We’re kicking off a brand new month and another fun challenge at Power Poppy! The lovely Kathy is our hostess, and it’s all about Love and Sparkle! You can combine those themes or use them on their own. So today I’ve got sparkle, and one of my favourite expressions of love - prayer. I’m still finishing up cards for my Sis-in-law and this is another one I’ll add to the stash. I used the very lovely Peony Muse from Power Poppy stamped in Memento Gray Flannel ink to soften up the image a bit, and then coloured up with pale peach shades, with a rich gray background which really helps to give it depth. For the sparkle, I’ve used something I often do, a single strip of Scor-Tape with glitter burnished over top. This way you still can see the colouring underneath and it adds a classy touch. I added a bit more sparkle by embossing the sentiment in silver and some pretty sparkly sequins. Here’s the group of Copics I used. Now pop on over to the rest of the girls playing along today for more inspiration....and then jump in to the challenge with us, you could win a $50 Power Poppy Shopping spree! The challenge is open all month long! Christine Okken Kathy Jones Stacy Morgan and the Power Poppy Blog Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Love to Sparkle

Hello folks and Happiest of Fridays to YOU! Are you ready to take flight with a brand spankin' new challenge designed just for Power Poppy Creative PEEPS? Well, being that it is a new month, there's a new Power & Spark Challenge and this one already earned its wings! Yours truly is the hostess this month so I invite to take a creative step back and... check it out! HOW TO PLAY: This little challenge has us in search of digital and polymer winged creatures to help our creations soar! For our Junebug Challenge, all you need to do is use a 'bug' on your card! Just that simple -- ladybug, buzzy little bumble, beautiful butterfly, it's up to you! You'll have to click on over HERE to see the official rules! I've also rounded up a fun little list of all the fabulous winged wonders in the Power Poppy Stamp Set arsenal that you can easily grab to get in on this challenge action! On to my creation! I had this digital stamp set -- Climbing Clematis -- printed and ready to go and had it laying on a stack just waiting to be colored so I thought -- no time like the present! This card is really pretty easy peasy! I used die cut shapes to get literally every cut. The sentiment is also from the Climbing Clematis digital stamp set and the paper is a mix of Stampin' Up and some scraps from my decorative paper bin. I had a blast coloring this image and really love the vibrant colors. I used my Copic markers, of course, and reached for B60, B63, B66, RV00, G20, G21, G24 and G28. The butterfly was colored with Y35, YR04 and YR07. The whole image was highlighted thanks to RV0000 and R00. Then, when all was said and done, I did accent the little fluttering butterfly with some white gel pen and some sparkle gel pen as well! Here's a close up for y'all! And that, my friends, is it! I almost forgot to mention -- if you play along and are the lucky winner for the Power Poppy drawing, you win a..... $50 SHOPPING SPREE AT THE POWER POPPY SHOP! WOOT WOOT! Isn't that fabulous? You'll need to get those fingers inky and join me in the fun! I will add -- there's so much going on at the Power Poppy Shop this weekend that you just might need to buckle yourself in for a few days! First up, if you missed the Good Vibe 5 for this week, just click HERE to see ALL the ab fab inspiration that Marcella has rounded up for you! It's a post that is always BIG on the warm fuzzies! And then, mark your calendar for next Monday, June 5th. That oh-so-special day just so happens to be Ms. Marcella's BIRTHDAY! And boy does she have a digital party planned! Look for a sprinkling of new sprouts in the Instant Garden, ready to download, print and create with! I CANNOT WAIT! Can you? See you back here real soon! ~Julie

Can you believe we’re finally here?! It’s time to show off all that’s going to rock the Design World with Power Poppy! There’s so much beauty blooming in the next few days! So happy to have you join us! Our first Power Poppy set, hot off the presses, may have you hearing the alluring tones of a French accordion and whispering Ooh La La. Springtime Love is in the air and this set embodies romance -- with passionate petals and love-laced sentiments. Illustrated by Marcella Hawley as she went in for the kiss, this beauty of a set measures 4" by 6”. Look at this gorgeous sunshine bouquet! Some of my all time favourite flowers are spring flowers. I really have a thing for tulips, grapevine hyacinth (especially together), and I love the dainty look of bleeding hearts. They are some of my first flowers to come up and I just love that they bring colour after a long winter, and to me, they speak of God’s unfailing goodness. Talk about beautiful to colour too...just look at all this prettiness! Colouring is with Copics, the papers are older MME because I just loved how that background paper paired with the bouquet and I’ve added lots of pretty ribbons round the design, much like a May Day pole. I thought it could use some dainty sewing so that’s how the layers are attached. A better look at the colouring above. And finally a look at the pretty sentiment inside - hand lettered by Marcy. Gorgeous right? Sigh...I love spring. Can’t wait for it to really get here. Now that you've been swept away with that free-feeling Springtime Love, why not traipse around to take in some more? The Bloom Brigade has plenty to share! I know they’re going to wow you. What a lineup of talent and beauty! Allison Cope Christine Okken (you are here) Cindy Lawrence Danielle Kennedy Dawn Burnworth Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker See you back here tomorrow, when we'll have you movin' and groovin' to a spunky and fun Power Poppy beat! Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Springtime Love

Happy Friday my creative friends!!! I'm excited to share a couple of Power Poppy cards with you today. Power Poppy is buzzing this week!!! First off, Marcella is introducing a new digital image called Magnolia Sunshine! This bouquet is filled with some of Marcy's mother's favorite flowers, and is a delightful burst of Spring!! I made mine a bit large and diecut a portion of it. It's colored with Copics and sprinkled with a touch of Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU!). I used the A2 Divine Eloquence die, as well as Labels 28 (Spellbinders) to frame the image and added some Shabby White Embossing Enamel (Stampendous) to it, as well as some Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh). Stop by the Power Poppy Blog to see what the Instant Gardeners have to share, as well as my fellow Bloomie, Christine!! Since this is the first Friday of the month, Power Poppy is introducing a new Power and Spark challenge by Ally. She's challenging us to "Switch up our Shades". That means, she wants us to use a different coloring medium than we usually do. Since I tend to go straight for my Copics, I decided to use my Distress Markers for my next card. I started by stamping the backpack image, from the Well Played set (Power Poppy), with Versamark, onto some watercolor paper. I then embossed it with some Black ep (Ranger) and colored it with my Distress Markers and a water pen. That's it. I went totally monochromatic! Check out the following Bloom Brigaders for some more creative inspiration: Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Julie Koerber Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker---you are here So, I've mentioned two new things, but there is one more.... Power Poppy is being featured on the Daily Marker Blog as a team that is playing along in Kathy Racoosin’s 30 Day Coloring Challenge! Be sure to stop by and check it all out!! That's is finally it y'all!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! I'll list the Copics and Distress Markers I used below before signing off. Copics: Magnolia ~ RV34, RV11, RV10 Daffodils ~ YR16, Y17, Y15, Y11 Snowdrops ~ B37, B34, B32 Leaves ~ G28, G14, G07, YG05, YG11 Stems E35, E34, E31, YG11 Distress Markers: Backpack ~ Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke Accessories: Spun Sugar, Victorian Velvet Background: Mermaid Lagoon Happy Stamping!!

