A popping challenge

Hello there, Horace here, goodness isn't it hot in the UK right now? I made the most of it and sat out in the sun for most of the day, getting a furtan! Last night though, while cooling off in our north facing bedroom, I stumpled upon another great challenge blog by Smudgy Antics. The link can be found Here

The theme was Pop Art, so after much searching of the bears' shared brain cell I decided to take the word POP literally. 'Now, what goes pop'? I pondered to myself (the other bears were sleeping so it was no use asking them).

'Aha' thought I. What better sums up pop than bubble wrap, and as the challenge had called for thinking outside the box, and I'd so far thought so inside the box that I'd practically climbed in it, I decided not only to use bubble wrap to stamp a background, but to use the bubble wrap ON my project!

As well as bubble wrap, I needed an idea to tie my project together, and decided a balloon stamp was needed to cement my popping theme. Here is my answer to the pop art challenge


The text should be readable, but in case it's a little small, the tag reads 'the inventor hoped his balloon would not POP'. The idea being that he was trying out his new fangled aircraft for the first time. Doesn't he look worried?

My idea started, as I said, with the bubble wrap, but I knew I'd need stamps to create a proper picture. bubble wrap just placed on a tag would hardly be exciting would it? Apart from the potential to pop it to your furry heart's delight that is.

I had a search through the stamp box


And after a minor beartastrophe where I fell in


I emerged, mostly unscathed, with these.


I decided to utilise a pre distressed and misted tag left over from a previous project, so my colour theme was set at purple. First I sprayed a generous misting of water through my bubble mask onto my tag


removed the mask


and rolled kitchen towel over the tag, to set the bubble pattern on the tag.


Like so


Rolling the kitchen towel over the tag makes pretty patterns on the roll. Just remember to keep it separate from the kitchen towels you use in any food preparation, inks are not very tasty!


I then cut some bubble wrap, and adhered to the corner of my tag.


And coloured it in purple pen. I also coloured another piece of bubble wrap, and used this to create a bubbled pattern directly onto my tag,



To produce an even more bubbled background effect. Wow, this tag is really popping!


Next, I coloured my stamps in purple ink, then stamped them onto white card,


and cut out the images.


Lastly, I brought all my elements together to complete my pop art tag.


TTFN (time to find new clothes as I just realised I've been crafting in my pants, hopefully mo one will notice.)

With love from the bears 🐻