Power Poppy - The Blog

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Creative Confetti: An Attitude of Gratitude!

Hello stampers! It's time for another Creative Confetti Challenge -- where we throw up a bit of inspiration for you to enjoy to share a little inspiration! And today, I not only have a challenge to share, I have a brand new Power Poppy image to share as well! This one is all about giving thanks. What a perfect week for that kind of message!

HOW TO PLAY: Simply share a card or creation with a message that shares your gratitude! It's just that simple! Just like all Creative Confetti Challenges, every month we take the entries on our linky and draw a random winner at the end of our month-long challenge. The winner gets a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop! Wooo hoooo!

Just like I mentioned, I am showing off a brand new image from Power Poppy. In fact, Marcella drew it this afternoon! That's how fresh this new illustration is! Let me introduce you to Bittersweet Thanks!

This image comes pre-sized for an A2 card AND an 8.5" x 11" — print a few off for folks to color while waiting to eat. Or print it for yourself to color during precious Thanksgiving downtime! And, on top of this new image, Marcella is offering all fall-themed digital downloads - including this one above - at 50% off! No code needed! Just click HERE to check out the autumnal bounty for yourself!

On to my creation!

What's wonderful about this illustration is that it is sized super large for a coloring extravaganza or is also designed to take up the front of a card. Well, I decided that I wanted to make a mini card, so I sized it to be just 2" wide and about 2-3/4" tall. I have to say it is a little bit smaller than I should have gone but I do love how this little card turned out! I took a normal A2 size card and cut it in half so that it measured 4-1/4" tall and 2-3/4" wide. After I colored up this image with Copic markers, I used a 2-1/2" circle punch to cut out my image. I printed out 6 to a page because it's my hope to color up all of these and create these mini notes so that I can write "Thanksgiving Love Notes" to my family and put them all on their plates as we sit down to eat. :-)

I rounded some corners on my card and used a scalloped die cut to add a little pizzazz to my creation along with some decorative paper and... ta-da! Done!

Here's a little closeup so that you can see the image just a wee bit better!

And that, my friends, is it! Now it's your turn to color up some gratitude and then, once you're done, link up your creation below so you are in the running for the $25 Gift Code! Keep in mind, we run the same linky all month long so play along with me just one week or each week to expand your chances of winning! We can't wait to see what you color up!

Happy Stamping!

Monday, November 23, 2020

Inspire Me Monday - Season's Greenings

HEY EVERYONE! Nancy here and I'm back today with another Inspire Me Monday post for Power Poppy. Today's project features an image from the Season's Greetings polymer stamp set, also available in digital format as Season's Greenings: Wheelbarrow. I love this stamp set and knew that I had to color this image!

Want to know how I colored the image? Well, grab a favorite beverage and a comfy chair because today I've got a coloring video for you. So sit back and let's roll the video!

In case you missed it in the video, here are the Copic markers used for this image.

That's all for me today! Hope you found some crafty inspiration!

Nancy

SUPPLIES

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Creative Confetti - Let it Snow!

Hello! I am hosting the Creative Confetti Challenge this week and with all the brand new sets just released by Power Poppy, I thought I'd be great so showcase scenes from winter!

HOW TO PLAY: Create a snowy scene or a winter-inspired project.

On to my creations!

I confess that I am using my projects from the new release, because, well, the new release took up a lot of time! And, we may as well get double the fun of looking at it right?

My first card fits the theme perfectly...a snowy scene! With the NEW Cuddle in the Cabin stamp set, creating a snowy scene is so EASY! Just stamp (or print the digital version) and color!

After I colored the image, I used some white paint to "splatter" the whole project, thus creating a snowy night!

How about a different style of winter scene? I used the images from the NEW Season's Greenings set to create a little scene. I used the digital images of Santa and his wheelbarrow to create this scene. For this version, I give the illusion of snow without actually coloring any snow! I simply created a "blotchy" background with pale blue Copic markers and then added a few white enamel dots to look like snow (or snow balls). When you look at the card, you see a snowy day!

For this card, I again did not actually color snow, but give the illusion of a cold, snowy day with the pale background and the addition of tiny dots of paint. I stamped the bear from the NEW Forest Fellas set and colored him with Copics. He looks like he is standing in the snowy outdoors, doesn't he?

