Springtime balloons

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I have new babies in my head at the moment and a combination of that and some of my favourite challenges produced this card:

 

It's not a new idea - I know The Greetery has a stamp set featuring flower-filled balloons and SU once had one filled with stars; but it was fun to come up with my own version using the Balloon Bash stencil from Uniko and some flowers and leaves from Stampin' Up and Waffle Flower that were out on my table. I started by stenciling the taller balloon in yellow ink and masking off the outer section with a sticky note mask. I was then able to stamp the flowers and leaves. Next came the pink balloon which I positioned over the yellow one. I sponged the ink very faintly where they overlapped so it would look as if the pink balloon was behind the yellow one. Again, I masked off the outer section and stamped flowers and leaves inside the balloon, using second and third generation stamping for a more faded look. 

 

The balloons were cut out using my sharp paper snips and I tied little cotton bows to the bottom of each. To assemble the card I die cut a white panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and attachde it to a card front. Finally, I stamped a sentiment in grey ink and popped the balloons up with dimensional pads.

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in at Allsorts where Mervi's optional theme this week is Balloons, Cupcake Inspirations where the beautiful inspiration photo set me going and Day of the Month Card Club where they want to see us use Two of Something; my colour palette came from Color Dare #597 and since Color Hues have also got a Pink and Yellow theme this fortnight, I'm linking up there again.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm posting this photo especially for my pal Gundi at Papierelle. She is on the design team of Day of the Month Card Club challenge so she will hopefully be amused at seeing double!

 

My little twins - but which one is which?! Lulu is getting so fluffy these days that I sometimes get them mixed up!

 

Gundi has a pair of gorgeous dogs herself and if you like hearing about Eva and Lulu, you're sure to enjoy the antics that Kaito and Kamo get up to! Gundi is also a wonderfully creative crafter who makes cards and other fabulous projects so do go and check out her blog HERE - you'll be glad you did!

Sending hugs,

Special Delivery

Hello, crafting friends!

 

A rummage in my card drawer revealed that I have no baby cards left and I am going to be needing some by the summer! After a further investigation in my stash, I came to the conclusion that I needed some new stamps! The beautiful Waffle Flower set I used today was a bargain find and I am delighted with it! Come and see:

 

The set comes with a solid background and some stamps to fill in the gaps, which makes it very versatile. I used Spun Sugar distress oxide ink for the background - a stamping platform is a must for even coverage here! - and coloured in the flowers and leaves with Arteza brush pens and a white Posca acrylic paint pen.

 

The adorable little bird was stamped on a snippet of white card. I added details with the paint pen and a black fineliner, then fussy cut him and popped him up on dimensional pads. The card was finished with some pale green enamel dots.

 

I can't wait to play with this set some more!

CHALLENGES

Krafty Chicks latest challenge is to use Stamps so I'm linking up there; I was inspired by the pastel colour theme at Colourful Options - I adore a pastel colour scheme! Triple B are celebrating Blooms Birds and Butterflies as usual, so I'm joining in there as well. Special Delivery is a new stamp set to me so I shall pop over to Darnells NBUS Challenge with this card :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

After a lovely walk in the sunshine today, the golden girls and I were able to relax in the garden for a bit. Eva is my cover girl today and what a beauty she is!

 

She is the sweetest girl who loves people and other dogs and makes friends wherever she goes. She has enjoyed her training and is pretty reliable now - in fact it's hard to remember that when she was Lulu's age, she had only just settled down from being a terrible wild puppy!

Sending hugs,