Hey everyone! I hope you've enjoyed this week's projects, made with the newest stamp sets from Power Poppy! I know I've had fun making them! I have good news and GREAT news... The good news is the Bloom Brigade is...

Hello happy stampers and T.G.I.F wishes to you all! I have a big 'ole dose of fun for you today. Why, you ask? For starters, there is a brand spanking new Power & Spark challenge hosted by the talented Katie Sims, just for you to try. Check it out! HOW TO PLAY: If April showers bring May flowers, what kind of blossoms does this month of beauty deliver for you? To play along in this challenge, simply reach for your favorite Power Poppy stamp floral and make it the centerpiece of your design. You can check out all of the official details HERE and you have until the end of the month to play along! So get those fingers inky and join us for a little bit fun! On to my creation.... I have to say that when I saw Katie's card, I chuckled because I picked the same exact stamp set for my all time favorite Power Poppy floral! This Azalea branch masterfully illustrated by Marcella just exudes beauty. When I created this card, I actually did a remix of THIS card that I created way back when this set was first released. I had a ton of fun with this spotlight technique back then, so I opted to try it again only from a different angle by flipping it to a vertical orientation. I stamped the large branch both on my decorative paper and then on a scrap of white. I took a 1-1/4 circle punch and chose the area that I wanted to take center stage. From there, I grabbed my Copic markers and had fun trying to bring this Itty bitty part of the flower to life! Here's a little close up for you..... The rest is adding a sentiment (printed from the Olive & Oak digital stamp set) and adding a little color and pizazz with a splash of decorative paper. And that, my friends, is it! The rest of these fine Bloomies are on standby hoping you will pay them a visit to check out their creative pursuits for the week! Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Julie Koerber >>> you are here! Katie Sims Stacy Morgan Hope you have a wonderful weekend & I will see you back here next week- same time, same place! ~Julie

Hello Everyone! Did you enjoy our surprise Power Poppy Birthday Hop last week as much as we did?? Well get ready, because the Bloom Brigade is at it again, this time with the sneak peeks for the brand new Lilac Time clear stamp set! It seems the last few digi releases have been so popular that many of our fans have wanted them in photopolymer and we happily obliged.....with some extra goodies to boot! Don't miss a thing and make sure you start at the Power Poppy Blog! I've used a base of cream card and layered with Soft Sky (with the edges pierced with a paper piercer and template) and a piece of Pion Designs DP. Next I've added a piece of blue Graphic 45 DP and then a strip of cream card matted with more Soft Sky. Over the strip I've added a piece of mesh topped with blue ribbon. I've then stamped this gorgeous image from Lilac Time in Memento Tuxedo Black onto X-press It Blending Card and coloured with Copics (B60, B63, B66, E50, E51, E53, E55, E40, E41, E42, G40, G43, G46, G20, G21, G24, G28, Y11, Y17, Y26, BG10, BG11, BG13). I've cut this out with Small Circle Nestabilities and matted with cream cut with Large Circle Nestabilities. Then I've matted it again with Soft Sky cut with Adoring Squares and popped it all up on X-press It Foam Tape. I've stamped the image and cut it out with an oval punch and also popped it up on foam tape. Stamps - Lilac Time (Power Poppy) Paper - X-press It Blending Card, Soft Sky, Cream, Pion Designs Blooming Branches DP, Graphic 45 Botanical Tea DP Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black Accessories - Copics, Spellbinders Small and Large Circle Nestabilities and Adorning Squares, Mary Arts Mesh, Blue Ribbon, X-press It Foam Tape There's more Lilac goodness waiting for you by the Bloom Brigade and you won't want to miss it!! Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan That's all from me today, thanks for visiting and hope you are inspired to stamp!

Hello there everybody! I hope you all have been doing well and staying warm wherever you are! It has been right chilly here and I must say, we are not used to single digits! My poor Camellias....they were about to bloom and now all of the leaves are curled up and the buds are frozen. I hope once this cold snap passes some of the blooms will recover, but I don't know.....we'll just have to see. Have you been keeping up with all of the fabulousness going on over at Power Poppy? Those amazing Power Poppy Instant Gardeners have been at it again and heralded in one of the most beautiful digis evah....French Lilac. I could not wait to get this one printed up and colored! Now I ask you, have you ever seen a prettier lilac image? Me either. ;) That Marcella definitely knows her blooms, doesn't she? Lilacs come in a variety of colors so you could use this image again and again with several different color schemes! Let me show you what I did using this amazing image..... I chose to go with the more traditional lilac colors and stayed mostly in the violet family of Copics. When I think of lilacs, I think of an abundance of blooms and that heavenly scent everywhere. I wanted my card to be chock full of blooms so I added just a few extra to anchor my image. One might be surprised exactly how many of these little blooms it takes to fill the bottom left corner of an A2-ish sized card but I think it was totally worth it to make it feel like a huge bouquet of lilacs. I crumpled my papers before I used my Martha Stewart 3 in 1 Hydrangea punch and then used a stylus on them to really rough them up. Next, I sponged on a little PTI Fresh Snow ink and I think was able to pass these off as lilac blooms.....don't you? ;) After I colored my image, I sponged on some Ranger Distress Ink in Weathered Wood and spritzed some ink from markers around the blooms. Then, I got ready to stamp my sentiment from Power Poppy's Farmer's Market set. Now here is where it gets interesting and it turns out I have a little survival tip for you. I have tried to make it a practice to stamp my sentiment before I color my image because...well, bad things can happen if you don't (ask me how I know this). I must not have been in my right mind, because I went ahead and colored up my image and then realized I hadn't put the sentiment on there....drat. Sooo, I practiced stamping the sentiment more times than I care to admit here to make sure all would go well and on every one of the practice images it went beautifully. So, I felt pretty confident going in that all would be ok.....and then......yep, it happened. I stamped that sentiment, pulled up the stamp and from "Sweet" all the way to "Brighten" there was a stray black line, in what later was to be determined as a Miniature Longhaired Dachshund hair on my stamp (again, ask me how I know this...) I was mortified. I was just about to ditch the image and color up another one when I spied my Stampin' Up! Stampin White Chalk Marker. I thought, what the heck....so I dabbed it on the stray black Versafine ink line and O.M.Gosh.....it worked! The photo below has not been touched up....this is how well that marker covered up my ooops. Pretty cool, eh? Tragic situation averted..... I used my Krylon Silver Leafing pen for this image and popped it up on foam dimensionals so my gazillion punched lilac blooms could spill out around it. The card itself is some very simple layers of patterned papers, card stock, and a bit of stitching....but I think that this card would still count as reasonably flat for mailing! :) Oh, I did use some Tsukineko Shimmer Mist on the punched lilac blooms and then my Atyou Spica clear glitter pen for the centers of the colored blooms. So there you have it, a fabulous French Lilac digital image, a semi flat card for mailing, a new anecdote for your card emergency tool box, and one very relieved card maker since every thing worked out ok....lol. I sure have enjoyed your visit here today and I hope you will be able to pay all of my sweet and uber talented Bloom Brigade sisters a visit.....they have lots of lilac goodness just waiting for you to see! Make sure you leave them a little love, while you're there, k? I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend and until next time....take care! :) Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Dawn Burnworth Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims

Hey everyone! What an exciting day it is! Today is the day you can SHOP for the very first time in the Power Poppy store! I know you're going to want all of those fabulous new sets! Click HERE to...

