The Good Vibe 5

Serving up a big dose of colorful ideas, tips, surprises, and a stamp sale — just for you!

No. 1 

Kathy from the Daily Marker shows you how to alter stamps and create an entire SCENE filled with buzzing insects and multiple flowers in this week’s Inspire Me Monday. It's ideal inspiration for making a card to enter into our June Bug Challenge. 

SPECIAL   In Praise of Sunflowers Clear Stamp Set   $12.99

SPECIAL   Sunflower Power Digital Stamp Set   $3.49

No. 2 

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. Hop to it, lady.

No. 3 

So you guys, I’ve really not thought of myself as a dog person. But these sweet kids of mine (and that darn man, who is as sweet as they come) have been asking for years to get one. I always say no. I don’t even just say, “No”, it is more like, “NooooOOOOOoooooooo”. Recently I was sitting there thinking about it, as I ran other pet options through my mind (anyone for a backyard chicken coop?) it occurred to me that I had built a wall in my brain about saying no to dogs. Why have I been saying NO? I couldn’t even answer it really. So, yesterday we visited the whole litter, and in three weeks will be picking up our new Corgi puppy! Hanging with the doggies and kids was one of the most unforgettable afternoons I can recall. We can’t wait to bring home our newest family member. Any ideas for names? (He’s the little guy in the center, in Clara’s arms.)

No. 4 

Tis the season for gathering up bouquet upon bouquet from blooming roadsides, garden borders, and even sidewalk cracks. A celebration of simple, breezy flowers, Countryside Bouquet Deluxe clear stamp is on sale for just $11.99 (save $6 off retail) and Countryside Bouquet digital stamp set is just $1.99 (save $4 off retail) Sale ends Sunday at midnight. Learn more about the sets and pick up this super popular bouquet for YOUR budding flower collection.

No. 5 

What a fresh and fun card for a friend! Lots of dimension, layers, loops of ribbon galore — but — somehow it still feels light and airy. A cardmaking triumph! We love how Esther of Shoregirl's Creations added a green dragonfly to her pretty-blue-poppin’ Gerbera Daisies card, just perfect for entering in our JUNE Power & Spark Challenge. Hope you’ll submit a card featuring an insect friend in our June Bug Challenge this month. You could win a $50 Shopping Spree at Power Poppy! Ends on June 30, so, you know, as you read above: Time is now.

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Have you been keeping up with our newest addition to Tuesday? Julie Koerber is the hostess of Hues to Use, a weekly color palette ripped from the headlines (well, more like my Instagram feed). The palette might just set your craft table into a whirl of activity.... come see what Julie has in store for us this week, ALONG WITH an announcement on how YOUR WORK may be featured on the Power Poppy blog!

Get ready to see some of the most incredible cards you’re sure to see all week (if not month or year). Featuring our newest digital stamps and a few cherished classics to get you in a bloomin’ good mood!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

You make our hearts sing, Bloomies! Thanks for sharing such awesome artistry, I know I’m inspired.

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Thank you for coming by the blog today — I was a bit behind in the posting, so now you can read this for your Friday happy hour! A quickie if you came this week looking for our July Instant Garden digital... we have to postpone that one for a wee bit longer, but we’ll be sure to let you know when it’s on the scene and ready to be devoured by your markers!

Keep your eyes peeled for peeks from my ALL NEW upcoming clear stamp collection.... coming in July. I’ve been busy working on so many ideas, I really can’t wait to share them with you! Much love to each of you wonderfully kind, creative, courageous superstars!!

Black, White & Read All Over!

Hey Peeps! It's Tuesday, which means your crazy color combo creator is here to share a vivid trio of hues in the hope that it might just jumpstart YOUR creativity. I feel that -- with a little juggling of those hot spots on the color wheel --- this challenge might get you to pick up some combinations that you might not normally reach for! And getting out of your comfort zone is frankly... a GOOD thing! Right? I mean, it grows synapsies in the brain when we go outside our zone!  

So, without further ado, welcome to this week's......

Today's little inspiration point is one that's super close to our creatively fearless leader's heart. Yes, that would be Ms. Marcella!! Anyone who knew her amazing, artful, creative, joyful, exuberant, charismatic, and endearing mama --- Susan -- knew that she loved her New York Times crossword puzzles. As Marce says, she "loved to work them, excelled at completing them, and delighted in triumphing over every single square." So, when I spotted this photo below on Marcy's IG feed, I knew we had to make it the centerpiece of a Hues to Use Challenge. This is a photo of Marcy remembering her mama and rising to the crossword of all crossword challenges in honor of this special lady. On top of that, who doesn't love a good, vibrant, and "contrasty" combo of pitch black, alabaster white and cardinal red? 

