All About Balloons

The first time I saw these new stamps from Artistic Outpost along with these new stamps from Artistic Outpost, I immediately knew I was going to have to do something like this:

The lines of the birdcage coordinated so perfectly with the lines of the balloons, I couldn't help myself. I thought to myself, "This would be perfect for my Party-Themed artwork for Artistic Outpost's March Referral Program!" Check it out!

Oh my gosh! Cyndi, you made something other than a card!

Hey, Shelby. Yes, I made a "triptych".

It's pretty trippy, alright. I didn't know you knew how to make anything but cards.

So not true, Shelby. I've made two or three things that weren't cards. Anyway, you may have seen this new cardstock out there called Coredinations which is designed to be embossed and then sanded to show a contrasting (but coordinating) color underneath.

We have a bunch of it at Archiver's, where I work. It's very popular.

Well, don't tell your corporate office, Shelby, but I made "Faux Coredinations--with a twist." I sponged a lot of ink onto cream colored cardstock, embossed in my Cuttlebug folder, and then sanded off the ink on the raised portions. The "twist" is I used more than one color of ink. But you could totally use just one color, or two colors for a more subtle look.

I have to admit, that is pretty gorgeous.

Thanks! That's high praise coming from you, Shelby. The beauty of this background is that it's really easy to do if you have the embossing equipment. And if I want black or another dark color to come through instead of white, I can start with dark cardstock and use acrylic paint.

Hey, I bet even I could do that!

You are not to touch the acrylic paint until I get home! I don't want a repeat of what happened last time. (Some people require supervision, but you, dear blog reader, should have no trouble with this technique at all.)

Check out some of the detail:

Until next time,

Cyndi and Shelby