Winging Banner!

I asked Blake what he wanted for a winging present. He said, "I got a motorcycle." I really couldn't argue with that, after all, it's very pretty and very shiny and very expensive. He already knew I was going to make him a winging banner so we called it a present.

Thanks to Whiting Field's SOSA instructions, I knew what materials, what quantities, and directions. For a novice like me, though, there was still anxiety.



The Cutting: this was the easiest, if most labor intensive part. I spent an entire Sunday cutting out Congratulations LTJG Blake Shaffer. I couldn't cut out the helo or duty station because we didn't know those. So, it was just me, a pair of brand new Fiskars scissors, yellow cloth and Bridezillas. Those women are batshit crazy, but hilarious. At the end of the day, my letters looked awesome, but I had to ice my hand to quell the swelling in my middle finger and the pain in my wrist. Yes, I should have done the letters in increments, but it was fun and Bridezillas was funny and I just couldn't stop.

The Borders: I had to cut my borders twice because the first ones, while cut to instructions, were a bit sparse looking on the large expanse of banner. So, I recut them a little bigger and with room to fold them over the back for a crisp edge.

I also cut the blue background of the banner a few inches longer on each side to make a flap for the 1" wooden dowel I used to hang it. The dowel in the bottom was more for stability than anything.



Then I used double stick tape to tape the letters onto the banner and see what they looked like. It was exciting. :)

Then.....



The Wings: The scariest part by far. When I went to Hobby Lobby, I was directed to two types of gold lame. The nicer looking one had an obvious tendency to fray. The other was more stable. I decided to be daring. It paid off. The key was in the SOSA instructions. Before cutting the wings, peel back the wonder under a bit first. But first, the drawing.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I am the world's worst drawer. You know those pictures you make in elementary school of slanty-sided box houses with lopsided windows and a huge, squiggly tree in the yard? I still draw like that.

Yes, this is tracing, but I only wanted to do it once. So, I taped up the wings pictures (which is a pixelized mess, but definitely works for the basic outline). Then, I added an extra step to the directons. Instead of using a Sharpie and immediately tracing the wings, I turned them around, and used a pencil to trace the wings onto the paper wonderunder backing. I filled in details too. It was definitely worth it because I needed the practice. Then, I turned it around and Sharpied away. For a non-artist, I think they came out pretty good.

The real anxiety came when it was time to iron on the letters. One wrong move and the whole thing was ruined. I ironed two or three letters at a time. I freaked out during the whole word "Congratulations."

Then, a week and a half later, Blake got orders. Final destination, Japan. Once again, the ironing freaked me out, but here it is, the final product:



The whole time I made this, I said to myself, "it doesn't have to be perfect." It was stressful, but fun and hopefully, he'll have it for a very long time to come.