Friday gets here quicker and quicker each week it seems! But, I was ready for today's project! If you attended my Die Cut Divas class this month, you were lucky enough to make this adorable banner absolutely FREE! Yes, hard to believe, isn't it? But, my Die Cut Divas get to attend a class every month for free. Usually they make three projects, but this month they only made this one. It was a bit more involved than the usual projects. How do you become a Die Cut Diva? Easy! Just buy a Big Shot from me! It's that simple. Do you already own a Big Shot? No problem, you're welcome to join, too, but I ask that you pay a small materials fee.
So, onto how we made this banner!
- I cut chipboard pieces into 3-1/4" x 3-1/4" squares. This enabled me to get one banner out of our chipboard sheets. The excess was used on the letters.
- Because I was preparing supplies for twelve banners, I glued an entire sheet of 9-3/4" x 9-3/4" Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper to a 9-3/4" x 9-3/4" Sizzix Adhesive sheet. I then ran it through my paper cutter to cut the squares down to 3-1/4" x 3-1/4". Does that make any sense? I ended up with DSP stickers!
- I repeated that step with each of the four patterns of DSP.
- I then cut 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles of chipboard out of the excess created in the first step.
- And, similar to the DSP, I adhered a sheet of card stock to a Sizzix Adhesive sheet and cut the card stock into 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles in Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, and Early Espresso.
- That was my pre-work!
When my Divas arrived, they did the following:
- They carefully cut scallop squares out of the new Scallop Square Due Die in the Holiday Mini Catalog. It was a tight squeeze, but it definitely worked! They then cut their letters out of the Alphabet Simple Numbers die.
- They adhered the letters to the scallop squares using Tombo Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
- Next, because they are Divas, I simply put out an assortment of coordinating embellishments so they could customize their banners. But, do you know what? I think they all copied mine! (I'm flattered because that means they approved!)
- For the "N", I ran a strip of Snail (yes, Snail) down the left side of the scallop and bunched some of the Always Artichoke Seam Binding (in the Holiday Mini) and trimmed up my edges.
- For the "O", I took an Always Artichoke button (in the Holiday Mini) and tied Linen Thread through the holes and tied a bow. I attached mine with Glue Dots, but some of the girls used the Tombo Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
- For the "E", I actually decorated the background first because the "e" is over the trim. I cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler Card Stock using the Ribbon Punch. I then wrapped more Linen Thread around the square twice before making a bow. To finish the edges, I snipped the Cherry Cobbler with my paper snips as close as I could after it was glued to the square. I then took a sanding block and smoothed the edges.
- For the "L", I simply adhered three of the Basic Pearls - I think I used the large ones. I also took a small piece of the Victoria Lace Trim and glued it to the back.
- Finally, to string them all together, we laid our finished squares out on top of some Early Espresso Striped Ribbon to figure out spacing. We then took a hot glue gun and adhered the squares to the ribbon. We left a loop at the top - I used a HUGE O-Ring as a hook on mine. Some didn't glue the top until they got home if they wanted to use something else.
Everyone who has seen this banner seems to like it. And, as much as I was worried, my Divas didn't complain that they only made one project. This is one I hope that they'll proudly display for years to come!
You bet I will display this one! Thanks for all the hard work you put into planning and preparing for this class. One project was all we needed this month!!!
Posted by: Patty Jo Higgins | November 07, 2010 at 01:09 PM