What a beautiful lush and intricate flower we get to showcase today at Power Poppy! I’m sure by now you saw their lovely introduction with the Instant Gardener Team on the 15th, and today the Bloom Brigade gets to put their spin on these amazing French Lilacs. What an amazing flower! I just love the look of lilacs, and the many colours they come in. Unfortunately because of goofy allergies, I can’t smell them too deeply! So, I’m quite content to colour them up! I printed the digi onto XPress It Blending card stock colouring the image up with Copics, then I trimmed the whole image out carefully. Because I added a sponged-in background layer, I also sponged in a bit of light green ink onto the center of the lilac image so that it would blend more with the background and eliminate some of the white space that wasn’t cut out between the intricate blossoms. I also printed the lilac image, enlarging it quite a bit onto the green card stock as a background layer. It’s just a nice repeated element. Just look at that sweet little ladybug! I love that tiny pop of red. Finishing touches include some gingham ribbon, and sewing. The sentiment is from our new stamp set Good Thinking: Love Notes stamped in Memento Bamboo Leaves ink. Here’s the Copics I used. And here’s your inspiration by the Bloom Brigade beauties! Allison Cope Christine Okken (you are here) Cindy Lawrence Dawn Burnworth Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest L for Love and Lilacs

Hello Power Poppy Friends! Today I am bringing you Berry It Digital Stamp. I couldn't make the August 25th post to release this image so I thought I would share it with you on my monthly inspiration post with a little coloring tip. This months tip: Don't be afraid to use grays to make your colors deeper and more rich looking. It helps to give more dimension and contrast to your projects. Here is how I teach to use grays; When I've colored a few berries with the regular colors, I decided where I want to make RV99 (in this case) darker. I then added N7 to that area and immediately went over it with RV69. These two colors will blend together on the paper making the top color a darker shade and you won't see the gray. Then I will blend it out with the sequence of colors, this is done lightly. Once you get the hang of it you can just start by adding gray before your darkest color and blending out from there. I used N gray because I didn't want any blue or brown undertones. I only do this with Copic XPress Paper as it allows me more time to work with my coloring and has less of a chance of looking "muddy" with more ink added. I will be back next month for more coloring tips! Rhea

Hi and thanks for stopping by! I have a lot going on in my life right now and find myself going to my studio just to color to help me relax. This weekend I played along with the Power Poppy April Power & Spark Challenge. The Challenge is to use just THREE markers to color your image. Seriously! I wasn't even sure I could do that! But I like a challenge. And if you just starting out collecting Copic Markers it is nice to know you can start out your collection slowly and still get amazing results. I used the Power Poppy Everything’s Rosy Digital Stamp Set and three Copic Marker in BG10, R81, and YG63. I have say I haven't used a lot of digital stamps but that was easy too! Here's a closer look. I added a few clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. The frame is cut with the Stitched Rectangle Frames Die-namics from MFT. The scalloped border is cut with the Rainbow Scallop Border Die from Taylored Expressions. Thanks for taking a look! Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Hope Everything's Rosy With You

Have you been having fun perusing though the gorgeous inspiration in our Midsummer Stunner Release? We’re half way through with two more beautiful sets to show off to you today, Dynamic Duos: Foxglove and Ranunculus, and Everythings Even Rosier. These two sets show off some of our previously release digital sets that you’ve fallen for, now redone for polymer with gorgeous sentiments added. I’ve started with the Foxgloves and Ranunculus set, and despite my absolute love for ranunculus....I decided to dive in with the friendly foxglove today. I must have been in a very bohemian mood when creating this card, because it definitely has that feel with all the colour and pattern, but these foxgloves are just so pretty that I couldn’t help myself. I’ve given them a lot of vibrant colour with Copics (I’ll list them below), and added in some sparkle on the bees wings and some white accent dots with a white sharpie. Isn’t that curliqued sentiment fun? I found some fun sparkly cardstock from Bazzill at my scrapbook store and thought that the fun orange shade paired well here. Some fun and funky patterns from my designer paper stash, buttons and twine finish it off. Gah, just look at those chubby bees! I love them. They do this exact thing in my garden in my lupine, tucking their little bodies into each bloom in search of pollen! It always delights me to watch them. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the Copics I used, but I did write them down, so I’ll list them for you. Leaves: YG21, YG23, YG0000 YG11, YG13, YG17, N3 Foxgloves: YR20, YR21, YR15, YR16, R22, YR02; RV63, YV52, RV66, RV69, B12 Bees: Y13, Y17 Enjoy all the inspiration from the rest of the Bloom Brigade today.... Allison Cope Christine Okken Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker and Marcy at the Power Poppy blog. Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Friendly Foxglove

Hello folks! Happy 2016! This is my first official post, so it's my first chance to tell all of YOU Happy New Year! I hope the first few days are off to a great start and you have nothing but feelings of promise for the year ahead! With a new year, comes a new challenge to kick off a bit of creativity! As always, Power Poppy is ready to help you "spark" a little design "power" in it's first of 2016 Power & Spark Challenge. Check it out! HOW TO PLAY: The Power & Spark "Stretch Yourself" Challenge is a DOUBLE challenge. We want you to start by stretching yourself with a tall card format AND then stretch your creativity by trying a new technique or using a new product that you've been wanting to try in your creative pursuits but haven't yet! You will have to click on over to the Power Poppy Blog HERE to see hostess Tosha Leyendekker's amazing creation! That's also where you'll find all the official rules as well as details on how you can link up your card and have a shot at winning a Power Poppy stamp set of YOUR choice! On to my creation... As you can see, I did whip up a "tall" format card and mixed and matched some simple pink and green papers. I thought with the design on the simple side, I could showcase not only the new digital stamp set Hellebores from Power Poppy, but I could accentuate the image with one of my new stitched circle dies. I ran a large circle through my die cut machine just to emboss and then I used the smaller sized die to make the cut on the inside to create a kind of adorned frame. See? After printing the image, I used my Copic markers to color it all up and I used these colors: RV00, RV000, R81, R83, R85m G20, G40, G43, YG00, BG0000, BG000, BG10, R01, and R0000. Along the bottom, I printed the sentiment that also comes with the Hellebores digital stamp, I love this quote, so perfect for many of us who hope to tackle some resolutions this year. ;-) After that, I added a little bow with some white seam binding ribbon, a little green button and ta da! That, my friends, is it! Some of my fellow Bloomies did some stretching as well! Hop on over to see what they whipped up and then, get creating yourself! Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Julie Koerber >>> you are here! Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a bit of your day with me! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and.... as always... I'll see you back here real soon! ~Julie

