Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Inspiration Week: Birthday Balloon, Bold Balloons & Ric Rac Borders

Hello there!  I am super happy to finally share this season's newest layering sets called Bold Balloons Stamps & DiesBirthday Balloons Stamps & Die and a new border set called Ric Rac Borders!  All of them will be available for purchase in our online store this Friday morning (yay)!  In the meantime, I hope you will kick back and enjoy this look at all the fun ways you can use them...

Card No. 1: I will admit that I immediately turned to Pinterest to jumpstart my creative juices for many of my cards today and I will do my best to give credit to each as I go along. ;)  For my first card I was inspired by THIS wonderful ombre card. I inked up my mylar heart balloons from our new Bold Balloons set in four separate color combos (linked below), popping up one on the middle right with foam tape for a little extra dimension. I then used a paper piercer to poke a hole in each balloon to string black thread through. I finished my card by heat embossing my sentiment with white embossing powder using a sentiment from our Sending My Love stamps.Sunny Studio Stamps: Bold Balloons Color Layering Ombre Valentine's Day Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 2:  For my next card I used my MISTI tool together with the MISTI creative corners to repeatedly stamp the word "love" at an angle from our Sending My Love stamps.  I then stamped my balloons in a variety of pink shades (colors linked below) and taped a coordinating color of baker's twine to the back of each for my balloon strings.  

To add a little interest to my center white panel I used the small zig-zag edge from our new Ric Rac border dies--They are quickly becoming a new favorite of mine.  ;) I finished off my balloon bouquet with a bow from our Holiday Style stamp set in the same colors used for my darkest balloon.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Bold Balloons Color Layering Valentine's Day Pink Love Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 3:  Up next is a card set perfect for gift giving (inspired by this card set HERE) that uses the star balloon from our new Bold Balloons set, together with the banner from our Sunny Borders set and a sentiment from Heartfelt Wishes.  For my background, I die-cut white ric rac border and adhered them to white cardstock to give them subtle texture that almost appears that they have been embossed.  I finished them off with a white scalloped frame from our new Fancy Frame Square dies shared yesterday.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Bold Balloons Color Layering Start Birthday Card Set by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 4: For this next card I was inspired by a card shared HERE that has the colors of the balloons match the sentiment down below.  Our Bold Balloons set comes with two different pieces of layering curling ribbon that add a really fun touch!  

For the bottom edge of my card, I die-cut the edge with the ricrac border die and then I inked up a piece of white cardstock with a jumbo dauber, blending together Festive Berries, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, and Salty Ocean.  I then took the trio of confetti images from the set and repeatedly stamped it to create a continuous pattern in those same colors.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Bold Balloons Color Layering Rainbow Star Birthday Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 5: Up next are some ideas using the new smaller 3x4 Birthday Balloon companion stamps and die.  I just adore the look of these balloons when they are all stamped up with the three layers!  I was inspired by THIS card and put my own spin on it by inking up the bottom edge with distress inks that fade into the white background.  I then stamped it with some of the confetti from the set to match.  For my die-cut "happy" letters I used Lawn Fawn's Cole's ABC's dies.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Birthday Balloon Color Layering Rainbow HAPPY Birthday Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 6: Up next is a clean and simple card that was inspired by this card HERE.  I created an overall white-on-white pattern like the inspiration card using a plain die-cut of the balloon with no stamping and then stamped a single red balloon using the Birthday balloon stamp set.  I then tied it with a red twine bow, heat-embossed a simple sentiment in white using our Heartfelt Wishes set, and popped it up with foam tape.  To add a bit more interest and color to my card I added a little border of red polka-dot paper along the bottom and a straight stitch with my sewing machine.  This would be a great card for mass-producing in different colors too!  :)
Sunny Studio Stamps: Birthday Balloon Color Layering Red Polka-dot Sweet Wishes Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 7:  I wanted to create a card that truly showed off all that this small stamp can do by stamping it in a rainbow of fun colors.  I masked off the clouds for my background using the cloud dies from our Rain or Shine and Sunny Sentiments sets, before inking up my background with Colorbox Sky Dye Ink.  


