"NOEL" Christmas Banner

I really can't get enough of the banner craze.  I eat, sleep and Pinterest banners. 

At a local shop, My Heart's Fancy, I've had the damn fun chance to participate in two banner 'swaps.'

For anyone who is not 'in the life,'  a swap is when a group of people all make a series (or collection of) of things and then send them all to one person, who re-distibutes the things back to the people who submitted things.  Did I explain that well?  Maybe someone, someone more into the swap-world, will jump in and give a better description.  They're always happening around on the online scrap-sites.  And they often come with a fair amount of drama- someone always seems to be 'flaking,' about to 'flake', or has 'flaked' in the past.  'Flaking' is when you don't do what you promised to do in the swap- whether it's not sending in your stuf or if you're the one in charge of the swap, absconding with either all the stuff or the postage, or whatever.  It's its own whole thing, let me tell you. 

I've never participated in an online swap, because I hate going to post office more than I hate doing laundry.  Seriously.  I've had the same DVD from Netflix since I opened my account because I don't know where my outgoing mail slot is at and I don't want to go to the post office. 

But I will do a swap at My Heart's Fancy- because, well, it's more personal-feeling to me AND I don't have to go to the post office- I just gotta MAKE the things and then drive them up to the shop.  I did have to get over my fear of people getting a piece of mine, holding it up, and exclaiming, "I MADE SUCH AND SUCH AND SUCH AND *THIS* IS THE KIND OF THING I GET IN RETURN?!" 

Okay- to make a long story short- here are some of my results from the 2012 My Heart's Fancy Christmas Banner Swap!

I used Prima's 'LEDGER' stack for my most of my pennant bases.  I love that stack.  I made a huge (if you consider that huge) rosette from kraft cardstock and layered on a 'Lacy Oval'  cut from a Spellbinders die.  On top of that, I placed a 'Styled Label' cut from thick chipboard with the Tim Holtz die that I 'painted' with the amazing BRUSHED PEWTER Distress Stain.  Do you have the new metallic Distress Stains?  They're too cool for words.  Trust me.  They'll make anything look like metal and, well, just plain incredible. Aaaaand on top is a chipboard letter that I covered with silver glitter.  At this point, my aim was to stay away from traditional Christmas colors and try to make something that appeared more timeless, yet still Christmas-sy.  Christmassy?  Christmas-y?

Aaaand then I just had to have something RED, so there went my first intention for something pale pink and silver and cream.  Besides, nobody is getting the entire banner, so I figured to just make each one independent of each other.  Excuses, excuses.  But dangit, I suddenly had the urge for a red glitter reindeer.  I love Mr. Holtz's Reindeer Flight die.  I love those precious damn deer. 

And here's where I thought I needed to use green.

And here's where I completely abandoned my original idea and: more red AND a 'Santa' Bingo card.  The kraft 'ornate' frame was cut from the 'Happy Hauntings' Cricut Cartridge... and I had a plan to use it front and center on another pennant, until I noticed that there were bats in the design motif on the sides.  I thought I had been so so clever to cut off the majorly Halloween-y part at the top- and then SURPRISE!  Bats!  So.. it ended up there- hidden enough to cover the bats.  I guess I could've glittered the entire thing and claimed it was a foreign Christmas tradition of 'The Christmas Bats,' but I thought, no, not with all the Wikipedia and smartasses around the internets.

As part of the swap's directions, I also made another set of N-O-E-L pennants.  But for some reason, I didn't photograph them all- I can't remember if it was because I was in a hurry or if it was because I didn't like them- but now I am thinking there were others I liked more than the ones above.  My life is one complicated moment after another, I tell you, and this is just the crafts. 

My FAVORITE part of the banner swap were the instructions to create three 'decorative' banners- no letters.  Just whatever I wanted to die cut, cut, glue and glitter.  Oh, that would be a good craft rap song.  Die CUT, CUT, GLUE AND GLITTER.  Yo.  Crafts.  Let's tip over a cop car.

