Caly Person

It’s the final day of the Lil’ Inker Designs Release Blog Hop!  I hope you’ve been hopping along because the giveaway prize is the entire release to a lucky blog hop commenter!  Today, I’m sharing 2 cards.  For my first card, I used the new Boo Balloon stamp set that coordinates with the current Balloon Dies.

I started this card by cutting out a few balloons.  Since the dies are not hollow, This is the best way to line up the stamps on the balloons.  There are sooo many fun Halloween stamps on this set for the balloons!  I had to select only the 6 for my card but check out the product image – there are lots of fun stamps for your balloons!  After stamping, I used Carved Pumpkin Distress Oxide Ink to ink-blend half of the balloons.  I concentrated on the outsides only, leaving the center a big lighter in color for dimension.  Once I was happy with them, I used black thread and tied them around each balloon. The stamp set actually comes with balloon strings – but I wanted to add real strings to the card.  Then I set the prepared balloons aside to work on the background.

The background is a simple ink-blended background using Wilted Violet Distress Oxide.  If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been using Distress Oxides way more than the regular Distress Inks.  They just blend so much easier for me.  I have to say that Distress Oxide inks produce a more intense color – so for softer looks, I still love regular Distress Ink.  I focused blending from the top and blending to the white towards the bottom of the card panel.  Then I splattered on some water to give it some texture.

I placed the balloons down in the desired places with the strands hanging loose and once I was happy, I adhered the balloons down – some with dry adhesive and some with foam tape for dimension.  At this point, I tied a bow at the bottom where I wanted the thread to be gathered.  Once I was happy with the bow, I trimmed it and added a dot of multi-medium matte adhesive just beneath the bow.  Then I place a block over it to secure it in place while it dries.  This will ensure both the bow and the gathered strings are adhered together well.  Since the adhesive dries matte, you wont be able to tell there is adhesive there.  To complete my card, I embossed the sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and clear embossing powder.

For my second card, I used the new Harvest Moon and Stitched Bats dies.  I combined these dies for a night pumpkin patch scene by watercoloring the entire die-cut panel.  I used various oranges, brown, blue and black Arteza Real Brush Pens to watercolor the panel by drawing some ink onto a non-porous surface (I use a laminated blank white piece of cardstock and it works well for me).  Then with a wet brush, I added water and started painting.

I die-cut the bats using gray cardstock and ink-blended using Black Soot Distress Oxide ink to give them dimension.  For the background, I traced the opening of the Harvest Moon panel to make sure that I could ink-blend the moon for full coverage using Fossilized Amber and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide inks.  The Harvest Moon panel has now dried, so I went back in with my white gel pen and added some stars by creating round dots in different sizes all over.  The I added 3M foam tape to the back and adhered it to the card base and attached the bats.  The sentiment is from the Spiffy Spots stamp set.

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GIVEAWAY:  If you love this release, be sure to check out the Lil’ Inker Designs blog and leave a comment on each blog hop stop for your chance to win the ENTIRE release!  You can also click on the banner below:

LID Boo Balloons	LID Balloon Dies	LID Harvest Moon	LID Stitched Bats	LID Spiffy Spots
LID Dual Stitched Rectangles	Smoky Slate Cardstock	Canson XL WaterColor Paper Pad EH | SSS | JOANN	Sizzix Big Shot Express SSS | SBC | AMZN	Wagner Heat Tool HMSB | EH | SSS | AMZN
Versafine Onyx Black HMSB | EH | SSS	Embossing Powder Bag HMSB | EH | SSS	WOW Clear Gloss Superfine HMSB | SSS | AMZN	Memento Tuxedo Black Ink HMSB | EH | SSS | AMZN	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Set 1 EH | HMSB | SSS
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Set 2EH | HMSB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Set 3 EH | HMSB | SSS	Neenah Solar White 80 lb HMSB | EH | SSS	Recollections 110 lb	Tsukineko Jumbo Dauber HMSB | EH | SSS | AMZN
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer EH | SSS	3M Scotch Foam Tape EH | SSS | AMZN	ATG Gun EH | SSS | AMZN	Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue HMSB | EH | SSS	2.5 inch Round Acrylic Block
MSP Mini MISTI HMSB | EH | SSS | MSP	Martha Stewart Mini Scoring Board EH | SSS	Teflon Bone Folder HMSB | EH | SSS	Absorber	EH Ebony Black Cardstock