A Few (or Five) Good Vibes for your Weekend!

Hello Power Poppy Fans and..... HAPPY FRIDAY! We hope that your week is ending on a creative high note and we hope those creative juices of yours are already starting to bubble ahead of any cardmaking marathon you might have planned! But, if you are suffering from a bit of an inspirational draught, don't worry! We've scoured the world wide web for just the right bits of ingenuity to pique your interest and spark a little inspiration!

LET'S GET TO THE GOOD VIBE HIT LIST! 

1. A Cut Above! A couple of weeks ago for our Creative Confetti Challenge, we dug out an old tutorial from Dina Kowal with a quilted flair -- challenging you to simply stamp, color, cut and reassemble! Click HERE to see the challenge and then head HERE to see Barbara Campbell's amazing take on this challenge! With those lush cherry blossoms and BEAUTIFUL layout, definitely a good vibe!

2. Bit of Sunshine Today's the day my friends! Amy Shulke is at it again, coloring up some Power Poppy goodness and this time, she chose the Saucer Magnolia image to work her magic. She's giving her tips and tricks on really bringing out the best in the color pink! Oh my! Want in on the class? It starts at 11 EST today. But, don't worry! The class will be available for the next few months on her sight to cue up and learn as you go! Click HERE to check it all out!

3. Perky Poppies I'll admit it. Every now and then I get sucked into the social media wormhole, looking for inspiration. I stumbled upon this birthday beauty by Hannelie Bester. If you take a trip over to her Instagram, she has quite a Power Poppy creations that had me smitten!

4. Spring to Life! Well folks, you watched it HERE when the ground over at Ms. Marcella's place was being prepped for the world of a thousand bulbs. Winter came and they just sat there waiting to make their grand appearance and now HERE they are! You'll have to click on over to see this fine woman in her glory, watching these beautiful little petals make their way around her charming abode!

5. Coloring Up Easter With this beautiful holiday just nine days away, now is the time to get crack-a-lacking (with or without the egg) on some creative wishes! Check out this lovely by Sarah a.k.a. craftyratuk using Power Poppy's Vintage Easter Egg Digi. Love the bold color and the splash of sequins Sarah!

And.... if I could include a sixth good vibe, it would be to stay tuned because Ms. Marcella will be sharing the Power Poppy Spring Stamp Steal Who doesn't love a bargain on some beautiful polymer and digital blossoms? 

With that little taste of wonderful thrown before you, I have a little bit more! A few of the Bloomies are on standby, ready to share the beautiful things they've worked on this week to brighten your day!

Christine Okken
Kathy Jones

Thanks for stopping by to get a little jolt of creative inspiration. If you do create and want to share, just leave a link in the comments below or be sure to tag us on social media #powerpoppy!

Until next time...
~Julie 

Weekend Stamp Steal: Celebrating Spring

Happy Friday, Sweet Peeps.  I have to say there’s nothing like seeing the beauty and color of flowering trees that burst forth with beauty each spring. And, if you're like me, you are still waiting for those blooms to show their tiny faces in real life. Never fear, my friends, Power Poppy knows you “need” these precious petals NOW so Marcy perfectly timed a spring-themed sale to make sure you can get your fix as you wait for Mother Nature to give you the real deal.

Save up to $5 now through Monday at midnight central. Grab the branches of blooms that bring life and color to spring. We have one clear stamp and two digital downloads on sale...

Happy Crabapple

Create your own billowing scenes of blooming branches, leaves, and fruits, based on Power Poppy's original Flowering Branches digital set! This set offers all the pieces to build a do-it-yourself scene that’s as simple or abundant as you wish! 💗

Flowering Branches

An explosion of blossoms cover the branches of this glorious crabapple tree. In this digital set, the flowers bloom, leaves pop, and fruit is set to make an appearance in this ultimate flowering tree image! As you can see, this beauty is perfect to get a head start on those flowering creations for mom! 

Blossoming Cherry

Help usher in spring with ebullient Cherry Blossoms. How can such a simple branch pack such a pretty punch? God works in marvelous ways. Paired with one of three friendly sentiments, your digital composition will be the blossoming belle of the ball!

