Sparkle & Shine!!!

Hello there!  I have some very exciting news to share with you today!  Angel Johns contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I'd like to be on the Sparkle & Shine Challenge design team for the upcoming term, and of course I had to say YES!  I've enjoyed playing along with this challenge over the past months, they always have very inspiring photos to work with, so it's quite a thrill and honor for me to join the very talented team of designers!  The first photo of the year has a very festive, celebratory vibe, I just loved creating a card with it!

To make my card I started with a base made from PTI Lavender Moon card stock.  Next I stamped the balloons and sentiment from Simon Says Stamps Birthday Bits stamp set onto Tim Holtz watercolor paper using Versamark ink, and embossed with silver.  I used Distress Inks (Broken China, Milled Lavender, and Wilted Violet), to watercolor the balloons and add splatters to the background.  The balloon strings and bows were cut from shiny silver card stock using PTI dies.  The little silver drop shapes you see on the background are actually the inner parts of the bows, I thought they would make a nice confetti shower so I glued them on :)  I finished the card by tying a white bow around the balloon strings.

More exciting news, the Sparkle & Shine Challenge has some new sponsors this year!  For this first challenge the sponsor is  Create a Smile stamps.  The winner of this challenge will receive a $25.00 gift card to their online store and will be asked to be our guest designer for next month.  How's that for an incentive to play along!

I hope that you'll join us, can't wait to see what you create!