It's A Girl Banner + Tips...

I've been working like a 'busy bee' these last few weeks before Christmas! So since I have a few new creations and some helpful tips to share, I'll be brief because I plan on posting several tonight...squeezing it all in before the New Year!   First up is this festive and girly, shower banner!

I had originally started out with an argyle pattern, and even after I stamped all 10 banner cards in argyle, I decided it just wasn't working for me!  I went back to my 'stamping board' and came up with this little number...POLKA DOTS!  If you've followed my blog for even a short period, you'll find me using polka dots A LOT!  They're so versatile and stripes are also a great compliment to polka dots!  For the top border I 'scrunched' up some crate paper(party streamer paper!) and glued it down with a 1 inch strip of certainly celery cs.  On top of the cs, I used a chocolate circle border and strategically cut it just so...evenly spaced out for room to add a few rhinestones!

For the lettering, I tried something NEW!  Normally on my banners I use regular old cs for the lettering...not today!  I knew I had some espresso chocolate vinyl in my stash so I thought I'd give it a whirl!  I have to say, I may start using this a whole lot more than cs now!  It goes on smooth and I don't have to double matte the letters like I normally would with regular cs.  If you're not comfortable sticking the vinyl on 'blindly', you can use line contact paper like I did below with the 'G'.  Letters with a lot of curve can sometimes be tricky to get on straight and I can't tell you how many times I've had to re-cut letters!  Go with the contact paper...especially with extra curvy fonts.

Sweet little embossed star!

A quick tip!  When you're punching holes in the banner cards, simply put 2 cards 'back-to-back' and  you'll get evenly lined up holes for every card.  Once you have 2 cards punched, use 1 as a guide for the next card and so on and so forth!

Camo-themed Baby Shower...

There is a FIRST for everything...including camo for a baby shower! I wasn't sure where on this island I would even find anything 'camo-themed'!  Luckily with a little ingenuity and a great printer, I was able to make my very own camo paper! Sure I could have ordered some, but this custom request needed a quick turn around and it everything came together wonderfully in a very short amount time!

Detail shot of the banner.  I used my Cricut to cut the letters and a star embossing folder on the bashful blue cardstock.  Letters are raised with foam tape and coated with Crystal Effects for a glossy shine...we've talked about this in a prior post where I use 'obscene' amounts of Crystal Effects...LOL!

Simple and clean design for the diaper cake!  Had the oppurtunity to try out my new chevron embossing folder too.  Crystal Effects on the monogram as well.

First time for candy bar wrappers too!  I printed these wrappers on vintage creme cardstock and score on the 4 edges.  The cardstock provided a nice wrapper 'casing' that is very sturdy, more so than traditional, thin wrappers.  What an exciting way to celebrate a baby on the way!  Congrats to Melissa & Christopher.

Festive Joy Banner...

Tah-da!!! I know, I'm a little late posting 'as promised', but I've been busy with life in general, and my sis-in-law is in from Tokyo so we are playing with babies and catching up! With out further ado, I finally have a few minutes to post my new Joy banner! I love these rosettes and they are really easy and simple to make! This is the first vertical banner I've made and it's a nice change from always doing my traditional horizontal banners! Gotta switch it up every now and then, right?!

This door is so 'sterile'...especially with no window!  I think I'm going to dress her up often!  The angle of the pic also makes the banner appear smaller than it really is.  Each rosette is approx. 8 in. in diameter.

If you've been following along on FB with the 'sneak peeks', this is where I felt something was missing and added the gold doilies behind the always artichoke card stock.  The doilies added just the right amount of depth to the letter circles without being overbearing.

Thought I'd share this quick tip on how to line up your rosettes on the ribbon! I used my self-healing mat that I've used for sewing.  It's a larger mat so it allows you to turn either way and works great for longer banners.  I'm going to try this design again, either for a Valentine banner or maybe even a Spring theme!  Happy Crafting! 

Making Do With What I've Got...

