So Long, Farewell…

Our next Stampin’ Up! demonstrator meeting will be very bittersweet. One of my dear friends – who is also a downline – is moving to Japan on October 31. I’m really excited for her and her husband, but I’ll miss her terribly. She’s so much fun and always upbeat and encouraging.

Since my friend Christy & I are bringing snacks for the October meeting, I suggested we do a Japanese theme. I’m bringing sushi and Christy is bringing drinks. I think she mentioned saki and some kind of green tea product. I can’t wait! It’s going to be so much fun – even if I end up crying.

Christy suggested a “Farewell” banner – and since I have all the banner items (Banners Framelits, Letters for You Stamp Set, Large Letters Framelits), I offered to make it. While we were gone over the weekend, I googled the Japanese translation for “Farewell.”

Here’s my banner.

Let me just say that Japanese is hard! I remember trying to do perfect “circles and sticks” in Kindergarten, and being frustrated because my circles weren’t perfect and my sticks were angled. But Japanese? I’d hate to be a Japanese kid with no artistic talent. Japanese letters are just art. I mean – look at the Calypso Coral banner. Doesn’t each letter look like a picture? And I’m seriously hoping that really says, “Farewell,” and not something nasty or weird. (Apologies in advance if the latter is the case.)

I used the By the Shore Designer Series Paper for all the banners. I love the two ombre’ designs. I knew they would be the base for the banners as soon as I started searching for the right paper. I used the Tags & Labels Framelits for the next layer for both banners, and for the Very Vanilla pieces on the Japanese banner. I stamped “Farewell” using the wonderful Letters for You stamp set with Dapper Denim ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock. After die-cutting with the Large Letters Framelits, I was ready to tackle the Japanese letters. I used a pencil first, just in case I needed to erase, then went over it with a Calypso Coral Stampin’ Write Marker. Done!

I punched the holes in each banner piece with the 1/8″ Handheld Circle Punch, then strung the pieces together with Very Vanilla Thick Baker’s Twine. It’s perfect for holding up banners.

I was never a banner person before I was a demonstrator, but lately I’m loving having banners for different occasions. Stampin’ Up! has the best products for creating perfect banners in just minutes. You can see what I used by clicking on the products in the list below.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a wonderful day!
Product List

Letters For You Photopolymer Stamp Set

[141968]

$49.00

Large Letters Framelits Dies

[141712]

$99.00

Letters For You Photopolymer Bundle

[142348]

$133.00

Banners Framelits Die

[132173]

$27.00

Tags & Labels Framelits Dies

[138282]

$27.00

By The Shore Designer Series Paper

[141640]

$11.00