Hey there friends! I am so glad to see you back today for Power Poppy's April Blog Hop! The Bloom Brigade is all together today to give you one last look at the stamp sets in Marcella's Scents and Sensibility Collection. Do you think your heart can take one more hop? And even better....all of the stamps are available today in Power Poppy's store! So wait no more, go forth and grab up all three of these gorgeous sets and add them to your own personal garden today! ;) But before you do, can I show you my card? I chose to use the Daffodils set for today's hop... When I saw that glorious bouquet of daffodils, I knew that was the one for me. I mean, the whole set is amazing, but I just knew I had to color that bouquet up. And I also knew I would probably end up using most of the Copic markers in my bag....lol. I wanted to make a wide variation of colors in the bouquet so that calls for extra markers, right? ;) I wanted the entire focus to be on this beautiful bouquet so I kept the card layering to a minimum (for me, anyway) and amped up the color on my image. I will admit I spent a good little while coloring up this image, but I think most of the time was spent ogling all of the daffodil varieties online trying to decide how I wanted to color each one. I stamped my image on to white card stock with Memento's Tuxedo Black ink and then set in to coloring. Once I was done, I die cut my image and sponged on some Ranger Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass. Next I stamped my sentiment, die cut it out, sponged on more of the distress ink and layered it with another die cut. For my card I embossed a piece of yellow patterned paper, sanded it a bit, and then added a strip of blue patterned paper and some die cut edging that resembled a postage stamp. I added my stitching and then adhered it to my card base. Finally, I added my image panel and sentiment panel and hit some of the blooms with my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter pen for some sparkle. And there they all are, with all of that Marcella incredible detail, sending daffodil hugs to you! :) I love this sentiment....I am SO a hugger, so I'll be using this sentiment often and sending hugs all over the place! Oh, and lest I forget the Grape Hyacinth....no small players in this bouquet for sure! I love the contrast that they bring with the many varieties of daffodils and jonquils...all so beautifully orchestrated by our floral conductor, Marcella. In fact, if you listen close....I'll bet you can hear Vivaldi's "Spring" right now... ;) Well, that is all for my card today but the rest of the Bloom Brigade has the most beautiful things to show you for this last hurrah, so please make sure to hop around and see for yourself. And....once you're done a-hoppin' you can go a-shoppin' because like I said before, all of these amazing sets are available today! Thank you so much for stopping by today and for all of your sweet comments. I always enjoy our visits! Oh, and Power Poppy will be having their next Power and Spark Challenge coming soon....you don't want to miss that! So, until next time, take care! :) Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Dawn Burnworth Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims

Hello Everyone! It's Power Poppy Friday and to make it even better, it's the release day for this month's Power Poppy Digi stamp which is...... Bees in Foxglove! The Bloom Brigade are joining the Instant Gardeners this week and showcasing this beautiful release! Our newest addition to the Instant Garden Collection just happens to be one that's a tall beauty that's not only colorful but a dramatic beauty. Our newest set, Bees in Foxglove, features three lush stalks of foxglove (Digitalis) with three plump bumblebees buzzing around doing their bumblebee thing! Add in a cheery all occasion sentiment and you have one stunning set that is ready to download, print, color and create with! I started my card with a base of white cut with Radiant Rectangles and then used the largest die to cut another piece of white. I then used the largest two dies to cut a piece of pink. The next smallest die I've used to cut a piece of Maja Designs DP. Around these I've attached a piece of white ribbon. The Bees in Foxglove image and sentiment have been printed onto X-press It Blending Card. I've coloured the image with Copics (RV000, RV32, RV34, G20, G21, G24, G28, E50, E51, E53, B0000, B000, W1, W3, W5, Y21, C5) and I've used some Clear Spica Pen on the bees' wings. I've cut this out with Labels Four and popped it up on foam tape. To finish I've added a white bow and cut the sentiment into a notched tag, giving it a bit of a wavy shape. Stamps - Bees in Foxglove (Power Poppy) Paper - X-press It Blending Card, Pink Bazzill, Maja Designs DP Ink - Printer Accessories - Copic, Spellbinders Labels Four and Radiant Rectangles, White Ribbon, Bow Easy, X-press It Foam Tape Of course there is lots of amazing inspiration today from the Instant Gardeners and the Bloom Brigade and you won't want to miss a bit of it!! Jennifer Dove Broni Holcombe Cheryl Scrivens Danielle Kennedy Debbie Olson Allison Cope Cindy Lawrence Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker That's all from me today! Enjoy the hop and hope you are inspired to stamp! :)

Welcome back for day three of Sneak Peeks of Marcy’s amazing first release at Power Poppy! Oh my, today’s set is why this woman is my very favourite illustrator ever. You will love what you see. Sweeping and free, this set simply named Azalea is begging to be colored with reckless abandon. It could inspire an outrageous upsurge in your use of pink markers, colored pencils, and paint! Use the lush blooms of these images to let a friend know how much she is missed, or to say thanks to another who is just plain amazing! This 4" by 6" set was illustrated by hand with a whole lotta love by Marcella Hawley. I have to tell you how this card came about. Do you ever buy a pack of paper and look at some sheet in the pack and say, “ooh I’ll have to save that sheet for a really special card”. I’m totally that way. This floral paper behind the design is just that sheet and I knew as soon as I saw this set that it would be for this design. The pack is MME - My Favorite Things Six by Six. The combination of mint and yellow and coral are so pretty with the beautiful pattern. So, everything revolved around pulling these two beautiful things together. I even found a pretty peach resin flower in my stash that looks remarkably like an azalea flower for the sentiment. With a pretty coral ribbon and lots of sewing of the layers it’s a card I’m really in love with. And WOW, how gorgeous to colour. Amazing fun. Here’s the Copic selection I used for the design. And here are the beautiful azaleas that inspired me: Doesn't that flower just make you swoon? Don't wait to exhale, breathe in the beauty and hop on over to see the rest of the Bloom Brigade! Allison Cope Christine Okken (you are here) Cindy Lawrence Danielle Kennedy Dawn Burnworth Julie Koerber Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker Tomorrow's set is sure to deliver a little dose of serenity. Need some? Check on back to see the Bloom Brigade and all its Zen-like creativity! Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Azaleas

Happy Saturday, my friends! As we create we all know that our projects will benefit future generations to come. The joy of creating something artistic is a reward we receive, and what a reward it is! In the spirit of being creative, I am excited to share some beautiful ideas to maximize your fun. May [...]

