Easy Upcycled Sailboat Gift Bag

You may remember when I posted about the upcycled gift bag that I made for a baby shower gift recently.  It was actually a design that could be used for most any gift and this one is much the same.

My friend, Sharon loves all things coastal, but isn’t really keen on the traditional blue and green color schemes, so for her birthday I decided to make a sailboat gift bag with some non-traditional colors.

Once again, I pulled out one of my large bags.  This time a traditional brown bag.  I dug through my scrapbook papers and found some lovely plaid, starburst and print papers.

Initially I did a Google search for images of a sailboat line drawing that I thought I could trace.  After looking them over, I couldn’t find what I had in mind so I just looked at a drawing for ideas and created the pieces from scratch.  They’re all pretty basic shapes, so it was easy.

Just for fun I printed the name of the ship on the orange plaid paper that would be used for the hull and the mast.

I added cute brass star-shaped brads to the pennant shaped flags at the top of the mast.

And check out the words on this fun paper that I used for the waves.  Rusty orange print to coordinate with the other papers, and words like surf, wave, tide and cool!

And here’s the finished product – full view of the bag.  Added an orange plaid tag and bright yellow tissue paper to complete the look.

What do you think?  Can you give me ideas for other gift bag designs? I may just make your suggested creation.

Sharing the fun at:

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

 

Did you know that the tallest sand dunes in all of North America are in Colorado?  Seems odd, huh?  I would think it would either be along the coast somewhere or maybe in the Arizona deserts, but actually you’ll find them in southern Colorado.  As you may know, one of the items on my Bucket List is to visit every National Park in the U.S.  On Friday we visited Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona (more on that soon).  Yesterday we visited Great Sand Dunes National Park!

Here’s the view from the visitor center!  Isn’t it gorgeous.  When we were there a monsoon storm was coming in from the east so the dark clouds cast shadows on the mountains and the dunes creating an ever-changing canvas of colors.

Summer’s not the best time to visit the park because the temperatures on the dunes can reach the mid-100’s (F).  We were smart enough to stay away from walking on the sand, but since we were in the area, it was still nice to get a preview of the place in case we want to come back and visit again sometime.  If you have a chance to visit the NPS website, you’ll see that there is really quite a bit to do around there besides just running around on the dunes.  Looks like there’s a seasonal river, lake, waterfall, wildlife, beautiful fall and spring color, camping, hiking, etc.  I definitely think it’s worth another trip.

You can explore any part of the 30 square mile dunefield you wish; there are no designated trails in the sand. And there’s even a sand dunes-accessible wheelchair available for free loan at the Visitor Center for those who aren’t quite as mobile.

Here are a few of the photos we took during our short visit.  We saw Pronghorn and Mule Deer as well as the expected chipmunks and squirrels.  Let me know if you’ve been there and what was the most fun for you during your visit.

 

Simple Summer Ideas – Eats, Drinks, Decor

Hey there friends,  I have been staring at the last post for much too long and I’m sure you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, so here’s a little sumthin’ for your summer inspiration.

I know, it’s way past time to bring out the summer decorations.  It will be Independence Day next week, after all!  Can I confess that I still have my Easter decorations on my branch in the living room?  Yowzah!  Hopefully, I can switch them out for summer decor this weekend.

Things have been quite buzy around here with a bunch of changes happening, as well as more on the horizon.  Sadly, my time to concentrate on the transitions are limiting my time to post.  No worries though, there will be more news and posting to come.

In the meantime, here are a few photos of my Summer Centerpiece.  I happen to use mine in the guest bath.  Yes, a centerpiece in the bathroom!  As you know I try to trick myself into believing that I live near the water, especially in these hot summer months when our temperatures are consistently in triple digits (this week it was up around 113 degrees F)!

I keep this simple centerpiece in the bathroom where I get ready every morning.  It fills my mind with memories of sandy beaches, coastal breezes and the sound of waves lapping on the shore.  Which reminds me…I may have a chance to visit my little hometown on Lake Erie in September and I can’t wait to walk on the beach and hear the sounds of the waves as I drift off to sleep!  I never realized what a blessing it was to live just steps from the shore until recently.

For this fun candle arrangement, just find a rustic container, fill it with sand, shells, a candle (or 3) and things that remind you of summer.  Try one yourself and post a link here so we can all see it?

More ideas for your summer inspiration:

Patriotic Slipcover Transformation

4th of July Beverage Ideas

4th of July – Summer Recipes

4th of July – Patriotic Decor

Let me know your plans for the summer and have an awesome holiday!

Mason Jar Candle Lanterns

These sweet lanterns are on sale for $7.50 at Pottery Barn, but I’m sure I could make them cheaper at home.  All it takes are the jars, sand, candles, wire and wire cutters.

Hopefully I’ll have some time to work on it later in the summer when we get back from Bosnia.  If I do, I’ll post some “how to” photos and Mason jars come in different sizes and shapes which would make them even more fun.

Aren’t they cute, though?