One love. One heart.

  

"One love, one heart.  Let's get together and feel alright." These are the words of the great Bob Marley calling for unity, inclusion and respect. 

I recently celebrated a birthday and all I wanted this year was more love and kindness in the world.  Seems like we could all use a lot more of both given all that is happening in the world right now. So instead of a happy birthday banner, I decided to make something that I could reuse and spread the message of unity that was shared by one world's greatest musicians.  

Not only did I want to make a banner that could be used after my birthday, I also wanted to use materials I already had on hand.  I have been making a conscious effort to reduce waste and try to use scraps that I have been saving. 

I started with a piece of burlap that was left over from a previous piece I had created for my friend's wedding many years ago.  Burlap is great to work with, as it is inexpensive and made from natural materials.  Of course, it also needs to go with the theme you are working with, given its rustic look.  It also frays when it is cut, but again, still works if you are going for a more casual or natural feel.

I cut each letter from felt squares I already had. (Side note: I choose green, black and yellow to reflect the colours of the Jamaican flag.  Both my parents were born and raised in Jamaica and it is very appropriate, as it is also the birthplace of Bob Marley.) The pre-cut squares made it easy to ensure all my letters were the same size. I originally hot glued all the felt letters on the burlap to save time, but ended up sewing them on using a simple running stitch to ensure longevity.  If you choose to use hot glue, I would recommend cutting matching felt (or other scrap fabric) for the back and gluing the two pieces together.  The burlap is a very loose weave, so there is not much for the glue to adhere to. 

I used my pile of felt scraps to decorate the heart.  When cutting shapes out of felt I always feel guilty throwing them out, so I usually save them in hopes of using them for some other project.  I tried to use the scraps as they were, so as not to generate even more scraps.

I cut out a large red heart and played around with placement of the scraps to fill the heart.  Once I was happy with the layout I hot glued each piece down.  I was quite pleased with the final result.  However, when I lay the heart down with the letters I realized that the heart looked a little smaller than I had wanted, so I decided to cut out a larger heart and layer it under the original heart.

I used a branch from my garden as the dowel and attached it with red twine.  

I added some red yarn as a running stitch around the edge of the burlap to create a simple border.  

The banner currently hangs at the front of my house as a message of love for all who pass by.