Not too long ago I had the pleasure of created graphics and participating in Sandi MacIver's Stamp Out Breast Cancer event. Lori is a breast cancer survivor and simply fell in love with the banner and wanted one for her upcoming event. Of course, we couldn't use the same banner that Sandi had, but we came up with a custom new look for Lori!
Sandi MacIver's Stamp Out Breast Cancer Event Banner
Used as inspiration for Lori's banner.
Lori is using the same color theme as Sandi as they are both Stampin' Up! demonstrators and "pink" is the color for Breast Cancer support and research, and both featuring elements similar to that of the Strength & Hope stamp set.
She wanted a banner that also touched her heart. I knew it would be a challenge as she absolutely loved Sandi's banner but I had to try and create something just as beautiful and soft.
Below is the first draft I came up with for Lori which of course has the pink ribbon, words of encouragement and support, the use of a different font and sponging around the sides and a torn diagonal (behind the ribbon). There is resemblance but still different.
However, it just wasn't quite right. Lori said that it was primarily the ribbon she had a problem with; it was too traditional and she wanted something different and more modern, showed me a few magazine covers she saw fancy ribbons on; and mentioned adding the time and date of the event, and she wanted more grunge.
Tricks to Learn
The 2nd and final draft was a hit! I absolutely love it and Lori did too! We added a dark edge with a torn page look! I love the look of it; and you can learn how to do this as well in my upcoming Photoshop for Bloggers webinar. I promise they are coming! it's just taken me a little longer to prepare for them; but they will be worth the wait! You won't be disappointed!
I also manually created the swirl, wavy pink ribbon using the Pen tool and added a Stroke, and then a Gradient Overlay (notice the dark pink at the top and the lighter pink at the bottom of the ribbon tails).
I had so much fun and learned a lot of cool techniques while creating this banner for Lori.
If you're a paper crafter and want to help support Breast Cancer Research, visit Lori's blog and sign up for her Stamp Out Breast Cancer event. You can still purchase the kit and register even if you cannot make the actual, stamping event. Click here to learn more.
Up Next…
- Build a Beautiful Blog Week, May 25th – Give-a-way!
- Reorganize Your Blog SERIES: How to Use Pages to Clean Up Clutter!
- More coverage of the Blogging Success Summit.
- Of course, more free tutorials on blogging!
- Announcement of new services as well!
Happy Blogging!
Heather Wright-Porto
www.BlogsByHeather.com