The Winter Garden

I'm afraid winter is not my favorite time of year.  I feel the cold weather go straight through to my bones and tend to be more tense and less active.  I miss my long walks at the park and working in my garden.  Yesterday I decided to make an effort to kick the winter blues and get outside more, for goodness sake, I own an abundance of coats and a pair of long johns, so put them on and get out there.
There are lots of  things that can be done in your garden even in the winter.  First and foremost, of course, is to put out a new winter garden flag for an instant cheering up.

 Now its time to get our hands dirty. This is the time to get rid of all the dead debris.  This will help with insect control so they can't winter over as easily. Plus, a nice clean garden is just much more pleasing to look at.  Adding some sort of garden décor this time of year also helps make your view more merry.  Decorative garden flags are of course the first on the list of easy versatile garden décor. 

There are very nice decorative birdhouses that can also add personality to your yard.  If you want birds to take to these decorative bird boxes be careful of what you buy.  Pay attention to its construction and the size of the hole to make sure it is actually functional.

 There are lots of sites online that sell all kinds of decorative items for your outdoor décor.  Browsing these sites can be another fun winter activity when you are ready to come in to the warmth of your home.

Happy winter gardening and thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Cheering up a Winter Yard

The holidays are gone and so are the dazzling light displays, lovely wreaths and eclectic decorative Christmas flags.  The winter yard is not usually a cheery one and unless you are an avid gardener that has planned ahead with camellias and other winter friendly shrubs, a winter yard can often times use some help. 


Winter garden flags are an easy solution.  Winter yard flags come in many designs and their color and subject matter will draw your eyes to them and away from the drabness of the flower beds.   Snowmen garden flags are always a fun choice like this Snow Couple Garden Flag that can also be a personalized flag.


 There is also this Let it Snow Garden Flag that is a high quality double applique flag that will hold up to the wicked winter weather.

For something totally unique there are Custom Winter Flags.  This is a Snowflake Monogram Flag but there are many available from a variety of companies.

For those that prefer, there are also Winter House Flags which are the larger size of the decorative flags like this Cardinal and Holly House Flag that can also become a personalized flag.

Along with the decorative winter flags, depending on where you live there are also great amazingly hearty plants and evergreens that can add beauty to your yard during the cold weather.  I found this great site for the United States National Arboretum and it has a handy zone map that will help you find what plants are winter hardy for your area.  In our area, pansies are used a lot this time of year. It always amazes me that for such a pretty and delicate looking flower they are really very tough.

These are just a few ideas to liven your winter landscape.  There are so many things you can do.  If you have any ideas you would like to share, please do.  We may come up with a few more ourselves in a future post.

Happy New Year to you all.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Decorate with Christmas Flags Indoors and Out

The holiday season is in full swing.  Flashing lights , glittery decorations and Christmas garden flags are everywhere.  I'm a sucker for Christmas decorations, I love them.  I love seeing all the houses lit up and the ways people come up with to portray the holiday season. It is also fun to see all the different decorative holiday flags that people choose to display .  There is one house in our neighborhood that is legend.  People line up to drive by it.  They even have their own radio station that plays Christmas music and is in sync with the blinking of the lights.

Coming up with ideas for decorating is a lot of fun.  You can spend hours on the internet looking at all the clever do it yourself decorations and ornaments.  Many of them are very inexpensive made from items from Dollar Tree or even recycling things that would normally be thrown away.  This is one link from woohome of 23 Simple Ideas of things made from bottle caps, computer chips and other items.

Christmas Garden Flags and Christmas House Flags arebb easy and versatile items to use for decorating.  They come in so many different tstyles from whimsical designs with elves and santas to more traditional nativity and religious themes.  Everyone knows holiday flags make a great addtion to outdoor holiday decor, but I think the fact that these lovely flags can also be used as wall art and hung on a wall in your house or your front door, too often gets forgotten. 

The Believe in the Magic Christmas Garden Flag, shown above, is one of my favorites and would be a great choice, I think for an indoor decoration.  This Poinsettia Wreath Christmas Garden Flag would be nice to hang on your front door and you can even have it personalized with your name which makes it even better for a door decoration.


Use your imagination ,there are so many holiday flags to choose from that will add beauty and charm to you Christmas decor. 

Thank you for reading
Marilee and Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

Personalized Flags make the Perfect Christmas Gift

It is the time of year when everyone starts racking their brain trying to decide what to buy everyone on their Christmas list.  Gifts mean so much more when you receive something you know the person put some thought and effort into.  When you receive something personalized such as a personalized flag, you know the giver did just that. Personalized garden flags and house flags make the perfect Christmas gift.  For a flag lover its the perfect addition to their collection and also a keepsake to keep for years to come.  Almost any decorative flag can be personalized although there are some that work better than others.

