Nothin' but GOOD Vibes!

Hello all you sweet peeps and welcome to another colorful, sparkly, energy-infused post here on the 'ole Power Poppy blog!

We start today with a bit of a look forward! Okay, raise your hands if you are ready for winter be over and spring to move on in? Wow. That's a LOT of hands! Hello to you all! Well, in my neck of the woods, we just got another six inches of the white stuff with more on the way. So, in light of those who have a bit of spring fever that just wants desperately to break out, check out our first of many good vibes!

And, if you are just longing for the day when those little flowers will start to sprout and the trees start to bud, keep in mind my fine folks that we can always have a little spring in our hearts and color up this beauty too! Hhhmmm... what would I recommend? Here are a few of my digital faves for that heavy dose of spring-time instant gratification! How about a little Blossoming Cherry? Or, French Lilac (complete with an itty bitty super cute ladybug)? Of course, there are sunshiny daffodils and tempting tulips too! Heck, take your pick from any one of Marcella's amazing florals and you're bound to make the heart a wee bit happier!

Good Vibe 2 just makes me smile that crazy big smile that you just can't help but express! After a week of radiation, Ms. Marcella is not only feeling good, but this afternoon she finishes having to hop inside an MRI machine twice a day for targeted radiotherapy. I told her, that's a HUGE reason to celebrate, don't you think? So, my sweet friends, our Peep-in-Chief is good vibe 2!

We spotted this good vibe on Instagram as Liz Vefall whipped up a beautiful creation to celebrate her mom! Did you know February 11th is Mother's Day in Norway? Well, it is and Liz cared enough to send the very best in the form of a handmade creation that is just bursting in color! She used Power Poppy's Countryside Bouquet that, I am happy to tell you, comes in both clear HERE or as a digital stamp set HERE!

Linda Paider is just one BIG good vibe this week. Check out this little number (using Va-Va-Valentines Digital Stamp Set) she whipped up for her granddaughter for Valentine’s Day! So darling! And, she entered it into our Power & Spark ‘Love to Sparkle’ Challenge. Linda’s got it ALL going on with a theme of love and a splash of sparkle. To see her full creation, hit her up over at Splitcoaststampers.com HERE. If you need a little extra challenge, don't forget our Hues to Use weekly color challenge comes without a deadline, meaning you can traipse through all the past posts and take those colors for a test drive!

It’s always a delight to announce a Kit and Clowder coloring class featuring Power Poppy digital stamps, and this brand NEW one might just be the best yet. Alyce Keegan is the marvelous mastermind behind these classes, and this lovely soul wants you to know that YOU CAN DO THIS! Alyce shares her knowledge and assists you along with one-on-one tutoring to help you feel confident in your coloring skills. I’ve seen it happen time and again. These are absolutely great classes for beginners — though if you’re further along in your coloring, you’ll love them, too! Learn some of the secrets to bringing your coloring to another level. This session has two offerings, coloring our Hellebores and Joyful Lilies. Class members get a great discount, learn more HERE.

Special Note: If you have purchased Hellebores or Joyful Lilies previously, you are entitled to the updated illustrations offered in these classes (Joyful Lilies in a VASE, and both images larger and lighter for no-line coloring.) Send an email to bloom@powerpoppy.com and we will make sure you get your updated digis. Thank you!

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So, there you have it -- good vibes times five! Hopefully, you savored the thought of spring, gave Ms. Marce a cheer, found some inspiration in other's amazing projects or found a way to polish up your coloring skills!

Need an added dose of inspiration? Well, my friends, I have it for you!

Check out these lovelies below and just some of their crafty pursuits for the week!

Christine Okken

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a wee bit of your day with us! Have a fabulous weekend and be sure to pop back by on Monday when Kathy Racoosin -- the star-studded host of The Daily Marker will be in the house to share some colorific goodness ... AND a very exciting announcement for fans of her Coloring Challenge Road Trip...

See you then!
~Julie 

Bring on the Color!

Hey Peeps! Did you check out the title of today's post? Yes, this post might just have you reaching for your shades — because it’s huge on inspiration and explosive in COLOR! It’s Friday folks, which means we've spent some time combing the creative world on the web ready to deliver just the right amount of inspiration to kick off your creative weekend! 

SHALL WE TAKE A PEEK AT JUST SOME OF WHAT BRIGHTENED OUR WEEK?

Lee Ann Barrell -- stunning doesn't even begin to cover what you've accomplished here with this Azalean beauty! (Yes, I made that word up). I love the rich reds and how they play off the patterned paper and neutral backdrop -- simply a delight for the eyes! If you wondered, Lee Ann used Power Poppy's stamp set Azalea.

Goodness. Speechless folks. Seriously. Can you even imagine the time and attention given to this card above by Elizabeth Zaffarano using Power Poppy's new digital image Tree Peony? Again, speechless. The depth of color and how she so perfectly created a digital frame — Elizabeth told us she played around using GIMP, the free downloadable photo editing software —perfectly showing off the Happiest of Birthdays message! Excuse me... I need a minute here. Wow. 

