Good Vibes Just In Time!

Hello folks! We are so sorry to keep your good vibes waiting for the weekend but... we are in the business of showering you with them... even if it's late! ;-) Hope you are ready for the weekend and hope you are ready to catch these beautiful sources of inspiration to get you on your fun-filled way!

Okay, show of hands, who's ready to dance in the spring rain, gather up posies and just give a good cheer to the start of this life-filled season? Yep, I thought so! If you're lucky enough to live in a southern climate, a beautiful tuft of spring flowers just might be sitting outside your front or back door (like it is at Marcy's abode!). Breathe it in people and know -- if spring hasn't sprung in your neck of the woods -- it has to come soon! Right???

This good vibe comes with a bit of an enabler alert! DIES ARE BACK IN STOCK! Yes, sorry, I screamed a bit there but, hey, who's not excited that you can now have a partner in creative crime with these savvy little tools?? Remember, the sets Loving Tulips, Sassy Succulents (as shown above!), Peony Muse, and Natural Beauties all have coordinating dies. And... guess what? Lean in a bit since this is a secret! I hear, now don't tell anyone, that more dies are on the way!!! Yep, we are a wee bit excited about that fact! Stay tuned for more on that little secret!

This little dose of happy comes thanks to Vanilla Arts and the oh-so-fabulous Amy Shulke. Have you been one of the lucky ones to take one of her online classes? Um, well, if you answered "No", you are MISSING OUT my friends! Tomorrow she has a live class using Power Poppy's digital stamp set Cup of Columbine. Look at that sweet peeps!! Aren't the results gorgeous??? Tomorrow's class will showcase how to successfully color with calm and natural colors! Just click HERE for more deets on that and sign up -- promise you will love her style!

Who on earth is this sweet face above? Well, I happen to know it's Katie Sims -- a woman as sweet as she is talented and man, you and I both know SHE IS TALENTED! If you are in the Atlanta area. Ms. Katie will be at Impressive Ideas from Noon to 4 PM and she'll have Power Poppy goodness with her -- stamp sets, coloring tips galore, make and takes, and giveaways! I might just have to hop on a plane to join her for all that fun!

What do you get when you mix rainbow Deco Foil and an amazing stamp set? An even more amazing note card set! Take a gander at this beauty above crafted by Elizabeth Zaffarano using Power Poppy's digital stamp set Daffodil Bouquet. Wowza... that's some WOW FACTOR if I ever did see! You'll have to check out Elizabeth's Instagram HERE to see more photos showcasing this super fun project!

And, as a little added bonus... don't forget about this peeps!

At last check, we had close to three dozen entries for our Vitamin Me Contest -- where YOU tell US how you seize the day and soak up some ME time. Have you shared your thoughts yet? If not, we'd love for you to click on over HERE and tell us a little bit about what you do to feed your soul! You could end up winning a $50 Power Poppy Shopping Spree if you are our lucky winner!

I happen to know two Bloomies have fun things to share with you today! So, why not keep those good vibes rolling and pay these amazing ladies below a visit, will you?

Christine Okken

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for stopping by! Ally Cope will be in the house on Monday for another edition of Inspire Me Monday and, I know it's going to rock the house because, well, that's what Ally always does! ;-) Until then, my friends, enjoy your weekend!

~Julie 

Inspire Me Monday: Inspiration is Everywhere!

Happy Monday everyone!  I’m Allison Cope, your hostess for Inspire Me Monday this week!

This week I’m going to share some pieces of inspiration with you and how I turned them into creative and fun card ideas.

If you are like most crafters, you browse the web, other crafters blogs and especially investigate Pinterest for things to give us a creative awakening.  Not only do I look at other crafters cards on Pinterest but I look at design, fashion, food and all kinds of different areas looking for images to spark that creative endeavour.

So I went through my Pinterest board entitled “Inspiration” and I came up with 3 very different pins to get inspiration from, to begin the card making process.

Teal Floral Cake

Source

One of the first images I came across was this stunning teal coloured cake with bright yellow, white and soft grey blooms.  I just couldn’t resist drawing inspiration from not only the teal colour but also from the motion of the blooms laid out across the layers of cake.

So I began my card by stamping the larger cluster of Hens & Chicks from the “Sassy Succulents” stamp set.  I added in a few single succulents too. I tried to mimic the movement created by the blooms on the cake.

I created a bold teal back ground of Copic Marker for my succulents but decided to only highlight a single, large hen & chick.  I pulled some yellow from the inspirational cake florals but decided to add some hues of purples, pink and even some lime greens into the plant using Prismacolor Pencils.

