Hi everyone! I'm on the blog today with a lacy celebration card made with Pinkfresh Studio's new Ribbons & Balloons stamp, stencil, and die sets. A design like this is perfect for all sorts of occasions. I think this card, in particular, would be lovely for welcoming a new baby to the family.  

Now it's time to color! I started by putting a panel of white, heavyweight cardstock into my MISTI to lightly stamp the balloon image, and as usual, I left the stamp in the platform in case I wanted to stamp over my coloring. For stencil #1, I used Soft Lilac over both balloons and Lavender concentrated where the balloons narrow down and/or might be shaded by other balloons. Then I decided to go over one of the two balloons with Sparkling Rose, lightly, to make it more pinky-purple, which is very technical, I know. And for the other balloon, I lightly went over it with Summer Shower. Also, some of the ribbons are colored in with stencil #1. 

I basically followed the same formula for the remaining balloons, stencils 2-5. I would go over the whole balloon with my lightest shades and use the next shade or two in that color family to darken areas giving the balloons a rounded look. Mint, Meadow, and Emerald City. Slumber and Storm. Ocean Breeze and Aquamarine. Sky Blue, Summer Shower, and Seaside. And I decided to throw Apricot in for some of the flowers and ribbon.

When I was done coloring, I decided to stamp over it with Detail Black. Then I die-cut the ribbons and balloons image out but left it in the panel afterward and put a piece of tape on the back of the panel to keep it in place. Because I decided I wanted sparkly balloons!

I pulled out my favorite glitter gel, Stickles Moon Dust, and used a fingertip to swipe some clear glitter onto the balloons. You can use the stencils if you like; you'd need to let each application dry before moving on to the next stencil and balloon. 

While that was drying, I moved on to the cardbase. I used Pinkfresh's Intricate Stitched Ovals coverplate die on a lightweight cardstock panel and taped it to an A2-sized cardbase. Then I used Classic Edgers on another panel of paper for some pretty, lacy borders on the sides of my topping panel. 

The balloon die cut was popped up on top of that with more foam tape. (I almost always use a little glue with my foam tape, I usually need that extra second or two to slide that image or panel into just the right spot.)

The sentiment is from the Ribbons & Balloons stamp and die sets. I needed to adhere two layers of the die-cut sentiment together to keep it strong. That fun black bow was made with a die from the new Wrap Around Elements die set. And I added some Glacier Jewels, for a little more glimmer for my card. And I was done!

I hope that some of these design choices have inspired you to make something new today. Thanks so much for stopping by!