Joyful Creations with Kim: CASE this Sketch: Happy Happy

Today is the birthday of a long-time church friend and then family friend. I got to know him in his role as the accountant at church. He was great at it - he made darn certain he shepherded the church's funds and made thoughtful and appropriate decisions - even if he made people or even pastors mad (and good for him!). He's retired now and the church misses him, but our families get together although not nearly as much as we would like. The husbands are both strong-willed and a bit grumpy, Carol and I talk crafts - it's perfect!
A week ago, I had earmarked the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch as perfect for his card. I didn't know what I'd do with it, but I loved the idea of images/patterns across the middle with lots of clean, open space.

I went through my not-yet-used stamps and came across these big balloons by Stampin' Up. At first glance, a small horizontal strip on the sketch and big balloons that would seem to be vertical images didn't quite seem to fit. But I made it work!!