From Balloons to Blackberries

Yesterday my husband and I were booked to go on a hot air balloon ride which was a Christmas present from his son. Well - despite the lovely weather apparently the wind was too high so it was cancelled and we have had to re-book. So I decided to do a little crafting instead - no surprise there then!

I had another go at one of Sheena Douglass's Paint Fusion projects. I actually had two attempts but  I haven't decided how to use them yet so it they aren't mounted on cards but must admit to being quite pleased with my  blackberries so wanted to post them to see what you all thought.

 Sheena encourages you to go over the line of the stamps as the paint covers up all the lines but I am afraid that they still seem to show when the image is enlarged online. You will have to take my word for the fact that in 'real life' you can't see any blurred edges!

I'd love to know what you think - should I keep trying? lol

First attempt:

This has been worked straigh on to a piece of acrylic suitable paper without a background.  This is actually edged all the way round with a bronze pen but for some reason the scanner won't show all four sides and has made them look unequally edged!

Second attempt:

I stamped the leaves onto a piece of acrylic suitable paper after having shaded the background with a denim ink pad and a 'shaving brush' and painted them following the instructions on Sheena's DVD. (well sort of!)

The blackberries are made with a thumb print of shocking pink ink which is then covered with little circles made in dark blue ink and using a pencil with an eraser on the end! The highlights and other bits are then added with a normal paint brush.