Wednesday, February 10, 2010

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!!! ♥♥♥

15 comments:

  1. Holy crap girl this is amazing!!! The detail and the cuteness is no way going to be surpassed!!! I mean hello she might not even notice her presents after seeing this. Its so neat. What a great keepsake for her. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. HOLY FRICKIN MOLY! This is so cool. If Riley doesn't squeal in delight I will be shocked. She is such a L-U-C-K-Y girl.
    (My b-day is in November. Just sayin')

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is so Incredibly Cute...LOVE all the Love you put into this Wonderful Creation!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. SPEECHLESS.
    This piece is PRICELESS! What an amazing creation!
    I seriously have never seen a banner with so much flair. It's really really beautiful, Lauren.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Totally FABOO, missy! You must have been in HEAVEN with all the frilly pink goodness. I am sure she will LOVE it and you will be the BESTEST Aunt EVAH!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stop it!!! This is so awesome... I can't even show it to Anna for fear she will want me to "try my hardest" to duplicate. It's absolutely stunning, Lauren. She will LOVE it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Little Riley is gonna be 8? Wow. I've been watching your precious nieces nephew grow up through your various presents for them on your blog. Sheesh, I can't believe Riley is almost 8!

    Love the banner of course and Riley will be...dare I say it...tickled pink? I noticed that adorable bunny right away, then read how he's been waiting for just the right project. I also love your sewing and the K&Co. fancy blue border (I bought those on clearance at Michaels last spring. I think I used one so far?)

    Hope you were very productive yesterday...you inspired me. I went in The Closet and pulled out all of the Disney kits from classes I've taught, got my box of 300+ photos from Disney trip 2008 that I had developed and were sitting on the craft room floor amongst other piles, and I actually took over the dining room table! I planned out the first page (not yet complete), and completed the next 3 pages!!! Page 5 is also started, but not complete. I want to complete pages 1 & 5 next before moving on. You got me motivated!

    I went to bed hoping I could turn my Disney brain off and sleep when I finally had an epiphany of how to create my Tyggereye "under control" page. I did that first thing this morning, then started "invisible". Hope to finish that later today. Still thinking on "thrive"...
    I LOVE my art journal. I am so so so glad I am doing this project. Thank YOU for the inspiration!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow!!! I'm just in awe (as I always am when I visit your blog)!
    Holy Moly what an amazing banner...the detail work is incredible!! wow!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok so I recently found your blog and OH MY GOSH!! Your creative flair is absolutely stunning!! This banner is AH-MAY-ZING! :D I am blown away by how many layers and elements you use and it NEVER looks over done? Now if I tried that.......hmmmm, lol. Not sure I'd have the same outcome :D Such a gorgeous gift!

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow, this is so awesome!! love how you put all the details together, just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  11. SO beautiful, and she's going to LOVE it! i knew those pink letters would be better than the ones you bought, but now you'll have to do something with those, wontcha? :)

    love it, doll!
    and hope i'll get to see you again SOON!

    ReplyDelete
  12. !!!!



    That's me speechless BTW.
    Oh my flippin word...MAGNIFICENT!

    I would have died to have a gift like this as a little girl (heck, I still would), It would have hung forever on my wall!!

    (-: Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  13. this banner is theeee most amaze-ing thing ever! riley is one lucky girl!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I Love this - and so will Miss Riley! I love all the do dads and pinks and glitter and well- all of it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. what the heck? how in thee world could I have missed this lovely banner?!!!! Pink and banner-licious!

    ReplyDelete

the *BEST* part of blogging is the comments, dontcha think? thanks for taking time to leave one! ~♥~