I Appreciate You

I recently got this Hero Arts stamp set, and couldn't wait to use it! I just love the imagery and sentiments, and this particular balloon just begged to be stamped and colored! I also have been taking the  "Watercolor for Card makers" online class. One of the lessons was on coloring stamped images with Inktense pencils. So I decided to combine my urge to use this set with my new-found knowledge, and create this card.

I based my design on Sketch #2 from the Hero Arts "New Sketch Challenge". I created a tag from watercolor paper, and stamped the hot air balloon from the set on it in Ranger Archival Jet Black ink. I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of the card.

I stamped the greeting, also from the set, on a strip of navy cardstock, using Versamark ink. It took me "only" about a half-dozen tries before I finally got it like I wanted it. I heat-embossed it with Recollections "Snow" embossing powder, and then cut the strip into a banner.

I cut and folded a standard A2 card base, and adhered navy cardstock and a lighter teal color to the front. By this time, the balloon image had dried, so I colored it with Inktense pencils and water. When coloring the balloon itself, I was careful to color every other section, so the colors wouldn't bleed from one part into the adjacent one. As each section dried, I was able to do the remaining parts.

I glued the tag to the card front, and then glued the banner below it. A fairly easy card to do, but still with striking results.