A Memorable Memorial Day
Kicking Off Summer
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and I wanted to celebrate it while honoring the spirit of the holiday. Incorporating a red, white, and blue theme that I can reuse for the 4th of July and Labor Day, I aimed to create quick, efficient, and respectful decorations.
This year is special—it’s my first Memorial Day weekend in the store, and our town was hosting a sidewalk sale. On top of that, my son was graduating from high school, so we were also preparing for his party and welcoming family from out of town. Here’s how I managed to balance everything without losing my mind.
"We Remember" Banner
I used flour sack towels as the base material for the banner. Utilizing the finished edges of the towels as the “string” for the pennants allowed me to cut triangles a few inches apart along the hem without making holes. This method was incredibly quick and easy!
Materials:
- Flour sack towels (I needed two 34-square-inch towels)
- Iron transfer paper
- Printer
- Iron or Cricut iron – Using my mini Cricut hot iron worked perfectly for transferring the letters after my regular iron didn’t get hot enough.
- Patriotic/American-themed ribbon
I always start by washing the material. I printed “We Remember” on iron transfer paper, spacing the letters out to cut around them easily. Be sure to space out the letters so you can easily cut around them. And, make sure you know how to change your typeface to “reflection” and remove the background color. I also printed two stars to balance everything out.
I printed the letters first to determine the size of the pennants. After cutting the pennants to fit the letters (using a template for uniformity), I realized the towels were too short for the entire word “Remember,” so I made that part of the banner in two sections and connected them.
I then hot-glued a patriotic ribbon over the edge for an added touch of Americana. This project was quick, affordable, and aligned perfectly with my store’s look, showing our community “we do remember those who served and gave the greatest sacrifice.”
“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men (and women) have died to win them.”– Franklin D. Roosevelt
Reflection
This project brought a patriotic flair to my store, creating a welcoming and respectful atmosphere for Memorial Day while being practical enough to reuse for upcoming summer holidays.
I hope these ideas inspire you to create your own meaningful decorations for Memorial Day and beyond!
