Joyful Build-a-Banner Decor

Since I finally got my templates clean, I was able to finally create the Christmas banner for my class next week.  I had a lot of fun doing these though I did ruin a few banners by trying to use alcohol and ink refill with my Spritzer tool and sprayed it too much.  So I went with a dauber and striped stencil instead. 

I also saw a tip from Mercedes Weber to use a background stamp on the banners.  I also saw somewhere about using the Dictionary background stamp but cannot remember where.  I chose to use the Dictionary stamp to add a little something extra to my banners. 

I really tried to limit the amount of external supplies I used from outside the kit.  The only thing I used was the 1" Circle Punch and a glue gun.  Everything else is from the kit.  The Bermuda Bay rosette pieces were cut in half making them 1" instead of 2".  I then cut one of those in 3/4" to fit better on the smaller snowflake.

The spacers were the Pool Party rosettes hooked on Pool Party ribbon.  The pieces were folded into sixes.  I cut them on the 2nd crease line and the 4th.  I then folded the top over so it made a loop and sealed with the glue gun.  This let me slide them on the burlap twine and then I used a glue gun to put the rosettes on them.  The centers were created by me punching out a 1" circle from the Bermuda Bay circle and layering that piece on the other one.  I also cut out circles from the chipboard that came with the kit and put it behind the circles before gluing them to rosettes - this kept it thicker so that it would glue better to the banner.

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Dictionary
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party
Christmas Banner Build a Banner Accessory Kit, Build a Banner Kit, Glue Gun, 1" Circle Punch, Paper Trimmer

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and if you are coming to that class next week, sure hope you like this.  And, if not, you will after you finish your wine.  :)

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

Even Princesses Turn 40

My sister LOVES Sleeping Beauty.  She loves anything Disney but REALLY loves Aurora.  And since she turns 40 today, I guess that Disney keeps you young at heart because she neither looks nor acts like she's 40.  Not like Aurora who never gets older than 16, but still very impressive how well she's aging.   She does act like a princess sometimes but if you were raising 3 kids, had been married for over 20 years, and were around kindergartners all day, you could act any way you wanted on your own time.  :)

I forgot to get my card out in the mail but figured I could at least post it here.  I cut down an extra banner I had left over when I was working on my spooky banner and stamped it with flowers in several shades of pink.  I wanted to give them some dimension so I sprayed them with alcohol from a Spritzer and let them run a little bit.  I learned this from my mistake making my Joy banner (which you will see tomorrow on my blog!)

 

Then I stamped the flowers on Very Vanilla and cut out the centers.  I peeled back the edges to make the flowers more dimensional and put pearls in the centers.  Then I made a quick little banner to put the 40 on it from Outline Alphabet and inked Bring On from Bring On The Cake using my marker, which you could see if I hadn't covered it up with my logo! 

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
• Ink: Strawberry Slush, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette
• Stamps: Secret Garden, Bring On the Cake, ABC-123 Outline Alphabet & Numbers
• Accessories: Build a Banner kit, Spritzer, Rubbing Alcohol, Basic Pearls, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Dimensionals, Scissors, and Adhesive

It was a playful card, one fit for a princess, or I hope she thinks so. 

Being a sister is a complicated relationship.  You are close enough to be honest which sometimes mean you fight because you don't have the barriers we have with friends.  But your level of forgiving and forgetting is higher than in any friendship and what makes you mad today makes you smarter for tomorrow.  I have been a tough little sister most of my life but I have always loved her big.  My sister is an amazing woman and I hope that her forties bring her as much magic as Disneyland and even more Happily Ever Afters.

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

Cleaning Stazon off Stencils

I am having a small group of people over next week to do a holiday banner.  We had such a good time with the spooky banner that they wanted to do another for the Christmas holidays.  Problem is, with all the chaos here, I forgot to clean the Stazon black off my letters and polka dot template after that class.  I needed those letters for my Joy banner and wasn't really excited about getting black ink in my classic pads!  When I pulled them out, they not only had Black Stazon, but they also had pieces of foam stuck to them from the daubers.

How gross is that?

So I tried to scruff off the foam and ink using an exacto knife.  As you can imagine, this wasn't effective AND it made a horrible sound.  I tried the Stazon cleaner too but after having a month making itself at home, it was stronger than the cleaner...

But, if I put the Stazon on and left a layer on there for a few minutes then I was able to use a Magic Sponge to get the ink scruffed off.

Good as new.  Much quicker on the letter stencils than this one.  I hope this tip helps you use your stencils more.  If you use classic ink, just run them under water in the sink and they will be all clean!

Thank you all for helping me hit a personal record in Sales this month.  Between your orders, your camp attendance, and your hostessing, I was able to hit a marker that gave me enough volume rebate to cover Conlyn's Christmas gifts.  Since I'm not working my corporate job anymore, both Conlyn and I appreciate your support so he's not getting just socks under the tree.

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy