The BOO Banner

I have seen a plethora of banners lately but this is my first attempt to make one; mostly because I have no where to hang one & I can’t draw a crooked line.  But then I got my Silhouette Cameo and I actually made my own triangles and viola! My banner was born – well, at least the idea of my banner.

 

In hindsight, I would have made them larger as I don’t feel I had enough room to truly decorate the individual triangles as much as I wanted but overall I am pleased with the results. 

First, I designed the triangles – the tops are about 5” across and the V part is about 6 ½” on each side. I cut them from more of the My Mind’s Eye Halloween paper I had (all from the old Spooked collection).  I then dug through my stash of Dresden – I knew I had these medallion-like black pieces and I thought they’d look great on the banner.  I then used my Silhouette Cameo  to make the BOO letters – I cut them out in various fonts and sizes because I am still not trusting of the measurements the machine shows me & I wanted to pick the best one for the banner.  And who doesn’t like to play around and try different things? Plus, I know I can use whatever I have left on another project.  So I picked the letters I wanted to use and glued them to the medallions.  I put a black plastic gem on each tip to, hopefully, give some weight to the paper; I had originally planned on using this wonderful orange piece of plastic folder under the triangles but I ruined it by drawing on the wrong side with a black Sharpie – so I threw the plastic and the idea out.  I got this wonderful pack of paper, called Glitter Silk from Core’dinations so I decided to punch out some stars to add some bling.  I was surprised at how easily this paper was punched – I used a small old star punch, one of those button ones (not the cool new lever ones) and it punched like a dream! I have had more issues with trying to punch regular card stock than this paper and if you get a chance to get some I highly recommend it.

So I ironed my ribbon (that I got from May Arts) that I used to actually dangle my triangles from – I know, I was shocked that I actually ironed it but I really wanted the ribbon to be creased in half & the only way to do that was to iron it.  I haven’t used my iron in years and am happy to report it worked fine.  Then I glued my banner pieces to the ribbon.  I used “ribbon glue” hoping that the glue wouldn’t show through the ribbon and for the most part, it stayed hidden.  I decided my banner needed more bling and I found a foam die cut I had made of a skull using one of the Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies and it looked blah, so I glittered it.  I also decided to punch out some more stars, just bigger, to add along the ribbon. 

That was it!  I must confess the word “boo” means more to me than just a word to use to scare someone.  As some of you know, I am the mom to four beautiful kitties, 2 boys, Spike, who will be 19,and Boo, who is 17. My girls are Monster, 16, and Mew, 4 months .  Boo is a Mama’s boy – he hates everyone but me.  Honestly.  If I am home alone he acts almost like a normal cat, but if someone else is around, he would live under the bed if I fed him and provided a litter box.  He recently had some dental surgery and I’m happy to report he came out fine and is starting to feel much better – so this banner is also a celebration of Boo’s recovery! (the pictures aren't the best - the banner is literally tacked to my wall in the laundry room.  To see them bigger, as always, just click on them).

 

I am entering my banner in the following challenges:                        
Crafty Ribbons Challenge  - Anything Goes

2 Sisters Challenge  - cute & spooky

Crafts 4 Eternity - Halloween

Cut It Up - Halloween/Day of the Dead

Left of Center  - Halloween/LOC

I am adding my project to this challenge as well - Thanks Linda!!
Craft My Life - Anything But a Card (challenge runs for 2 months)

Thank you for stopping by!  I have one more spooktacular project to share before Halloween is over – look for it to be posted in the next few days.

And if you are wondering where I found these fantastic challenges to enter just take a look at Challenges for Days – an awesome blog that lists crafty challenges!