Power Poppy's The Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge!

Hello there, and welcome to today's post kicking off  Power Poppy's December Power & Spark Challenge with our Twelve Days of Christmas twist!  Have you seen the goings on over at Bloom Central today?  This month's Power & Spark Challenge has been amped up times twelve!  Just take a lookie at this...

Here is what our fearless leaders, Marcella and Julie have to say about this fun challenge:

As visions of sugar plums dance in your heads, is the paper still flying in your crafting spaces? If you love to put a colorful and personal spin on your holiday creations, we love to hear it and we’re here to help! For the next week and a half, get ready for Power Poppy’s festive and fun take on the 12 Days of Christmas – a time to get inspiration to deliver that homespun charm not only to your loved ones but around your home as well. Each day starting today, our designers will be sharing ideas on all kinds of projects from home décor to accents for your holiday dinner table to ideas on how to package up those holiday goodies with style! 

And guess what? If you play along with us during any one of the 12 days and try our project at hand, link up your creation HERE (include master link to December 1st post) and you’ll be in the running for our Power & Spark 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. That’s right – you’ll have 12 ways to enter. Play along once or try all 12 days for more chances to win a $50 shopping spree to the Power Poppy Shop! 

Now doesn't that sound like f-u-n?!  And it just so happens that I am the lucky girl that gets to kick things off today so let's get to it! :) I chose tags for my theme so I picked a stamp set I have been itching to get inky, Tweet Tidings, and whipped up three tags.  I did borrow a sentiment from another stamp set, Heaven and Nature Sing, for one of my tags.  So let me show you what I created using Marcella's darling images...

Only one of these tags is die cut from a tag die....the others are from different die cut shapes!  Don't limit yourself to a dedicated "tag" die because you can create a tag from any shape you choose....simply punch a hole in it and add a ribbon!  Ta DA!

For my first tag, I used a dedicated tag die for my base panel, then layered a trimmed patterned paper layer, and finally my image layer.  I stamped my images and sentiment using Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder to resemble a chalk board.  A little sponged white ink and some shimmer with a Wink of Stella pen finishes the image off....all that is left is to add a bright blue bow!

For my second tag, I used a combination of a trimmed card 
stock panel and a die cut panel and stitched them together to form a tag that opens like a top fold card.  The top border of my tag was cut with pinking shears.  My image was stamped and colored up with Copics then layered on the tag top layer with a bit of patterned paper, some pom pom trim, and stitching.  The bottom layer is stamped with my sentiment and some of those sweet musical notes.  The bottom edges were rounded with a Corner Chomper and the tag was softened up by sponging some white ink around the edges.  Once again, a little shimmer from a Wink of Stella pen to make the image really shine and to finish it off...a ribbon with a couple of berries and a boxwood twig.  

For my third tag, I stamped my image and sentiment then colored it up with Copics.  Next, I die cut my image with a stitched oval die, sponged a little ink around the edges, spritzed a little ink around, then followed it with some gold leafing.  I used a very fine grit sander to remove a little of the gold leafing....did you know that when you do that, you get the neatest aged look to the gold leafing?!  Seriously! :) I finished the tag by layering with a couple of die cut patterned papers, punching a hole in the top and adding a ribbon and twine.  

So that is all for my tags today but I hope that you will be inspired to look at your dies in a new way....as fun tag shapes!  I also hope that you will play along with us.....not only today but for the next twelve days!  Make sure you link up your gorgeous creations on the Power Poppy blog 'cause we want to see your beautiful work and you wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to win a prize!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and make sure you pop over to the Power Poppy blog  tomorrow for Day 2 of our Twelve Days of Christmas extravaganza hosted by the always charming and incredibly talented Stacy Morgan! Until then....take care! :)

~Katie


Supplies used not listed above:  Paper-Kraft card stock, Rustic White card stock, Basic Black card stock from Papertrey Ink, patterned papers from scraps; Ink-Memento's Tuxedo Black ink, PTI's Chai, Chamomile, and Fresh Snow inks, Tsukineko's Versamark  and Versafine  (Onyx Black) inks, Stampin' Up!'s Baja Breeze ink and Crumb Cake, Sahara Sands markers with Spritzing tool; Dies- PTI's Tag Sale Quilted Die, Mat Stack 5 dies, Half & Half dies and My Favorite Things Stitched Square die and Cross Stitch oval die; and these Copic colors:  B0000, B00, B01, B02, B05, BG0000, BG000, BG10, BG32, BG72, E40, E41, E43, E44, E50, E71, E74, E79, YG61, YG63, YG67, G29, R21, R32, R35, R59, C1, W1, W7, N3, N5, and N7.

