I have a tutorial to share with you today with a fun technique I used on this "Snow" banner I created using the "Snow Day" collection from Crate Paper. I love the bold, fun colors in this collection that are sure to brighten up any dreary winter day. I hand drew my mitten template and cut the snowflakes out using the Christmas/Noel cartridge with my Cricut. I wanted something to hang across my china hutch and I love that the banner isn't necessarily for Christmas but something I could keep out through January and February and March and April (sometimes winter in Iowa lasts that long, you know?!) (Be sure to click on the images to see them larger.)
Here's another look at my banner and all the fun bits and pieces of ribbon, tulle and paper.
To keep things consistent, all of the mittens were cut using the "Mittens" patterned paper (aptly named, don't you think?) I chose to bring out the teal, yellow, pink and green of the patterned paper and used somewhat neutral patterns from the Crate Paper collection to create accordion medallions edged with silver Stickles. The kraft centers were punched using a scalloped circle punch. The chipboard letters are Melissa Frances and I also used mica flakes to add to the snowy look.
I used the "Shadow" feature on the snowflakes and backed them with kraft cardstock. The Cricut cartridge was Christmas/Noel.
The ribbons are by various manufacturers including American Crafts, May Arts and Basic Grey.
I strung the banner on a wire and curled it to help hold the pieces of it in place.
And here's my tutorial on how to create the fringe trim I made on the mittens. The trim color coordinates on each individual mitten with the accordion medallions. As I was putting the banner together, I tried to come up with ways to give it extra dimension and texture. That's how this fringe trim was born!
First, I cut five 1" pieces of Melissa Frances white crepe paper.
Next, I stacked the pieces on top of each other and then machine stitched down the center.
I used a fine tip scissors by Fiskars to cut small fringe on either side of the machine stitching.
The piece should look like this after cutting the fringe.
Next, I used my fingers to ruffle up the trim and it looked like this when I was finished.
I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist on this particular piece of fringe. I sprayed one coat and let it dry with a heat gun to speed the drying process. Then I repeated this step.
Once dry, I ruffled the fringe a bit again.
Here's a look at the fringe on one of the mittens.
And here's the completed banner again...I love the pops of color!
Have a great day!
