Decorative Flags for your Garden

Your garden is a great place to display your garden flags and it's time to get started.  For earlier blooms or veggies now is the time to start planting seeds.  It may be too early for some of us to plant outdoors yet so we can start them indoors to give them a head start.  Check on the seed packets first though, it will usually say if the seedlings can be transplanted or if you should wait and plant them directly in the ground. Things around the house can be repurposed into pots. You can check online how to make pots out of newspaper and I've also used egg cartons and plastic fruit containers. Just make sure there are holes in the bottom for drainage. 

 I am lucky that I had a small greenhouse built for me several years ago, but before that I started the seeds inside on top of my refrigerator and hung a plant light from the ceiling over them.  When the seeds aren't there, I replace them with a good size house plant so the light doesn't hang there neglected.

Once your plants are transplanted to the garden it will be time to put out your new Spring Garden Flag. It are some good choices.

This Inch by Inch Garden Flag is one of my favorite. The cute inch worm is much more welcome on the flag than in your garden.  This flag would look great in any size garden.

This Personalized Grandma Garden flag lists grandma's favorite people, her grandkids. This is perfect for a Mother's Day Gift.  This flag can also be made for grandpa making a great Father's Day Gift.

Provencale Garden Applique Flag showing a variety of garden tools seems it was made for putting in a garden. Spring and summer is the best seasons for this decorative flag

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

Decorative Halloween Yard Flags

Halloween is just around the corner and we are taking inventory of our Halloween Garden Flags  and Halloween House Flags.  I can still remember as a child going trick or treating door to door. Back then we didn't worry about if we knew the people or not.  Neither did we worry about what was in our bags.  Our parents didn't inspect our goods before we could eat them.  We just came home, marveled over our spoils and down the hatch they went.  That included homemade cookies, cupcakes, unwrapped candy in baggies all sorts of dangerous stuff.  Those were different times.

Although people are much more cautious today as far as trick-or-treating goes, enthusiasm for the holiday has not waned one bit.  Outdoor Halloween decor seems to get more sophsticated and abundant each year.  One of my neighbors this year had a yard full of extravagant Halloween decorations before the end of September.  Its fun to see the creative ways people express their love for the season.  My favorite are the handmade items; stuffed scarecrows and witches and pumpkins carved with imagination. I also enjoy, of course, seeing all the different decorative Halloween yard flags.  There is such a wide variey of Halloween flags to choose from, and if you are too busy to do a lot of decorating this year, a Halloween Garden Flag displayed in your yard is a quick way to show you are in the spirit of the fun that this holiday brings.



Here are some decorative flags we are offering this year for Halloween.  We even have a few that can be personalized and a couple that are Custom Made Garden Flags.





Thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Pineapple Decorative Yard Flags

Pineapples, which have become a universal symbol for hospitality, are such a diverse element for decorations in both indoor and outdoor decor. They are perfect on garden flags and house flags as we most often use our decorative flags as a way to say welcome to friends, family and neighbors.  Pineapple flags come in a huge variety of themes. There are some that are designed for particular holidays or seasons and some are appropriate to display any day of the year.  A decorative yard flag or house flag ,that versatile ,is great to have around to fill in between special ocassions and holidays.

You can shop for decorative flags at FlagsandGifts.com where these and other pineapple flags are available.

Folk Pineapple Garden Flagheartfelt welcome pineapple garden flagwinter holiday pineapple house flag

Flags that support Earth Day

This year Earth Day is Tuesday April 22nd.  First celebrated in 1970, the goal of this day is to create  support for environmental protection through events and informational campaigns that take place throughout the world.  By participating in the events you can gain valuable insight on how you can help by doing your part. Here is a website I found that listed 50 small things everyone can do to help, many of these, I never thought of.  http://www.50waystohelp.com/

 You can also help with awareness simply by displaying one of our environmental garden flags in your yard.  A decorative flag can be a small billboard letting friends and neighbors know that you support Mother Earth.  Here are a couple of our environmental flags that would be perfect for Earth Day.  These yard flags were designed in our shop and you won't see them anywhere else.  Their design  also has a playful charm that will interest children.  Teaching children and getting them interested in conservation and environmental issues is more important now than it has ever been.

