Thursday, August 5, 2010

My Birthday Banner

Here is a picture of my Happy Birthday Banner.  I made it as a sample project for our annual craft Super Saturday at church.  I was excited about how it came together and thought I would show you how I did it.
I have a Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine. At Sizzix, they have a sale every Tuesday. I got this card die half price there and used it to cut out my papers.   I wasn't really sure it would work, but this die ended up just the right size and made it easy for me to cut a ton of pieces in minutes.
The cardstock I used, the Citrus pack from Joanns, was really thick but I was still able to cut 4-5 papers at a time.  That was really important to me due to the fact that I am estimating between 20 and 30 banners will be ordered.  That makes for somewhere around 600 papers I will have to cut out. 
I was hoping for a cheep and easy option when it came to the letters.  I ended up using these stamps inked with acrylic paint.  My biggest concern was, given that many of the ladies are not big crafters, it could be very messing and lead to ruined projects.  I made arrangements for a vinyl letter option, only $3 more.  Finally, I decided to make stencils from these stamps instead of using the stamps themselves.  Stencils can still be tricky, but I think they will be safer than painting the stamps.  We shall see :0)
The other issue I had with those stamps was that the letters aren't exactly centered on the foam backing. Since you can't see through the backing, you just have to guess where the stamp will land.  This too should be resolved with the stencil idea.  Walmart sells a three pack of blank stencils for around $3.  You can stamp on the stencil, then use an exacto knife to cut the shape out. 
Ignore the gross 20 yr old glue gun in this picture.  I don't know if my mom knows yet that I stole it when I went away to college.  I guess she knows it now :0)
 I wanted to attach the papers to the ribbon, but didn't want to have it pull, causing the sign to hang funny.  That is when I decided to dab some hot glue under this center part, then pull the ribbon into position.
Another dab under this flap to keep it from flying away...
Last, I added some distressed circles and candles randomly to the whole thing, and plopped a cupcake onto the extra card inbetween the words.  Hot glue some buttons/ribbons on...and done!
This picture does not do this project justice!  It came out so cute!  I was going for a banner that could work for girls or boys and I think this does the job.  There is one thing I will change when I make the rest of the banner kits.  The candles and cupcake need to be out of brighter paper.  I think that will make them stand out more.
    
Anyway,  one lucky winner of my
150 Fabulous Follower Giveaway will get a Happy Birthday Banner any day now!
Good Luck!

2 comments:

  1. That's a really creative use of that die! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a really creative use of that die! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete

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