...sharing my love of stamping, coloring and papercrafting with you

Hey everyone~ Today, I have a Power Poppy card to share with you, made with the oh-so-sweet Lavender set. I SO enjoy coloring this image...especially that bucket. I chose to make it a rusty bucket by layering lots of different...

I love love love realistic flowers! I got out my airbrush – and some watercolor! – for three monochromatic cards….one color plus black and white.I elaborated a little on details I didn’t describe much in the voiceover . . . scroll below to see more info. 2021 NOTE: These stamps in the video are no […]

Hello Friends!! Happy New Year to you!!! Sorry I have been gone from blogging for a few weeks. I took an unscheduled "staycation" and just unplugged.

We’re continuing in the Christmas Spirit today with another Christmas design from Power Poppy using the ever lovely set Winter Wonderland. Such a gorgeous combination of poinsettias, anemones and berries. For fun, I decided to take a non-traditional direction with the Poinsettias by colouring them in a light lime green. Pairing that with the lovely white anemones with purple centers really makes a striking combination. Some pretty paper accents the purples in the image and a touch of twine and sequins, plus the embossed sentiment from Power Poppy's Flowering Santa gives it some more green pop! Julie Koerber Stacy Morgan and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Merry and Green Poinsettias

Hello Friends! Just popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Power Poppy Blog today if you are interested stop on by. This is the project that I am sharing on their blog. I will be bac

Happy (almost) Autumn everyone! It’s that season of cozy that we all love. And we’re bringing you a gorgeous new collection of Power Poppy polymer sets just in time for all the goodness that fall brings. It’s called Natural Wonders, and you’ll find 4 new stamp sets that convey the wonder of this gorgeous world. Today we’re kicking it all off with Chrysanthemum XL. It’s a jumbo sized bloom that sings AMAZING! The perfect fall flower. As usual, I get inspiration from lovely pictures I find on the web. I always love when there are two-toned flowers and this one fit the bill. I began with Copics and then finished off my colouring with Prismacolor Pencils to get a little more detail and colour variation in there. With the larger size, you can get into all those pretty petals beautifully. I added some detail in the framing by using a stencil and embossing paste in a pattern that looked like the shape of the petals of the mum. I had a little mishap in creating this one. I wanted to add some sparkly Nuvo Dots, but I was having some issues with my bottle. Low and behold the entire bottle exploded right beside my card and spattered on this on and another one coming up this week. So, I had to make some adjustments like adding that sparkle onto the embossing paste and frame to make it work. I think I rescued it alright! The sparkle looks like it works thankfully. A few clear sequins, gems and a bit of twine to balance the layout and it’s complete. We hope you’ll join us all week for Natural Wonders Previews! Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Kathy Jones Katie Sims Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Natural Wonders (and Mums!) with Power Poppy

Hi Friends! Sorry for the absense, in the background I’m working on some fun stuff for later this month, but I also needed to create a Mother’s Day card for my mom, so, I pulled out some of my digi images that I had previously printed and found this lovely one, Lilacs and Lemons. I know it was on sale last week (sorry!) but because it’s a digital image, it’s also really affordable. My mom loves purple, so I was drawn to this beautiful pitcher of lilacs, with the pretty lemons to accent. Al the colouring is done with Copics, and I’ve paired wiht with some pretty plaid paper that picks up a lot of the colours in the image. The sentiment is stamped with another lovely Power Poppy set, Sweet Memories, and I’ve added a wee button and twine to accent. Pop on over to see what my lovely friend Julie, is up to today and then the Power Poppy Blog! Thanks for stopping by! Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest Lilacs for Mom

When I woke up this morning it was 6 degrees outside. Can't remember it being this cold, for a long time. On top of that I have been sick going on 3 weeks now. What started out as a sinus infection has morphed into some kind of upper respiratory mess. How wonderful it is to shut myself up in my craft room and create something that makes me smile. I made this card for the Peep of the Week Challenge over at Power Poppy. I wanted something that would make me completely forget about our frigid weather, so I pulled out this beautiful stamp from Power Poppy called Countryside Bouquet. I colored it with Copic markers in shades of peach and lt. blue. The gingham background is a stencil from Simon Says Stamps called Gingham Stencil. I used Dap Lightweight Spackle that had been tinted with Innocent Pink and Sweet Mango ink. I added a soft blue patterned paper, a paper doily that I split in half, and a little bow that I tinted with a blush copic marker. Thanks so much for coming by to look! I hope I have brought a little bit of Spring into your life today. lol Recipe Power Poppy Countryside Bouquet Power Poppy Peonies & Tulips (sentiment) Lil' Inkers Stitched Circles and Stitched Rectangles Wilton Doily Simon Says Stamps Gingham Stencil Dap Lightweight Spackle GKD Innocent Pink, Sweet Mango, Black Onyx ink GKD Berries & Vines patterned paper Europa Imports Organdy Ribbon

Hello, hello, hello my friends and Happy New Year! I am back from a much needed break and I'm ready to roll. Today, I have a brand new Power Poppy digital image to share. Marcella loves flowers and that's a really good thing for me, because I love them too. Not only are they beautiful in the garden or on display in a vase, they are also a lot of fun to color. This digital set is called Hellebores. It includes the floral and the sentiment. ***Since I am still experiencing resolution issues with Blogger, I have elected to post my photos at a smaller size. I apologize for that. But, you may click on any photo to enlarge it. Thank you. Now, I have to admit, I had NO idea what these flowers looked like, but a quick Google search fixed that. I encourage you to do a search of your own, because the range of colors is AMAZING! From white to pink, purple to blue and black. Hellebores, sometimes called the Lenten Rose or the Christmas Rose bloom in the winter and early spring. They are beautiful and very hardy. It is from these pictures that I drew inspiration for the colors on my card. I printed the image and sentiment onto the smooth side of a die cut piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. My original intent was to watercolor it but, at the last moment I decided to use my Faber-Castell Polychromos instead. And, I used a bit of Gamsol to blend different areas of image. After all of the coloring was finished, I added highlights of sparkle with a Clear Stardust pen. And I put a light coat of Crystal Effects on the vase. I put a few Sparkling Clear sequins around the sentiment to draw the eye to it. I just love the quote. It says: "The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen." ~ Rumi This is perfect for me at this time in my life. I kept the card design simple, and just matted the focal and adhered it to the card base with dimensional adhesive. And that is that! Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate it. Blessings~ supplies~ digital stamp: Hellebores(Power Poppy) card stock: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry(Stampin' Up!) specialty paper: Canson XL Watercolor paper dies: Stitched Rectangle(Simon Says Stamp) bling: Clear Stardust glitter pen(Sakura) 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins(Pretty Pink Posh) coloring medium: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell) other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!) Gamsol(Gamblin) blending stumps(Hobby Lobby)

A pretty Spring floral card featuring a Power Poppy digital image by Marcella Hawley, coloured with Copic Markers. Full Copic Colour Palette included.

