Last day of previews, and it’s time to party!

Good morning to everyone, and thank you for your very nice notes of encouragement about our Midsummer Stunner previews the past few days. Can you believe we have two MORE sets to share today?

After the peeks you’re about to see, you may be sensing a recurring theme. It may have something to do with ... CAKE! We’ve already showcased a tiered cake with fruit and flowers as part of our Dream Wedding set, and if you’ve noticed our little graphic above, you get a glimpse at a pound cake with drippy frosting. Why stop there?

Lulu with her lemon-lavender cupcakes with vanilla glaze, made from scratch

Not being much of a baker myself (excuse me while I quietly grab the box the Duncan Hines, or more likely, stop by the bakery counter and kindly ask if they have a frosted cake that serves 12) — you might wonder where the inspiration for all this cake is coming from? Well, my daughter Lulu is so full of baking ingenuity, always on the hunt for recipes, figuring out her own spin with flour, butter, and eggs — never relying on a box. She bakes for the joy of baking! On lazy weekends, you never know when she’ll pop outside with a tray of raspberry-filled cupcakes, or maybe a tray of warm muffins or cookies. I haven’t consistently bought butter at the store so frequently in my life. I just marvel at her baking know-how and desire to experiment with ingredients.

Today’s sets BOTH feature cakes, plus a whole lot more, so let’s get to the previews! Introducing Party Time....

Do ya recognize this one? We had a big birthday party when we turned two, and we began our third year in business — throwing a party with a digital stamp called Layer Cake. Well, we’ve added to that well-loved image with bunches of sentiments and three more party images for an upbeat feeling that’s super-stacked with fun. Having this many layers in one cake provides a big opportunity to experiment with how you color it up, and the tower of patterned birthday presents adds to the festive action. This is our first “real” birthday clear stamp set, where we don’t mess around with flowers and all that, we just get right to the GOOD STUFF.

Oh wait, did someone say something about flowers? Because I have a difficult time avoiding putting them into any set I draw. As a matter of fact, the final new set of our release could have been plucked straight out of an afternoon garden party. We call this one Tea in the Garden, and it will soon be clear why.

Imagine sitting at your patio table with a big pitcher of sun tea... you know, the refreshment of that lemon, mint, and we’re being extra old school here and throwing in Chamomile blossoms for both its flavor and calming qualities. Yes, our tea in the garden is all about taking care to slow down and enjoy the small moments. Tea cake on pedestal with strawberries, anyone? I’ve drawn lots of little accents for this set, from single Chamomile blooms to strawberries — even a cup of hot tea in case that’s more your speed. Ahhhh. I think I’m ready for one of those mason jars right about now!

Would you like to see some of the possibilities with these new images? I think you should, because they are some of my favorite cards of this whole release! Come and see...

Julie Koerber

Tosha Leyendekker

Cindy Lawrence

Kathy Jones

Stacy Morgan 
Allison Cope 

Christine Okken

After you’ve basked in the pleasures of today’s trip through the Bloom Brigade’s blogs, I hope you’ll find time for one more stop back to Power Poppy on Tuesday. Because we’ll have the full reveal of our sets, and they will all be available to reserve in our store! PLUS a BIG OL’ BLOG HOP!!

Have a great Monday, ya’ll!