When I first got my eyes on the Occasions Catalog the stamp set that jumped out and caught my attention was Balloon Bash.  Well, after many weeks of wanting to play with the set I finally bought one (hostess dollars YEAH) and busted it out to create something for Hand Stamped Sentiments latest sketch challenge.  This sketch is a cool one and I think it would be fun if y'all joined along.

Now if you look close at my card and the sketch you will see I kind of blew it.  I am missing the narrow strip the stretches across the bottom 1/4 of the card.  Here is why, I most always do sketches from memory.  I take a few seconds to study the layout and then I go to it.  In this case I guess I didn't study well enough.  My point is sketch challenges are out there to inspire our creative juices and it's okay to vary slightly from the original.

So a few weeks back I ordered the Hello Life Project Kit.  I had a blast putting it together.  When I was done I had lots of extra pieces that I put to good use.  Check out my collection of things I made incorporating the leftover bits and pieces!

When I was young my mom had funny answers to the question "what's for dinner?"  She would say things like "f and f" or "l and l."  My brother and I would ask what those were and then she'd come back with crazy quip like answers such as "leftovers and like it" or "fix it and find out."  Since then I have always liked leftovers.  Her fix it and find out dishes were always rather tasty too.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Here is another look at some watercolor wicking.  This card uses Watercolor Paper; a must for this technique.  To create this look just stamp and then spritz with water and watch the ink start to run and wick into other colors.  I work this technique in many ways.  Just keep adding layers once the previous is dry to create tons of depth and dimension.  If I have not liked how things were turning out I have rinsed the entire piece of watercolor paper in the sink.  It still leaves a soft background which is perfect for layering more images.  Try it you'll like it!

For this card I have stamped with the Crazy About You set using Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry, and Coastal Cabana ink.  The "thank you" is cut from the Hello You Framelits.  Just cut the "s" off the thanks for creating a perfect looking "thank you."  You can save 15% when you purchase both together as a bundle.  A splash of glimmer paper adds such panche to this simple layout.

A while back I shared a "One Design, Two Times" post and I thought I would show another look at my double down way of working.  For this duo I used the same technique, watercolor stenciling, and elements like a full panel of background paper, a card stock layer, and then an embellishment for each card.
On each of the card stock layers I have added a hand painted greeting using the Hello You Framelits.  Now I have not cut the words, painted them, and then glued them in place, instead I cut the words from Vellum Card Stock and then used the vellum negative for a stencil.  I applied Two-Way Glue to the stencil and let it dry completely so the adhesive would be temporary.  Then I positioned my stencil on a piece of card stock and watercolored inside the cutout.

I made this card at the same time I made my card from the last hop which is why the elements are similar.  But isn't it cute?  I've got a touch of this and that incorporated into my focal point.  My favorite is the rose trim from the Artisan Embellishment Kit.  Add it to anything and it's instant genius!  I added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the Hello Thinlets which in person is the perfect finishing touch.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick