Ready for Good Vibes?

Well, hello there my sweet Power Poppy Peeps and... HAPPY FRIDAY! With this fabulous end to the week comes a brand new splash of inspiration to get you started on a wonderfully creative weekend! So, are you ready for a short burst of artistry in our weekly edition of Good Vibe 5? I sure am! Let's get to it, shall we?

GOOD VIBE 5 HIT LIST!

1. Cheers to YOU! Essie's creation designed to deliver wedding cheer to a fab friend delightfully grabbed our attention! Visit the link to see how she so creatively used Power Poppy's Dream Wedding. 

2. A Dose of Sunshine Sathya worked wonders with Power Poppy's Heart Abloom digital stamp set. That beauty of a flower is just a single image in the set but Sathya worked her magic to make that double petaled hellebore stacked and full of color and pizazz! Love it! 

3. Foiled Again! There have been so many video tutorials lately on using foil to add a little gilded bit of razzle-dazzle to cards and creations. Jenny Colacicco took it one step further to share her tips and tricks on using this accent with watercolor! Here's a link to her jam-packed video where she shares all the tips and tricks to creating a watercolor foil resist creation!  

4. ICYMI Did you happen to see the fun tutorial Tosh shared for this week's Inspire Me Monday? We thought her wrap around technique was so fun, it was worth a mention here on our Good Vibes 5! Click HERE to see how she brought out the best in one of our favorite Power Poppy illustrations -- Artistic Bouquet -- by wrapping it all the way around her card. You have to check this one out! Pure and simple genius!

5. New Digi Brewing! I know you're going to squeal (like I did) when I first set my sights on the next digital stamp set that is set for release TUESDAY! It's the second in the release of Marcy's Cafe Au Lait series! I've only shown off a snippet. Trust me, the whole image is downright glorious! Be sure to swing back and see what she has in store!

With the first full week after the holidays under our belts, a trio of Bloomies were able to steal away to some time in their stamping spaces and we are sure glad they did! Be sure to hop on over to see what these ladies whipped up for all to see!

Allison Cope

Cindy Lawrence >>> check out her video! 

Stacy Morgan

And that, my friends, is it for us today! We do have some excitement in the works to share. Like I mentioned, be sure to check back in on Tuesday for a new digital stamp set release called My Favorite Pair! And on Monday, Ally Cope has cued up some tips on coloring with ZIG brush markers! Can't wait!

Until then, have a beautiful weekend!
~Julie Koerber 

Racy Little Hues to Use!

Hello Power Poppy fans! Sorry, this post is a bit late going up. I was following my darling daughter all over the state for a holiday weekend of softball and rolled into town late last night. I was glad we rolled into town late because that meant she made it to the championship game, which is always a plus! On the downside, we had a major storm while we were gone and for some reason, my internet is slower than molasses. So, yet another wrinkle in getting this post up! Thanks for your patience peeps!

Are you ready for this week's color-infused challenge to take a trio of hues and put them to use? Well, ready or not, here's this week's color combo! :-)

This little photo above was snapped by Ms. Marce on a trip last year to Savannah to check out, as she calls them, "lots of juicy little two strokes!" Love that girl, honestly! And, we loved just how peppy these colors were and thought, why now? Why not put a nifty little moto in the spotlight for cardmakers from far and wide?

HOW TO PLAY: Just as easy as one-two-three! Use all three colors highlighted above when you craft or create. Snap a picture of your handiwork and then share here on the linky below for all to see!

And guess what sweet peeps? We have the honor and privilege of having yet another fantastic guest designer joining us this week to share her talents with all of us! So, without further ado, let's meet her and learn a little more about her! Just in case you wondered why our fine and fabulous designer is holding a heart-shaped potato, well, she snapped this pic to show a friend who decided to gift her with this unique find! Too sweet, just too sweet!

Hi! I'm Beverly. I was born and raised in Missouri and I love to travel. I've been married to my love for 37 years, am mom to three daughters, and "Mimi" to two grandsons. I am a lover of all things crafty and I love being in the pool. I am a two-time heart transplant recipient and believe everyone should be someone's hero and donate life. I've participated in the www.transplantgamesofamerica.org and later this summer will be competing in my 8th games in Salt Lake City Utah, swimming, naturally! The games are for transplant recipients and our heroes, living donors and donor families.

