it's a banner day!

no, i mean it is literally, "a day with a banner in it". a banner made specially for niece riley's 8th birthday, coming up on sunday.* this banner, actually:

i was inspired by this gorgeous name banner i recently saw in luciane folch's SiS portfolio. i loved the bright colors, the eclectic mix of papers & elements, and OF COURSE the super-abundance of embellishments! :) i knew immediately that i wanted to do a slightly sparklier and more pink-n-red version...without getting tooooooo overtly valentine-ish; and i think i walked that line pretty effectively.

since it's hard to get blogger to display a seriously rectangular photo at anything larger than miniscule, and since there is approximately half a pound of fabulousness on each panel, howsabout a closeup of each letter?

(patterned paper: love elsie, w/scraps of making memories, dcwv, prima, core'dinations & origami paper; castle sticker: sandylion; word sticker: heidi grace; ticket: making memories; bling crown: mambi)

this is the only letter by which i am *slightly* frustrated: i reallllly wish the princess castle sticker was more visible...or that the bling crown was located an inch to the left. but that baby is stuck on there, i tell ya, and there's NO moving it without starting over, so i'm living with it! (on the plus side, it's nice to know this thing is sturdily made, right?!)

(patterned paper: prima, w/scraps of scenic route, frances meyer & basic grey; chipboard diecuts: sassafras; chipboard word: ek success; brad: doodlebug; bling heart: michaels)

i've had the adorable chipboard bunny and clouds for AGES...i've often thought they'd be "just right" for this or that, and i'd get them out...and then they didn't quite work somehow...until NOW, that is!!! :)

(patterned paper: prima & basic grey: bling word: mambi; flair button: ek success; velvet leaves: k&co; leaf ribbon: may arts; cardstock tab: sei; label: dymo)

everything you see in this project that is fussy-cut or die-cut was actually a leftover from something else: i nearly *always* cut too much and then i throw the leftovers into a snack-sized plastic bags, sorted by type in a small photo-organizer. when i need hearts or birds or butterflies...or gorgeous basic grey roses...chances are there are one or two lurkin' about just waiting for their shot at the bigtime!

(patterned paper & hydrangeas: prima; additional flowers: michaels; chipboard flourish: maya road (topped w/text from a russian book); pearls: kaiser; bling word & dimensional chipboard heart sticker: mambi; stick pins: joann essentials)

here's a lesson in economics for you: two of the shades of hydrangeas on this panel are fancy schmancy primas which come 20 to a $4 pkg at the lss; one shade is the pulled-apart single blossoms from a michaels' silk flower stem, where you get nearly 100 for $4. can you spot which is which? thought not. (nor can i!) ;)

(patterned paper: pink paislee + scraps of creative imaginations, doodlebug, making memories, provocraft, basic grey & japanese text paper; diecut border: k&co; butterfly punches: ek success & martha stewart; butterfly die: quickutz; bling: heidi swapp)

and finally, we reach the "Y" which marks the end of the banner!

for those of you interested in the engineering of such things: the individual panels were made of tan bazzill cardstock triangles measuring 5 x 7" which i inked & xyroned onto white cardstock, then trimmed with scallop-edged scissors. the "inner" panels of patterned paper are approximately 4.5 x 6.5" and were lightly inked, tacked with a teeny line of tombow runner, and then sewn on top. the large pink sparkly chipboard letters are from making memories a year or so ago. like most of the other embellies they were stuck on with a combination of gluedots and foam tape. the slightly fuzzy beaded ribbon from michael's--disappointingly difficult to tie as a bow on gift-wrapped packages--proved by its very stiffness to be the PERFECT THING on which to suspend a banner! the finished length is just over a yard, allowing for a bit of swag in the center and dangly ends.

if you have any questions about specific products or methods feel free to ask via email or in the comments and i will do my best to answer!

*yes, she was born on valentine's day, 2002; and is, appropriately enough, one of the sweetest and most loving girls you could ever hope to meet! i hope she will love receiving this as much as i enjoyed making it, and that this will be her best birthday yet!!! ♥♥♥