I made the pleated ruffle with a piece of vintage dictionary paper.  Where do I get all of my classy vintage dictionaries that I can cut up without a shred of guilt?  At the Friends of the Library Booksale.  Every February.  1.00 each.  I used a strip of seam binding over the edge of the pleated dictionary ruffle.  Some metal photo corners (Hobby Lobby brand), a piece of embossed white letterpress paper, another red glitter reindeer, and a tag cut from a piece of some brands (sorry) Christmas paper from last year.  I am now obsessed with pleated dictionary ruffles.  Look for more of that, ladies and gentlemen.

On top of this pennant, I used a pre-made sheet music ruffle from Bazzill.  Which is where I got (stole?) the idea to make my own paper ruffles.  Theirs are not made from actual sheet music/newspapers- but appear to be printed on near-cardstock.  They're very thick and sturdy.  I'm now confused as to why I used an uncolored piece of kraft 'greenery' (kraftery?) there under the rosette.  That just looks....bad. 


And now, for my favorite piece of my NOEL banner:

I made the 3-D ornament with a Tim Holtz Carved Ornaments die and (yeah, more) dictionary paper.  I cut a stack of dictionary with a piece of thick chipboard.  I folded each piece in half and (very carefully) glued them together side of back to side of back (now THAT makes sense, doesnt it?!) until they fanned out when glued to the chipboard backing.  I love how it looks and I want to make more... the only trouble is that it's hard to find a spare 90 minutes to MAKE EACH ONE.  Who knows, maybe I'd get faster with each one.  But I love this one and it was hard to part with...

I couldn't resist but to share another angle.

Okay.  I've got work to do and it doesn't have anything to do with Glossy Accents.  I'll see y'all later when I'm back with some CARDS! 

-kory

how is it nearly CHRISTMAS?!

For reals- how is it this close to Christmas, THIS FREAKING SOON?!

How fast does time fly, these days?  It seems like it was just two days ago that I was trying to decide what I wanted to be for Halloween. 

I'm here to share a Christmas project with you classy people.  Yeahp.  I made a lovely piece just exploding with Christmas spirit.  Unlike me.  I'm not full of the Christmas spirit, yet.  But I will be tomorrow evening, when I stop by the liquor store after work.

So what did I make?  A banner.  Well, not really- it doesn't hang.  But it is banneresque.  It's made to sit on a mantle.  Or a bookshelf.  Or whatever surface is available. 

There is a TON of hot DIE action going on up there- can you spot them all?

I was playing around with Mr. Holtz's 'Vintage Cabinet Card' die (trying to make a cute card) when I noticed it standing up and thought I'M MAKE A BANNER!  Because, that's the thought that seems to be running rampant through every crafter's mind right now-  "Ooooh lookit!  I'MA MAKE-A BANNER!"

But again, this doesn't hang.  So we'll call it a SITTING BANNER.  Catchy, huh?

There's a close-up of the middle/word part.  Again- can you spot all the dies?   The only bits not done with a die are the letters.  I used the Cricut Expression 2 to cut the letters.  And how fun is Mr. Holtz's PINECONE die?!  It took me three attempts to get the pinecone to look right.  Then I gave in and watched his so-so-helpful video.  Yes, I break many male stereotypes but I still put up a helluva fight when it comes to asking for directions.  And boy are my arms tired.  I'll be here all week, folks!

I am obsessed with making these pinecones.  And: Since you can also use the pinecone die to make flowers- well, how is that for something being worth its money?  Another die worth its money?  The Festive Greenery strip die.  I love cutting a few different colored strips of paper and arranging and rearranging all the bits.  So fun.  So adaptable. 

And here's the parting shot: a close up of the end-pieces.  Why?  Because I love that reindeer die.  They look so...classy.  Have you notice how much I love that word?  Classy.... it just sounds...fun.  And classy.

What's everyone else up to, in the Christmas craft department?  An advent calendar or banner?!  You don't say! 

-kory

BOO! A Halloween Banner

I can't get enough Halloween.  It's always been my favorite holiday.  I love going into every costume shop that I drive past.  Even though they are all almost identical and stocked with most of the same exact product- I'm still thrilled.  The only thing I don't like about Halloween stores are the dip$h!ts blocking an aisle while they giggle over the "Dr. Seymour Snatch, Gynecologist" costume, as if they've never seen it before or as if it were even hilarious.