BEVERLY'S CREATION

I'm a traditional stamper and this is my first try at coloring a digital stamp, Everything's Rosy. My favorite coloring medium is Copic Markers on Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb card stock. I tried to print my image on that heavy card stock and my printer wasn't having it! So I changed tactics and chose Canson Mixed Media and Kuretake Gansai watercolors. After I finished painting, my image just looked flat, so to add dimension, I watercolored more portions of the flowers and fussy cut them. I used Tim Holtz Collage Medium to adhere and I carefully placed those cut pieces directly on top leaving some of the image a bit raised and then set aside to dry. I added glossy accents for some shine on my polka dot cup. Finally, I added accents with a white Uniball gel pen and black Micron pen. To bring my card together, I used Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive to glue fun foam to the back of my image and then to my card base, Recollection card stock. I love this image and chose to not add a sentiment.

Beverly, your card is gorgeous and I love how that yellow just POPS in such a vibrant way on those greyscale tones. Thank you so much for sharing a little bit about yourself and the powerful gift you received not once, but twice. What a story you must have to share. If you'd like to see more of Beverly's work, it's just a click away at her blog Beverly2hearts.blogspot.com! 

Now my stamping friends, it is your turn to take this color combo for a ride and then link up your creation below! As always, we love to see because we love to choose those that played along to guest host here on the Power Poppy blog from time to time! So, create, link and let us see your handiwork!

We'll be back on Friday with some more good vibes, so be sure to swing by and see what the Bloom Brigade has in store!

~Julie 

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday - Get your Mojo Back

Hey everyone, Jessie here today, sharing some inspiration with you all. Life has been crazy busy, and I have been exhausted and with all of that -- so much so -- that my card-making mojo has seemed to have taken a holiday. So I printed off one of my favorite digital images Everything's Rosy, grabbed some of my watercolours and sat down and filmed this video for you all. 

This helped me feel like getting back into the swing of things! Just remember, when things get exhausting and you feel overwhelmed, you really need to find a few moments to take a breath and do something that you love, no matter what it is. Speaking of which, did you see the Power & Spark Challenge this month about getting enough Vitamin Me? Check it out here! 

On a positive note, I think spring has finally found Saskatchewan. The snow is melting fast, the sun is hot and the world is starting to come to life again. 

Thanks for stopping by,

hugz,

Jessie

Hues to Use: Summer Fade

Hello all! When it comes to this crazy little color combo challenge, expect to see a little more of the summer shades as summer fades. I am in denial folks. That's why when I was scrolling through Ms. Marcella's IG, I had to make this sweet shot the centerpiece. Ahhhh... say "hello" to Finn, Marcy's son who happens to not only love baseball, he plays the sport as well. Look at that swing, will ya? I bet it was packed with power! So, in honor of Finn's take at the plate, we look to the skies as he earned that hit and grabbed a wee bit of sunny peach, a splash of blue violet and a dash of warm yellow out of that killer sunset.

And guess, what? To show off this color combo, we have another fabulous guest designer in our midst! Say hello to this fine lady way from the 'Land Down Under!' I love that little sparkle in her eyes!

"I am a retired, married card maker from Australia, originally from central Victoria and now after many years of working and moving around Australia we are finally settled in sunny Townsville, on the east coast of Queensland. We have two adult children and four cats (that’s a story in itself). Our daughter is married and has two gorgeous daughters -- 2 and 4 -- that we get to babysit twice a week, and our son who lives with us. We’ve been back two years and renovated our old home, so now I have a room for my crafting. I’ve always loved textile crafts being inspired by my mum and grandmothers – I now hope one day to pass on some of these skills to the littlies.

About 25 years ago, I bought our daughter a rubber stamp and a variegated Colorbox ink pad for her birthday and my obsession (not hers) developed from there. I remember how impressed we were with gold embossing powder and for a time my heat source was our toaster – my how different this craft is now. I love making cards and trying new things and am so glad my friend introduced me to blogging about six and a half years ago – so many creative people and inspiration out there.

