Twofer Balloons

I found this simply stunning inspiration pic on Inspired By Challenge #IB161!  

I was determined to use some of my new Wildflower Stems dies, so it was just a matter of finding a vase or other suitable container to put them in.  I found an old Sizzix Originals Balloons die and thought I could possibly adapt the long balloon as a suitable vase AND then could kill two birds with the one stone and enter Twofer Card Challenge #35 which has the prompt balloons!

Here's a closer view of the bottled wildflower.  I coloured the stem with an olive alcohol marker and the tips with a pale pink but the pink didn't pop enough so I went over with an embossing marker and embossed in this lovely Metal Magic Pink embossing powder by Debbi Moore.  I cut the base off the balloon, layered it up a few times and coated it with a few coats of the same pink embossing powder.  Not only is it a very pretty shade of pink, but this powder has a lovely subtle metallic sheen.   The sentiment is from WMS Afternoon Tea Sentiments and cut with the smallest Labels 25 - I punched a small hole in it to make it into a tag to hang around the neck of the bottle!

Then it was just a matter of creating a real balloon themed card!  I cut 5 balloons (actually I cut 15 because each of them is layered up 3 times) and coloured them in various distress inks to have a rainbow-themed card, then coated them in Glossy Accents.   I was lucky enough to find this sheet of DP to make a bright bold background for my balloons and some wash tape to decorate the envelope!  The sentiment is wishful thinking more than anything else of course!  Hubby is having a big birthday next week but there will NOT be a party!  In fact I'm having a big birthday in October and it's very unlikely that we'll be able to have a party then either!  But that's life for a while longer yet unfortunately!

I'm also entering the following challenges

HLS Anything Goes with Dies February Challenge

Always Fun Challenge #201 - Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #23 - The Wildflower Stems die set is new

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll be over the moon!  I’ll also know you were here, so I can check out what you’ve been up to and maybe get to know you a little bit better!

Kate