Stampin' Up! Build A Banner Kit - Coming Soon

Christmas Banner Simply Created kit & Build A Banner Kit.

I just received my preorder from the holiday catalogue & in excitement tore open the Christmas Banner Simply Created Kit & Build A Banner Kits.  Let me explain what these are.  The Build a Banner kit contains 18 blank canvas banners in 3 different styles & some template stencils & spritzers.  The Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory kit contains lots of embellishments to make a Christmas banner.

I had quite a fight on my hands when using the Build A Banner kit.  I tried & tried & could not get the spritzers to get a clean effect.  After trying 3 times I gave up & moved on to the daubers with a much better result.  I have learnt a few tips & tricks when using the stencils so in an attempt to save you some frustration I am happy to share those with you.

1) Use snail or semi permanent tape behind the stencil to secure it to the banner.
2) If using the spritzer you need a good 10-11 drops of ink, alcohol & a tiny bit of water.  The darker the ink the better the effect.  I tried all alcohol & reinker & it bled through (see photo below)

alcohol & reinker only

Then I tried more ink, less alcohol & a dash of water & got a much better effect.  It was still not to my liking so I ended up sponge daubing my banner.
3) When using the spritzer, the moisture tends to curl the banner when drying so you need to dry it flat under something heavy.  I placed mine on some paper towel & then placed a heavy book over the top.
 4) When using a dauber I found it easier to apply the reinker directly to the dauber or into the lid of the matching ink pad

Dauber & reinker

The templates come with a mask stencil.  I used this & also the alphabet stencil at the same time to ensure clean lines.  On the spot one I used Bermuda Bay & Smoky Slate.

Bermuda Bay & Smoky Slate

5) Be careful when spritzing - ensure everything is out of the way....this one got spritzed from afar.  This one was my attempt at highlighting the spritzed image.  Blah - no good, but figured it was ruined anyway so why not have a play right? It is not totally ruined I can always colour over the top with a darker colour & make it  a halloween banner or cover the circle with something :)

The Christmas & Halloween Simply Created Accessory Kits come with lots of great embellishments.  I have used a few on these next photos. The Christmas Kit I used came with Bermuda Bay/Pool Party two toned 1 1/4" ribbon, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Large Rhinestone Jewels, 5 x Vintage Faceted buttons & 3 glittered die cut accents & 4 Rosettes with centre circles that need to be assembled.  

Banner Accessories 

Snowflake Embellishment

Well I hope my tips helped you to create your banner.  Now that I have finally figured out how to make these Banners I am planning a class in October where you get to make a banner similar to my one here.  If you would like to express your interest in this class send me an email.  

Here is a video from Stampin' Up! which may help a bit also.  

CHRISTMAS BANNER SUPPLIES

Kits: Christmas Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit (#132697), Build A Banner Simply Created Kit (#133507)

Ink:  Bermuda Bay reinker(#131156), Pool Party reinker (#122933)

Cool Tools: Hot Glue Gun, Silver Glimmer Paper (#124005), 1" Circle Punch(#119868), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (#119861), Silver 1/8" Ribbon(#132137)

Thanks For Looking,

TRICIA  

Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio Tour & Pinspiration

I was lucky enough to attend the Stampin' Up! MDS tour when it was in Melbourne last weekend.  I have had very little to do with MDS so I was really looking forward to learning the basics.  Is it just me or do new things scare you too?  I am ashamed to say I was a little scared of MDS.  It looked so complicated & so technical!  To my absolute surprise it was a lot easier than I thought.  I just needed to take some baby steps with my learning.  The Stampin' Up! MDS tour is designed to do exactly that.  I learnt how to do basic digital scrapbooking but also how to make some great digital & hybrid cards, home decor & family heirlooms too.

Here is one of the pages I created at the tour.  You do get to make quite a few pages so if you go along prepare a folder of photos specifically for a photo book.

 There are lots of great ideas, tips & tricks to learn. If you get a chance to attend one I suggest you jump at it as it is well worth the $30 fee.  Here are the links for more info on the MDS tour  & the  My Digital Studio software & downloads.  If you cant attend there are lots of great Online Video Tutorials to get you started.   

I am a bit of a home decor magazine junkie.  All those lush homes styled to the nines, love it!  Having just built a brand new home, I needed to do a bit of styling of my own.  So, today I opened my MDS program & designed a nice little picture to put in a frame in my laundry.  I had seen a few laundry printables on pinterest and thought - hey with these new MDS skills I can do that!

Here it is!

It is a very simple project but will look great hanging on my wall in my laundry along with a few others I am working on.  How great is that?  Even if you prefer to create your cards & pages the traditional way, you can adapt MDS to make printable projects like this one.  If you are interested in giving it a try, the program is available to download as a free trial for 30 days.  Click here for your--->  MDS FREE TRIAL.  

Digital Laundry Page:

Digital DSP: Sweet Details 8

Font: Big Caslon

Embellishments: Paper Buttons

Thanks For Looking,

TRICIA