I stamped my sentiment in the bottom left-hand corner and masked it off before moving on.  I then arranged by balloons loosely where I wanted them to go without adhering them and gently moved them aside as I took turns stamping the strings using a couple different stamps from the set that I adhered to my acrylic block in a wavy pattern.  When I was done, I added my balloons with foam tape onto my card panel and trimmed off approximately 1/2" from the length of my card front to allow room for my stitched zig-zag edge using the new Ric Rac Border dies.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Birthday Balloon Color Layering Rainbow Balloons with Clouds Born To Sparkle Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Card No. 8:  For my last card I wanted to show how you can achieve a completely different look by using only the solid image from the Birthday Balloon set.  I was inspired by Laura Bassen's beautiful card HERE.  Instead of using a stencil like she did, I used my Mini MISTI to stamp the balloon image first in a light color and then to stamp it a second (and sometimes a third time) in a darker ink color that I applied to my stamp with a foam dauber.  It gave it a really nice and soft shadow to one side of each balloon.

When I was done, I stamped my sentiment in VersaFine Black Onyx ink and then masked it off to stamp and heat emboss my balloon strings with white embossing powder.  My strings weren't showing up quite as well as I would have liked so when I was certain my black ink was good and dry, I sponged on some Tumbled Glass distress ink over the top.  You could also reverse the order and start by inking up the bottom with the distress ink to begin with. As a final step, I added a strip of black and white polka-dot paper and rounded the corners with my We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.
Sunny Studio Stamps: Birthday Balloon Layered Rainbow Sweet Birthday Wishes Card by Mendi Yoshikawa

Stamping Trick: Before I go, I wanted to share a little secret I learned about stamping balloon strings.  I was really struggling to get them to stand up in a straight line and adhere them to my clear block until I realized I could use a clear grid ruler or T-style ruler to push them up against before adhering them to my block.  It worked like a charm and once I discovered it, it saved me a ton of frustration and heartache.  ;)

I frequently am asked which ink colors I used for my layered images.  While I think there are so many great options out there that can provide good results, these are the colors I used today for my stamped images (in the order shared from lightest to darkest)...

Pale Pink Heart Balloon (ombre card)
Stamps of Life Bubblegum
Hero Arts Cotton Candy
Hero Arts Pale Tomato

Dark Pink Heart Balloon (ombre card)
Hero Arts Cotton Candy
Hero Arts Pale Tomato
Stamps of Life Strawberry

Red Heart Balloon (ombre card)
Hero Arts Cotton Candy
Stamps of Life Strawberry
Colorbox Candy Red


Dark Red Heart Balloon (ombre card)
Hero Arts Pale Tomato
Colorbox Candy Red
Stamps of Life Cranberry

Pale Pink Heart Balloon (love card)
Stamps of Life Bubblegum
Stamps of Life Candy
Colorbox Pinkolicious


Hot Pink Heart Balloon & Bow (love card)
Stamps of Life Candy
Colorbox Pinkolicious
Colorbox Raspberry


Red Star
Hero Arts Pale Tomato
Colorbox Candy Red
Stamps of Life Cranberry

Orange Star

Papertrey Ink Summer Sunrise
Stamps of Life Tangerine
Colorbox Coral

Yellow Star
Stamps of Life Lemonade
Stamps of Life Banana
Colorbox Dandelion

Green Star

Colorbox Tree Frog
Colorbox Grasshopper
Colorbox Golf Course


Blue Star
Stamps of Life Sky
Colorbox Moody Blue
Colorbox Atlantic Blue

Lavender Star

Stamps of Life Pixie
Colorbox Lilac
Colorbox Frosted Plum


Magenta Balloon (Born To Sparkle card)
Colorbox Candy
Stamps of Life Raspberry
Colorbox Burgundy


Blue Balloon (Born To Sparkle card)
Colorbox Poolside
Colorbox Bahama

Colorbox Moody Blue

Teal Balloon (Born To Sparkle card)
Stamps of Life Seaglass
Stamps of Life Ocean
Colorbox Jade


Hot Pink Balloon (Born To Sparkle card)

Stamps of Life Candy
Colorbox Pinkolicious 

Colorbox Raspberry

Lime Green Balloon (Born To Sparkle card)

Stamps of Life Kiwi
Colorbox Tree Frog
Hero Arts Grass Chalk Ink


Purple Balloon (last card)
Stamps of Life Grape
Colorbox Grape Slushy
Colorbox Imperial


*All other balloons, used colors shared above for star balloons.