This last project shows another way to portray a winter theme without actually having snow in the scene! I printed the digital versions of the Enchanted Branches: Nativity Angel set and the ornaments from the Enchanted Branches: Woodland set. I colored everything with Copics, then I used various distress inks to create a "frosty" background. I also added some glitter pen and some glitter enamel dots. Your eye sees a winter's day, but...look, no snow!

I hope you enjoyed my versions of the challenge for this week! If you want to join me and show off some of your Power Poppy Projects, please be sure to share what you come up with by using the linky below! Every entry -- no matter what the week -- is thrown into a virtual hat for our random drawing at the end of the month for a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop!

Have a great week! I can't wait to see what you create!

Monday, November 16, 2020

Introducing: Joy to the World Bouquet

Well, this is it, friends. The last day of peeks into my new designs for holiday crafting. Do you like what you see? I’ll be doing recaps all week of the whole collection — and remember, the groups of 5 sets are available as bundles for a limited time with a 10% discount.

Please note: All of the stamps finally arrived from the factory on Saturday. So if you’ve already placed an order, your stamps are mailing out ASAP! As always, you will receive an email when your order ships with tracking information.

Also: If you have been waiting for the digital versions of the new stamps, they should all be posted by the time this blog is published. I got a little behind (oh, life, you do throw us curveballs) but I have everything ready for you to download.

So, let’s see this splashy new botanical, the culmination of my love of gardening, plants, and the smallest details that go into the holidays.

Introducing: Joy to the World Bouquet

Are you up for something exquisite to color for the holidays? Do you already have Poinsettia and Ultimate Poinsettia, and you’re looking for your next coloring challenge? This decadent delight is ready to work with you. Joy to the World Bouquet is my most ambitious bouquet yet, featuring holiday standbys and thoughtful botanical surprises.

A Poinsettia anchors the grouping, surrounded by Hellebores (one that has even gone to seed, how unique is that to see in a stamp set?), a Pomegranate bursting with juicy arils, clusters of Cranberries, deeply veined Ivy, AND sprigs of Pine. I poured my heart and soul into this one, and I know that after you've colored it up for a card, you will feel a great sense of artistic accomplishment. A supporting image with a few of the plant elements is included as well.

Sentiments include Joy to the World, the Lord is come!, and Wishing your family good health, joy, and abundance. This one is a real keepsake.

Joy to the World Bouquet

Also available as a digital download...

Joy to the World Bouquet Digital Download

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, indeed. Look at all of these possibilities, I love the unique range of color choices and crops. With such a juicy bouquet, it’s fun to splice into it and focus on a single area.

If you’d like to head straight to the store, here’s the link one more time:

Joy to the World Bouquet

Garden Dirt: Copic Marker Swatches for Christmas Corgi

Add realism to Copic Marker blends by underpainting with gray. Guest author Amy Shulke from VanillaArts.com shares how gray neutralizes rich E markers, perfect for sculpting cute dogs. | PowerPoppy.com | #copicmarker #realisticcoloring #underpainting

Dashing through the snow...

Well, it's a Corgi, so it's more like wiggle-butting through the snow. They're so darned cute but those wee legs just don't do much dashing through deep snowbanks.

I'm a dog person, so I just love the Corgi Christmas sets from Power Poppy.

Today, I've got an easy Copic Marker underpaint recipe for giving these fellows the kind of thick, dense fur that is so typical of spitz doggies.

Hello, my name is Amy Shulke and I'm the illustrator and art instructor over at VanillaArts.com. Welcome to another article in my blending combination series here at Power Poppy-- The Garden Dirt.

Why dirt? I know, it's weird to name anything after dirty old dirt. But that's exactly the point of this series. I layer odd colors underneath bright and happy colors to make the dirty, murky, or downright muddy colors necessary for realistic depth and dimension.

I've got a whole series of artistic coloring articles here at the Power Poppy Blog. Here's a quick link to read more.

Let's color a corgi!

Today, I'm showing you the Christmas Corgis digital stamp, one of several dog themed stamps from Marcella.

You can find the whole series of holiday Corgis here and this underpainting plus colored pencil technique will work for them all.

The secret to fur is to start by ignoring the fur.

I know this sounds strange but hear me out.

Underneath all that fur is a dog body. In the case of a Corgi, you've got a barrel body with short stocky legs. They've also got a bit of that junk-in-da-trunk thing going on.

It's not the fur that makes a Corgi look like a Corgi and not an Afghan Hound, it's the body!

