Banner Loven' w/Sophie Crespy

Here at Crate Paper, we love banners! Remember how we challenged you with our "color challenges" and how Tara Anderson used to pin lovely color samples on string for you to play with?

Our own Maggie Holmes is the QUEEN of banners and it's one of the many designs she enjoys making.

I love banner designed layouts for different reasons:

-First, it gives me a good excuse to use all the embellishments I love "at once" without having to care too much about the cluster created. Cluster is a must when used on a banner design.

-Second, it means I get to use supplies I love like wooden clothespins, 3D adhesive, twine and washi tape!

-Third, because I like to create banners that look like mood boards, I get to combine photos and embellishments that are a fave of mine - no questions asked!

There are two types of banner designs:

The first is more of a clothesline design. Pull 1, 2 or 3 strings from one side of the page to the other and tuck them in the back of the page using washi tape. Hang whatever catches your fancy on the lines with small wooden pegs.

Here's my take on it...

This banner design allowed me to create clusted blocks over my photos and journaling.

I ended up with a freestyle layout with lots of details for the eyes to feast upon!

You can achieve this same look in no time. There are endless combinations to create a similar design of your very own; isolate the ideal locations for multiple banners and hang from them, fabric, doilies, washi tape and anything else you might like.

For a little bit of extra support, add 3D adhesives underneath your banner's elements - it'll appear as if they're hanging from the line'(s), away from the page.

The second type of banner design doesn't use clothes lines per say, but a photo-based focal point and stitching. Backed behind the photo are three different papers, cut into banner shapes.

I machine stitched the banners on top the page and added a few tags, ribbon and peg for interest and texture.

I found that using similar patterned circles on the rest of the layout helped to convey a bit of softness to the overall design.

Again, this type of banner can be used in multiple ways. Pull off a masculine or feminine look by switching out the colors. Make it "festive" by introducing multiple textures, bright colors and dynamic shapes. Or, keep it simple and work only in repeats. It's entirely up to you! Don't forget to have fun, too!