Power Poppy's November Power & Spark Challenge

Hi  there and Happy Friday to you!  Today I have a really quick post to announce the newest Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge.  The incredibly talented and super sweet card diva,  Tosha Leyendekker, is our hostess this month and she has a pretty sweet challenge for us.  Just take a lookie at this....

Here is what Tosha has to say about this challenge:

"I love vintage, so I often think of white and pink for Christmas decor.  I thought it would be fun to feature pink on a Christmas Card.  So, for this month's challenge, let's THINK PINK and make it a Pink Christmas." 

Now doesn't that look and sound like fun?  You can see all of the details on the Power Poppy blog.  Now, I need to start this off by saying that I had in mind to make a completely pink card.  As you can see here, things took a turn....as they often do in my craft room.  I think it still qualifies, because clearly there is pink...just not quite what I had planned for this card!  :)  I used the small lenten rose image from the Heaven and Nature Sing stamp set and stamped it on to a die cut that I left in the die to give me a nice clean border.  Next, I stamped the sentiment from the Wreaths Plain and Fancy stamp set.  After coloring in my image, I sponged some distress ink around, added some shimmer and shine, and then added gold leafing around the edge.  The rest of my card are some layers from white card stock and patterned papers.  I assembled the layers together and that was that...a pink-ish Christmas card!  :)  Still not sure how I arrived at this finished card when I had in mind an all pink card....does that ever happen to you? 

I love this sweet little lenten rose image and paired with the sprig of holly it makes such a pretty arrangement.

So that is all for my card today but some of my Bloomie sisters have some pretty awesome creations for your Friday inspiration so make sure you take a peek and would you leave a little blog love while you are there?  We'd love it if you'd play along with us too!  Link up your creation on the Power Poppy blog and you will be entered to win a prize!  Yay!  I'm so glad you could stop by today.  I hope you have a great weekend and until next time....take care!  :)

Allison Cope 

Christine Okken 

Cindy Lawrence     
Katie Sims <------You are here 
Stacy Morgan 
Tosha Leyendekker

~Katie



Supplies:  Paper-Rustic White card stock from Papertrey Ink, pink patterned paper from BasicGrey's "Serendipity" 6x6 paper pad, gold patterned paper from Carta Bella's "Beautiful Moments" 6x6 paper pad; Ink-Memento's Tuxedo Black ink, PTI's Smokey Shadow ink, Ranger Distress ink in Iced Spruce, PTI's Chai and Chamomile distress inks; Other-Gelly Roll clear glitter pen, Wink of Stella Clear brush pen, Ranger Glossy Accents, Krylon 18KT Gold Leafing pen, Spellbinders die set in Marvelous Squares, and these Copic colors-R30, R32, R35, R39, R43, R46, E50, YG00, YG01, YG61, YG63, YG67, YG91, G40, G43, G46, Yo8, Y19, and BV02.

Happy Power Poppy Friday!

Hi there and a happy Friday to you!  Are you ready for Christmas?  Got all of your shopping done?  I am ready for time with family, but I still have some wrapping to do!  I have a quick little card to share with you today.  No coloring, no die cutting, no buttons......this came together in a snap!  I thought this sweet image from the Heaven and Nature Sing stamp set would be so pretty stamped in red.....and I love how it turned out.

