Hot Air Balloons . . . love them!

My Granny turned 92 this year!! I am going to get to visit with her this week in Scotland! SO excited!  I wanted to make something for her, but really, what kind of art piece would a 92 year old like to have? While I was sitting in traffic, having this conversation in my head, a hot air balloon drifted across the horizon . . . sometimes inspiration comes and knocks us over our head. This is the piece I made for Granny! 

 

I sketched out the balloons on the canvas so I could get an idea of sizing!  (As you can see, my sketching is not beautiful!) 

I painted the edges of the canvas to help the final piece have a more finished look!

 

I took out my new Crate Paper collection and cut out a background and some rolling hills!

I cut out balloon shapes from plain white paper.  Then I pieced in the patterned paper on top to give the balloons some color!

I used some twine to connect the balloons to their baskets.  This just gave the piece some dimension and texture!

Then I added my texture layers ...  Distress Ink into a stencil, rub-ons, doodling and stamping around!!

 

I sealed it all in with my matte medium  and realized I had finished the jar . . . I LOVE this stuff. I can't tell you how it has changed my life!!  I used to use Decoupage ALL the time however,  I found that it was sticky and goopy when I didn't want it to be.  Then I ordered some of Claudine Hellmuth's matte Medium from ePaperie. It is amazing!! Thick, quick drying and so good for gluing and sealing!! LOVE IT!

See . . . time to order more!!

And the finished piece, ready to board the plane with me today and head off on our adventure!  Thank you so much for stopping by . . . I hope lots of inspiration drifts your way this week!!  -K