On to my creation! Not too long ago, I was walking around my neighborhood and spotted the most beautiful red azalea bush in full bloom. Honestly, living in the colder climate that I do (Montana), I didn't think we could grow azaleas. So this, my friends, was a bit of additional inspiration for my Hues to Use project for the week. Take a gander at this beauty, will you? This isn't my neighbor's plant but it looks just as vivid and lush! 

Source

 And so, after gazing on these rich red blossoms, this is what I came up with! 

I started with Power Poppy's stamp set Azalea, stamped it in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then, grabbed these Copic marker colors to get started!

I have to admit, coloring in shades of red is NOT my strong suit. Soooo....this was more than just a color challenge for me. It was an out and out challenge. Red has, in fact, always been the trickiest color for me. That's why I just breathed in the photo above before I even got started -- just to try to plan my color attack. I will say that I started dark to light with this one so that I could try to better control where the dark shades went. And this was the result.....

While it wasn't easy for me. I am rather pleased with how the coloring turned out! I actually might not shudder in my shoes next time I decide to go red! Moving on from there, it was all about the fussy cutting and matting. I grabbed bits and pieces from my decorative paper stash. Some of the paper is from My Mind's Eye. Some is from Stampin' Up. All of it is forever old! So, I was glad to be able to put some of these papers to good use! And that, my friends, is it!

BEFORE I LET YOU GO, I HAVE SOME 

EXCITING NEWS! 

Now, don't all raise your hands at once (even though I know you will want to) but.....

1. Who would love to be able to design with some of the prettiest stamp images on the market?

2. Who would love to headline one of the most creative blogs in the stamping universe? Do I have your attention yet? ;-)

If you answered YES to those questions, we'd like to see you play along in our Hues to Use all month long! At the end of the month -- starting in July -- you just might earn a spot here on the Power Poppy blog as one of our Hues to Use guest designers! Can you even stand it? How fun does that sound? So, get those fingers inky and take these Hues to Use for a test drive. We'll be watching and looking to see who might like to help us host this fun-filled challenge! Meantime, I can't wait to see how you put cardinal red, pitch black and alabaster white into creative play! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday - Stamp Altering

Hello Friends, How was your weekend? My name is Kathy and it's my turn for today's Inspire Me Monday post. 

 Do you like to get more milage out of your stamps? I would gamble that most of you have altered a stamp? How about seeing double?  I love the sunflower in the stamp set called "In Praise of Sunflowers" so I decided to spend a little extra time doing a little masking & stamping to create a new larger, taller sunflower for some impact on my card. 

In my video I show you how I lengthened the stem on the sunflower and added another bloom. Click here to watch the video in HD. 

A bright white water color paper is always my choice and the ink used was Versa Fine black ink. The "Zig Clean Color" brush tip markers worked beautifully to watercolor my card.

 The sunflower was stamped again, cut and popped for more dimension. The sentiment is from the  "Prairie Cheer Stamp" and that sweet little bee is from the same stamp set. 

Adding accents with a white gel pen is usually the way I finish off a card. When my card was completely finished I decided to add a splash of the watered down distress ink that was sitting on my table. 

Thank for your visit today and I hope you picked up a tip or two. Have a great week. Hugs, Kathy

Friday's Good Vibe 5

Hello my dear friends! We’re wrapping up a busy and fulfilling week and kicking off a sunny Friday here in St. Louis — hope you have a great one wherever you happen to hang your hat.

No. 1 

What can I say about this photo? It makes me tear up a little bit, quite frankly. This past weekend I was so proud to get to share St. Louis with 7/8 of my beloved Bloom Brigade, who came to visit and see what this place is all about! Such a whirlwind. We kicked off with dinner at my house, and filled in the weekend with jaunts to the Missouri Botanical Garden, Forest Park, a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game, night out to see an R&B/soul band, spin through my favorite nursery Bowood Farms, and, as shown in the photo above, a memorable trip to my parents’ beautiful home and garden, where my stepdad, Steve, gave us an incredible tour. What a group of amazing people, I won’t ever forget our visit! You can see more photos from our adventures on some of the Bloomies’ blogs today!

Above, left to right: Marcella Hawley, Christine Okken, Allison Cope, Katie Sims, Julie Koerber, Cindy Lawrence, Tosha Leyendekker, Stacy Morgan. 