Living abroad now, I really have to 'make-do' with the supplies I've got on hand. Case in point, I REALLY needed black glitter paper for my Halloween banner...what's a crafty girl to do?! My sweet SU! lady(HEY, Susan!) recommended a few options and since I have a few sheets of the SU! silver glitter paper the 'inking' option is what I chose! This can get a little messy, so have plenty of wipes or moist towelettes on hand for clean-up! The lighting is terrible in the first pic, but follow along you'll see the difference in color tones.

I used a sponge tip and Hybrid Palette Ink for this project. I'd probably stay clear of regular ink dies as it's not going to stick to the glitter paper as well and probably just smear right off. Here you can see the BIG difference between what I started with and how it turned out after I applied the ink. Now, you won't get a super dark black, but more of a vintage black which I think is just as fitting for Halloween. You will still get a great twinkle/sparkle even through the ink.

Here are all my letters(cut with the Cricut)and as you can see it does get messy, but just have a scrap paper pad when inking because you will go off the edges. I'm really pleased with how well the ink took and I would definitely try it again. Just a little advice if you're impatient(like me!)be sure to break out your embossing heat gun and do a quick pass-over to 'set' the ink.

Happy Crafting!  Dawn ;)

4th of July Celebrations...

I'm just about to wrap up my vacation here in Atlanta, GA! We also managed to squeeze in a few days to beautiful Savannah. I fell in love with 'her' and not just because Paula Dean calls Savannah home. No chance of visiting her restaurant this time, but we did get a quick snap shot of her eatery. We've got some packing to do before we hit the road and head back to NC. I'm not looking forward to the smokey skies back home as we've been battling a terrible wild fire that is projected to smolder all Summer! I would rather take the Atlanta smog over smokey air any day. Anyhoo, just a quick post on a birthday celebration we threw here this weekend for the July birthdays. My bro-in-law was born on the 4th, niece Kate is on the 8th, and my baby girl, Addy, on the 18th. If you've been following my recent posts, this is another identical banner to a previous one posted. I made a duplicate for my sister to hang on her fireplace hearth and to use for the party. Love these striped bags for party favors! We decided to put 4th of July themed cookies on the inside. The fit and worked perfect! All stamps and rectangle die are from Papertrey Ink. The small metallic stickers on the stars are from a Michael's sticker pack. The finished tag is attached to a close pin to 'seal' the bag. Once I'm home and settled, I will have some fun posts with 'my little firecracker' stamp set. I've already posted a sneak peek on my FB page if you'd like to check her out...fun lil' gal!Happy 4th to you and yours!

Mudpie Birthday Part Deux...

You may remember several recent posts on a Mudpie inspired birthday party. Well, here is a new customer order with some of the same touches and some new party ideas! Same banner, but personalized just for Ella! I used crystal effects(using A LOT lately!) for her name for texture and shine. Mini banners for a cupcake stand or potted plant centerpiece. A little glitter for extra sparkles!
Cupcake goodie bags. Simple clothes pin clip keeps the goodies inside!
Cupcake deco-sticks. We switched out the embossed butterflies(above), and went with the cupcakes(below). I think I totally agree with the cupcake choice ;). Stamp and punch are from SU! Flower bg is from my PTI flower die set.

Banner Frenzy...

Somone got a little crazy this weekend and not only cleaned her crafting space, but once it was clean, she felt inspired to get crackin'! I've been on a patriotic kick lately and decided I'd get my creative juices flowing on banners. I pretty much stayed in my space all weekend. For those of you who know how I work, or have purchased my creations, you know my dedication. Each of these 3 banners took about 4 hours each to make. Time consuming, yes, but a few of those hours were set aside for glue drying.