I'm so excited you've joined me for today's sneak peek and I'd love to give a $25 gift code to one lucky winner.  Make sure to keep checking back all this week for more peeks & prizes for up to five chances to win.  The contests run through Saturday at Midnight PST with winners announced here on Sunday, January 14th. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Here's a full look at the new Ric Rac Border Dies, 4x6 Bold Balloons Stamps & Dies, the 3x4 Birthday Balloons Stamps & Die featured today.

     Sunny Studio Stamps: Bold Balloons 4x6 Celebrate Clear Stamps  

Sunny Studio Stamps: Introducing Bold Balloons Coordinating Dies     Sunny Studio Stamps: Introducing Birthday Balloon 3x4 Clear Layering Stamps     Sunny Studio Stamps: Birthday Balloon Coordinating Die

Other Sunny Studio Supplies Used:

Heartfelt Wishes Stamps
Heartfelt Wishes Stamps
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Holiday Style Dies
Holiday Style Dies
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Holiday Style Stamps
Holiday Style Stamps
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Sending My Love Stamps
Sending My Love Stamps
Shop at:
Sunny Studio


Sunny Borders Dies
Sunny Borders Dies
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Sunny Borders Stamps
Sunny Borders Stamps
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Sunny Sentiments Dies
Sunny Sentiments Dies
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Colorbox Archival Dye Ink- Grape Slushy
Colorbox Archival Dye Ink- Grape Slushy
Shop at:
Sunny Studio


Rain or Shine Dies
Rain or Shine Dies
Shop at:
Sunny Studio



Tsukineko Jumbo Dauber
Tsukineko Jumbo Dauber
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Shop at:
Sunny Studio
VersaMark Watermark Ink
VersaMark Watermark Ink
Shop at:
Sunny Studio


108 comments:

  1. Christmas!! And the release day of these stamps because they're amazing!

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  2. Great sets for fun Birthday and party cards! Well done! Love your cards!😉

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  3. My favorite holiday to celebrate is Christmas! I love all the family time and festive decorations! Great cards! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  4. I just love all these balloons! Fantastic cards. Cheers.

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  5. I love making cards! However, birthday cards are always the hardest for me. I want to make them more original...with this set I will be able to do that! Can't WAIT for Friday!!!!

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  6. You have perfectly captured the look of those mylar balloons!! Genius! I actually enjoy surprise celebrations way more than calendar holidays!

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  7. Christmas!! The balloons are everything!

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  8. Christmas is my favourite! Love the balloons.

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  10. Completely awesome, Mendi! You've done it again with the layering stamps!!!! My favorite holiday to celebrate is Christmas.....

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  11. Christmas!!! These stamps are FUN-tastic!!!

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  12. Thanksgiving is my favorite. Your cards are so fun and cheery! Thanks for sharing the how-tos. I especially like that these cool balloon-layering stamps would be great for cards for guys too.

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  13. Halloween is my favorite. I love all of the spooky stuff.

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  14. My favorite holiday is Christmas! Love these balloons!

    Chris L.

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  15. That one set of balloons looks so real. Love the ricrac.

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  16. That star balloon looks very realistic. I haven't tried your layering stamps. They look very realistic. Very impressive!

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  17. I love Christmas and everything about it! <3
    Your cards are again, so colorful & happy. Love
    the heart & star stamp set & the idea of making
    them balloons.

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  18. What a superb range of card! I love the varying styles and techniques, and the colours are so rich and vibrant. Thanks for sharing your creativity. My favourite holiday is Easter.

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  19. Absolutely love the bold balloons set!

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  20. Love all the balloons... awesome effect with these stamps!
    Christmas is my favorite holiday!

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  21. Love the balloons (and balloons in rainbow is even better!).
    Christmas is my favorite, followed by Valentine's Day.

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  22. Loving all your balloon cards....so much inspiration! My favorite is Halloween with a close second being Christmas. :) Happy Crafty New Year!

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  23. I love the 3D effect of this stamp set! My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, we all have so much to be thankful for, and my favorite holiday to make cards for is Christmas. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  24. WOW I love how realistic those balloons look! This release has definitely started really well! My favourite celebration is Christmas, but I love all occasions to celebrate, as long as I can spend the celebrations with friends and family :-)

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  25. Christmas is my favorite, we love giving!

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  26. I love to celebrate Christmas. I love seeing people’s faces when they open all of their presents, especially my three little nieces.

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  27. I love to celebrate Christmas most! But I love any celebration with family and friends.

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  28. Thanksgiving is my favorite because it's all about the food, but Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday to craft for.

