Get The TechniqueIt's been almost a year since we were out in Telluride for the Fourth of July bike parade—how time flies! For July's Living, we wanted to do a story on the American tradition of the bike parade, and after some research, we found one in Telluride, Colorado, that sounded pretty special. Just so happens the town itself is spectacular! We had a great time out in Telluride and met up with some crafty families who were eager to participate in our bike-decorating party. Once you see how easy these crafts are, you may want to decorate a bike of your own. Below you'll see a sneak peak into the development process.
1 Experimenting with clip-art spoke wrappers—when the bike's in motion, it's a wild blur of color.
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4 Red and white tissue festooning is woven through the spokes for this shot.
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20 The classic clicking of playing cards in the spokes announces your arrival to the parade.
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23 I love these red, white, and blue streamers. They are so easily wrapped through the spokes or on the frame of your bike.
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28 These little stars clipped to the spokes didn't make the final cut, but I still think it's kind of cute. The stars were painted wood attached to mini clothespins.
29 What is a bike parade without the classic Radio Flyer wagon?
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32 Buckets filled with decorating supplies are a great party favor.
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35 This shaggy fringe transforms our wagon into a mini parade float.
And a behind-the-scenes look at the parade—it was a great day!
1 They had so much fun on their tandem.
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3 You can find the clip art for these flags and medallions on the Web.
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7 Our photographer, Ken Kochey, hard at work.
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9 James, our art director, and Miranda, our writer.
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11 This Schwinn tandem bicycle was amazing!
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15 This dog had his own personal parade float.
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18 The Grand Marshal.
19 I love her patriotic headpiece.
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21 Watching the antique plane flyover. It was too quick to capture on camera!
22 You can see the plane in the distance in this shot.
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24 The flyover was a great way to start the parade. Everyone was excited!
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27 The streets were full of spectators. There were even people perched atop buildings to get a better view.
28 Telluride is set in a box canyon, so you always have those beautiful mountains in sight.
29 Telluride is a very creative town!
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34 Look out, someone's got a watergun!
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36 How great is this antique fire truck?
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39 After an exhausting but very fun shoot day, we rode the lift to the top of the mountain.
40 Telluride from above.
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49 What a spectacular view.
Ready to decorate some bikes? Print out our easy-to-use clipart!
From: elaine b. kennerly | 6/20/11 at 1:50 pm
I have been trying for a while to locate the templates for the bike parade clip art;specifically the medallions. I have had no luck in locating this clip art. HELP!!!! & yes, I am yelling, help me!!! This is on pg. 95 of the July issue. Thanks, Elaine
From: Blake Ramsey | 6/20/11 at 2:04 pm
Hi Elaine,
You should find all the clip art from the Bike Parade story through this link-
http://www.marthastewart.com/353628/fourth-july-bike-clip-art
We'd love to see photos of your decorated bikes!
From: Angie Menegay | 6/21/11 at 2:37 pm
Thanks for the suggestion on GoTasks! Such an awesome app!