FREEDOM--is a special thank-you for my sweet friend who made me realize the older I get, the less I need or want. She has taught me the true value of quality friendships! Thank you Donnak for making my birthday so AWESOME! Each card panel is 4 1/4 by 5 1/2(blue cs), the top layers(red and kraft) are cut down 1/4 so they nest nicely on top of each other. The red striped paper as well as the smaller kraft polka dots(underneath the lettering) paper is from DCWV Nautical Paper Stack. To create the accordian circle I took 2 strips of blue cs(1 cut at 1.5 x 11, the other cut at 1.5 x 8.5), scored each one, then taped both pieces together. Once you have the ends taped together, you then attach a small circle to the accordian circle to keep it all together. These circles are very, very strong...much like corrugated cardboard. At this point, I left the accordian circles to dry for at least 2 hours...which gave me plenty of time to hop over to my Cricut and cut out the lettering. Lettering is from the Storybook Cartridge on the 'fancy' option and cut onto SU! red glitter paper....absolutely LOVE this stuff!CELEBRATE--this one is for an upcoming 4th of July party in GA. We will be heading down to visit my sister soon and my niece and daughter have July birthdays so I told my sis I'd take care of the decorations/supplies. I figured after the party is over, she might like to keep this little gem and put it on her fireplace hearth ;)AMERICA--is an extra banner I made just for fun! If you'd like to purchase her for yourself or as a gift, she is available in my Etsy shop today! I will have a few more gift ideas this week. Some cute teacher gifts and another friendship gift. I hope this inspires you to create something fun!

Mudpie Birthday Banners...

Another fun post with Mudpie colors! Today's post is all about banners! The table/wall/fireplace banners are something I'm pretty familiar with, but this was a first for a high chair banner. The high chair banner is my version of 'fun size'! I dusted off my trusty Cricut and cut out the letters as well as the large cupcake in the center. The top of the cupcake actually had holes already cut into the design, but I didn't like the placement, so I covered them with punched circles and added stickles glitter glue. The frosting looks so sparkly and ready to eat!The letters are from the Storybook Cartridge and cut at 4 inches. The black letters are cut slightly smaller at 3.5 inches to give a POP out effect. I stamped the pixie pink(SU!) cs with polka dots. Each letter panel is strung on black satin ribbon and accented with little snippets of coordinating ribbon colors.This is the my new 'fun size' banner! I didn't get a pic of it on the high chair, but we measured and this will fit perfectly across the front. If I get a chance, I will grab a quick photo this weekend at the party.The letter panels are cut out with my nestibility dies. I also did whole panels in the blue and pink and cut them in half then accented with the lime green strip. I cut the letters from the same Storybook Cartridge and added the white dots.Another mini cupcake accents the banner on both ends. In my next post on Friday, I will be sharing the last Mudpie post on goodie bag ideas with cupcakes AND pirates?!!

Mini Christmas Banners, LOOOOONG post (with pics!)...

EDITED TO ADD: Isabel asked about the edging of the snowman's hat...no pom poms here (although they'd be really cute!), just used Star Dust Stickles:) You could also use Liquid Pearls...which I have as well, just didn't think to use it until afterwards!

So what to do after Halloween? Jump into Christmas of course! Thanksgiving is in there somewhere! Actually, these banners have been in the works since late July, early August! A dear friend had asked months ago if I could give her some ideas for Christmas Banners and here are few samples I've been playing with. They are more like mini-banners, but you could also put them on a fireplace mantle (scroll down) if it's on the smaller side. Also, if you have a mirror, you could use that option...looks very classy and clean:) Tried out my new Cosmo Cricket paper along with my Cricut-First Years cartridge (lettering). The rounded squares are cut with my nesty dies. I scored this fabulous beige creme ribbon at Micheal's the other day. The ribbon is Martha Stewart and was originally 5.99 a spool...scored several for 99 cents!!! Buttons are from my own stash...they're just all dumped together now, so not sure of the manufacturer.
PTI-Made of Snow...this is the set I won for THIS entry last year...funny, it didn't even get used last year:(
One for the mantle. I'm not too sure I like all BIG letters...it's hard to read:(
On all 3 banners I cut a second layer of lettering and put Star Dust Stickles on the outer layer...yummy!

Cut out the windows and doors here with my PTI-Home for the Holidays set. The trees are paper pieced and I added some amuse twinkle stickers for the star and ornaments.
PTI-Made of Snow and Boards & Beams. See that yummy paper below?? The new paper is Rustic Snowflake and it's from their latest release! It reminds me a lot of Dutch Girl by Cosmo Cricket...absolutely LOVE IT!