Choose happiness

It's the last Monday in May...how on earth did that happen? The wonderful realisation though is that summer is very nearly here. I recently potted up my pots in the garden with summer bedding and looking out at them really does make me smile.

 Raspberry ripple ice cream comes to mind and thoughts of long summer days ahead...bliss

It's also time for my weekly inspiration for Visible Image. Today's piece is very apt as I used the new Choose happiness sentiments set. This is one of the 3 fab new release sentiment sets. There are so many great sentiments in this set and also a really fun smiley face both as positive and negative stamp.  It takes me back to the late 1960s, I can remember them as badges in bubble gum machines. My brother and I got so excited when occasionally out came a badge as well as your gum! 

I decided to make ATCs using the sentiments and display them on a wall hanging, using the smileys to decorate it.

This is what I got up to;

I blended some "happy" distress oxide colours onto a sheet of smooth card stock...squeezed lemonade, picked raspberry, fossilized amber and dried marigold . I then stamped using the shapes from the shape it up set to make a masterboard. This set is brilliant for all sorts of backgrounds.

 I stamped using oxides.

Once my masterboard was finished I cut a strip 

and from that strip I cut 3 ATC sized pieces. (An ATC size is 2 1/2 by 3 1/2") 

I then white embossed the 3 sentiments from the set and added some extra colouring using an orange gel pen.

I took a sheet of watercolour paper and altered it using the awesome new collision stencil

I sprayed squeezed lemonade distress spray first onto the blank paper and then added carved pumpkin distress ink through the stencil.

 I moved the stencil down as I worked. 

 I rounded off the corners of my ATCs

I then stuck the background onto a piece of grey board and added some eyelets so that it could be hung as a "Choose happiness" wall hanging.

I also had fun stamping out lots of smileys. I stamped the negatives in the same oxide colours and then added the positive in black. Here are my yellow ones.

This is my completed wall hanging.

I would like to enter my happy wall hanging into the following challenges;

Simon says stamp Wednesday use more than 1 stamp I used 5!
Simon says stamp  Monday inspired by a song my song just has to be "Happy together" by The Turtles, yes I am showing my age, such a fun 60s song when
 these fun smileys were everywhere!
Pixie's snippets playground #327 I made my smileys from snippets of card

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There are 6 new stamp sets and 8 new stencils...all totally amazing and uniquely Visible Image.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope my wall hanging made you smile....choose happiness is a pretty good mantra to have, in my humble opinion.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x