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And just because we love to show off how some of our Bloomies used these beauties, feast your eyes on some of this inspiration, ripe for the picking. These three brought to you by Christine Okken, Tosha Leyendekker and Katie Sims.

Shop the WEEKEND STAMP STEAL now and save up to $5 on these images that will help you usher in the promise of spring..... all year long.

Since it's Friday, that means that some of the Bloomies are on hand to share some of what they've been working on this week! Get ready to be wowed! 

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Stacy Morgan

Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones

Loved seeing you here today for our Weekend Stamp Steal and Bloom Brigade Parade! Be sure to check in tomorrow for a....

That's right! The Instant Gardeners will be in the house with a BRAND NEW DIGITAL STAMP SET that features an overflowing bouquet full of spring treasures delivered with a charming vintage feel. You're going to love this one! 

See you back here soon! 

~Julie 

August Power & Spark: Home Sweet Home!

Hello all and welcome to a new month with a new challenge! It’s all designed to create a bit of creative spark within you! Are you ready for us to take the lid off this new challenge? It's a fun one! Ms. Cindy Lawrence is our hostess with the mostess; and she's challenging us to keep the inspiration behind our creations, close to home! Check it out! 

HOW TO PLAY: Being inspired for this challenge is as simple as looking around your home. Is there a color scheme you crave? What about a pattern featured in a home decor accessory that could spin off into an idea for a card? Here's what Ms. Cindy had to say about this month's Inspired by Home Power & Spark Challenge!

This month, I’m challenging you to create a project inspired by a favorite room or corner in your home! Do you enjoy that modern farmhouse style? Or do you rock a more retro look? Can you see some of your home in your next card or creation? Don’t forget to include an inspiration photo so we can see how you brought that idea to life!

And as we always do, here's Cindy's card and a little bit about the inspiration behind it!

For her creation, Cindy used one of Power Poppy's newest digital stamp sets -- Gifts from the Sea.  She pulled her inspiration from several elements in the room. The textures in the baskets, curtain ties, and wood accessories inspired the ribbons & wood brads on her card. The colors of the walls, furniture, and accessories inspired the color palette in the image. The framed art inspired the cardstock choices and shapes. There are so many directions she could have gone here! For full details and more inspiration photos, visit Cindy’s brand new blog here.

Thanks Cindy! What a beautiful creation to get those ideas floating and jump start this challenge!

THE OFFICIAL RULES:

Use Power Poppy stamps if you have them. If not, it is a great way to win some!

Link your creation below using our Linky (please use the exact URL from your post instead of a generic blog address.)

Please mention Power Poppy in YOUR blog or gallery post with a link back to THIS challenge

The winner will receive a $50 SHOPPING SPREE TO THE POWER POPPY SHOP

Enter as many cards as you’d like, as long as they fit the theme of the challenge

Deadline to enter is August 31st @ 8:00 PM EST. At that point, we’ll draw the winner randomly and make the announcement right here on the first Friday in September!

And now, it’s time to draw one lucky name out of our virtual hat from those who linked up a card for July's Inspire Me Challenge hosted by yours truly! (Be sure to click the link to see all the amazing entries this past month!) Random.org drew the number.... 

And that means the winner is....

*** IRENE RHODES ***

Check out Irene’s amazing creation! I have to say, while this drawing was random, I was a little biased toward this technique! Irene used one of the digi tutorials I did HERE on using average everyday fonts and mixing them up with digital stamps. If you haven't checked out that tutorial, it's really a valuable technique, especially when you are looking to customize a card for just the right person or message.

Irene took that tutorial and added the word FAITH into the mix and surrounded the letters with the digi from the Flowering Branches set. I just adore the results! And, the color scheme Irene chose is just divine as well! We are so happy you played along this month Irene -- this one is a stunning keeper! Now to claim your $50 Shopping Spree to the Power Poppy Shop, just email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we'll get your coupon code right to you!

