Spread Happiness Wherever You Go

HM Ben Franklin Crafts now carries Mama Elephant stamp and die sets!  I've always loved this brand but the cute separate stamp and die sets can be pricey.  That's why I was so excited to see these combo sets at a reasonable price.  They even come with several appropriate sentiments.  I chose this set because the balloons are usable for many occasions and the animals are sweet.  The background was made with Ken Oliver dye pigment powders. I love playing with these colors and water on watercolor paper.  This experiment resulted in a background piece that reminded me of a celebration.  I discovered an ink pad, Versafine Onyx Black (from HM BFC) that works really well for heat embossing even on an uneven watercolor paper surface. I used this ink for stamping the sentiment and all the other images.  Embossing the images makes coloring them much easier and neater.  I cut off the balloon strings and replaced them with thin black wire so they would be longer.  Finally, I attached the strings with Beacon 3 in 1 glue and applied Crystal Accents over the balloons.  The 'sprinkles' were tiny heart confetti (Martha Stewart).  This was an easy to make card that can be used for many occasions especially for graduation or bon voyage. Have a great summer!