I just love the flow and movement created by the succulents on this card!

Floral & Striped Lap Top Bag

Source

Next I found an image of this vivid handmade lap top bag.  The orange striped fabric just drew me in and I love the little simple yet colourful blooms on the white back ground of the top fabric.

To begin this card, I knew I wanted to use the basic design of the bag; stripes on the bottom and little blooms on the top.  So I found a fun striped paper and then pulled the teal from the strip into the colour of the blooms.

Instead of using a vertical strip like the bag, I chose to add some more whimsy to the card and put my stripes on an angle and then also make my blooms from the “Folk Heart” stamp set work the same angle.

To finish it off, I added a bold embossed sentiment from the “Big Scripts” stamp set at the bottom.

I just love how those lines of amusing little blooms just sprout from the stripes at the bottom!

Floral Skirt

Source

Fashion is another way to be inspired to create!  I found this fun skirt pinned in my board and knew that the front panels would make a cool design for the front of a card.

I began by cutting two identical rectangular panels of water colour paper and stamping the single rose from the “My English Rose” stamp set randomly all over both panels. I chose to pull 4 different colours of ink from the skirt; a lighter dusty blue, a darker sky blue, a fuchsia purple and rich, dark purple.  I used all 4 colours randomly when stamping and filled them in with the same watered down inks.

I trimmed my panels to create 2 overlapping pieces with peek-a-boo points sort of like the skirt, added them to a purple card base and added a simple bow to finish it off.

Fashion inspiration has a great way of sneaking itself into our crafting lives too!

So I hope I’ve inspired you to think outside the box today and view not only the net but the sources around you.  The oddest things may spark your creative mind; a bill board, a magazine ad, a logo or even a painting hanging on a shop's wall!  Inspiration is everywhere!  Keep those eyes open!

Happy stamping & creating everyone!

~ Allison Cope ~


Supplies:

You’re Special Succulents 
Stamps: Power Poppy (Sassy Succulents)
Cardstock: Recollections (110lb White), MFT (Ripe Raspberry)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Copic Blending Solution, Prismacolor Pencils, Versamark
Embossing Powder: Stampendous! (White Detail)
Patterned Paper: MFT (Tranquil Textures 6x6)
Copics: BG32, BG13 
Prismacolors: Canary Yellow, Chartreuse, Grass Green, Carmine Red, Parma Violet, Mulberry

Sunflower Hello
Stamps: Power Poppy (Folk Heart, Big Scripts)
Cardstock: Recollections (110lb White)
Patterned Paper: MFT (Painted Prints Smitten 6x6)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Versamark
Embossing Powder: Stampendous! (White Detail)
Dies: Pretty Pink Posh (Scallop Frames)
Twine: Darice
Copics: BG10, BG09, Y15, Y17, YG01, YG17

Lavender Roses
Stamps: Power Poppy (My English Rose)
Cardstock: Arches (140lb Cold Pressed Water Color Paper), Bazzill (Sour Grape)
Inks: Simon Says Stamp (Surf Blue, Steel Blue, Wisteria, Hot Mama)
Tool: Tim Holtz (Piercing Tool)
Ribbon: Offray

Inspire Me Monday: Easy Creative Packaging

Happy Monday friends!  I hope that those of you in the US are now recovering from your turkey coma, and now many of the rest of us turn the corner to full-on Christmas prepration!  For today’s tutorial, I thought I would spur on your creative juices with some practical and easy ways to do some Holiday or Christmas packaging.  In December we often give small gifts of thanks and appreciation to teachers, coaches, youth leaders, friends, and service people.  It might be a small gift, but pretty packaging goes a long way to making the gift feel more special.  

So, today I have 3 non-traditional gift packaging ideas for you.  A monochromatic gift card envelope, a rustic paper bag and a glitzy tin.  

Monochromatic Gift Card Envelope  

I remembered a tutorial from ages ago that I learned which is an easy way to make a fancy gift card envelope.  You’ll need only a couple of supplies, a plain envelope, a crimper (you might have to dig that one out of your stash!), some ink, sponges and a stamp set.  Here I’m using Power Poppy’s Sassy Succulents stamp set. 

I began by ramdomly stamping the hen and chicks image onto the front side of the envelope in a teal ink.  

Next sponge the envelope with a softer ink.  I used a combination of SU Pool Party and Baja Breeze.  

Next flip the envelope over, stamp and sponge the envelope and SEAL it shut.  

Then cut off about 1 1/2 inches off the top of one side of the envelope.  This will be your “lid”.  Set the lid aside.  

