MFT Design Team Creative Challenge–Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve + a Video

Card makers are a pretty sentimental bunch overall and that is a great thing. We spend our time showing family and friends (and sometimes strangers!) that we care deeply for them. This month, we’ve challenged our team to embrace this season of love full-force by creating projects that feature love in the most literally way: with lots of hearts. Any color, any material – hearts will stand strong as a dominant design element that simply can’t be missed.



What good timing this challenge was for me! I had wanted to make a Valentine banner for my living room but I didn’t know where the time was going to come from—enter this month’s Creative Challenge! I’m not wearing my heart on my sleeve, but on my shelf!

I have a video to share with you showing how I constructed the banner from start to finish. You can view it HERE at my YouTube channel or click on the button below.




And, I’m going to run through the steps here in the post, including some photos. Here is a finished pennant.



I started it by cutting three sizes from Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX Die-namics for the base of each pennant. The bottom was cut from corrugated paper, the second is Pink Lemonade card stock, and the top layer is Primitive White card stock, stamped with Damask Background and Pink Lemonade dye ink, all adhered together with tape runner. Next layer is a Heart Doily Die-namics, then a Leaf-filled Flourish Die-namics cut from Gumdrop Green card stock and next up is a rosette. The “headers” were made using Layered Heart Border Die-namics and Kraft card stock and Pink Lemonade card stock, popped up on a strip of foam tape. I constructed the rosettes from Primitive White card stock, half of them stamped with Sheet Music Background…



…and the other half with Romantic Script Background, both using Kraft dye ink. The rosette strips were cut 6”  x 1  1/4” and scored at 1/4” intervals with a scoring tool. They were assembled by being secured with a Circle STAX Set 1 Die-namics die cut from Kraft card stock on the back and a Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics on the front, cut from Pink Lemonade card stock.



The next layer is more corrugated paper cut with Heart STAX Die-namics, ending with High-Rise Alphabet Uppercase Die-namics cut from pink glitter paper. I finished off with Mini Royal Roses Die-namics and Royal Leaves Die-namics embellishments, cut from Pink Lemonade card stock and Gumdrop Green card stock, respectively.

Spacers between the pennants were made from more corrugated paper cut with Heart STAX Die-namics, a layer of pink glitter paper cut with Pierced Heart STAX Die-namics, and a Gumdrop Green button tied with hemp cord.



The pennants and spacers were connected together using heavy jute cord and hot glue.

Here is the banner hanging from a shelf in my living room…




…and here is a closer look.




And there you have it! I love banners—they are fun to make and you can go from the simple to the sublime in design. I hope I’ve inspired you to try a banner of your own! Thanks so much for stopping by today! See you soon!

BG Sheet Music Background	BG Romantic Script Background	Damask Background	Pink Lemonade Ink
Kraft Ink	Kraft Card Stock	Card Stock Primitive White	Pink Lemonade Card Stock
Gumdrop Green Card Stock	Die-namics High Rise Alphabet Uppercase	Die-namics Leaf-Filled Flourish	Die-namics Circle STAX Set 1
Die-namics Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX	Die-namics Heart STAX	Die-namics Stitched Circle STAX	Die-namics Pierced Heart STAX
Die-namics Heart Doily	Die-namics Layered Heart Border	Die-namics Mini Royal Roses	Die-namics Royal Leaves
Gumdrop Green Buttons	Hemp Cord	Scor-Tape 1/8%u201D

InLinkz.com

~Supplies~
Stamps: Damask Background, Romantic Script Background, Sheet Music Background (MFT)
Ink: Pink Lemonade dye ink, Kraft dye ink (MFT)
Paper: Pink Lemonade card stock, Primitive White card stock, Kraft card stock, Gumdrop Green card stock (MFT); corrugated paper, pink glitter paper
Accessories/tools: Vagabond; Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX Die-namics, Heart Doily Die-namics, Layered Heart Border Die-namics, Leaf-filled Flourish Die-namics, Circle STAX Set 1 Die-namics, Pierced Circle STAX Die-namics, Heart STAX Die-namics, High-Rise Alphabet Uppercase Die-namics, Pierced Heart STAX Die-namics, Mini Royal Roses Die-namics, Royal Leaves Die-namics, Gumdrop Green button, hemp cord, 1/8” ScorTape (MFT); hot glue, gun, foam tape, heavy jute cord, scoring tool

Fall Banner–In the Background + a Video

Hi, everyone! I finally got around to making a new Fall banner to match my dining room colors and I love how it turned out! I used NO patterned paper—everything is stamped with MFT products, as are all of the die cuts, and I’m going to walk you through each pennant. My light box is not large enough to photo it so I had to take it outside and hang it on a piece of paneling to get the whole thing, so I apologize for the less-than-stellar photo quality—hopefully the close-ups will be adequate.

