Just Us Girls-Trend Challenge! #310

Hello!  Now that we are back in school I sure welcome the weekend!  So happy that Saturday is here! One reason to ALWAYS be happy it's Saturday is a new Just Us Girls challenge! This week it's my turn to host and I picked BALLOONS as the trend !  They are every where lately, don't you think?!  In dies and stamps and in all shapes and sizes!

I used a new stamp set from Darcie's Heart and Home rubber stamps that I got when Lisa and I went to the Stamp and Scrap Tour show when it was in town. It's so much fun to see sooo many products in person! We spend the day and a few dollars there! I colored the duck with my Clean Color Zig Pens and fussy cut him out by hand. (I'm such a wimp-I want dies for every stamp now!).  The balloom is cut using a die from MFT. I used real twine to tie it in his open wing.

The background is made on watercolor paper using Ken Oliver's Colorburst Powders.  Lisa showed them to me when we were in our Local stamp store in August.  She is such an enabler!  I bought 3 or 4 that day. Before even using them I saw that Taylored Expressions was carrying all the colors and as long as I was ordering I ordered the rest of the colors!  Geez! Anyway, I tapped a little powder onto watercolor paper in a few areas (crimson, yellow and orange) and then spritzed carefully with water from a distance away.  Then I waited and watch the water work.  If the paper curled and water went to the edge I used a little paper toweling to wick that off.  I wanted it kind of splotchy so I dried it with my heat gun. I did the same with green and ultramarine blue on paper before cutting the balloon. I used a little clear wink of stella on the balloon to add sparkle.It picked up a little color.
I understand Ken Oliver has some You tube videos so I think I'll watch how he uses his powders before I play again! However, I kind of like how mine came out!

We, at Just Us Girls, sure hope you'll look over your crafty supplies and find balloons you can use (or even just circles!) and join us in the week's challenge!
Check out our blog for tons of inspiration!