Hello again! How about starting off the week with a watercolored Azalea? Probably one of Power Poppy's best selling stamps, but I'm just guessing. They're so pretty! I made this card for someone amazing, as you might guess. Stamped in Ranger Distress Tea Dye ink and watercolored with an old never-been-used set of SU's Watercolor Wonder Crayons. Do they even still sell them? Hanging my head... I've had two sets of those watercolor crayons for years and just now used them for the first time. What is up with that? They're actually very nice watercolor paints. I picked up ink from the crayons with a wet brush. The progression of color on the blooms is Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, and Ruby Red. Interesting how it turned out with those colors. Garden Green on the leaves. When all was dry I did the stamen filaments with Gansai Tambi white paint. Since the image was so soft I kept the rest of the card soft and simple, as well. More details in the recipe below my signature. Have a happy day and I'll see you again soon! Stamps: Power Poppy Azalea Paper: Arches 140 lb cold press watercolor, soft yellow, vanilla Bazzill Ink: Ranger Distress Tea Dye, Palette Noir Coloring: Stampin' Up! Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor paints Accessories: Sequins, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello Friends! And welcome to another fun-filled edition of Hues to Use! I am going to warn you, if you scrolled down to get a glimpse of this week's color inspiration, it might have flat out busted your "cute meter!" I mean, look at that face, will you? If you missed the MONDO news at Power Poppy Headquarters -- here goes!! Below, my sweet friends, is our Power Puppy-in-Chief, Tibbs! I know. I know. You just can't stand how darn cute he is, can you? This little multicolored furry wonder is a Welsh Corgi that might be small in stature but he's pretty BIG in personality! Since we've been overrun by totally adorable photos of Tibbs in action on Marcella's Instagram and Facebook pages, why not share some of that cuteness to make the card making world smile a bit bigger today? So, my friends, Tibbs is our color inspiration! To add a pop of color, we borrowed from Ms. Clara’s wardrobe and added a POP of hot pink! Moving On! We are so blessed to have another ever-so-talented guest designer at the helm of 'Hues' today, who is sharing her design prowess and giving us a chance to get to know her a little bit better! So, would you please give a warm Power Poppy welcome to..... It’s such a privilege to be sharing a card with you today from my studio in Wisconsin! My name is Tricia and I have enjoyed stamping ever since my sister-in-law gave me my first stamp set and catalog for Christmas somewhere around 20 years ago. Yes… I started stamping when I was 9. SNORT!!!! Hmm -- I guess that age thing doesn’t quite work since I just celebrated my 30th anniversary with my husband! OK, so I’m a forty-something stay-at-home mom and wife with three grown children, a daughter-in-love, a very adorable but paranoid mini Schnauzer, and the most wonderful husband in the world. To keep me busy I enjoy cross stitching, blogging about my cards and helping women manage their time and their homes through my online planning company - GraceWorks Purpose Planners. My stamping style is mostly clean and layered, I love to color, and I love to make cards to encourage people. But enough about me! Let’s stamp! I just love the picture of Tibbs, don’t you?? I loved the pop of pink and decided to use the image from the Get Wool Soon digi set. I thought it would look warm and cozy… like when you are inside during a Wisconsin winter! After I printed my image, I decided I would try using a combination of alcohol markers and watercolor pencils for my coloring. I started by laying down a layer of color with a variety of different markers… Copics, Spectrum Noir, Chameleon, Pro Markers, I combine them all!… and then I pulled out my Staedtler Karat Aquarelle pencils to add the final touches. After I finished my coloring, I cut a few mats with some petite scalloped circle dies and layered my matted image over a background that I had cut out with a stitched rectangle die and then embossed with a wire fence pattern. I stamped the sentiment on a stitched strip and attached it to the card with foam dots. And then, really, I couldn’t help myself, I added Stickles to the steam and some glittery enamel dots to the sentiment strip. I like fairly simple cards, but I just have to have some sparkle!! Thanks so much for walking through my card with me! I hope you’ll be able to play along!! Thanks Tricia -- we love our sparkle too and... we love your "Tibbs-inspired" creation! Just in case you want to keep tabs on Tricia, you can find her blog -- Simply Stamping -- HERE! I am sure you won't be disappointed if you hop by and see what she's been up to! Her work is stellar folks! So, take a gander at Tibbs and join Tricia in this week's challenge! Who knows, your card could turn a few heads -- so much so that you could be our next guest designer for the week! Get those fingers inky and then link up your creation below! ~Julie An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Friday y'all!! Today is an exciting day for sure!! The Power Poppy Bloom Brigade is teaming up with the Sweet Petunia Team to do a blog hop featuring the Misti and the new Misti Creative Corners!! I tell ya, the Misti is a definite "go-to" tool for me. I use it OFTEN!! Seriously! And I'm super excited to show you how I used it and its new Creative Corners. They are easy, fun and super handy!! I have two projects to share with you today, and I'm going to start with my Lavender card, using Power Poppy's Lavender clear stamp set, and Misti's Creative Corners. I knew I wanted to make a "sentiment square", so I took the two right angle magnetized corners and put them together to form a square. Now the magnets do not want to be close together when they are the same side, so I flipped one angle upside down, and they pieced together beautifully so I could stamp the sentiment around the square. I put the L-ruler along the bottom to keep the magnet square in place, and removed it when I wanted to stamp along the bottom. I also used the Misti to place the lavender bag image directly in the middle of my sentiment square. I stamped the bag a second time on a scrap piece of paper to color, burnish, and pop up with a dimensional square right in the middle to give the bag some depth. The edges are all glued down flush with the base. Next, I have a masculine card to share with you, using the Power Poppy clear stamp set Move the Soul. I have to tell you, I had an awesome time creating the background for this one. With the Misti, and its Creative Corners right angle triangle, it is so easy to create a sentiment pattern on an angle. I love how lined up the background is. The Misti has measurements along the side and bottom, so it's easy to position the triangle and stamp every time. I just slid the triangle down in 3/4" increments each time to stamp the checkered strip. Easy-Peasy! The next step was equally as easy to add the "congrats" sentiment with the same triangle. Lastly, I gold embossed the stars from the same Move the Soul set. I used Versamark ink and Gold Embossing Powder (Ranger) and unlike the rest of the background, I free-handed the stars because I thought it would take too long to stamp the stars and emboss them using the Misti...too many steps for me. Now since it is the first Friday of the month, Power Poppy is issuing another Power and Spark challenge, which this time is provided by our dear, dear Julie!! She has graciously provided 3 different sketches to try. I used the middle sketch, with the banner, for my masculine card today. I hope you will take the time to try out one of these 3 sketches. I think they're super fun!! Besides, each time you participate, you have an opportunity to win some free Power Poppy stamp sets! Now, that is inspiration if you ask me!! That's it for my projects today. I've provided a link list to all those participating in the blog hop today so you won't miss a one. Each one of these gals is super creative and clever, so you'll want to make sure you stop by each of their blogs for some more inspiration and if you leave a comment on each blog, you will be entered to win one of two $25 Power Poppy Gift Code, or a Misti/Mini Misti. Winners will be announced April 14 on this page of the Sweet Petunia blog for the Misti, and the Power Poppy blog for the gift code. How cool is that!?!?! Power Poppy Lydia Fiedler Julie Koerber Ilina Crouse Christine Okken Jeanne Streiff Cindy Lawrence Maureen Wong Ally Cope Kia Gibson-Clapper Kathy Jones Ceal Pritchett Tosha Leyendekker---you are here Giovana Smith Stacy Morgan Katie Sims My Sweet Petunia Thanks a bunch for dropping by!! I hope you've been inspired today!! Have a super awesome weekend!! And... Happy Stamping! _________________________________________________________________________ Lavender Stamps: Lavender (Power Poppy) Paper: X-Press It, White and Kraft (PTI) Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Smokey Gray (Versafine) Dies: Classic Square (Spellbinders), Anja's Square Dies (Marianne Creatables) Copics: Bag ~ E47, E44, E43, E42, E42, Tags and Lavender ~ V17, V15, V12 Leaves and String ~ G28, G46, G24, YG23 Background ~ W5, W3, W1, W00 Accessories: Misti and Misti Creative Corners, Dimensional Tape, Enamel Dots (Teresa Collins) Congrats Stamps: Move the Soul (Power Poppy) Paper: White and Black (PTI), Gold (Denami) Ink: Black Soot (Ranger), Versamark Dies: Stitched Fishtails (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Stitched Rectangles (Waltzingmouse) Accessories: Misti, Misti Creative Corners, Eyelets (SU!), Gold Embossing Powder

