Xyron and DCWV: Balloon Door Sign Tutorial

I started scrapbooking when my daughter was still teeny tiny and my first patterned papers were all from DCWV.  I had purchased a DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl Stack Pack that I have since used every single last piece for scrapbook pages, baby cards, and baby shower decorations.  There is just SO MUCH paper in those stacks!  Fast forward three years later, and I am now creating with a DCWV Baby Boy Stack for my son!

The DCWV Baby Boy Stack is fantastic!  The paper is super thick and about half of the paper is treated with gloss or foil.  As my daughter said while flipping through it, "Mama, this paper is sooo beautiful."  Smart girl.  :)

I was especially inspired by this sheet in the stack with the hot air balloons.

So I set out to make a door sign for my son creating a large die cut hot air balloon mounted on this beautiful patterned paper.  And with some help from my awesome Xyron adhesive products and machines, it was super simple and easy!

HOT AIR BALLOON DOOR SIGN - A Project Tutorial Featuring Xyron and DCWV.

1.  Create Hot Air Balloon Die Cut.  Using an electronic die cutting machine, cut out the different pieces of the hot air balloon.  I sized the balloon to as large as possible on a 12" x 12" mat.  I used my Silhouette Cameo and a cut file from Lettering Delights - Balloon Craze.  

Then, apply adhesive to the die cut pieces, except for the large base piece, using the Xyron Creatopia (Permanent Adhesive).  This is one of my favorite ways to use my Xyron!

With the die cut pieces still on the plastic backing from the Xyron Creatopia, add some color to the patterned paper using some ink.  I used premium dye ink from ColorBox - My Favorite Things (Orange Fizz) and applied it onto the paper using a little sponge dauber.

Finally, assemble the die cut pieces together.  Because of the Xyron Creatopia, this step is super fast and easy - just like putting stickers in a notebook.

2.  Create a Banner.  I wanted to create a banner strung across the balloon and especially loved this "baby" banner in one of the patterned papers included in the DCWV Baby Boy Stack.

There are two sheets of each patterned paper in the stack pack.  Using scissors, cut out each of the letter pennants (leaving you with two sets of pennants, each spelling "baby").  Fussy cut one set of pennants minus the white and stitched color outline.  Adhere that directly on top of the other set of pennants using DIY Foam Tape.  from one set of letter pennants and them on top of the letter pennant using DIY Foam Tape.

To create the name banner, use chipboard banner shapes and simply cover them with patterned paper.  I used banner shapes from Basically Bare.  (Xyron did a blog hop with Basically Bare last December which you can find here.)

Cover the pennant pieces with DCWV patterned paper.  I traced the pennant shapes onto the patterned paper, cut them out, adhered adhesive onto the paper using my Xyron 1.5" Create-a-Sticker, and then sanded the edges using a Core'dinations sanding block.  

Then, embellish the pennants.  I used American Crafts Thickers in different fonts to spell out my son's name.  Then adhere the pennants directly onto the hot air balloon die cut and embellish with twine.  

3.  Reinforce the Background Patterned Paper.  Since this project is intended to hang on a door (and not sit flat inside a page protector, reinforce the background patterned paper by adhering it onto some cardboard.  I used the back cardboard piece of the DCWV Stack and applied adhesive using the Xyron Creatopia.  (Gotta use the ENTIRE stack, right?!)  Then punch two holes along the top edge of the paper to string some ribbon through for hanging.

NOTE: The little embellishment along the bottom of the patterned paper is just a photo of my son inside a polaroid die cut using a Lawn Fawn - Lawn Cuts craft die that coordinates with the "say cheese" stamp set.  Along the bottom of the polaroid is a little banner die cut from the DCWV patterned paper (the same sheet that also included the "Baby" banner shown in step 2 above).

4.  Adhere the Hot Air Balloon Die Cut, Attach the Banner, and String the Ribbon.  I then mounted the hot air balloon die cut (embellished with the banner) using DIY Foam Tape.  By making my own foam tape, I can cut whatever size foam squares that I need.  For this one, since the balloon was so large at the top, my foam squares were HUGE; it made everything so much faster!  Then string through some ribbon and your wall hanging is ready to display!