Now grab the larger part of the sealed envelope, with the cut side of the envelope on the right or left, set it in the crimper and run it through the crimper.  This will give it texture, but it also “shrinks” the bottom part of the envelope so it can become a bit of an envelope box.  This way the lid can fit over top.  

Here you can see the bottom of the envelope that’s been crimped is a bit smaller, now it can fit inside the top flap.  

Now, to create a place to put your gift card, cut a square of card stock, add a small strip of sticky adhesive to the top of the square and set it into the top of the lid of the envelope.  When you have a gift card just attach it to the square.  

To help the edges of the crimped bottom of the envelope fit into the lid, I used a corner rounder to the top of the cut side so it will fit in nicely.  

Here’s how the envelope looks put together.  I’ve added a lovely tag made with Marcy’s brand new digital stamp from the Wreath sets called Wreath:  Succulents and Baubles.  I printed it in a softer teal ink and coloured it up with Copics.  Framing it all out with scalloped edge felt and a felt bow.  

Here’s the envelope open.   

And here’s a close-up of the tag.  I love the softness of the felt with the monochromatic look.  

Rustic Paper Bag

Next up, a paper bag!  Don’t underestimate the power of simple household things for packaging!  All I’ve done with this simple packaging is to grab a regular paper lunchbag.  I folded over an edge, added a fishtale pennant of burlap, and then grabbed some twigs from outside (put them in the oven for a bit to make sure there were no critters inside), and then hotglued them to the top of the bag.  

Then I took some of my rosemary (that’s still so hardy outside), hot glued it into the top, and then added a rustic tag made with another of our new wreath digis, Wreath:  Birch and Evergreens.  Bonus of this is that the rosemary really smells lovely!

A close-up of the tag, created simply with a scalloped frame, a woodgrain embossed background that I swiped some distress ink over, and then ripped the bottom, tying it with some rustic twine.  

Very simple and practical, and yet it looks so polished.  

Glitzy Tin
 

Metallics are so great at Christmas time, or for the New Year!  In our home, one of the gifts we make each year is our family receipe, homemade fudge.  We put it into silver tins like this so you already have a glitzy silver base for your packaging.  Then, I created a simple belly-band from gold foil paper, added some shimmery white ribbon, and then a lovely shimmery tag made with another of our new digis, Wreath: Felt Leaves and Fruits.  I glitzed the tag up with glitter pen, metallic gold pen dots on the fruits, and Wink of Stella on the black berries.  The whole thing shimmers, but you’ll have to use your imagination for me on that one, with the metallic black base on the tag it doesn’t grab the simmer on the fruits.  

A sweet little jingle bell and gold twine finish it off!  

There you have it, three sweet simple ideas using everyday items to make your holiday packages look even more special!  

This will be my last tutorial at Power Poppy for a while....I’m taking next year off from doing tutorials for some needed extra time in the schedule.  I’ll still be here designing though, you can’t get rid of me there! :)   Thanks so much for all your supportive comments over the past two years!  I know you’ll continue to be inspired by all of the Power Poppy team with Inspire Me Mondays!  

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Inspire Me Monday: Showcasing Vellum

Hi Power Poppy friends!  Today it’s Christine bringing you a little fun for your Monday.  We’re going to do a whirlwind tour through the possibilities that using vellum brings for your card making. I’ve got five cards to show you with different applications.  Let’s jump in!

Vellum is such a perfect material for so many effects.  It adds that slightly-opaque yet slightly-transparent layer, which in turn gives you a dreamy or softened effect that’s really pretty.  There are so many ways to use it!

1.  Colouring on Vellum

A gorgeous effect that works on vellum is colouring.  Because it has a bit of a slick coating on it, it’s very different from colouring on regular paper.  One way I like to use it is to emboss an image on the front of the vellum, and then colour on the back.  There’s two reasons for this, one - Copics shouldn’t touch embossing lines as it will clog your nibs, and two because it blends very differently than on regular paper so using that opaque nature of vellum allows you to disguise some of those marker lines by colouring on the back.   Here I’ve embossed the lovely peonies from Dynamic Duos: Peonies & Tulips with white embossing powder on vellum.  

Here you can see the back of my vellum from the card above where I’ve coloured.  The markers really do blend well on vellum, but you definitely get a stroky sort of look.  But once you turn the vellum over, that really gets muted and it still looks great.  So, there’s two benefits to this, one, you don’t have to be as particular about your blending and strokes, and two you get to use really bold colours and they’re muted slightly on the side of the vellum that is showing.  

Here you can see the difference in what the right-side-up side looks like.  

And here’s a close-up of the finished design with a lovely word die, sparkling ribbon and rhinestones. Always a lovely way to use vellum, and a great style to have in your creative toolbox.  