Hello, and welcome to the Power Poppy Blog Hop! We are super excited to help share the new goodies being released today! You may have arrived from the blog of Stacy Morgan, but if not, please feel free to start at the beginning with Allison Cope. There are so many gorgeously detailed images in this new release, it was difficult to figure out what to start with! I picked this fantasy mushroom scene from the Woodland Carpet set. I am definitely not a watercolor expert, so I have to admit to being a little nervous at how this was all going to turn out. But, I believe all the fine details in the stamp help to disguise any shortcomings in how they are colored. I started with the mushrooms, decided on a color scheme, and colored all of those. Then I moved on to the leaves, decided what shades of green/pink to use, and colored all the different leaves, taking care to use similar colors for similar types of leaves. Using this formula, and breaking down the image to similar subjects, really helped me from being overwhelmed and made it pretty easy to color the entire scene. Love the sentiment which is perfect for friends, family and acquaintances. I put a piece of paper over the image when I was done and added a light color wash and dark green spatters to the bottom to help extend the image to the edge of the panel. The next set I picked to work with is the stunning Strong and Beautiful set. Wow! I was impressed with the level of detail on the Woodland Carpet set, and then when I stamped the main image from this set I was so excited to stamp it again, and again, and again! I thought these gorgeous details would really shine on their own, without being colored. I stamped the larger image twice, and then the smaller flower 1-2 times, and the fern 1-2 times. That's it. To finish this card I stamped the sentiment directly on the florals, and colored in the alphas to make them stand out a little more. Using this same formula, I covered the front of a card base in pink florals. Instead of stamping the sentiment directly on top, I stamped a different sentiment on a smaller white panel of cardstock, and wrapped the bottom with a fun fiber. Again with a similar formula, I covered the front of a card with purple florals, only this time I first put a strip of washi tape across the top section of the card. I very lightly brushed some purple ink on the blooms, and on either side of the washi tape. After removing the washi tape I stamped a sentiment in the remaining white space. The sentiments that come with this set are so well-designed. Not only are they stylish, but I'm always a fan of open lettering so you can color them depending on your overall design. So many different looks this way! While everything was out, I spend another few minutes to make a green and blue card in this fashion as well. What a great idea for a set of cards for a teacher, your parents, neighbor, anyone who's hard to buy for, or even for a white elephant gift. Instead of coloring in the letters on these final two cards I embossed them in gold and left the insides of the letters white for a more elegant look. PRIZES: We've got fun prizes!!! We are giving away $25 to the EH shop and $25 to the Power Poppy shop! To enter for a chance to win, please follow my blog (if you would like to see more) and make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Two random & lucky commenters will win! Comment before Sunday, July 7th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email. Your next stop on this hop is Jennifer Dove who has deliciously real raspberries to share with you (well, she made them look like it, anyway)! Thanks very much for stopping by! I'd also like to invite you to my Instagram to see more new projects and products from several different companies. -Kelly Supplies used (including affiliate links, which I'm so appreciative of any purchases): Woodland Carpet, Power Poppy Clear Stamps Strong And Beautiful, Power Poppy Clear Stamps 36 Pan Set, Altenew Watercolor Paint Green Tea, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad It's A Girl, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Sweet Sixteen, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Black Jack, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Mint To Be, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Seafoam, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Life Changing Blender Brush - 4 Piece Broad, Picket Fence Studios (LCB-4) My Sweet Petunia Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7) My Sweet Petunia Bar Magnet Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

A delicate teacup overflowing with pretty plants is steeped in detail and delight. Columbine (Aquilegia) flowers intermingle with ruffled miniature Hosta leaves for a bouquet that will tickle your coloring fancy all the way through summer. You get two designs — one with the flowers and teacup only, and a second, more challenging composition with a baby robin snapping up a few of the Columbine seeds. Both images have a lighter “no line” version included. For this Color Story, I'm envisioning an exploration of blues and purples — the classic Columbine colors, and you may not know that Hosta leaves come in lots of blue hybrids! Hostas also often have variegated foliage - which can be streaks of vanilla, chartreuse, chalky blue, and various greens — all on the SAME LEAF! Do a bit of Googling, and create a piece in blues that does anything but give YOU the blues! :) OF COURSE, you can always color the illustration however your heart desires!  Read my inspiration behind the stamp set here. Illustrated with a whole lotta love by Marcella Hawley. This image is available in the clear stamp set Cheerful Columbine. ----------- NEW METHOD OF FILE DELIVERY: A link to download your files will be sent to you by email immediately upon completion of your order and payment processing. Alternatively, you may access files from your Power Poppy customer account. PLEASE NOTE: These images are digital files that you download and print from your computer. This is not a traditional clear polymer stamp set. Images are intended for the crafter’s personal, handmade creations, or for small-batch handmade items for resale with a credit to Power Poppy. Digital downloads are not returnable.