Make sure you see some other awesome projects featuring DCWV and Xyron on the Xyron Facebook Page!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Aloha Friday - Squalls and Sand

Things are finally starting to feel normal around here.  The kids kind of have a morning and evening routine.  Charlotte is a regular at the playground across the street.  We are meeting the neighbors, signing up for library cards and creating our Hawaii bucket list.  Things are good and here's a snap shot at our lives these past two weeks.

1.  Finding a Routine.  I can't even tell you how awesome it is to feel somewhat "normal" again.  This is our home.  Our furniture.  Our space.  Charlotte constantly says, "tis is our house."  It makes me smile every time I hear it.

Bath time is a sacred ritual in our home.  Charlotte loves her new bathroom.  She actually has a bathtub with a TON of toys.  Justin is usually in charge here.

Charlotte also started ballet two weeks ago.  Before enrolling into the class, Charlotte and I sat in on a session.  Only a few minutes into the class, Charlotte was nearly in tears.  She wanted to wear the little pink skirt so badly.  Needless to say, she now loves ballet (and the clothes that come with it).

Play dates have become a part of our routine.  Here is a photo of Charlotte and her new friend decorating Valentine's Day cookies.  Let's be honest though, there wasn't much decorating going on.  Charlotte dipped her spoon into the frosting, into the sprinkles, and then directly into her mouth.  Can somebody say sweet tooth?

2.  A Growing Benjamin.  Benjamin turned 5 months old last week.  Where has the time go?  He is just the sweetest baby ever.  He loves to talk and coo and smile and drool.  Oh boy does this kid drool.  Niagara Falls!  Here are some photos of my growing baby boy.

3.  Squalls.  To Charlotte's delight, squalls are as quintessentially Hawaiian as those Dole pineapples I talked about the last time.  Out of nowhere, the rain will just come pouring down.  As Justin and I dash around the house to shut all the windows, Charlotte squeals with delight to run in the rain.

4.  Turtle Beach.  We continue to explore as much as we can on the weekends (so long as Justin isn't working).  I wanted to see turtles so badly and Turtle Beach up on the North Shore has a reputation for being a great spot to see them on land.  So on Superbowl Sunday (because we knew no one else would be out and about), we ventured up north.  But there were no turtles.  Oh well.  There was still a beach, right?  Charlotte always loves an excuse to play with her bucket and shovel.

Benjamin even got a little playtime on the beach (under the comfort of this awesome sun shade/ tent thing I bought from Costco before we moved).

5.  Hale'iwa and Shave Ice at Matsumoto's.  After the beach, we wandered into the cute town of Hale'iwa for lunch.

We had some awesome Hawaiian style pulled pork at Kono's.  Here I am with Benjamin inside the restaurant 

We then walked down the road to Matsumoto's for some of their famous shave ice.

Shut up.  It was AMAZING.  Right up there with poke.  OMG.  I seriously can't wait for our next trip there.  SO WORTH IT!  Justin ordered the Green Tea Special (shave ice, green tea ice cream, beans and condensed milk) and I got the Rainbow Combination (with ice cream and condensed milk).  I'm salivating just thinking about it...

And as you can see, Charlotte also enjoyed the shave ice.  :)

On our way out of Hale'iwa, what did we notice while driving past Turtle Beach?  Um...turtles!!!

Shortly after a jam packed morning, both kids passed out in the back seat.  So Justin and I took the scenic route home along the coast and saw some gorgeous sights.  This is one of my favorites.

6.  Hickam Beach.  And finally, we spent one afternoon last weekend just lounging on Hickam Beach.  It's not the best beach on the island, but it's close to home and on base.  This was the first time we put Benjamin's feet in the sand and water.  He actually didn't look like he cared.  Charlotte, however, had a FANTASTIC time.

Oh my...that was a ridiculously long post.  But if you made it this far down, mahalo for stopping by!!! I will have to do a separate post about Valentine's Day.  :)

Take 12 Project - September 12

In last month's Take Twelve layout, we said goodbye to Justin before he left on deployment.  While our family had already been separated for a few months because of Justin's training schedule, his deployment overseas brought a whole new set of fears and challenges for our family.  But I know that he was eager to get to sea, which he absolutely loves.  

