Good Luck Running Banner

Two of my friends from college ran a half-marathon in Vancouver, B.C. last weekend. Contrary to popular belief, Hallmark does not sell "Good Luck on your half-marathon" cards, so this is what I came up with to show my support!

I started with my basic banner format, quickly and easily cutting out the letters thanks to my Silhouette Cameo. I strung the banner on a shoe-lace to add to the running shoe theme. I wanted a fun colored shoe lace, but didn't have much luck or time after a four store scavenger hunt. The ones I ended up with were at least 50 % off!

My vision for the running shoes involved bright, vibrant colors. Jen has this gorgeous pair of very neon Nike running shoes. When we were in Albuquerque on the shuttle bus to our rental car, the woman sitting across from us spotted them, and said with utter disgust, "wow, your shoes are green!" Since then we've used any opportunity to poke fun at brightly colored tennis shoes, and I thought they were just what these banners needed.

I used my Silhouette Cameo Sketch Pens to trace the shoe clipart images, then the cutting tool for the shoe outlines.

I played with adding shoelaces to the shoes, but ultimately felt the design started to get too busy. I thought they turned out really cute, and may use them for another project.

I struggled with attaching the shoes to the banner. I had considered connecting the shoes on their own string, and making a double banner but the shoe line kept twirling. Next time I'll either make the shoes double sided, or place the letters directly on the shoes.

Hopefully in the very near future they'll enter a triathlon so I can also bedazzle a banner with neon bicycles and swimsuits.