G-L-O-R-I-A!!! Now that you have that Van Morrison song in your head, take a gander at this card above by Gloria Stengel who, in my humble opinion, knocked it out of the park with her creation! She picked the perfect match of patterns and polka dots to make the main image sing! Gloria used Power Poppy's digital image Everything's Rosy and just to get a few little extra brownie points, she entered this card into this month's Power & Spark Pick-A-Sketch Challenge! 

Check out that bold splash of color on that pristine and clean white backdrop, will you please? This is the handiwork of the talented Hazel Parr and this creation most definitely grabbed my attention. I love the die cut backdrop paired with a kind of ombre sentiment and the beautiful digital image Countryside Bouquet taking center stage. What was the most touching about this card was the fact that Hazel took time out of her day to make it for a family friend who lost the love of her life. The woman loves flowers and so Hazel wanted to "brighten up her home which was darkened" from her loss. Truly thoughtful.

Leslie Miller is ALREADY making her list and checking it twice -- in April! Apparently, this wonder woman makes so many Christmas cards, she has to start NOW! Kudos to you my friend and former Bloomie! Major kudos to you! If you check out her post HERE, you'll see not only this card but two others that are decked out in Christmas spirit using Power Poppy's stamp set Fully Stocked. And, while you're hopping over to Leslie's place, be sure to check out THIS card she did with Power Poppy’s set Peony Muse. It’s another sure-fire hit.

Well, how's that for inspiration? It kind of, sort of rocks now doesn't it? And, my sweet stamping friends, there is MORE! Be sure to check out the Bloomies below and their fabulous works of (he)art this week!

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Be sure to swing by Monday when Nancy Sheads will be in the house with an AMAZING tutorial on how to get the most out of your digital stamps AND your digital paper cutters! This tutorial rocked my world and I know it will yours as well.

AND JUST A NOTE: Don't forget this month's Power & Spark Pick-A-Sketch Challenge. Next week Kathy Jones will be here to share a brand new challenge for May! So get those fingers inky before April is out of the picture! ;-)

See you back here soon!
~Julie

Mixed Media with Power Poppy

Hello, and Welcome to the Power Poppy Blog!  Rhea here to share with you a Mixed Media creation using Countryside Bouquet.

The glory of digital images is you are able to size them to almost any size you wish.

This image I sized to 8.5"x6".  I've done this in a card size previously, but it happens to be one of my favorites so I thought I would so something a little special with it.

1.  With a wooden board purchased at a box store, I used a 12"x12" stone wall stencil using Faber-Castel Whipped Spackle.  Once it was dry, I used my water brush filled with Blending Solution and Copic Refills to "Water Color" or "Paint" the stones to look like bricks. 

2.  I die cut the fence and sign from chipboard. Then covered with matching paper.

3.  Everything was attached using foam pop up squares with pieces of chipboard to lift from the "wall" this piece has a lot of dimensions.   

4.  Add a bow and that is it.  

All color is from Copic Markers and Refills as well as airbrushing.
Here are the colors I used...

  

Inspire Me Monday: Gift sets (part two)

Good morning Peeps! Stacy here with another gift presentation idea to help inspire you. So grab your coffee and let me share with you today a beautiful gift box. 

Here is the final box and one of the cards inside. This box is what I call an open faced box with just a little side panel to hold the contents of the box. What a clever way to show off a few of the goodies inside AND when they use the cards inside they have a beautiful box to display afterwards. So let's get started. 

Supplies: Card stock, designer paper desired, adhesive, scissors, decorative dies, scissors and Countryside Bouquet Deluxe stamp set. 

Step 1: Cut a piece of card stock 9 inches length x 7 inches width. Score a 1 inch border on all four sides of card stock. Pre-fold and snip ends as shown. 

Step 2: Add adhesive to end tabs that are snipped. Fold inward to form box base. This is what it should look like. Basic box bottom, set aside.

Step 3: Cut a piece of card stock 4 1/2 inch width x 7 inch length. Score a 1 inch border on three sides. 

Step 4: Take desired die (shown A2 Curved Borders One) place at an angle above the scored line edge. Leave enough space to have a triangle look to the box. Hopefully that makes sense. 

Step 5: This is what it should look like after cut. Cut the right (1 inch scored ) panel off. See below picture if needed. 

Step 6: Snip corner tab along scored line. Add adhesive to edge of each 1 inch panel. 

Step 7: Start with the bottom panel and slide into box base and adhere. You will have the panel sticking out like this. 

Step 8: Before we adhere the left side, snip off the edges of the corner tab as shown. This will help the box flex a bit when you fold in the tab. Fold in and adhere to the box base. 

Step 9: Box is ready to decorate as desired. 

My final box has added gingham to the bottom (and side panels) so when the cards are used they have a splash of pattern. My flowers are from Countryside Bouquet Deluxe clear stamp set. They are all cut out and popped up for dimension. 

Here is the box with one of the cards inside and envelope. Easily this can fit anywhere from 6-8 cards and envelopes if they are not bulky. The sentiment is from Best Day Ever stamp set. All the flower petals have added sparkle for fun. 