This September, the 12th fell on a day dictated by a new routine for our little family.  September has presented new challenges and blessings which have forever changed our lives.  On September 7 at 11:50 pm, we welcomed into the world our beautiful baby boy, Benjamin.  He weighed 3 pounds, 3 ounces and was 16.75 inches long.  His gestational age at birthday was 30 weeks plus 6 days.  

Ben thankfully had a strong cry right out of the gate.  My sister was able to snap this photo of him before the doctors and nurses brought him down to the NICU.

Part of me feels like I jinxed myself celebrating 30 plus one not so long ago.  But I know that there is so much to be grateful for.  Baby Ben got almost an entire week longer than Charlotte did in the womb.  I was able to get 4 hours worth of steroids (to help with Ben's lung development) before I delivered.  And even though Justin was not there, I did get to speak with him both before and after the delivery.  My sister was also at my bedside during delivery.

Talking to Justin after delivery.  

Ben is currently in the NICU and being cared for by an amazing team of nurses, corpsmen and doctors.  It is the same NICU that took care of Charlotte once she was transported from Arizona to California almost three years ago.  Right after I delivered, the attending neonatologist (who was also there when Charlotte was at the NICU) said to me, "You make strong preemies."  Sigh...

My favorite photo of Benjamin to date.  Taken on September 13 after his oxygen tubes were taken off, with his IV hiding behind his head, and his light mask off.

So on September 12, my photos reflect this new reality of constantly pumping, household chores, parenting Charlotte, visiting Ben in the NICU, and trying to keep some sense of routine and normalcy for our family...on my own, without Justin.  I know that I am strong enough to do this...to get through the days and take care of our children.  But there are moments, especially when I'm driving back and forth from the hospital on my own, that I cry and am dumbfounded that here we are again.  In the NICU.  With a preemie.  I honestly and genuinely thought that I would carry this baby full term.  But it just wasn't meant to be.  And this time around, even though I am surrounded by the familiarity of the hospital, many of the same amazing nurses, and an understanding of what to expect as Ben continues to grow, I don't have my husband's shoulder to cry on.  And this entire experience, by the time Justin comes home, will only be mine and he won't be here for any of it.  

I am exceedingly grateful for what we have and am overjoyed by our new baby boy.  However, there are fleeting moments during the day or in the middle of the night where I feel that I am left chasing for rainbows in what sometimes feels like a rainstorm.  But I know that there are rainbows out there.  I just have to keep my head held high and be strong.  

Here is my layout for this month:

Supplies:  Patterned Paper, Cardstock, Stickers, Thickers by American Crafts; Punches (EK Succes, Martha Stewart Crafts; Stamps (Studio Calico, Technique Tuesday); Twine (Twinery); Epoxy Sticker (Epiphany Crafts); Xyron Mega Runner; Homemade Foam Tape.

The inspiration for the title came from here.  

For the photo page, I simply created a 12 photo collage in Picassa and printed it as a 8x10 photo on my home printer.  

And here is a close up of the September 12 subtitle area.  

Play Along.  If you are playing along this month, make sure to upload your Take 12 layout to your blog or any photo-sharing service, then link it up to this blog post by midnight EST, September 18 for a chance to win a spot in this year's Big Picture Classes Boot Camp!  

Also, as some of you may already know, Ella Publishing Co. is now a part of the Big Picture Classes family!  Big Picture Classes is the leading online education program for creative classes worldwide.  Their focus is to teach inspiration-based scrapbooking while making the creative process of scrapbooking fun and easy for everyone.  

GIVEAWAY!!  To celebrate the new relationship between Ella Publishing Co. and Big Picture Classes, I will also be hosting a giveaway - a seat in a Big Picture Class taught by Tracey Clark, Picture Color.  This is a 30 day self-paced course that will encourage you to turn your lens towards the colors that delight you the most.  To enter my giveaway, make sure that you "follow" the blog and leave a comment on this post.  I will draw a name and announce a winner on Sunday, September 22.  

To our friends and family, thank you for your constant prayers and words of congratulations and comfort.  And to everyone else, as always, thanks for stopping by!