I planned on adding some extras here and there but then changed my mind at the last minute and kept it really clean (for me, anyway).  The finished card is 3.75" square.  I stamped the image and then added the sentiment from the Bottlebrush Holiday stamp set in Memento's Rhubarb Stalk on to Papertrey Ink's Rustic White card stock.  I attached the image panel to a dark grey card stock (PTI's Smokey Shadow) layer and did some stitching around the edges.  Next, I adhered the panel to my card base.  I added some shimmer with a Wink of Stella clear brush pen  to the leaves, berries and parts of the birds and sponged on a little Chamomile ink from Papertrey Ink to give the paper an aged appearance.  Lastly, I added a bit of silver cord and some Ranger Glossy Accents to the berries.

To soften the gray card stock a bit I went back and sponged some Fresh Snow ink from Papertrey Ink.  I wish you could see the gloss and shine here....I really love how it turned out....I just had a hard time trying to capture it in a photo!  I have always loved this image and even though it really is so much fun to color, I have to say that I think this really shows all of Marcella's fine details off beautifully!  Don't you think this could be the most gorgeous fabric?  A Christmas toile in Marcella's images....oh my!  I'm not sure my heart could take it!  ;)

Well that is all for my little card today, but please make sure you check out what some of my Bloomie sisters have created for you.....leave a little blog love while you're there too.  I am so glad you were able to stop by for a visit and here's wishing you the merriest of Christmases!  Until next time, take care!  :)

Allison Cope 

Christine Okken     

Julie Koerber 
Kathy Jones 
Katie Sims <------You are here
Leslie Miller 

~Katie

Power Poppy's November Blog Hop!

Well hello there and welcome back for one last look at all of the fabulousness from this month's Power Poppy Release....the Power Poppy Blog Hop! 

 Marcella has really outdone herself.....adding four new sets to her Happiest Holiday Collection and what beautiful sets these are!  I decided to use the totally gorgeous Heaven and Nature Sing.  My idea was to make the sweet little birds look like the Black Capped Chickadees that I see so often around my feeders in the yard.

I stamped my image with Tuxedo Black ink from Memento and colored it in with Copics. Next, I die cut my image out, sponged on some ink and used my Krylon 18KT Gold Leafing pen around the edges.  I layered a couple of pretty Christmas papers, punched a border, stitched it all together, added a bow and adhered it to a cream card stock base.  To finish it off, I stamped this beautiful sentiment and adhered it to my card with some foam dimensionals.  I did cut out a little notch so the bow could cozy up to my flowers.

Oh, I did also use some Ranger Glossy Accents on my berries and my Wink of Stella Clear glitter pen to add a little shimmer in the flower centers.  I love this sweet sentiment and beautiful image...there is so much detail and it really does color up more quickly than you would think.  Actually, I think it would look gorgeous stamped in a single color with no extra coloring.....I may test that theory a little later on and will report back if I do .....I have never know a Marcella image that didn't look amazing no matter what you did or didn't do to it though....;).  

So, that is all I have for you today but the rest of the incredible Bloom Brigade has some pretty amazing things for you to see....make sure you leave them a little blog love while you're there and then if you haven't already, start making your wish list because all of the amazing sets from this release go on sale today!  You could get an early start on some Christmas shopping for friends, or even for yourself!  ;)  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and can stop by again soon....until then, take care!  :)

Allison Cope 

Christine Okken 
Cindy Lawrence 
Danielle Kennedy 
Dawn Burnworth
Dina Kowal  
Julie Koerber 
Kathy Jones 
Katie Sims <------You are here
Leslie Miller 
Stacy Morgan 
Tosha Leyendekker
and .....
Marcella Hawley

~Katie

Supplies:  Image and sentiment from Power Poppy's "Heaven and Nature Sing"; Ink-Memento's Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap; Paper-Stampin' Up!'s Naturals White card stock, Classic White card stock from Flourishes, and patterned papers from My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found Christmas Special Edition; Other:  A2 Matting Basics A die set from Spellbinders, Stampin' Up!'s Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, White Stampin' Chalk marker and foam dimensionals, ribbon, Ranger Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella's Clear Glitter pen, and these Copic colors:  N1, N3, N5, N7, N9, E40, E42, E44, E47, E50, Y02, YG0000, YG11, YG13, YG17, YG61, YG63, YG67, YG91, R32, R35, R37, R39, R56, R59, R89, and RV99.