Come fly away with me

When I won the Ebay bid for the Tim Holtz Remnants stamp set I was delighted because I knew it would solve my problem of making the second male graduation card for my Sis' graduating Doctor friends (you can see the other one here). I love Tim Holtz stamps, they are so detailed and beautiful. From this stamp set I particularly love the hot air balloon, it is just dreamy. So I wanted to hold on to that slightly dreamy feeling by the colour scheme and the white edge around the balloon. 

I was sitting with the balloon stamp in front of me thinking about the best way to make it into a card. This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge is themed "Paint" so I decided to watercolour the image. I am also entering this into the current Addicted to CAS challenge which is themed "Transport". I know the card might not be very CAS in the eyes of purists, but it's much more CAS than I usually do. I am also entering the card in this week's Addicted to stamps challenge, which is also themed CAS. Last but not least I'm also entering it into The Pink Elephant challenge which is themed "Father's day/Masculine".

I heat embossed the image with ultra fine, clear, embossing powder onto beige cardstock and painted with Stampin' Up inks and a Aqua-Flo brush. I then sponged the edges with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink. The die cut letters were also sponged with Vintage Photo, and are the same Teal card as the matting.

Card: Leonardo Stationery 350 gsm Smooth White Card, Coloured 240 gsm Craft Card in Beige and Teal
Stamps: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Remnants CMS130
Inks: Hobbycraft black pigment ink, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink, Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay, Marina Mist, Pacific Point and Wild Wasabi, Whisper White Pigment Ink
Other: Tim Holtz Alterations Inside out alphabet die, Ranger ultra fine clear embossing powder