Welcome back to Wish Upon A ScrapToday I have been enjoying sitting here coloring a Power Poppy Image named Joyful Lilies.. Ohhhh have I had so much fun Copic MarkersR32,35,37,39T5RV11,32,34Y11,15,1

Hello peeps! Earlier this week over on the Power Poppy Blog, I ushered in a different kind of Creative Confetti Challenge. I hope you check it out and play along with moi! ;-) It was based on a tutorial the talented Ms. Dina Kowal did more than a few years back. Want to see? Click here! She took us through -- step by step -- on how to create what she called a "9-block card." It was designed to mimic the effects of a quilted square and that, my friends, was the inspiration! You can check out all the details on the challenge HERE but I thought I'd share the process of creating my card here on my blog too! So, I wanted to give you a reference point so that you could "see" where I was going through my little step by step tutorial below. I am giving you a tutorial because I did my grid creation just a wee bit differently than Dina. She had a grid die. I wasn't so lucky but in the process of making this card, I remembered a little trick a fellow stamper taught me once. So, I reached into the cobwebbed recesses of my mind and dug that little trick out! I started by printing off the brand new digital stamp by Power Poppy called Bowl of Beauty. Man, is it a beauty or what? I did only print off a portion of the image and I did blow it up a bit so that you could "see it" when I cut it up and re-assembled! Here's what it looked like after I finished coloring it with my Copic Markers! I have to admit I had a hard time taking my paper cutter to this one. I actually said to my husband, "I can't do it!" And you know what he said? "Don't complain, you knew you were going to do it when you started. Just do it!" HA! A little tough stamping love for me! ;-) Now here's the little trick! I cut a few slivers of card stock to measure 1/8" wide. This would serve as my guide for layering all my little 1" squares! I started at the top and side.... And then kept moving my slivers of paper as I went! You can see just how easy this made it! And here's a look again at the final "puzzle" all put back together! Here's a closeup. Don't look too hard! You can see that I am just a wee bit off on my top three boxes. The paper must have shifted as I was making my little squares. It's okay though. Most people won't notice that hopefully! And here's the cheery little sentiment that I added onto a punched circle and put on my card thanks to some silver cording! The sentiment is from the Power Poppy set Potted Primroses. Love that set! So, now it's your turn to color up something, cut it up and piece it all artistically back together! While it was a bit tough cutting up this image, I do love the effect and was glad I cued up Dina's tutorial for inspiration! You should give it a try! Time to take a little trip to see what these lovely ladies whipped up for us all this week! Christine Okken Julie Koerber >>> you are here! Katie Sims Stacy Morgan Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have an amazing and creative weekend and I'll see y'all back here soon! 💗 ~Julie

Hello friends! I'm back to share a card made with Power Poppy's new Created to Create digital stamp set. So much fabulousness in this one! I absolutely love the sentiment too. That is something I am forever telling people who...

Hey there - happy Inspire Me Monday! I’ve got a fun project to share today that I hinted at on my blog a few weeks ago - you might remember if you were here for the Camellia release hop! My project today is a Screen Divider Card - this is a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers that we featured last month during our Holiday Tutorial Blitz, but it's a great card for any occasion. The instructions and measurements are all available at the link above. For this version, I wanted to use a single colored image to cover all 4 panels - the panels can be cut and decorated separately, but aren't we all looking for ways to cut corners and speed things up? This was a great way to color the panels all at once, and the larger Camellias were much easier to color in. Even at this size, the detail is incredible! I set the margins to 0" and resized the Camellia image to 9.34" x 6.37". (Those measurements don't have to be precise! Just somewhere around there will give you the size needed for this project.) NOTE: Be sure to set your printer settings for borderless printing - otherwise, you'll have a quarter-inch white border around the edge. The piece I needed for my screen divider panels is 4" x 8.5", so I trimmed across at 4" and then cut the rest of my sheet into card front sized panels and created two other cards. Before coloring with markers, I used a glaze pen to protect the tiny stamens of the flowers. The glaze pen acts as a resist medium, even with alcohol markers. After coloring, I added some deeper shading with a pencil. My panel was cut into 4 equal pieces, 2-1/8" wide. I sponged the edges of each panel lightly so that each one seemed like its own design. Here's a little tip for cutting the legs of the screen divider card - I centered and stuck my die to the back side of a Post-It note. the edges of the note helped me to position the die right where I wanted on the edge of the card each time. I folded the card in half and cut the center panels first, then did the outer panels. I always score around the edges of each panel for a more finished look. Here's a closer look at my finished creation! I hope this gives you some ideas for using digital stamps in a larger format! These little cards make beautiful decorations as well. Happy holidays to you!

*If you are looking for my Power Poppy Inspire Me Monday Click here. thanks! Heeellllloooooo Friends!!! How are you today? I am super excited to be apart

The big day is here -- IT'S HERE! Finally, the Power Poppy stamp sets that we have been showing off are available for YOU! Just click HERE to see for yourself! But first, The Bloom Brigade has a little bit of eye candy to show off on this big day and we're calling it the Power Poppy Hop! Grab a cuppa coffee and get ready for some fun as the team shows off a little bit more of their creative artistry! My sketch is actually a part of the April edition of PageMaps.com's CardMaps! There are nearly a dozen new sketches to inspire you HERE! Here's a peek at my sketch... And, here's my creation! I started by stamping my image onto white card stock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. From there, I picked up my Copic markers and used R81, R83, R83, RV0000. For the leaves, I used G40, G43, G46 and G20. The stems were colored with E33, E37 and E47. The shading around the flower was BG0000. I cut my image out and then mounted it on a die cut circle that I had stamped the beautiful sentiment from the Azaleas set. I die cut some white card stock using Spellbinders Labels Seventeen and while the die was still on, I did sponge on some Spun Sugar Distress Ink. From there, I layered it all up using foam tape. The rest is just matting it up -- the pink decorative paper panel does have a wee bit of paper piercing. The paper is a mix of Carta Bella and Echo Park. Here's a close up! And that, my friends is it! I just love those Azaleas in such soft pinks! I wish I had those kinds of flowers in my neck of the woods! Like I said, all of the Power Poppy greatness is ripe for the picking over at the Power Poppy Shop! Want a peek at these four sets in all their glory? There's Azaleas, Good Thinking: Renewal, Marcella's Mixtape Vol. 1, and Springtime Love! They can ALL be found HERE! And while you're hopping -- you can find more beautiful inspiration with the ladies of the Bloom Brigade below! Allison Cope Christine Okken Cindy Lawrence Danielle Kennedy Dawn Burnworth Dina Kowal Julie Koerber -- you are here! Kathy Jones Katie Sims Leslie Miller Stacy Morgan Tosha Leyendekker Thanks for stopping by! ~Julie