No. 2 

Hard to imagine a sweeter card featuring our Sweet Memories stamp set — and a fluttery friend who happens to make this card eligible for our JUNE Power & Spark Challenge — go read all about it! Leslie Miller is the artist behind this lovely card, and we are especially loving Leslie’s tiny polka dots sprinkled all around the blooms and tendrils — it gives her card a real liveliness, don’t you think? In addition to incredibly rich coloring in the “no-line” style. Hope you’ll try your hand at creating a card featuring a little butterfly, bee, beetle, or any 6-legged friend in our June Bug Challenge this month. Remember, you could win a $50 Shopping Spree at Power Poppy!

No. 3 

Every now and again, I get very, very special mail from my friends/customers (the line is so blurry sometimes!) — and during my birthday week, I was so touched by the cards I received!! One of the beauties was this watercolored Camellias card by Jennifer Colacicco @soulbyte. I have it right on my desk, and just marvel at how Jenny’s light touch with her paints brightens up the canvas. Lovely delicate shading, and a perfectly placed bronze-embossed sentiment just melted me! Thank you so much, Jenny, I love my card, sweet little giftie, and especially loved your daughter’s artistic creation tucked in, TOO!!! I am one lucky lady!

No. 4 

Looking for a few stamps to make simply smashing cards — and save at the same time? I’m offering Potted Primroses clear stamp for just $11.99 (save $6 off retail) and Juicy Strawberries digital stamp set (save $4 off retail) until Sunday at midnight. Swoop in and grab these for your collection before the price goes back up! 

No. 5 

But wait — there’s MORE!! In honor of Father’s Day on Sunday, you can grab two of our most popular masculine-themed sets for a super steal! Move the Soul clear stamp set is a perfect for those motorcycle-lovin’ men in your life with lots of sentiments and oil-stained elements, and is $6 off at $11.99! Leaping Trout is a digital stamp that colors up beautifully and will be so appreciated by those fish-wrangling fathers — save $4 on this one. Offer ends Sunday at midnight.

The Bloom Brigade got back from their St. Louis sojourn and set right to creating!! Can’t wait to share what they’ve made, everything from birthdays to bugs to cards featuring our NEWEST digital introductions, Luminous Bouquet and Old Time Hollyhocks. Take a peek:

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thank you so much, Bloomies!!! Be sure to leave some love for our super sweet team!

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Be SURE to check out Allison Cope’s tutorial on Inspire Me Monday, for a glowingly gorgeous card that I happen to have been given IN PERSON! I can verify that this is one of the coolest cards I’ve ever seen in my life. And Ally shows you how to make it right HERE.

MONDAY: Be sure to circle back with us as Kathy Racoosin hosts Inspire Me Monday! And an all-new Instant Garden digital stamp set will be arriving on June 25th! Yeehoooooooo

Buzzin' With Color!

Hi all! Are you ready for another trio of colors designed to inspire and give you a creative kickstart when popping in to make a card? Well, you've come to the right place! It's Tuesday, which means it's time for another edition of......

Imagine Marcella knowing where a garden sprouting with ideas might exist just like this one -- a whimsical wonder! This one is tucked away near the University of Illinois and is an "Idea Garden" full of the skilled handiwork of the Master Gardeners of Champaign County. It's a spot, they say, that's a "delightful place to walk, get ideas for your own garden, or just to relax in the gazebo with a friend." Ahh.... what a lush and colorful delight for the eyes! Breathe it in people! When Marcella shared this sweet photo on Intsagram, her eyes locked on those beautiful purple puffs that just appeared to stand at attention and said, "Ever-charming Allium Lollipops -- always stealing the show!" And, she's right! So, this is how our color palette sprouted with shades of vibrant violet, weathered grey, and leafy green. See? 

This is how my creation began! I used Power Poppy's Asters Abuzz digital stamp set and colored it up with my Copic markers using a mix of leafy greens in G21, G24, G28, YG00, a bit of vibrant violet using V00, V01, V04 and V06, and the grey, I saved for my card layout. You can see I used some light blue Copic markers to add some pop and fizz with some stippled accents! 

So, I have a confession to make. It's actually a tragedy to share! :-( So, I colored up this image above and decided that I needed to cut out this image with a die cut circle. So, I put my little image in my Spellbinders "sandwich" and started cranking! Well, when I opened it all up, I didn't see the die that had been stuck to the other side of my die machine plate. OH. MY. GOSH!

THERE WAS A SCALLOPED EDGE DIE THAT CUT OFF THE TOP PART OF MY IMAGE! Ohhhhhhhh NooooooOOooOOOoooo! 

