Swimming along - and some winners

Today's card was made with a watery background stamp from Designs by Ryn

here are the punched elements that made up the fish - quick and easy!

On to the winners of the colouring books. They are:

Glenys Beedell and Nanapat

Congrats ladies, email me with your addresses and your prize will be on it's way

I am having a bit of an intensive workout in my crafting den today - I have all sorts of projects that I need to get under my belt, my mojo has gone missing and so far I have stared blankly at the wall waiting for the crafting fairy to come and shower me with a bit of magic - so far she hasn't turned up, so I think it's time for coffee and a few deep breaths.......

Balloons in every size......

I fancied making some balloon cards, but I don't own a balloon stamp, die cut or stencil, so I made my own.......

I used the Fiskars shape cutter and the circle template - draw two lines onto a piece of spare cardstock, and cut around the circle to the lines

Now you have a partially cut out circle.....Draw a little 'neck' to the balloon in pencil as shown below, and cut out with scissors

You now have a balloon shape.....

Which you can make in any size.....

Use a post it note or washi tape to steady your base card and the template and using a blending tool, start sponging your balloon....

You can see that I sponged the ink more heavily at the sides and neck, leaving the center paler

Now reposition your template....Sponge another balloon, sponging over the yellow area as well. Pale colours work best. I used Simon Says Stamp dye inks, Lemon Chiffon, Mint and Sea Glass. These colours blend beautifully together

So now you have two balloons, repeat the process with a third colour

Add some strings and sequins. I love the way the balloons look transparent, just like the real thing.....

Here is a second card, this time using a HUGE balloon made with the biggest circle on the template

 and some smaller balloons floating up - the WISHING stamp is by Simon Says Stamp, and I used the Brother label maker to do the 'make a' part of the sentiment

Using the Brother P touch label printer is my latest passion for sentiments, it's easy to type out what you want to say when you don't have a suitable stamp. I get generic refills for the machine at a fraction of the cost of the real thing and they work perfectly

Like Colouring? Giveaway.........

Have you got swept up in the latest craze for adult colouring books as a form of relaxation? I have a couple of these books to give away......

I reckon those designs would be pretty enough to frame when completed. All you have to do is leave your name under this post and I will pick two winners randomly on Sunday. Good luck

The 'adult colouring craze' certainly seems to have caught on - I spotted a rather burly looking guy in my local coffee shop sitting happily with his colouring book and some coloured pencils. He was getting some strange looks, but was happily oblivious and carried on regardless. As a relaxation therapy, it beats standing on your head in a yoga position or sitting cross legged on the floor doing some deep breathing - now you couldn't get away with that in a coffee shop!