Create Colorful Layered Balloons that Pop!
Posted by Karen Brown on April 16, 2025

Create Colorful Layered Balloons that Pop!

Welcome back, crafty friends! Karen Brown here. Ready to party? I had a blast creating this bright and festive card using brand-new goodies from the Let’s Celebrate Collection! This project is perfect if you’re looking for a quick, colorful card that makes a big impact.

Card with 7 stamped, ink blended, stenciled and die cut balloons floating across the background.

Card Details: Rainbow Balloons That Pop (Literally!)

This card features a happy cluster of seven stamped, ink-blended, stenciled and die-cut balloons, made with three coordinating products:

The process was pure fun:

  • I started by placing the Balloons Cover Plate Die in my stamp positioner and aligning the large balloon stamp (a cluster of five balloons) over the die. Once perfectly placed, I closed the lid so the stamp was now on the positioner lid, removed the die, and was ready to stamp and die cut with precision.
  • Since I wanted seven balloons , I stamped, inked, stenciled, and die-cut the design twice.
Process photo showing how to line up stamps and coordinating cover dies for excellent die cutting results.
Color & Stencil Party

Each balloon got its own personality with Hero Arts Reactive Inks in cheerful rainbow shades. I blended two shades per balloon, adding darker ink toward the bottom for dimension. The layering stencils let me add playful squiggles, dots, and lines to five of the balloons for extra party vibes.


Reactive Inks Used: Taffy, Berry Smoothie, Lemon Drop, Creamsicle, Key Lime Fizz, Green Apple, Pool Party, Blue Raspberry, Splash, Blue Hawaii, Thistle and Grape Slush.


Two balloons are adhered flat to the background, and five are popped up with foam squares so they practically float off the page! 


I finished the design with a stamped “It’s Your Day!” sentiment from the Party Fans Stamp Set.

Hero Arts Balloons stamps, cover die and layering stencils used on a festive card featuring 7 balloons.

Pro Tips for Balloon Perfection:

  • Use two coordinating ink colors per balloon to make them feel round and full.
  • Add stenciled patterns after ink blending for clean, vibrant detail.
  • Pop some balloons up on foam tape to add playful movement and dimension.

This design is festive and fun - but has that pro finish thanks to the coordinating stamps, dies and stencils. 

Cheerful and festive birthday or graduation card with a cluster of floating balloons and a sentiment "Its Your Day!".

What would you celebrate with this set? Birthday? Graduation? Just-because balloon-o-rama?


I am so pleased you stopped by today!

Back to Blog
  • Hummingbird Garden Sympathy Card Tutorial with Layered Stencils and 3D Embossing

    Categories:Embossing

    Hummingbird Garden Sympathy Card Tutorial with Layered Stencils and 3D Embossing

    Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the beautiful new Butterfly Garden collection by Simon Hurley. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! To start, we are going to ink blend the Layered Hummingbird Garden stencils in numbered order. Align stencil 1 over top of a 6” x 9” Classic White cardstock panel, then ink blend...

  • Ink Blending for Cardmaking: Tips, Techniques, and Tools for Beautiful Results

    Beginner’s Guide to Cardmaking

    Ink Blending for Cardmaking: Tips, Techniques, and Tools for Beautiful Results

    Hello cardmakers, Lisa Tilson here, and today we’re going to be talking about ink blending. This is such an integral part of cardmaking, as ink blending can be used for many different designs in many ways. You might want to blend inks to create a background for a stamped or die-cut scene. You might want to add ink blending onto a stamped, pressed, or foiled...

  • 2 Floral Birthday Card Ideas with the Just Add Cake Cardmaking Kit

    BD-1049

    2 Floral Birthday Card Ideas with the Just Add Cake Cardmaking Kit

    Hello there, Michelle Short here and I am delighted to be sharing two cards today using the Just Add Cake Birthday Cardmaking Kit. Both cards feature the Garden Party Etched Dies. I combined them with the shaker domes and sequins on the first card, and for the second, combined them with the mug from Birthday Brew Etched Dies, as well as some extra colours of...

View all