I also like to decorate for Halloween.  I usually go through obsessions with a specific 'item.'  For many years, I had to make a scarecrow for the front porch.  One year, it was ghosts.  One year, it was 'googly eyes.'  You know those plastic googly eyes?  I thought I HAD TO GLUE THEM TO EVERYTHING.  Initially, I only bought them so I could glue them to a kleenex.  After I'd wrapped the kleenex around the top of the Tootsie Pop, of course.  But then, I couldn't stop.  I glued those eyes to everything. 

What am I obsessed with this year?   The same thing everyone else in the craftosphere has been obsessed with for a year- BANNERS AND GARLANDS!!!

I would love to think of myself as being so unique and cool as to avoid a trend.  But I'm not.  I like a trend as much as the next hexagon-hugger.  And banners are so freakin' cool.

So here it is, Kory's Halloween Banner:

As you can see, it only says BOO.  My first 'want' was to do an entire HAPPY HALLOWEEN banner- but then I thought of all the letters.  So BOO it was.  Not that I'm lazy, I just didn't know where I'd hang such a monstrosity.  (get it?)

I wasn't content to just hang the pennants on a string.  I've been dying to use my new Tim Holtz stamps, from Stampers Anonymous: CLASSICS #6.  They look like borders- filled with distressed text and all kinds of beautifulness.  I stamped the 'crown' strip looking one a few times onto some manila cardstock and cut them apart.  Then, with about five different colors of Distress Inks, I colored them into some nice fall shades and flicked some water on them for some splotchy creepy beauty.

Here's some close ups of each flag:

I used a slightly smaller sized pennant for the 'end-caps.'  After cutting each pennant, thank you Spellbinders, I embossed the edge.  You know, as you do and as is the beauty of Spellbinders.  However, I don't emboss with my Spellbinders the way everyone else (and the way Spellbinders say to do it).  It just seems like so much trouble to run the things through a second time with the rubber mat to get the embossed edge- especially for such a simple shape.  After I run the die through to cut the paper, I just lay it on the table and run my stylus along the edge of the die- and zip, zip, zip- each one is embossed.  Takes seconds! 

Then, I stamped the pennant with a wood background stamp and inked the edges.

For the cat's base, I used a plain 'scalloped circle.'  I painted it with some plain white acrylic paint, distressed and inked the edges and stamped with a Tim Holtz text stamp from one of the new Halloween sets. 

I cut the cat with some black KraftCore the small Movers and Shapers die and roughed it up with some sandpaper Then, I spent about an hour obsessing over and admiring the beautiful wonder that is KraftCore.  How amazing is this stuff?!

I cut the letters out of more KraftCore, using my Cricut and the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  I sanded them, inked randomly and smeared some Rock Candy stickles on each letter. 

I took some plain twine (from Dollar Tree- I love their 'kitchen twine!) and colored it with some Brushed Pewter Metallic and Bard Door Distress Stains.  I threaded the twine through the tops of each pennant and then put the entire thing together with the border strips with some brads.  Now that I'm looking at it again, I wish I'd pulled out my Texture Hammer and banged those brads a bit!  Oh well, there's always tonight.  No, there's not TONIGHT.  Tonight, I've gotta run home, finish sewing my Halloween costume (I'm gonna be a werewolf) and go to a Halloween party.  Yeah- I made my own costume with some fake fur (what a mess) and my sewing machine.  It was like Project Runway up in that house last night!

Supplies:

Cardstock:

     Plain Manila

     KraftCore: Black

    

Sizzix: Tim Holtz

Cat/Raven Movers and Shapers

Spellbinders: Nestabilities

     Scalloped Circles

     Lacey Pennants

     Lacey Circles

Stamps:

     Stampers Anonymous: Tim Holtz, Classics #6

     Mini Halloween 3

Cricut Expression 2 and HAPPY HAUNTINGS cartridge

Distress Inks:

     Vintage Photo

     Aged Mahogany

     Rusty Hinge

     Black Soot

     Dusty Concord

     Frayed Burlap

     Scattered Straw

Distress Stains:

     Brushed Pewter Metallic

    Barn Door

Twine: from Dollar Tree

Brads

White Acrylic Paint

Sandpaper

The Weekend Ends...