So, instead of throwing away my colored up and cut up image, I decided to make lemonade out of lemons! After staring at it for what seemed like an eternity, I decided the only thing I could do was to cut it up further with a 1-1/4" circle punch. So, with one eye closed, I worked to "save" what was left!

And this is what I came up with!

I have to admit, It was tough "recovering" from my mishap! HA! But, I actually do love how this turned out and made the image more of an accent to the sentiment than the other way around. 

Here's a closeup of those little fuzzy bumbles....

And, did you notice that my card is two-fold? This little creation also could be in the running for this little challenge!

So, my sweet stamping friends, now you have TWO ways to challenge yourself this week! Hues to Use.... and this month's Power & Spark Junebug Challenge, which urges you to add a little bug to your card or creation!

Thanks for stopping by my friends! I'd love to see you put vibrant violet, weathered grey and leafy green to the test! When you do, make sure to link up your creation below! I cannot wait to see what you come up with! Seeing you share your creative endeavors makes my heart smile! ;-)

Have a fabulous rest of your week creative peeps!
~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday: Light It Up!

Welcome to Inspire Me Monday!  I'm your hostess Allison Cope and today we're going to have some fun with some cool stamped and embossed images and some even more cool LED light kit.

In order for you to better follow along with the steps of this card, I have a video tutorial made up for you today.  This video is a little bit longer than my typical videos but I think in order to see and understand the steps, it was necessary.

Grab a cuppa your favorite beverage and join me at my desk...

View in HD.

I hope you'll take a moment and click the thumbs up on the video to let me know you'd like to see more card making videos just like this one.  Take a moment and leave a comment either here on the blog or over on YouTube.

Here's a final peek at the final card.  I used the amazingly gorgeous Sunny Harvest clear stamp set for my card today.

Copics: BV31, E70, E71, R14, Y11, Y15, Y17, YG01, YG03, YG13, YG17, YG93, YR15

 And here is my card all lit up...

Thanks for joining me here today.  I sure hope you enjoyed the card making process using the fun Chibitronics LED light kit.  If you get a chance to try it, I'd love a link to your project!

Have a great weekend everyone and happy card making!

~ Allison Cope ~


Stamps: Power Poppy (Sunny Harvest)
Cardstock: Strathmore (Bristol Smooth White Watercolor Paper), Recollections (110# White), My Favorite Things (Vellum), DCWV (Foiled – Copper)
Dies: SugarPea Designs (Stitched Flags), Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles), Spellbinders (A2 Scalloped Borders 1)
Tools: Chibitronics (LED Lights, Copper Tape, Battery)
Embossing Powder: Stampendous! (Copper Detail)
Patterned Papers: Authentique (Gathering 6x6)
Inks: Versamark, Copic Markers

Berry-licious!

Hello all and welcome to another edition of....

Today's little color exploration features a favorite of Ms. Marcella's! Just set your sights on this little firecracker on two wheels below!

If you didn't know it, Marcella's beau, Doug, loves to fix up vintage bikes. If you scroll through Marce's Ista-stream, man-oh-man you see the passion those two have -- and the soirees that they organize -- all for the love of the vintage bike! So, I thought it especially fitting since Marce just celebrated a birthday yesterday (she's not 46 -- she's forty-sassy!), that we'd honor this little number in this week's Hues to Use! Check-check-check-ity it out! So grab those shades of firecracker red, electric yellow and go-go green --- and get to creating!

On to my creation! Okay, I have a confession to make! When summer rolls around, my family literally hits the road following my daughter's softball team all over the place! Recently we were in Steamboat Springs, CO., which meant, I was hundreds of miles from my craft room! So, sweet stamping friends, I just had time to color up, but not make a card with, some Juicy Strawberries!  

Just in case you wondered, I grabbed my Copic markers for this little number and reached for YG03, YG17 and YG67 for the go-go greens! I used Y13 and Y35 for the electric yellows and then reached for R20, R32, R27 and R29 for the firecracker red strawberries! As you can see, I accented with some white gel pen and then highlighted my image with Y00 and YG0000 just to add a bit of glow!

Now, if you want to see these lush berries taking center stage on a card, all you need to do is check back to my blog HERE on Friday when I finish it up and post with the Bloomies! ;-)

Until then, let's see where this trio of colors takes you? Is it around the bend looking for adventure? Or, is it more like a peaceful, easy Sunday drive through the rolling hills? Take this challenge for a spin and.... then link up your creation below!

See you back here soon!
~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up