Lauren's Banner!

I've made several name banners...the first one's were for the Cricut Design Challenge back in September, then I made a couple for a friend at church. Ever since my 3 year old saw them, she's been asking for one for her room. I finally got around to making one for her today and I think it turned out great! Here's a pic of the finished project:

Here's what I used to make it:
*Cricut Expression
*Birthday Bash Cricut Cartridge
*12x12 Cardstock in 2 complementary colors (For the scallopped circle and the letters/letter shadows, I used purple and green from The Paper Studio)
*12x12 Patterned Paper (I used Penny Lane by My Mind's Eye)
* Grossgrain Ribbon (Offray purple and green, but you can use all one color if you like)
*Adhesive Squares (Elmer's)
*Foam Adhesive Squares (The Paper Studio)

Insert the Birthday Bash Cartridge into the Cricut. Apply your base color of cardstock (for the scallopped circle) onto your Cricut mat and load into the machine. The banner I chose to used is on page 64 of the cartridge booklet. To get the image of the scallopped circle on your Cricut display, press Font, shift, and then ladybug image on the overlay. Using the size dial, scroll until you get to 4.5 inches. Then press quanity and select the number of scallopped circles you need to cut. I needed 6, so I was only able to get 4 on my 12x12 paper. You may need to use an extra sheet of cardstock as I did to get the total number of circles you need. Once you have made these selections, press cut!

Next is the circle layer. Place your patterned paper on the mat and load the mat into the Cricut. Again on page 64, press the Font button, then the ladybug image on the overlay. It will show a circle on your display, then press cut.

Now it's time for the letters! Place your cardstock on your mat and load the mat. Change the dial size to 2.75 inches. Press the Font Shadow key and select the letters you wish to cut, then press cut.

Last cut...the font layer. Load the other color of cardstock onto your mat and load it. Press Font, select the letters you wish to cut, then press cut. Here's what all of my cut pieces looked like:

Now here's the fun part...assembling all the pieces! First you will want to layer your patterned paper circle onto your scallopped circle, making sure that the holes line up. That is very important! If they do not line up, you will have a hard time attaching the ribbon later. Once you have those finished, layer your letters. Place some foam adhesive squares on the back of each layered letter, then place on the layered cirlces. I love to use foam squares...they just add great dimension to your projects!

After you have completed this with all your letters, now all that's left is tying them together! Cut about 2.5 inches of grossgrain ribbon for each letter you are tying together, if you cut too much don't worry, you can adjust the length later when they are tied. Tie each circle together. Cut two pieces of ribbon about 12-15 inches long and attach to each end of your banner (these will be the pieces used to hang the finished banner). A tip for using grossgrain ribbon...after you have trimmed the pieces down to the desired length, pass a flame over the ends of the ribbon to seal it and prevent fraying.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun and easy project! You can certainly change this up and embellish it further, but I kind of like the simple look and let the patterned paper be the "star" of the banner. There are lots of different banners to choose from on this cartridge, it is easily one of my favorites! Consider making them for birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, Christmas, or any other occaision! The options are endless. And by the way, Lauren *LOVES* her name banner! :-)