Sneak Preview of Our Holiday Stamps: Simple Joys

Hey there! Thank you for joining us as we share glimpses into the creative possibilities using our 2016 Happiest Holiday clear stamp collection. The Bloomies have been pushing the envelope this way and that, with cool cropping, clever techniques, and basically, cards that make your mouth drop open. I know that their beautiful work will inspire you at every turn!

We’ve talked here about how much my mom, Susan, was the guiding force throughout my life, and in addition to modeling an attitude of kindness, love, and a can-do spirit, Mom fostered and encouraged an appreciation for color, pattern, beauty, and specialness. The holidays were a time when the house was often decorated to the nines (never fussy! always warm and delightful). Whether it was ornaments (she collected so many interesting ones, from rare antique German glass ornaments to glittery garage-sale paper-mâché Santas); or the tree (why do a traditional spruce when you can have one flocked with fluffy snow and sparkles?); or gift-wrapping (each present had precious paper, ribbons, and handmade tags that were more carefully curated than the fanciest store you can imagine). Susie Q really did it up, my friends! Either that, or she would say, “It’s too much to drag it all out this year, let’s just hang all the Christmas bows on the tree, and order a pizza!”

In the enchanting holiday-ified dining room with my sweet mom, Susan Smith, who passed away in February. 

Don’t you love it? I do. And I miss her beyond what words can express. Mom memories would flood in while I was working, and there have been multiple days of, well, let’s just call it “sitting there like a zombie staring at a piece of blank paper.” Although I’d filled pages of my sketchbook with ideas, I got to a creative standstill because it just felt so painful to think about my muse, my mother, being gone from our lives as we approach our first holiday season without her.

There is some good news, though! I’m not bringing this release party down without bringing it back UP! My dear friend (and advisor supreme, and head honcho of the Bloomies) Julie Koerber, encouraged me to imagine my Mom sitting next to me as I drew, guiding me to keep working hard, cheering me on to add the special details that truly delighted us both. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? It really helped shift my thinking, as although I miss her, I DO feel her presence and her love. And so, I eventually got to that place Julie described. Into my creative “flow,” that zone where I feel that I can’t stop—even for meals—because I am so driven to draw. Illustrating dizzily under the Susan-fluence.

In the spirit of this rejuvenated inspiration, with God and my mama’s spirit powering the engine, Power Poppy is sooooo very pleased to share with you FIVE new Holiday stamp sets to add to our arsenal of designs. Images that I feel (I feel it down deep!) will enhance your cardmaking experience and help bring forth some very beautiful, special cards and projects.

Today we are showing peeks of the first clear stamp set, Simple Joys.

This clear stamp set is all about the greenery! Little vintage touches, fresh clipped branches, presented with country-chic love from the heartland. Many years, with the kids being little and me working, I end up opting for the “let’s not drag out all the holiday stuff” philosophy, and would do precisely what I’ve illustrated in this very set — clip branches from the garden and pop them into a vintage vessel. The kids would decorate the branches with the ornaments they’d made with yarn and glue and glitter at school. More tufts of greenery would fill glasses on the mantel, add a few candles, roll in a few ornaments — done! Festive. Simple. Fresh. And more than enough.

In this set I have THREE main images and a BUNCH of sentiments. There’s a lot you can do with this one. It will be available in the store on October 21, though you can preorder if you’d prefer!

Would you like to see more of this set? The sweethearts of the Bloom Brigade are ready to supply all kinds of fun for us. Come with me and let’s have a look at their simply beautiful Simple Joys cards!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Katie Sims

Tosha Leyendekker

Stacy Morgan

We will see you back here tomorrow — right? We will be sharing another holiday set, and it is a DOOZY! Nothing simple and relaxing about it. :)