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  29. Awesome cards!
    Christmas is my favorite holiday to celebrate.

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  30. Oh my goodness! I love love love these stamps. I love how much dimension you're able to get with Sunny Studio stamps. The ornament and jingle bell stamps are just my favorites until now. These balloon stamps are a game changer!

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  31. Christmas because of the lights and decorations, Thanksgiving because of the food :) Thank you for the ruler/balloon string stamping trick!! I'm always struggling with narrow stamps.

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  32. Wow the balloon stamp sets are UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! They look SO real!!! I want them so bad, I can not wait until the release 😍 My favorite holiday is definitely Christmas!! It's the trees,the lights, the weather, the family time and traditions

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  33. I love Valentine's Day because I love red and pink. Also my daughter is a teacher and I love crafting goodies for her class and other teachers. Of course the chocolate isn't bad either lol.

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  34. Love all of these colorful balloons. I like Thanksgiving.

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  35. SQUEAL!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the NEW Products and ALL of your AMAZING Inspiration!! THANKS for sharing and for the chance to WIN!! Have a FABULOUS Release Week!! ❤️❤️❤️

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    1. I forgot to add, Christmas because of the reason for the Season!! THANKFUL for the Birth of Jesus!! I LOVE EVERYTHING else about the Season too!! The Decorations, the Food, the Parties, giving Gifts and spending time with my Family and Friends!!

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  36. Love the dimensional look of these balloons!!! Fantastic!!!

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  37. I love these balloons! I want them all!

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  38. I would say Christmas. I love cold weather and all the lights we put everywhere, every house looks happy, and I can send plenty cards to my friends !
    Your cards are fantastic ! I specially love the star balloons, they are stunning.

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  39. These cards are so wonderful. They look so puffy, just like real balloons! Love the hearts too. Nicely done.

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  40. I really enjoy celebrating Halloween. But I never makes cards for that holiday :P
    Your layering stamps always blow my mind in their realism. My want list is getting longer by each blog post...

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  41. Those mylar balloons are so cool!!!

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  42. My favorite holiday would be Christmas!! Especially if it snows!!I love all of the pretty & puffy balloons!Amazing job!

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  43. Love these balloons! I think mine would be New Year's Eve. No pressure, just relax, snacks, and welcome in the new year. :) (one quote I love is "And now let us welcome the new year — full of things that have never been" - Rainer Maria Rilke)

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  44. I guess my favorite holiday is Christmas. I love the lights on the tree. These balloons are great. Love the bright colors you chose for the cards.

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  45. I will never cease to be amazed at how realistic your stamped images look! You would think these were photos of balloons instead of images created from a stamp!! You are AMAZINGLY talented when it comes to stamp design, and I really love the new stamps!!

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  46. I love the colorful balloons! So fun! My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. The food is fantastic and there's still the anticipation of the Christmas season :)

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  47. You have created a great group of cards. I am loving the mylar balloons the best.

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  48. These balloon images are AWEsome! The images really look 3D, and I love the different shapes! My favorite holiday to celebrate is Thanksgiving. No need for frantic gift-shopping or shipping. Just family togetherness - and of course, food!

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  49. I just love all these fun cards! I don't really have a favourite holiday I like to celebrate. Unless you count summer holiday when the weather is warmer lol!

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  50. Fabulous cards! Love the balloons! Christmas & Birthdays!!

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  51. I love these Balloon sets!! I see a purchase in my future!!

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  52. Your layered stamps always impress! These balloons are awesome!!! My favorite holiday is Christmas but I enjoy celebrating and creating cards for pretty much every holiday throughout the year. Any reason to celebrate and let others know I care, I'm in!

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  53. Love these stamps and your cards!

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  54. Eek! Those layered balloons look AH-MAZING!!! I can't believe how dimensional they look! I'm so in love!

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  55. Your Cards are stunning, I especially like your last card and will have to try that inking technique.Kathy dumpert

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  56. You guys are killing me, These images are awesome!

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  57. Oh. My. Goodness. These are amazing! I adore your layering stamps and these will be added to my ever growing collection!

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  58. I love celebrating others birthdays! Can’t wait to get these balloons.

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  59. Christmas is, by far, my favorite :)

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  60. Simply delightful! I love Christmas season!

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  61. Christmas. Awesome job with this release! Love the balloons!

