'Congratulations' Banner

My dad retired just a couple weeks back and my mom and I decided to throw him a party. My dad's not the kind of guy to like attention or a fuss made over him, but we thought he deserved it just this one time. At first he was hesitant, but once he started inviting anyone and everyone we knew he was glad. We wanted to go all out, and so I decided to put together some decorations for the event.

I've always liked the look of bunting style banners, so I decided to go for it. I wavered between "happy retirement" and "congratulations", but congratulations won out since it can be used over and over again. Underneath are some favourite pictures from my dad's life, and at the very bottom are a couple plane toys that were on the cake from my dad's co-workers. He has a trip around the world with my mom planned, you see.

I free-handed the letters, machine stitched them to some polka-dot linen fabric, and then stitched around the edges of the fabric. I decided not to finish any edges. Both because it would be quicker (and I never realized how long a word 'congratulations' really is. 15 letters? Oh, my!) and because I like the unfinished look. I sewed a strip of ric rac across the top, and voila! Everything was done with materials I already had on hand, and most of the letters were done with scrap pieces of fabric (from the scrap pack I got from Jeni, seriously one of the most useful purchases I've made when it comes to crafting). That picture of the little boy with Santa? My favourite ever picture of my dad. Love it.

This banner here was the perfect backdrop to the buffet table we set up. I cannot wait to use it again!