Wow, what a weekend!

I am exhausted.  And tired.  And worn OUT.

...and I do not want to go to work tomorrow morning.

We closed the new play, FRESH MEET, last night.  After the show, I went out for what was supposed to be one drink, with my best friend, Jason.  We were roommates back 'when we were kids.'  We've known each other a long, long time.  He moves around lots, now, with his job as a very successful TV news producer.  So any time he's in town is an occasion to have a great time!  And as I was saying, 'one drink' after the show turned into a barhopping wild time.  Just like the old days.  I ended up staying up to four in the morning.  No, not out drinking until four- but when we did get back to my place, I got distracted by what I guess was an all night marathon of one of my favorite TV shows-  LOCK UP.  I love it when they show the women's prisons- the two ladies who run the loan shark business FROM THEIR CELLS crack me up...

Anyways, I did finally climb out from under my hangover long enough to make a card.  Yes!  It was time to try out my Mister Huey's Color Mist!  BUT FIRST, I needed some background music!  I went over to my record player and put on one of the new records I found at the thrift store on Friday.  This is the super cool record player that I found in someone's trash, last year.  Can you believe someone would throw this away?  It looks so cool and it WORKS!  The record is a collection of music from the '20s.  So fun.

With the music putting me into a great mood, I stared lovingly at my collection of Mister Huey's Color Mists.  And this was when I got the 'joke' of the name- MISTER Huey's!  Get it?  MISTER?  Clever! 

I've since peeled off the bright pink price stickers.  Hmmm.  Which to use, first?  Yeahp.  Calico White.  The first one I ever saw.  The shade that began a great love affair.

When I use any kind of mist or spray,  I use a big plastic bag.  I put whatever I'm gonna spray in the bottom of the bag and spray away.  

I sometimes see those cardboard 'Color Catchers' at the store, and often think about buying one- but I luckily come to my senses and realize that this works perfectly.  And it's free!

The mist worked perfectly.  A perfectly non-uniform, random mist.  I LOVE these!  I haven't been this excited about a purchase in a long time.  Now, to find the 'Clay' color!  

So- here's my card!

I used:

A Fiskars Triangle punch.  (Found at Big Lots for 3.00)

The 'chain' is a border\edger punch from EK Success

Spellbinders, Labels 1

Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain and Festive Berries

"Friend" stamp from Magnetic Poetry Word Stamps

The Kraft card stock is Michael's store brand

Colorful paper is from Kaisercraft's 'Surf's Up' collection

and of course, Mister Huey's Calico White!

Happy Sunday evening, everyone.  Have a great week!  Gotta run- THE WALKING DEAD is on!

-kory

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  I truly hope you get to hear that from someone special, and not a crafty, rambling drunk. 

How did I celebrate Valentine's Eve?  I made cards, that's what!   I made the above card a few weeks ago, actually.   I made it during a fit of craftcitement, when I bought a new set of LABELS dies from SPELLBINDERS.   I think that is a new embossing folder used, up there, too.  It must've been a shopping binge and cardmaking day.  But it's all in blackout, now.  All I can do is make a wild guess that the day involved a binge at the HobLobs and a purging cardmaking session.

Here is a card that I made last night:

The base of the card is from a pack of 1.00 tag cards that I found in the Dollar Bins at MICHAELS.  I've had them for ages, but never used them- but now that I did, it's one of those 'where you been all my life, yo?!' moments.  Aren't they cute?!   I just covered it with a piece of paper from CRATE and a heart with arrow from the TIM HOLTZ Valentine's die.  Mr. Holtz even makes the best shaped hearts.  How's he do that?!

Alright, CoWorker Beverly just handed TWO Valentine's NERDS ROPES.  My favorite candy.  I gotta go, but HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  I'll be back later in the day with a layout from my SHOW BIDNESS album!

-kory