cross-stitch pin I used turquoise and dark rose embroidery floss (DMC #597 and #326) instead of the traditional dark red and blue. I think it looks patriotic and summery.

Click here to download and print the Red and Blue Op-Art Cross-Stitch Chart. As always, I used a pin setting from the Etsy shop Kailea. If you stitch the design on 18-count Aida, your finished embroidery will fit perfectly in a 1 1/2-inch square setting.

Visit my blog next week for more red, white, and blue craftiness!

See My Designs in "Craft Ideas" Summer Issue

The summer issue of "Craft Ideas" magazine is on newsstands now, and I'm so excited that two of my projects are featured--Seaside Stars & Stripes Cross-Stitch and Felt Seashell Collection. You can find the directions and patterns in the magazine; I'll post the links to them on the Craft Ideas website and soon as they're available. 

Crocheted Sea Glass Pendant

I don't get to the beach as often as I'd like, but on one of my visits I found this beautiful piece of sea glass. It's a real treasure--I love its color and texture. I've been keeping it in a bowl of seashells, but I decided it deserves better treatment. The idea for this project came about when I was sorting my box of embroidery floss (one of my favorite activities) and realized that the lovely DMC #3813--Light Blue Green--matches the color of the glass perfectly. One thing led to another, and I ended up with this sea glass pendant.

If you can chain stitch, you can make a pendant like this one. Just remember that, like seashells, no two pieces of sea glass are alike. You'll have to adjust your design according to the glass you use. For best results, use an irregularly shaped piece that has notches that will hold your crochet chains in place.

To begin my pendant, I made a crochet chain that was just long enough to fit snugly around the center of the glass, and then I joined the ends together with a slip stitch. Next, I continued the chain and joined it to the center of the crocheted chain on the front of the pendant. I made several more lengths of crochet chain this way, securing them around the ridges of the glass and joining them to the center of the chains on the back and front. When the glass was contained securely in the crochet chains, I knotted the floss tightly on the back.

Jewelry-making is not one of my strengths, so I kept the construction of the pendant simple. I slipped a silver jump ring through the crocheted chain at the top of the pendant, fastened a second jump ring to the first, and then added a silver box chain. I think a silk cord or piece of twine would look pretty too.