Up, Up & Away – Retro Sketches 156

Hello there, friends!! Today I’d like to share my take on the awesome sketch over at Retro Sketches:

Isn’t it fun?? I pondered it just for a few minutes before deciding that a stamp set that just arrived this week would be really fun with this sketch!! So, with that in mind I hopped on over to my pattern paper collection and pulled a set of papers together fairly quickly. I knew I wanted a soft and whimsical feel and this is how it turned out!

What do you think?!?!? I just adore this card!!!! I used two pattern papers as the base for my card, dividing the two with a darker pattern, as per the sketch. The paper is called Paris & Co, which is perfect because it is so soft and yummy! And the hot air balloons?? Combined with the papers I think they are soft as a gentle spring breeze…

I used a new-to-me stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink called Up, Up and Away. It’s a huge stamp set with an optional add-on set to give you SO many options and combinations!! I die cut my clouds and then stamped them in Sahara Sand ink. The ink was the lightest I could find, but the coverage was still darker than I wanted so I used a microfiber cloth to dab away some of the ink after I inked the stamp up. The impromptu technique worked very well, AND had the added benefit of providing an interesting texture!

After stamping and die-cutting my balloons I arranged everything on a random bed of cream colored linen thread. There was no rhyme or reason to the thread placement other than a circular pattern. Since so much of the thread was exposed, I used a product called Aleen’s Tack-It Over & Over to adhere the thread. I squeezed out a small dab of the product onto my work surface (it looks like Elmer’s Glue) and the gently dabbed various areas of the thread into it, to pick up just a bit here and there, and then laid the whole thing onto my card base. I have a love-hate relationship with this product. I love it because it is so tacky, but I HATE it for the same reason! You have to be careful with it because it CAN create a mess. The reason I chose it is as the name says, you can tack it over and over. It never really dries, just stays tacky, so once I have something adhered, I can still (gently) move it to re-position it if necessary. And it is SO darn tacky, it never lets go of anything! I also used it to adhere the sequins for the same reasons.

I thought the interior of the card should be decorated as well, and decided to use the pattern paper again. I think it’s light enough to write over and it sure does dress up the inside of the card!! Isn’t the paper I used for the envelope liner lovely?? It was also the inspiration for my balloon ink color choices.

Well, there you have it! A fun, albeit girly, card that can be used for many occasions! I’m so grateful to the design team over at Retro Sketches for such an awesome sketch this week!

I spent a wonderfully lazy Sunday at home, working in my office and napping with all the windows open so we could all enjoy the out of season but thoroughly enjoyably warm day today! I hope your day was lovely as well!

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Rustic White by Papertrey Ink

Pattern Paper: Paris & Co by My Mind’s Eye

Ink:  Sahara Sand by Stampin’ Up!; Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado, and Spring Moss by Papertrey Ink and Cobblestone by Simon Says Stamp (for the sentiment)

Stamps:  Up, Up & Away by Papertrey Ink

Dies:  Up, Up & Away by Papertrey Ink and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools:  MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Embellishments: Cream Linen Thread by Papertrey Ink (no longer Available) and misc gold sequins