For my blonde doggie here, I started with a gray Copic Marker. I used the gray to carve out the armpits, belly, under the chest, under the tail, under the chin, behind the ears... all the places that are shady.

Then I added the actual blonde marker colors over the gray. It's not the E33 that makes the shade look shady, it's the C1 underneath the brown. Real shade is desaturated and murky, E33 is much too clean.

So my Corgi started to look very Corgi-ish long before I added a single hair with colored pencil.

The gray underpaint sets the depth before we add the details.

Gray under brown is what pops the head forward from the neck. The hidden gray is what brings those short little legs out and towards us. Gray is the secret dirt, down under the fur making the dog look three-dimensional.

Don't be afraid to add a little dirt to your next doggie. It gives them life!

Want to color Power Poppy’s dogs with me?

Santa's Backup Plan is part of the my Marker Painting Workshops series of online classes for intermediate Copic colorers.

This class is available now with no wait. Work at your own pace, color it as many times as you want, no expiration.

Santa's Backup Plan uses Power Poppy’s beautiful Christmas Corgis digital stamp set. We use a combination of Copic Markers, and Prismacolor Soft Core colored pencils, with a splatter background of Distress Ink.

You can find out more about the Santa's Backup Plan online class here.

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Introducing: Cuddle in the Cabin

We’re up to the 9th new stamp set of this wintery collection. NINTH! Each one is filled with special keepsake images, lovingly drawn by yours truly.

While I was designing the sentiments for today’s stamp set, my husband walked up and started reading them over my shoulder. “You really do design stamps directly from your life, don’t you.” It was a rhetorical question, of course. I am always talking about needing solitude. I need time to be alone, to be still, to be quiet. Amidst the busy swirl of family life, of work deadlines, of the demands of the garden and household — the idea of escaping to a cabin for a break is SO APPEALING.

Want to know something kind of funny? Back when I designed this stamp set, I had no idea that my husband, Doug, had planned a few days away for us at a cabin in the woods... and it was just this past week! I’m now writing this after a restorative cuddle in the cabin. I recommend it highly.

Introducing: Cuddle in the Cabin

A retreat in the woods is a dream come true — why not capture the sensation of cozy cabin stillness in your next card? I’ve drawn a charming log-and-stone cabin surrounded by snowy trees, and it’s the perfect size. You can even create a scene with the deer, extra evergreen tree, and mountain range.

Sentiments celebrating self-care and revitalizing solitude are timely and needed for all of us right now. This set was conceived directly from my soul, as a solace to me in difficult times the past few years has been the idea of going to a “solitude cabin.”

Order Cuddle in the Cabin

Special note from Marcella: All images in this set will be available as digital downloads by this weekend. I’m admittedly a little bit behind getting them ready for you, sorry about that, my patient friends!

The Bloomies have made some of the cutest cards ever with this stamp set. I might have to run back to that woodsy cabin after seeing all of these special iterations...

If you’d like to head straight to the store, here’s the link one more time:

Cuddle in the Cabin

See you all back here TOMORROW NIGHT! We go live at 5pm central. Bye for now...

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Introducing: Season's Greenings

If you wonder why I’ve been hootin’ and hollerin’ about what a GREAT time I had designing all of the stamps for the Quiet Christmas collection, it’s because it FELT. SO. GOOD.

Getting into the creative flow of any endeavor — whether it’s artistic or not — must release some major endorphins. I hope that the joy of creation is evident in the holiday designs we’re sharing with you right now. I got so silly while drawing these, that I even came up with a special character called Planta Claus. You heard me right.

Introducing: Season’s Greenings

Gardening images with a holiday bent to take your cardmaking from Christmas through Spring. Season's Greenings to all! There are three focal images and three accents in the clear polymer version. A wheelbarrow is loaded up with the freshest plants from the nursery for decorating: a burlap-bagged tree, poinsettia, holly, and mistletoe. Who is going to plant that Christmas tree? Why, PLANTA CLAUS, of course! He’s got the "hoe hoe hoe" to get the job done right. And to help remind everybody that "It's the most wonderful thyme of the year", I've drawn a garden-themed wreath with gifts any gardener would love: Bulbs tied with twine, tiny flower pots, a trowel, and berries to attract the birds. Of course, thyme is woven all through.

Sentiments for the holidays and beyond complete this larger-sized 6 x 6" set.

Order Season’s Greenings

Look at just a FEW of the possibilities...