First of all, some generalizations: all large pennants on the whole banner start with corrugated paper and all of the pennant base layers are cut with Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX Die-namics. I needed a bright blue and since MFT doesn’t have that I used SU! Brilliant Blue card stock for the blue mats and Brilliant Blue ink. I used these MFT inks: Jellybean Green ink, Orange Fizz ink, and Safety Orange ink, and Kraft ink for sponging edges. Additionally, these dies were used on this banner: Large Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namics, Open Scallop Doily Duo Die-namics, Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics, High-Rise Alphabet Uppercase Die-namics, Mix & Match Banners Die-namics, and Falling Leaves Die-namics. Orange Fizz card stock, Safety Orange card stock, Jellybean Green card stock, and Primitive White card stock were used throughout, as well.

Now on to particulars and first up is the left end pennant.



My first pennant “patterned paper” was stamped using Trendy Triangles stamp set and the rosette paper was stamped with LJD Art Expression Text. The leaves were adhered together with hot glue, the stems tied with hemp cord, and the whole thing adhered with more hot glue.

To explain this one in a little more detail, I have a video showing how I stamped up this paper. To view, click on the button below or you can see it HERE on my YouTube channel. 



Next up is the “F” pennant.



The patterned paper for this pennant was stamped with an image from Plaid Builder Background and the rosette with LJD Darling Dots.


On to the “A”…



Background paper for this was stamped with images from LJD Easter Bunny and the rosette was made using MPD Damask Designs.


…and the first “L”…



Again, I used Plaid Builder Background for the fishtail layer and Diamonds & Dots Borders for the rosette.


…the second “L”…



This background paper was made using LLD Mod Borders and the rosette with the hounds tooth image from LJD Spring Backgrounds.


…and finally, the left end.



This pennants background paper was stamped with a leaf image from LJD Homespun Hearts and the rosette used a single image from Plaid Builder Background. The leaf cluster is a mirror image of the left end pennant.


At each far end and between larger pennants is a smaller pennant. They were cut with Mix & Match Banners Die-namics and embellished with a blue button and a hemp cord bow. 




Here’s a peek at it hanging on my corner china cabinet in my dining room:




And at a little distance showing it in the overall décor of that corner. I love it, plain and simple.




And that’s it for today! Thanks so MUCH for stopping by and your always encouraging comments. See you soon!

DC Diamonds & Dots Borders	Trendy Triangles	DC Plaid Background Builder	Damask Designs
LLD Border It - Mod Borders	LJD Easter Bunny	LJD Art Expression Text	LJD Darling Dots
LJD Spring Backgrounds	LJD Homespun Hearts	Jellybean Green Ink	Kraft Ink
Orange Fizz Ink	Premium Dye Ink Pad Safety Orange	Jellybean Green Card Stock	Orange Fizz Card Stock
Card Stock Primitive White	Heavyweight Card Stock Safety Orange	Die-namics Falling Leaves	Die-namics High Rise Alphabet Uppercase
Die-namics Mix & Match Banners	Die-namics Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX	Die-namics Stitched Circle STAX	Die-namics Open Scallop Doily DUO
Die-namics Large Leaf-Filled Flourish	Hemp Cord

InLinkz.com

~Supplies~
Stamps: Trendy Triangles, Diamonds & Dots Borders, Plaid Builder Background, LJD Darling Dots, LJD Easter Bunny, MPD Damask Designs, LJD Art Expression Text, LLD Mod Borders, LJD Homespun Hearts, LJD Spring Backgrounds (MFT) 
Ink: Kraft ink, Jellybean Green ink, Orange Fizz ink, Safety Orange ink (MFT); Brilliant Blue ink (SU!)
Paper: Primitive White card stock, Jellybean Green card stock, Orange Fizz card stock. Safety Orange card stock (MFT); corrugated paper, green glitter paper
Accessories/tools: Vagabond; Large Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namics, Open Scallop Doily Duo Die-namics, Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX Die-namics, Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics, High-Rise Alphabet Uppercase Die-namics, Mix & Match Banners Die-namics, Falling Leaves Die-namics, hemp cord (MFT); hot glue/gun, buttons, ScorTape, jute twine