One of the cards in the box to match. Some of the paper that was left over from the sides was used to match the die cut edge. Hope you are inspired to create your own gift box. Thanks for stopping in today.

Stacy

Inspire Me: Bring on Spring!

Howdy everyone!  And Happy Monday!  I'm Allison Cope and I'm here to share with you for Inspire Me Monday!

I have a sweet couple, Brenda and Keith, that live next to me here on the lake in Alberta.  It was Brenda's 75th birthday on Saturday so I wanted to make a birthday card to send along to her to wish her a happiest of birthdays.  So I was wracking my brain as to some inspiration for her card so I thought I would pay a visit to Pinterest.  Why not right?  Since Spring is only a few weeks away I thought I would search for a Spring piece of inspiration.  This is the photo that caught my eye...

Click the image for the source.

I just loved the gorgeous bouquet and the colors that had been pulled out of it!  It said "Spring" right away to me.

I love interactive cards!  They always make for the most interesting cards to give special people in your life so I chose to make a fun shaker card for Brenda's birthday card.  And here's how I made it...

Step One:
I created a very simple card base with some patterned papers and stitching. 

Then I die cut an oval with an oval die cut from the inside too to create a frame.  Next I die cut a piece of acetate (the tissue is still on it!) that was wider than the frame's hole and less than the diameter of the outside of the oval frame.

For my focal image, I die cut a piece of watercolor paper and then gold heat embossed the stunning (and rather Springy looking!) bouquet from the Countryside Bouquet Deluxe clear stamp set.  I used some watercolor pencils to add color and then used a waterbrush to soften and spread the color throughout the image.

Step Two:
I flipped the frame to the back side and added ring of strong adhesive to the back.  Then I removed the adhesive backing and laid the acetate over top of the hole in the frame.

Step Three:
Next I added an endless ring of foam adhesive to the back of the frame.  You need an endless barrier to prevent any of the contents of your shaker from falling out.  I gathered some sequins and gold microbeads to place inside my shaker.

I cut the foam only part of the way across to allow it to bend around the oval and remain one solid surface on the inside of the oval..

Step Four:
Then I carefully added all of the contents of the shaker inside the foam barrier.

Step Five:
I carefully placed the colored image face down over top of the exposed foam adhesive; matching the ovals up and pressing firmly.  Voila... you now have a simple shaker element to add to a card! 

Here is the completed card which includes a birthday sentiment from the new "Short Stacks" clear stamp set.

The greeting matches the gold embossing of the bouquet...

So the next time you are in search of some inspiration for a creation, don't forget about Pinterest!

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you are inspired by my card today and try this simple and easy shaker element for your next gift.

Happy creating!

 ~ Ally ~


Supplies:
Stamps:  Power Poppy (Countryside Bouquet Deluxe, Short Stacks)
Patterned Papers:  My Mind's Eye (Market Street)
Dies:  My Favorite Things (Stitched Ovals), Avery Elle (Gift Tags Set)
Cardstock:  Recollections Cream Cardstock, Stampin' Up! (Baked Brown Sugar)
Sequins:  Pretty Pink Posh (Sparkling Clear),  CraftMedley
Ink: Versamark, Kimberly Watercolor Pencils
Embossing Powder:  PKGlitz (Gold) 
Microbeads:  Recollections
 Misc.: twine, thread.

Inspire Me Monday: Chalkboard tags

Hi there! Dina here for another Inspire Me Monday!

I have a habit of looking for things to alter when I shop... at thrift stores I’m always looking for paintable boxes, wood pieces or frames. A couple of months ago I spotted a set of wooden chalkboard tags at Michaels – grabbed them... tucked them in my “things to paint” drawer... then forgot about them. You know you’ve done it too... ;)

When I found them again I had a new stack of Power Poppy stamps on my desk! Perfect combination for a fun little chalkboard technique.

I started by stamping the apple box image from Farmers Market using Memento Luxe ink – this is a great bright white on black surfaces.

I added highlights to the image using a white Prismacolor pencil after heat-setting the ink. I normally color shading and leave highlights white, so this takes a bit of practice. Highlights hit where the image is closest to the light and curving toward the light. I pictured a light source to the upper left... I normally don't bother with a light source, and just imagine myself as the light source when I color.

Here’s the completely colored image – I sketched in a horizontal line to give the box something to sit on, and stamped the sentiment, adding a few highlights with a pencil there too. The tags came with twine hangers, which I removed for stamping.

Here’s another tag I added some color to – I’d suggest coloring the white highlights first. The color added is the ‘true color’ of the image (a poppy from Countryside Bouquet Deluxe). Leave the shadows uncolored, and let the black show through in those areas.

One more tip for adding texture to a background – this is drywall tape that you can get at any hardware store. It’s great as a stencil or even a stamp! You can see how I used it on the completed tags below.

If you don’t have wooden tags, you coul get the same effect with die cut chipboard or wood pieces painted with chalkboard or matte acrylic paint.

Enjoy the close ups!

(This reminds me... I’m heading to my parents’ house today in N. Idaho – can’t wait to go to the farmer’s market with my Mom!)

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