Hello friends! It’s time to break out the balloons with this month’s Hits & Highlights feature! Balloons are a great way to bring a smile to someone’s face and can be used for all types of occasions. For my card today, I created a birthday card utilizing some cute images from the latest Stacey Yacula Stamp Set as well as the Mini Balloon Shaker Window & Frame Die-namics.

To start, I first stamped my images from the Pawty Time Stamp Set with Tuxedo Memento Black Ink onto a sheet of Neenah Solar White 110lb Card Stock. I then colored my images with Copic Markers (my go-to coloring medium) and cut them out with their coordinating dies.

Copic Color Combos Used:

• Browns: E30, E31, E23, E25, E29
• Grays: W00, W0, W2, W4, W6
• Purples: V000, V01, V05, V15, V17
• Teals: G000, BG11, BG13, BG49

Next, I set my images aside to work on my card background. I trimmed a piece of Smooth White Card Stock to slightly larger than 4.25″ x 5.5″. I like to do this when I know that I will be ink blending to any edges on my card front. This way, I can trim in down to 4.25″ x 5.5″ when I’m finished without having any harsh ink lines on the edges where excess ink tends to sometimes catch while blending. I used a blend of Seedless Preserves and Milled Lavender Distress Oxide Inks. I started with my darker color at the top of the card and gradually blended toward my lighter color, leaving white space at the bottom of my card.

Next, I splattered my card base with both diluted white and purple paint for added interest. After it dried, I stamped my sentiment with black ink. I then lined up where I wanted to place my balloon and diecut a balloon shaped window and adhered a mini balloon shaker pouch inside of this space. I used a mix of purple and iridescent embellishments to fill my balloon and framed it with a white balloon frame. Lastly, I added my images using some 3D Foam Adhesive Tape for added dimension.

Head to the MFT Blog for more Hits & Highlights inspiration!

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