Sunday, April 11, 2010

Mini Banner tutorial (plus giveaway)

So I've finally decided to jump in with the whole banner "trend."

While I did like the banner stickers that Jenni Bowlin put out at CHA, and there have been some really cute patterned papers with banners on them, I really liked the idea of being able to make my own banners out of paper of my choosing.

But how should I go about doing this?

Sure, I could cut those cute little triangles with scissors, but the combination of my imperfect cutting skills combined with the need for speed (and my current obsession with punches) made me want to search for a punch solution.

Although I do have a triangular border punch, the triangles were a little too fat for the banners that I envisioned. I wanted some more skinny (narrow) triangles.

And I have seen some diamond shaped punches out there, but never in the small size that I wanted. Also, a diamond punch not as versatile as say, a circle punch. I mean, argyle patterns are cool, but not my usual style, and also how many diamond shaped journaling blocks have you seen? Exactly.

(No offense to anyone who really likes the idea of a diamond shaped journaling block. I just mean that I don't think my pages are cool enough to pull that kind of thing off.) ;)

But then it hit me that I already had some punches that were perfect for the job: my EK Success pointy heart punches!


I love me some pointy bottom hearts. So to make a triangle punched piece out of a heart, you just gotta take some paper, and punch out your hearts...

Then snip. Off goes the top of the heart!

You get some pretty cute triangles and some little bumpy scallops.

So now you just take your perfectly punched triangles and voila! Perfectly punched banner ready to go. (I also have a pointy-heart stamp which might do to make a stamped or embossed version)

I adhered my triangles to my page in a vaguely semi-circular fashion, and drew the "string" using a black pen. I've seen fancier versions that use real stitching or baker's twine though. I guess it depends on the look you want to go for.

So that's the latest tutorial showcasing my current obsession with punches. Hope you like it.

Oh, and as an extra-special treat, I'm doing a surprise giveaway.

A brand new limited edition Studio Calico Cherry stamp set:

It's just perfect for all those girly spring projects you're working on right now. So, if you'd like a chance to win this little cutie, just leave me a comment on this post and tell me what's inspiring you right now. Comments will be closed at 5:00 pm PST on Friday 04/16/2010.

I've got quite a few things to blog about later this week, including some big personal news and the full layout you see a snippet of above.

That's it for me for tonight. Hope your weekend was fantastic. Happy Sunday!

15 comments:

Irini said...

Ingenious!

j.leija said...

way to multi-purpose those punches! hmm...what inspires me right now? that'd be my not so baby nephew, urijah. he's turning 1 next week!

Marit said...

Hi Christina, like your banner "my own way". And being excited and curios about your personel news. and the stamps are just too perfect, loving to win them!
Greetings from germany
Marit

Natalie Elphinstone said...

Great idea with the punches. I've jumped fairly and sqaurely onto the banner band-wagon, but I do love doing it in lots of different ways. This was great :)

Nicky Stevenson said...

I love banners, especially in bright colours - they remind me of carnivals, fun fairs and celebrations. What an ingenious way of making one.

The recent sunny weather has inspired me to revitalise, live my life in ever more creative ways.

Melanie said...

Great idea! Thank you so much for the inspiration. At the moment my main inspiration comes from being pregnant and everything spring has to offer.

Rhayne said...

Funny enough, what's inspiring me right now is that I moved my crafty space to our attic bedroom. Moving uncovered so many treasure I had forgotten I had. So, I've been using up a lot of those :o)

A.S.K.-P. said...

I NEVER would have thought of that! What a KILLER idea!

LOVE that cherry stamp! SOO COOL!

As for what's inspiring me these days...Ever since my friend bought me a spot in the Beginner's Quilting Class @ our local quilt store I have had an OBSESSION with quilts, fabrics & color combinations! I mean OBSESSED! So I guess you could say quilts & fabric are a BIT of an inspiration for me these days.

Jennifer said...

Super cute! As far as inspiration, I gotta go with spring. The colors, the 'new life' - the sunshine!!

Christina said...

My quick ocean getaway is inspiring me right now:)

Vicki said...

The vintage sign on the Chinese Food Restaurant across from my work. They just restored it to a lovely orange and left all the cool neon lights. Now, if I could just remember to bring my camera to work.

Txgrrl said...

Love the tutorial - and my new star stamp that came from your etsy shop in the mail today (yay!).

I'm being inspired right now by my expecting and new mom friends. Making my first gift albums.

Elisa said...

love the punches of hearts :) thanks for the chance to win.
now everything inspire me: spring, flowers, sun...but I don´t have time to scrap :( too bad
xoxo
elisa

Unknown said...

cherries are my fave!!
Love your blog...just found it today!

Dawn F. said...

Thanks for the inspiration. My inspiration is coming from the change to spring - everything is light and breezy.

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