2.  Softening Coloured Images

I love bold colours, I can’t help myself.  I love colouring with bold colours too!  But, there are times when you want to create a mood or tone that’s softer.  A layer of vellum is the perfect touch.  I knew I wanted to make these gorgeous Ranunculus flowers into a card that could be used for a sympathy or thinking of you theme.  Well, bold orange really doesn’t work for that does it?   

Just layering vellum over the design shows how it softens and mutes the boldness of the colouring that’s perfect for the theme of the card I’m creating.  

Here’s the finished card design with the added sentiment and framing. It’s like we’ve gone from shouting to whispering.  

Perfectly peaceful.  

3.  Layering Vellum 

Another neat way to use vellum is to layer it to make a great statement.  Here I’ve used Power Poppy’s Sassy Succulents set and heat embossed three layers of the hen and chicks image.  Then I carefully cut out progressively smaller areas of the image so that I could stack them together and create dimension.  The one thing that’s important to note about vellum is that because of it’s transparent nature, you have to watch how you adhere it.  Whatever you use will often show through. So you can tell that I’ve disguised the pop dots between the layers with some enamel dots.  With vellum you have to be a bit creative on how to adhere it in a way that doesn’t show.  

That dimension is so great, and the transparency of the vellum still shows through some of the green of the cardstock.  

4.  Vellum Accents

Vellum is perfect for those little touches to accent a card.  Here I’ve created a design with two Power Poppy sets, Good Thinking:  Love Notes, and a brand NEW digi releasing today called Follow Your Heart.  I gave this one a bit of a scrappy-collage feel with embossing paste hearts, words and images and then that pretty vellum mini-envelope and heart.  

Vellum accents could be any little elements that add that extra interest.  Think die cut leaves, hearts or flowers etc.  

5.  Vellum Sentiments

Lastly, I have a very Clean and Simple design that demonstrates how vellum is perfect for adding soft sentiments to your designs.  On this Valentiney card I’ve embossed Big Scripts onto vellum and made a sentiment panel.  It serves another purpose because it also softens that section of the designer paper - just like it would a coloured image underneath.  I’ve sewn the vellum on to hold it in place, but also added little bits of adhesive underneath my accents so it won’t be seen.  

One thing that’s very important to note about embossing on vellum is that because it’s such a staticky material, I always use my embossing buddy on the vellum before I emboss.  It prevents the embossing powder from sticking where it shouldn’t.  I consider it a must working with embossing on vellum.  

Oh, there’s just so many ways you could use vellum on your cards!  I’ve only covered a few, but I hope you play with this lovely style of paper and see for yourself how versatile it is!  Thanks for joining me today!  

Christine

Cute Little Lunch Notes!

Hello Everyone and welcome back to another Inspire Me Monday! If you've been browsing around Pinterest, you may have come across handmade Lunch Notes - little messages for your kids when they open their lunch boxes (or perhaps your hubby??).  Since I have 3 kids of my own and two still in Primary School (I've been told by the High Schooler, under NO circumstances am I to slip one of these in his lunch box) that I would have a go making these myself!

I've grabbed the Sassy Succulents stamp set by Power Poppy, a Memento Ink Pad, X-press It Mask It and X-press It Blending Card.

I wanted to overlay the images and Mask It is perfect for the task!  A great way to create a mask that you can use over and over is to stamp the image you want to mask onto X-press It Blending Card, then remove the backing sheet and place the Mask It over the top.

While the Mask It is over the top, use a pair of sharp scissors to fussy cut very close to the edges.

Next stamp the same image onto another piece of Blending Card and then peel off the Mask It shape and place it over the top.

Ink up the other stamp you want to use and stamp it over the top of the Mask It covered image.

Peel off the Mask It to reveal the images.

Colour your image!  I've used a variety of colours......
Large Cactus - G12, G24, G28
Large Pot - E93, E95, E97, E99
Small Cactus - YG21, YG93, YG97
Small Pot - B00, B12, E93
Pebbles - C1, C3, YG93, E93, 0

Why not use the tips in my last tutorial about shadows and note how the pot in front has left a cast shadow on the one behind!

Cut the card to size and either write a message to your sweetie or use a suitable sentiment stamp.  I really like this sentiment in the Sassy Succulents set and thought it would be perfect to remind a child that they are perfect the way they are!  You could simply mat this with a piece of coloured cardstock, but if you can frame it with a pretty diecut.....why not use it!

I hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial! Why not surprise those you love and leave them a little message in their lunches - I bet you'll make their day!

Have a great week!

~Kathy