On to my creation! This is the first time ever using a digital image for my card. 

For my card I used just a portion of  the printed image from Power Poppy's Everything's Rosy digital stamp and I decided to go bold with the colours. I watercoloured the image and fussy cut the top edge and for some reason I left the bottom of it squared off. Then what to do??? Out came heaps of different shades of card stock. I'm terrible for trying to match colours and found this 'burnt orange' piece that I decided to run through the Cuttlebug with the swiss dots embossing folder, which I sanded. This broke up the flat colour a bit and pulled together the white layer and bold white corner. 

Here's a closeup for you...

I hand dyed the ribbon with Distress Ink and added the bow to the bottom before attaching it to a mustard coloured card. To finish I re-sized the sentiment, die cut it and used foam tape to mount it offset on the card.

I enjoyed testing myself with the colours of this weeks Hues to Use. If you're needing to be inspired, check out any of the Hues to Use. They are ongoing and open, so you can always share your efforts."

Robyn, we couldn't agree more -- stretch yourself with new color schemes and link up your creation any time -- today or a year from now! I will say this isn't the only card Robyn created for this week's Hues. Click HERE to see the other stunning creation and give her some love in the form of a comment while you're there! We love to see how folks take these hues and let them flow through their creativity in new and vibrant ways!

So, what are you waiting for? Dig into these sunset-inspired shades and then, link up your creation below! And as we always say, your creation could spark an invitation for YOU to be a guest designer for one of our upcoming Hues to Use blog posts! We put you in the spotlight and you get a fun new digital image to create with. Sounds super fun, right?


Thanks for stopping by! We can't wait to see what you create!
~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

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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

A Few Friday Showstoppers

Hello you beautiful people and happy Friday to you all! We hope you have a skip in your step and a bit of sunshine in your heart. We sure do! Especially after seeing all the fabulous crafty endeavors out there on the web putting Power Poppy in the spotlight! 

If you received our newsletter last night, you had a running start on our Surprise Birthday Sale just announced — check it out if you’ve been wanting to stock up on flowery favorites on get a huge jumpstart on the Holidays...

That’s right — two ways to save!! Buy 3 clear stamps and get a 4th one free (use code BIRTHDAYGIFT) or if you’d prefer, take 15% off everything in the store with 15% off (use code YAY15OFF). It’s our birthday month and we are all over the place with surprises! Enjoy, enjoy!

Did you see we have a new addition to our Instant Garden? Goodness, if you missed that announcement on Wednesday, click HERE to see this amazing new illustration that I am sure you will be chomping at the bit to color up! It’s a simple, swaying drawing that you can have colored up in minutes. Go see!

If you haven't played along yet in our versatile challenge for April’s “Pick-a-Sketch”, we think it would be a perfect thing to take on this weekend:

There are already quite a few entries and only ten days left to take in some sketchy fun! Check out all 'the deets' on the challenge HERE! 

MOVING ON...

Time now for our little weekly show and tell sharing just a little bit of what we love about your use of Power Poppy in blog and social media land! 

Lisa Johansen (@alcojo94 on Instagram) really rocked Power Poppy's Leaping Trout digital stamp set! And, she has good reason! Can you believe the lake across the street from her house is full of these guys? Her hubby and kids love to catch them so she can cook them up for dinner. YUM! She even gave the digital version a bit of razzle dazzle and irridescence with the help of a sparkly gel pen! 

I have to say, I just love the vivid pop of white that Dedre Wolff (@dedrewolff on Instagram) achieved with this clean and classy card. That mondo blossom from Tiger Lily XL is so pretty. Dedre proves that there are times when nothing "extra" is needed to show a dramatic kind of style. Purple is also one of my favorite colors -- so she also scored major points there too! :-)

What an honor it was to see this creation above from Crissy Armstrong! Why is it an honor? Well, Crissy is an illustrator herself and makes her own line of stamps! That she took time out of her day to savor one of Marcella's images (Everything’s Rosy) is a very nice compliment. Just breathe in all that petal detail? Ah-MAZ-ing! Crissy shows EXACTLY how she achieved this depth of color and detail with her colored pencils on her blog, it’s filled with tips and photos of her process. Thank you, Crissy!