If you need a little extra sumpin, sumpin to get those creative juices and mojo flowing, I know these fine ladies will not disappoint. Be sure to click on the links and pay them a visit.

Cindy Lawrence

Kathy Jones
Katie Sims

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what we've got going down here on the Power Poppy Blog. We can't wait to see you join us this month for Power & Spark. As always, don't forget to link up your creation below after you take the challenge. We love to see just how you took these challenges for a spin.

See you back here soon,
~Julie 

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday: Sentiments in the Spotlight!

Hello all! Julie here with another “episode” of Inspire Me Monday!

How many times have you made a card, and then had to cross everything you had in the hopes that your card arrived at its destination in one piece? Well, today I am not only going to show you a few cards that are very mail-friendly, they use a different kind of thought process that puts your sentiments in the spotlight!

Here's a peek at what we are making! The decking out will come later -- so you'll have to stick with me to see how this all turns out! ;-)

Every single one of those above is a single layer. Fun right? So, let me share some of what I did to create these looks!

ONE BIG HELLO! 

For the first card, I started by stamping the word "hello" from the Big Scripts stamp set. Then, I took a clear ruler and a fine tip black marker to make the lines above and below my sentiment. I will say that I did run the marker over the ruler a couple times, just to make sure the line was solid and not broken in any way.

Afterward, I added some dimension thanks to a paper piercer and template. I think it just helped make this area stand out a bit!

Now the fun begins! I used a Post-It note to mask my sentiment section...

Then, I took the Ranunculus from the Dynamic Duos: Foxglove and Ranunculus stamp set and stamped it above the black line using blank ink and then moved the Post-It to cover the other direction and then I stamped the lower portion of the ranunculus bunch to make it look like the bunch was shooting out from underneath my sentiment section. See?

And, after it was all colored up with Copic markers, I layered it on some distressed looking pink decorative paper and added some minor accents with glitter glue and rounded corners.

LOVE & THANKS

For the next card, I wanted to use some of my dies as stencils. This rectangle die is a super simple shape but just think of the shapes you could use as word windows! Any shape and every shape!! All it would take is a steady hand with your fine-tipped marker!

I started by stamping my sentiment, then secured the die using bits of washi tape. I traced the inner part of the die using the same fine-tipped black marker. 

Ta da!

From there, I made a mask of that box simply by tracing the inner part of the die onto a Post-It Note and cutting it out....

After that, I stamped the branch from Power Poppy's Happy Crabapple clear stamp set several times over top until I covered the entire front of the 4" by 5.25" piece! I colored with Copic markers, matted it up and here's a peek at the finished card! As you can see, I accented the inner portion of the box with some ivory Copic Markers and some paper piercing, just to make that pop a little bit more. I also -- which you can't see really well -- accented my flower centers with a wee bit of glitter glue to make it sparkle. While I have three layers, this one is still extremely "mail friendly!" 

SENDING LOVE

This last card I whipped up by creating a little sentiment window with a punch! I started by stamping the sentiment from the Dynamic Duos: Glads and Gerberas. Then, I matched it up with just the right circle punch and created a mask by punching a circle out of the top sticky part of a Post-It Note, covering the sentie! You can see, I set this up in my Misti Stamping Tool and there's a reason for that! 

I am going to start by stamping the Gerbera Daisies from the set over top in black...

 Now, the fun part! Because I used my Misti, I am going to remove that mask, clean off my stamp and ink it up using a faint pink ink (Memento Angel Pink) and stamp right over the top! 

You can barely see the pink, but in real life it just gives it that extra bit of dimension! From there, I punched the circle out of a heavier card stock and let my fine-tipped pen do some work again as you can see in my finished card!

While I added some glittery enamel dots, those little guys are still pretty flat making this another card I can pop in the mail without a worry! So there you have it -- three ways to make your sentiments stand out -- with Post-It Notes, Punches and Dies! 

Thanks for popping in and joining me for another Inspire Me Monday! I hope you dig through your supplies and see what you might be able to use to put your sentiments in the spotlight!!!

Have a fabulously creative week!