We also have the personalized We Recycle Monogram Flag.

 

 

So let's celebrate Earth Day next Tuesday and all do our best to help protect and clean up our environment.

 



Thanks for reading.

Marilee and Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

Personalize your Easter Flag

Easter Sunday this year falls on April 20th.  To assure the best selection, the time is now to shop for your decorative Easter Flags.  There are so many designs available.  You may choose one with a religious theme or one a little more playful with Easter bunnies and baby chicks.  Even though there are lots of different designs for Easter Yard Flags, some designs seem to be more popular than others and its not unheard of to see the same flag in a neighborhood more than once.

One way to make sure your flag is always unique is to buy a personalized flag.  Many of the garden flags and house flags we offer at Custom Flags and Gifts can be personalized. Here are a couple of our Easter flags that can be personalized. 

We also offer a Custom Easter Flag that displays the scripture John 11:25

 

Thank you for reading and we hope you find your ideal Easter Flag to enhance your Easter decor.

 

Personalize your Valentine's Day Garden Flag

When it comes to personalizing items for a special occasion or holiday, Valentine's Day should be at the top of the list.  Nothing is more personal than expressing love. 

A personalized garden flag is a great way to do that.  With one of these decorative flags in your yard you could tell the world you have a new love in your life, or reinforce how you feel about that one special person thats been in your life a long time. It's like putting your Valentine Card on a flag.


 

Of course the personalizations are optional, there are plenty of Valentine's Day yard flags that are just as fun with or without the personalization.  The choice is yours.






Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for reading.

Marilee & Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

Decorative flags for Everyday

Sometimes we get so involved in the holidays and all the special occasions in our lives and the decorative flags that go with them, that we forget about the wonderful everyday things that are really the base of our lives.  To enjoy and share those everyday things we have in between everyday garden flags and house flags that come in so many other themes than just the holidays.

There are so many monogram flags that can be displayed any time of year.  Our glitter monogram garden flag is one example.





There are also lots of decorative flags that say "Welcome" or "Home Sweet Home" . Many of these may have holiday themes, but there are many that do not. Like our "Warmth of Home" house flag or several of our pineapple flags.




Besides these, there are many other themes of  everyday yard flags including gardening, pets, and military flags to name a few.

Visit the wonderful world of decorative flags at our Custom Flags and Gifts web store and find a  perfect flag for every day.

Thanks for reading.
Josie and Marilee

Hook a friend on flags

We all have a friend or family member that is next to impossible to buy for.  As their birthday draws closer you have to rack your brain every year deciding what to get them.  Its always in your own best interest to get them something that has lots of accessories or uses things that either wear out, get used up or can be collected. 

The new instant coffee machines are a great example.  It offers tons of gift packages of pods in different types and flavors that replacements will always be needed for.  Another example would be to get someone started in scrapbooking by buying them an instruction book and some supplies.  The scrapbooking department in craft stores has an endless possiblilites of future gifts for a scrapbooking addict.

Garden Flag Starter Set

Getting someone hooked on decorative flags might be the very best route to take. A garden flag lover always welcomes a new flag.  There are always themes they don't have covered or well loved flags that are worn and need replaced.  Just start with the flag stand and one relevant flag for whatever the season may be and you will know what to get this person for years to come.  You will feel so clever and all the while they will be very appreciative.  There is also an available starter kit that is sure to get them wanting more.  It is a garden flag stand and four decorative flags, one for each season.  They will immediately be looking for birthday flags, welcome flags, holiday flags and more.


Thanks for reading.
Marilee and Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

The Miracle of Snowflakes

As I was trying to come up with some new winter garden flags and had decided I wanted to design a snowflake monogram flag I started scanning the web for inspiration.  I came across a website about a most incredible man whom I am surprised is not more widely known.  His name is Wilson A Bentley otherwise known as "Snowflake Bentley"  This wonderful quote by him from his website http://snowflakebentley.com/index.htm got my attention. 

