CARDtober #9 Out of Place and/or Out of Comfort Zone

The hostess of this challenge encouraged everyone to either make a card with a critter in an unusual background and/or to use a technique that was out of our comfort zone. We got 2 points if we did both.

I struggled with ideas for this one, since most of the ideas for critters out of place were a bit morbid or would result in a card I would not really like. I didn't want to copy the examples the hostess gave, but I did to some extent. She had a giraffe with his head in the clouds. I used stencils to make a cloud background, then used a stamp set from Inky Antics that I had bought at GASC in June.

I used a shimmer embossing paste on the die-cut clouds, which was definitely out of my comfort zone. I don't like messy stuff, and I don't feel that I know how to use embossing paste well. I used different thicknesses of foam to get varying depth for my layers, a reflection of the challenge that I posted yesterday. The balloon string was stiffened with Glossy Accents and curled around a long straight pin.