~Julie

Inspire Me Monday: Inktense Pencils

Howdy all... and Happy Monday to all those out there in Blogland.  It's Inspire Me Monday and I'm your hostess Allison Cope!

Today on the Power Poppy Blog we're going to talk a little bit about Inktense pencils and creating cards with large sentiments.  I'm going to pull out my "Happy Crabapples" and "Potted Primroses" stamp sets and we're going to do a little stamping and coloring together.

So here is a peek at the card I'm going to share the coloring process with you today. 

So grab a good cup of something tasty and join me at my stamp table...

Direct Video Link 

For my final card, I added some clear Wink of Stella pen and some White Jellyroll Pen details to my crabapples and blossoms...

Inktense Pencils: Sun Yellow, Sherbet Lime, Apple Green, Tangerine, Poppy Red, Cherry, Shiraz, Bark

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!  I hope you enjoyed my video tutorial and give this medium a whirl!  Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian peeps out there!

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
Stamps:  Power Poppy (Happy Crabapples, Potted Primroses)
Cardstock: Canston (90# Watercolor Paper), Recollections 110# White cardstock
Patterned Paper:  Fresh Squeezed Chevron 6x6 (My Favorite Things)
Inks:  Jet Black (StazOn), Inktense Pencils, Wink of Stella (clear), Jellyroll White Pen 
Dies:  Stitched Rectangles (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Basic Edges (My Favorite Things)
Lace:  Misc..

Branch out with our August stamps — sneaks start today!

Hello to you, and welcome back to Power Poppy, where we’re pleased (and totally giddy!) to start three days of previews for our August clear stamp sets!

Our new collection is called Color Me Grateful, and it offers a variety of images for making cards that celebrate the little details in nature and in life, details that can seem so simple—maybe often overlooked—but that can bring joy to you and to your card recipients. There are three juicy sets in all, and we hope you’ll be here with us to see what we’re revealing each day, til we pop the cork on release day with a big ole blog hop August 1st. You’re not going to want to miss any of the colorful fun, led by the women whose cardmaking prowess is only second to their kindness and loving hearts, my Bloom Brigade design team! I am so grateful for their gorgeous contributions and I know you’re going to not want to miss a single peek.

We kick off today with a set whose blossom-laden focal image was first introduced in April of this year in our Instant Garden digital collection. (You can read the story behind Flowering Branches right here!) One of the most fabulous facets of trees that explode into flower in the springtime, they then are covered in lush leaves all summer, then many take on exquisite fall color, and THEN, as if they just can’t stop giving, giving, giving to their admirers (like us, and you know, the birds and the bees) they are covered in little fruits! When I first drew this set, I went ahead and put three seasons of bounty into the images — flowers, leaves, and fruit all at once. Which is what makes this set work practically year-round. Take a look at Happy Crabapple!

This image has been so popular as a digi — and truly, it colors up so nicely that I think it might be difficult to make it look bad. It’s just that fizzy and fun. In our clear stamp version, I’ve done a little pruning, so that you can stamp the large image of flowering crabapple branches, but then you can add little “tufts” of fruits, leaves, and flowers with smaller accent images. Or you can save the big image for later and only use the tiny ones! They are the perfect size for a quick color-up!

Sentiments in Happy Crabapple invite you to see things in new way, to find happiness and gratitude by looking at a situation differently. To keep the faith. We all need those little reminders every now and again. And you know, sometimes I stamp the messages from my stamp sets on post-it notes and place them around my computer monitor just for that very purpose! I’m sure you all could come up with a bit more creative solution than that, but it’s the spiritual nudge I need some days. :) 

Oh, hey look!! The Bloom Brigade is breezing in to show us some of the many ideas you can try with this set of flowering, fruit-laden clusters and happy sentiments.

TAKE IT AWAY, BLOOMIES!

Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
Leslie Miller
Allison Cope
Katie Sims
Christine Okken

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you’ll make a note to come on back tomorrow, for something completely different, that may have you getting a bit nostalgic and looking to unearth that dusty old box of 45 singles... Have a rocking day and see you soon!