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."
Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley 1925




He captured over 5000 snowflakes and photographed them.  It was he who came to the conclusion that no two snowflakes are alike.  Do check out the website for lots of wonderful information and gifts pertaining to snowflakes.

 

I can remember as a child catching snow on my mittens and trying to study an individual flake.  They are truly very magical.  This decorative yard flag is in honor of all those little miracles. 

Winter Solstice 2013

Even though I've already had enough cold weather, winter hasn't even officially started.  This year the winter solstice is Saturday December 21st at 12:11 PM (EST).  Although, obviously, I am not a fan of winter, I do look forward to the winter solstice as I know its uphill from there.  As that is the shortest day of the year, I know from then on the days will be getting longer.

As the holidays come and go and the decorative holiday flags come down it will be time to put up our winter garden flags .  This category of decorative flags is very versatile and many can be displayed from Thanksgiving right through Valentine's Day .  We even have one of our very nice mini flags actually called Winter Solstice.

As ironically as it is, even though we have already had frigid temperatures this year, the weather people are predicting temperatures in the 70's for us this Saturday on the winter solstice.  So put on your shorts or coats, depending on the weather where you are and shop our decorative winter flags at Custom Flags and Gifts.  Also stock up on Christmas flags for next year as they are all still 10% through December.

Happy Solstice and Happy Shopping.

 

 



Visit our store to buy our decorative yard flags to enhance your outdoor decor.


Winter Solstice Garden FlagWinter Solstice Garden Flaghttp://www.flagsandgifts.com/winter-solstice-appliqued-garden-flag

Are You Ready for some High School Football?

I don't know what it is about the summer months, but they also fly by.  Here it is the middle of the summmer already and the first half is just a blur.  As fall approaches here at Custom Flags and Gifts, we have started looking at ordering fall garden flags.  One thing that stands out about fall is the starting of high school football. 

There are plenty of decorative flags that root for Pro and college football or for the schools themselves, but we see only a handful of yard flags that can be purchased to show support for our own local schools and their sports teams.  So we are offering custom flags and pre-printed garden flags and house flags that can be personalized with your favorite school, complete with your choice of mascot, school colors and/or player number.

We also offer a fun Football Jersey Bottle Koozie in your school colors that displays your favorite players name & number and your school's initials.

Thank you for reading.
Marilee & Josie

Custom Flags and Gifts

Personalizing Garden Flags

 We just received a new shipment of summer garden flags.  As I am choosing which flags would make nice personalized flags, I am again researching the proper usage of last names in personalizations.    Do you use possessive or plural?  Is the decorative flag referring to The Smith's house so you make the name possessive? or is it a declaration that there is more than one "Smith" here therefore putting "The Smiths".   Then there is the problem with some names that end in "s" they can sound and look rather awkward when pluralized such as the Edwards becoming the Edwardses.

 

I have been doing personalizations for quite a few years now between my embroidery business and our garden flag venture. To simplify and remove any question I have found adding "family"  the last name helps to take away any doubts and makes the personalization sound more natural.  Putting "The Davis Family" on a flag sounds much better to most people than the "The Davises".  There are some decorative yard flags that could really benefit from a personalization but have limited space and on those have to opt for the last name only.  I have learned in those cases to ask the customer to write their name exactly as they would like it to appear.  Proper or not, I have found some people are not happy with the way their name looks or sounds in the plural.

As to whether to use  the last name in a possessive or plural form, possessive does work if you add "House" or "Getaway" or anything along those lines.  We have a new  Lake Garden Flag that is a good example.  We offer personalization of the last name

Personalized flags are a lot of fun and make your flag unique and a one of a kind. We have lots of flags that can be personalized. Come see us at www.FlagsandGifts.com .  If you see a flag that is not listed for personalization but you would like it to be, just let us know.  We will do our best to accommodate. 