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  62. I these stamps are so cool! You have the best layering stamps, definitely have carved out a niche that is unique!

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  63. Thanksgiving is probably my most favorite because it’s the one time a year everyone in my family drops everything to be together. No matter what’s going on, we always make time for one another.

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  64. All those balloon cards are just fantastic. Love em!!

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  65. The shine effect on the new balloon stamps are perfect. Great job designers. Favorite is Christmas, celebrating our Lord.

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  66. Those cards are beautiful. The colors are bright and vibrant and I like it that you combined a lot of techniques. Thank you for sharing.

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  67. Love the mylar balloons stamp.
    My favorite holiday is Christmas.

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  68. Christmas is my favorite!!! Wow, you really outdid yourself with these balloon stamps! They are so life like!!! These are must have stamps & dies. Amazing job Mendi!!!

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  69. Love these ideas! The stars are my favorite but the others are so so cute too!

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  70. A summer holiday with my family (sorry I'm from the UK ��) or Christmas of course! These stamps and dies are amazing and I am in love with your products and inspirational blog. Told myself no more spending this month but I must make an exception in this case ��

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  71. Love the new items! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!

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  72. Loving the new balloon stamps. My favorite holiday would be Birthday's. To celebrate another year of life with the ones you love.

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  73. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Mylar Balloons! Your first card was my favorite, but the one w/the white background balloons was a close second.

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  74. Sweet cards - so cheerful and colorful - love to to celebrate Christmas:)

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  75. LOVE the balloons! So realistic looking! Love to celebrate Christmas!

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  76. LOVE how realistic looking the balloons look when stamped!!! Love to celebrate Christmas!!!

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  77. Love the balloons! They are so perfect! My favourite I think will always be Christmas - love all the time I get to spend with family during that time.

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  78. All these balloons are simply incredible ! And my favorite holiday is Christmas !
    [margessw(at)icloud(dot)com]

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  79. I adore this balloon set and I love that it can be used for any age. Can't wait to be able to get my hot little hands on it.

    Jocelyn x

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  80. Oh, and my favourite holiday to celebrate is Christmas! :-)

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  81. My favorite holiday is New Years Eve, because it is my birthday and everyone celebrates it!!

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  82. Christmas is my favorite! And yay for the balloons!

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  83. What a great balloon stamp set! My favorite holiday is Christmas, I love everything about it!

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  84. LOVE the balloons!!! And your cards are so inspiring! And my wish list just keeps getting longer!

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  85. Christmas is definitely my favourite. Wow! Such fabulous balloon stamps and card samples! I love how you've made the balloons look 'puffy'. Debra x

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  86. Christmas! I also love 'thinking of you' cards.

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  87. Christmas is my favorite holiday, but what I make the most are birthday cards. Both balloon sets have me head over heels! They are gorgeous! I can't wait to get my hands on them!

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  88. I love Halloween!
    Love these stars
    also.
    Carla from Utah

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  89. My favorite holiday is Easter! Love all the balloon cards!

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  90. Loved the Christmas ornament set so much I just had to order the balloon set. Love it!

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  91. Love the balloons! My favorite holiday is Christmas. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  92. My favorite holiday to celebrate it the 4th of July. I am a summer person and It is warm and sooo many fun things to do. No gift giving just celebrating our freedoms and love for our wonderful country! Love it!

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  93. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all time!!

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  94. I love Christmas time the best!

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  95. cute cards! Love the balloon set! My favorite holiday is Halloweeen. Guess Im a sucker for ghosts and goblins! LOL

    Sammibug aka Samanatha Houp aka Sammi

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  96. I love Thanksgiving (US)! <3 These "realistic" looking balloon stamps are my must have! :) Very nice cards, using them, too!

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  97. I love all of the balloon images, a must to buy. I love celebrating all holidays!

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  98. I make tons of birthday cards all year long and I LOVE every single one of these. What a great set!!! And I LOVE colorbox ink too. One of my favs. I love your coloring, tips, patterns, and designs. Just wonderful. I can't wait to get this set and play. Love them!!! Great job!!!

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  99. Love this set, having trouble lining them up, mostly the heart one. Any tips?

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    1. Hi there! You can view the layering guide here:

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/wlteooaw47y5idu/Bold%20Balloons%20Layering%20Guide-WEB.jpg?dl=0

      The black outline shows where that layer touches the previous layer, starting with the darkest layer. :)

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