Cheerful 'Create' Banner

I really wanted a cheerful banner that I can hang on my booth at craft fairs and that can come with me when I teach my classes to inspire folks to play with color and have fun.
This banner certainly brings a smile to my face...hope it makes you smile too!

I started off with the C-R-E-A-T-E Dovetail Banner

I prepped it with a coat of gesso...

Then painted the letters and the back pieces black. I also cut all the papers for the front pieces, gave them a light sanding around the edges and inked the edges to make them appear a little bit aged and make the colors pop a bit.

I used washi tape at the top of each card and cut pieces to fit the bottom of the dovetails. You can see where I began to apply the tape on the top of the green card in the photo above. And in the picture below I was able to cut the tape at a 45 degree angle at the center join by lining up the center of the card on my cutting mat, centering a ruler down the tape and ripping each side of the tape up the center, creating a (fairly) tidy seam.

 I glued the top card on to the bottom one and allowed them to dry. To attach the banner pieces to the ribbon, I lined up the ribbon on my cutting mat, place the banner piece directly below the position I wanted it to be on the ribbon and used that as a guide for the glue I applied to the ribbon, assuring the right width of glue for each piece in the correct position.

 I decided at this point that I wanted more orange on the pieces so I added some sparkly orange ribbon to the top and the bottom of each piece.

 I cut some sunflowers from Graphic 45's French Country paper, cut them in half and glued them to the tops of the banner pieces. I added white dots to the letters using a white poster paint marker.

Oh, and I punched holes in the points of the dovetails and added cute little pink tassles that I scored at a dollar store. I love that they even came with their own little clasps!
I added some glitter to the sunflowers and voila! A cheerful inspiring banner with one of my favorite words on it!

Supply List
C-R-E-A-T-E Dovetail Banner

Other supplies
Pink velvet ribbon
Orange glittery ribbon
Washi Tape
Scrapbook Paper
Graphic 45 French Country Paper (for the sunflowers)
Pink tassles
Stickles (Yellow)
Gesso
Acrylic paint
White poster paint marker