Here is a few of the House Flags and Garden Flags we carry that can be personalized.

 

Personalized Welcome to the Lake Garden Flag

 

 

Monogram Garden Flags

A monogram in its strictest terms is two or more letters, usually someone's initials, that are interwoven in a way to create one design.  Most of us also include any display of initials used for decorative or labeling uses.  Initials that are listed in any way interwoven or not and even just one letter that represents a first or last name initial. 

As an embroiderer for many years I have monogrammed purses, shirts, baby clothes and over the last few years have been introduced to monogram decorative yard flags.  These garden flags come in many themes and designs and are available for all the different seasons.  Most monogram flags display a single initial.  Some also spell out the name that initial represents and works it into the design.  I have also seen some decorative monogram flags that use the traditional 3-letter intertwined monogram.  In these monograms the initial of the last name is larger and in the middle.

At Custom Flags and Gifts, all our monogram flags are ones we have designed ourselves and print in our shop.  This gives us the freedom to offer unique products that are not offered anywhere else.  Here is a sampling of what we have:



Animal Print Monogram Flag
 



Flip Flop Welcome Garden Flag

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

Decorative Yard Flags 101

When I first started working at a flag store a few years ago, I didn't know the first thing about decorative flags.  Not that its rocket science but just like with anything else there are a few basic things you need to learn just so you know what you are buying.

Decorative Flags can be two sided, those can be viewed equally from  either side, or one sided.  Depending on how the flag is going to be displayed, often the one sided flags work just fine.  Next, these yard flags are made in two basic ways.  They are either printed, usually through a process called sublimation or they are appliqued.   Applique Flags are pieces of fabric sewn together that create a design or scene.  A row of satin stitch is sewn around each piece to secure it and prevent fraying.  There are the heavy double sided applique and single applique.

There are two basic sizes of Decorative Flags. Garden flags or Mini flags are the smaller ones.  They usually measure 12-13 inches wide and 15-18 inches tall.  They can be displayed with a variety of flag stands that either go in the ground or some attach to a post or wall.  House flags or standard flags are the larger variety.  They usually measure 28-30 inches wide and 36-42 inches long.  These are usually displayed from a pole that slides into a bracket that is attached to the house.  There are some stands that will display house flags and go in the ground.

I hope I have helped to clear up any questions you may have had.  Please browse our site and see what we offer.  If you have any questions feel free to write us at info@flagsandgifts.com .
Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.

Marilee and Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts


Heavy Double Applique Ladybug Flag



Sea Turtle Printed Garden FLag

Caring for Decorative Garden Flags

Decorative garden flags are not made to last forever, but with a little care can stay looking their best for sometime.  One key ingredient in how long a flag will last is where it is hung.  The sun is probably your garden flags' worse enemy.  It will break down the material faster than anything.  Constant winds are also a factor.  So if at all possible, choose a place to hang your flag where it is somewhat protected from the elements, in the shade of a tree or up close to the house.  

I am not a fan of hand washing things....so when it comes to washing a soiled flag, I just throw it in the washer on a gentle cycle and then into the dryer on LOW for just a few minutes to get some of the moisture out and then I hang it to dry.  If the flag has been hanging outside for quite sometime , and you would really like to preserve the flag for a while longer, you would probably want to hand wash it and DO NOT put it in the dryer.  Depending on how much exposure the flag has already had there is a good chance the fabric has started to break down some and the agitation of the washer and heat from the dryer could cause some tears and yes some "tears" also.  It is very important if you are going to store your flags to be sure they are completely dry.  Putting them away damp will cause them to mildew and also create creases that are next to impossible to get out.

The most important thing is to enjoy your flag to the fullest.  If where you really want to hang your flag to display it the best is out in the blaring sun and wind then go for it.  As I said, they are not made to last forever and there are more where that one came from.  Most of the fun of decorative house and garden flags is buying new ones anyway.  So visit www.CustomFLagsandGifts.com and replace your worn out flags.

Thanks for reading.

Marilee & Josie

Custom Flags and Gifts