Jenny Colacicco, (@soulbyte on Instagram) got her hands on a soon-to-be-released sprout from our digital line and man, is this little snippet just a tease or what? Just look at that bit of dreamy watercolor! And to think Jenny did this after her sweet little daughter went to bed. You'll have to stay tuned -- this one will be popping up in the Power Poppy Shop on Tuesday! Squeeee!!!

Well if that wasn't just a slice of pure inspiration -- there's more peeps! We have the Bloomies ready and waiting to show off some of the things they've been creating, putting those fabulous creative juices to use! Click on over and see....

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

And, that's not all my sweet stamping friends, the ever-so-talented Jessie Banks will be “in the house” Monday for another Inspire Me Monday to kick off your creative week.

Have an amazing weekend and we'll see y'all back here real soon.
~Julie

Talented Peeps A Plenty!

Hello Peeps! Is it FRIDAY already? What a treat! I always love this day because honestly, with all the beauty in blog land, I see these creations and just want to spend the rest of the weekend in my happy place coloring and creating!! Oh, you card makers inspire! 

First up, we are on the final day of our way fabulous sale for all you lovers of our Instant Garden, a.k.a. our digital stamp line. Check it out — use code COLORMEHAPPY for 25% off your purchase of digital stamps:

Now that we got this fabulous housekeeping note in, it's time to unleash some excitement that we found the web this week! You better buckle up because man, oh man, do we have quite the ensemble of creative peeps to showcase! 

SHALL WE BEGIN?

Maggie sure has been busy with the Daily Marker's 30 Day Coloring Challenge and -- she has put Power Poppy in the spotlight more than a few times! This image from the Power Poppy set Go Wild caught my attention because I just love the sweet way she colored it up! But, she also has an amazing creation using the rose image from this set -- click HERE to see. 'Whoa!' is all I have to say about both of them!

Spring is surely in the air with this clean and classy wonder done by the hands of Meg Shea!  I just love this time of year when the flowers we stamp can match the flowers that we are starting to see sprout out in real life yards and garden spaces! Meg used Power Poppy's new stamp set Natural Beauties for this one. If you want to get a real chuckle check out her IG post HERE to see one of the side effects of getting her fingers inky! I can honestly say, in my 17 years of stamping, I have never pulled off a feat like that! HA! 

Goodness gracious -- would you check out this eye-popping, jaw-dropping creation from Gloria Stengel? The robust reds and vivid yellows just make my heart sing with "happy!" Gloria used the Power Poppy digital stamp set Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher to whip up this pure delight for the eyes! 

Karen Wallace fashioned a card that is positively pretty in purple! I love the depth in Karen's coloring and that pop of blue is just the perfect touch! Just in case you were wondering, Karen used Power Poppy's digital stamp set called Everything's Rosy! 

And if that inspiration just isn't enough, why not click on over to see THIS CARD by Emily White -- such a breath of spring! Or, you could also hop on over and leave a little love in the form of a comment to Nancy for THIS card. Or, pop in and see THIS vibrant beauty by Patti Willey! Goodness sakes alive -- so much inspiration out there folks! I honestly could go on with about a dozen other links!

BUT...... WE HAVE MORE EXCITEMENT TO SHARE TODAY! In just a matter of days, a brand new member of our Instant Garden will be rearing it's pretty little face -- just in time to share a little spring! I couldn't resist sharing a little sneaky peek! While this image below is probably less than 10% of the overall image, it is even stunning in my humble opinion. So, my digital gardeners -- mark your calendar for April 5th and know Marcella has another beautiful bunch of blossoms that you will soon be able to color up with reckless abandon!

And on that fine and beautiful note, it's time to stalk the Bloomies to see what fun ways they've put the creative sides of their brain to use!

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

And that, my friends is it for us today! We hope you leave with so much mojo that you just can't contain yourselves!! ;-) Coming up Monday, more creative influence is headed your way. Why? We will have a very special guest in the house! Mindy Baxter of "My Creative Scoop" will be hosting another episode of Inspire Me Monday... so you will definitely want to tune back in to see what she's whipped up to help you kick off your creative week!

See you then!
~Julie