Joyous Creativity...or how to make stuff that I love...and hope that it sells!

...while wordy stuff is my jam....i still love the look of retro, vintagey stuff. We all do...right? Boho, retro, mid-century modern - all the cool looks of the not-so-distant past, that evoke memories for us... It's the reason that the Country Living Magazine is popular, along with the continued fascination around farmhouse chic made famous by a certain couple in Waco, Texas..

And it seems that every time I open my CL magazine (ahem..Sept 2018, May, July/August 2019!) - I always see images of a retro favorite of mine - felt souvenir pennants. 

These commemorative flags launched in the early 20th century as a show of support by college football fans for the hometown team.  Pennants as souvenirs increased in popularity as families crossed the country in the trusty station wagon, and stopped at roadside stands during the annual summer vacation road trip.  Sleep-away campers also generated their fair share of the colorful flags..

I have collected several of these vintage goodies over the past few years..I love the retro images and cool fonts! Along with other makers, I created vintage pennant pillows with them, and customers snapped them up.

 

Still...I grew frustrated as I attempted to find specific locations or events or themes for myself and for customers. So after researching methodologies for creating - and there's not much out there! - I decided to make my own.

 

I figured out how to design my own stencils, and set about screen-printing the pennants with inks and paints and a DIY setup.  It's not entirely easy...felt is quite porous and there can be a lot of waste and ink bleeding.. plus I was mixing the ink and the paint trying to get a good layer down...let's just say that we're going to need to replace the carpeting before we move..

However, the creative process is so much fun for me! I have been able to recreate photos of childhood homes and vacation camps and local hometown landmarks while making pennants and pennant pillows

                

the creative journey evolves...I have begun using heat transfer flocking to replace the ink/paint/screen print process.  This gives some slight fuzzy texture to the words and images, while allowing for less waste and a more crisp edge to the graphics and fonts - I am loving it! Even as this also has its own challenges in switching out colors...but the change is well-worth it.

Recently, the Camp Grandma (or Gigi, Nana or Mimi) flags have been super popular, and for the holiday season - we have Camp Christmas fun. 

Of course...sarcasm is how i hug, and these non-tradtional Camp Sarcasm pennants are part of the collection as well!

 One of the most popular players in the pennant lineup has to be the Hogwarts Houses..  as the books endure, so does the need to fly the house flag!

Finally...I am currently working on a line of book-themed pennants for a local bookstore in downtown Raleigh, Read with Me...looking forward to seeing how these turn out...

I hope that this little journey through pennant world has been fun - I try to infuse all of my products with joy and laughter and sarcasm and wordy stuff, and being able to share it with you is a pleasure.

as always...thanks for reading my posts! if you've gotten this far, please feel free to use this blogme10 link for a reading discount at prettycleverwords.com!


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