Sometimes I buy a stamp set or dies not because I have an immediate need for them but because I can see their long-term potential.  Banners for You was one of those stamp sets, and of course I had to get the coordinating Bunch of Banners Framelits Dies too.  Although there are a number of words and phrases in the set, what drew me in were the four different banner outlines.  These simple stamps would allow me to create an infinite number of custom banner sentiments.

Fast forward to the Stampin’ Up! 2018 Holiday Catalogue and what do I see on page 5?  A gorgeous mainly sentiment stamp set with lots of individual words that would fit perfectly inside my Banners for You banner images.  Needless to say Merry Christmas To All leaped onto my wish list and I’ve had a lot of fun pairing the two sets.

OVAL WREATH TAG

I had this idea for an oval wreath tag with a big banner across the middle.  But first I had to create the tag base.

I began with a piece of Lemon Lime Twist Card cut using the #4 (largest) of the ovals in the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  Why that colour and die?  Well the dies were already on my desk and when I opened the case the oval was already there.  I’d obviously cut it with my Big Shot previously but never actually used it.

I did want to tone down the colour a little so I used a Sponge Dauber to gently tap some Call Me Clover ink over the surface.

My next task was the pine branches for the wreath.  For this I started with some Call Me Clover Card onto which I tapped some Call Me Clover Ink with the Sponge Dauber.  I like to do this as it adds some depth to the card.  Next using the Big Shot and the medium branch die from the Pretty Pines Thinlits I cut out 6 pieces.  Then I cut out 7 of the smallest pine branches.  Finally I cut 5 of the berry branches from Gold Foil Sheet.

Creating the wreath was a simple task of layering the various branches around the edge of the tag and fixing them in place with a Fine-Tip Glue Pen.

BANNERS FOR YOU

Next I needed the large banner to go across the wreath.

I started by stamping the double banner image from the Banners For You Stamp Set onto some Thick Whisper White Card with Real Red ink.

Then I turned to the Merry Christmas To All Stamp Set and the individual ‘merry’ and ‘Christmas’ sentiments.  As a photopolymer stamp set this set has some very useful properties.  Firstly, it’s see-through which meant I could get the placement of the sentiment exactly where I wanted it.  This is useful when stamping inside another image.  Secondly photopolymer stamps can be gently bent, which meant I could shape them to fit the curve of my banner.

So using Call Me Clover ink I stamped the ‘merry’ and then ‘Christmas’ inside the banner outline.

With the sentiment banner complete I pulled out the Bunch of Banners Framelits Dies.  Then using my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform I was able to cut out the perfect banner.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

All that was left for me to do was attach the die-cut sentiment across the tag using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I used a 1/8″ Circle Handheld Punch to punch a hole at the top of the tag.  Theny I threaded some Real Red 1/8″ Solid Ribbon through the hole and tied it in a simple knot.  My tag was done.

I do like large gift tags and this one certainly fits the bill.  I hope you like it.

BUNDLE BONUS (LIMITED TIME) – The Merry Christmas To All Stamp Set (used for the Merry Christmas sentiment) can be purchased by itself.  You can also buy it as part of a bundle with the coordinating Merry Christmas Thinlits Dies (not used today).  Using the special bundle item number will save you 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately so it’s worth looking at.  Neither the stamp set or dies are being retired, but the bundle discount will expire at the end of the Holiday Catalogue period on January 2nd.

STAMP SET WARNING

In the past couple of years when Stampin’ Up! has retired stamp sets there’s been a period during which availability was guaranteed.  With the 2019 Year-End Closeout I have seen no such guarantee.  I contacted Stampin’ Up! and they have confirmed that all retiring items, including stamp sets, are only available while stocks last.

So if you were waiting until later in December to purchase retiring stamp sets, you might want to rethink that strategy.

PRODUCT LIST