 A lot of what makes a flag a good personalized flag is its design and theme and if there is even an area on the flag where a personalization will fit.  Some flags, as my daughter and I say, "Scream for a personalization".  Dog Breed Garden Flags are a good example of that and one of the most popular

types of decorative flags to get personalized.  They almost always have a nice blank area where the pet's name can be added.  A really special idea is to do a Custom Photo Pet Flag, these are truly unique.  For the pet lover on your list, you cannot go wrong with a personalized pet flag.

There are also flags for firefighters along with garden flags and house flags for all five active branches of the military that are great for personalizing.  To add someone's name to a military garden flag or firefighter flag and display that flag or give as a gift, shows that loved one the pride you feel. A personalized military makes a great gift any time of year.

In addition to the flags mentioned above we have a great variety of  Custom Monogram Flags

and Personalized Welcome Decorative flags all of which could make great gifts and keepsakes. Some of our most popular flags is our line of RV Camper Garden Flags.   These personalized Camper Flags make a fun and unique gift that can be used all year long.
Custom

So while doing your shopping for Christmas browse the decorative flags at Custom Flags and Gifts and explore all the possibilities.

Thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Personalized Birthday Banner Garden Flags

I have always loved birthdays.  Even now when I dread my age increasing by "1" I still secretly look forward to my birthday.  It is the one holiday of the year that is especially for you.  So personalizing Birthday Garden Flags just makes sense.

To display the same birthday flag for everyone in your family doesn't represent what birthdays are all about, which is celebrating the life of one individual.  Personalized Birthday Flags do the job much better.  This Happy Birthday Wishes Garden Flag is a great example and is such a cheerful birthday flag appropriate for any age.  Just by adding a name, makes this flag so much more special. This is just one of many birthday flags that are available for personalizing.

 

 

A Custom Photo Birthday Garden Flag is also a great choice.  These are great fun for all ages.  When we created this Happy Birthday Custom Photo Flag we thought this would be popular for children, but we have actually gotten more orders using this flag for adult birthdays.  This decorative flag is great to display at birthday parties either outside or inside and makes a great keepsake to have for years to come.

 

 

If you have an idea of your own for a personalized birthday flag that you would like to have made for a loved one, let us know.  We do offer a "Design your Own" Garden Flag at our website where you can upload a design or photo and add your own text.  We are always happy to help with suggestions if you need them.

 

Thanks for reading and hope that you all , when it arrives, have a very Happy Birthday.

Marilee and Josie

Custom Flags and Gifts

 

Decorative Flags for November

This time of year is such a busy time.  Halloween is now over and the abundance of fall festivals is decreasing as the holidays quickly approach.  It is now time to take down the Halloween Garden Flag and choose a more appropriate decorative yard flag for this time of year. 

It is a good idea to have a base Fall Garden Flag that can be displayed all the way from the first of October to December such as this Autumn Leaves Applique Garden Flag.  This is a very nice high quality double applique flag. Or our Custom Monogram Flag, The Magic of Autumn. 

If you are someone that likes to change out your yard flags frequently you can add to your collection holiday flags for both Halloween and Thanksgiving to switch out as these holidays come and go.  Thanksgiving Garden Flags usually don't stay up very long but they are still fun to have.  There is this nice garden flag by Carson called Gratitude Cornucopia  and our Custom Thanksgiving Flag called We are Grateful for Many Things, this custom flag is a great project to do with your kids asking them to list things they are grateful for to add to this personalized flag.

Once Thanksgiving is over your fall flag could possibly be put up again for a short time.  It depends on where you live and how much winter has progressed in your region.  But after a week at the most, it is probably time to put away your fall flags till next year and move on to winter and Christmas yard flags.

Thank you for reading.
Marilee & Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month.  This disease has affected countless people either themselves having the disease or by it having affected a loved one.  Breast Cancer Awareness helps to keep this deadly disease in the forefront to accomplish numerous things.   You can wear pink, wear breast cancer awareness buttons or T-shrits or even display a Breast Cancer Awareness Garden Flag.

One purpose is to educate.  To point out both risk factors and steps toward prevention.  I just learned that just simple physical exercise is one of those prevention methods.  I read that just three hours of exercise a week helps to boost the immune system which helps to fight off this disease.  Another important purpose of  Awareness Month is to remind women to get their mammograms and routinely do self exams.  It is so easy to forget these things in our busy lives,even though they take so little time.
Encouraging donations by stressing the importance of these contributions .  Giving either your time as a volunteer or a gift of money can help a woman who is both financially and mentally drained get through a challenge of a lifetime.

So as the month of October comes to an end, the need for Breast Cancer Awareness does not end.  The simple act of occasionally wearing that pink T-shirt or displaying a pink ribbon garden flag can help remind people to do what they have withing their power to help fight this disease.

There are countless awareness decorative flags to be found.  We offer two that are also personalized flags   These flags help you support a loved one fighting the disease or remember someone you have lost.  Using personalized banners such as these with an actual person's name on it makes the devasting affects of breast cancer more real and therefore hopefully creating more action.  Our thoughts and best wishes are with all.


Thank you for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts