Inspire Me Monday: Word Play!

 

Hello all and welcome to another edition of Inspire Me Monday!  One thing I love about digital stamps is the ability to play with them and arrange them in a new way. In the past, I've shown you how to use digital images as both backgrounds and accents and today, we are going to get a little refresher course on how to use digital images to play with words! I've done this technique with all occasion cards, with holiday creations and today, we're going to do this with a bit of a juicy summer theme! 

Let's take a look at what we'll be creating today! 

Just a sweet and simple creation that screams summer and has a pop of cheery color! So, let's get started on creating this juicy little number!

To start, I used Adobe Photoshop Elements as my photo editing software but alot of these techniques can be done on similiar editing programs. I opened up the program and decided that I would use the word "hello" as my starting point! I created a canvas that measured 6 inches wide by 3 inches tall. I typed the word "hello" in the font Hello Regular in 150 point size. It's a free font that you can find for free HERE. 

After I typed out the word, I added a thin stroke around the word. 

Then, I flattened the image to create a background...

From here, I used the eraser tool to get rid of the white area internally within the word.

Now it's time for a little berry fun! I opened up the strawberry file from the Power Poppy digital stamp set called Cherries and Berries. 

Now all you need to do is drag and drop the image onto your word canvas. 

I also duplicated the berry file multiple times and then brought the word to be the front layer. And, at this point, I had fun just moving the different berries all over so that it would flow through the "hello." 

Afterward, I printed off my image and colored it up using Copic markers. I used R20, R32, R35, and R37 for the berries. YG03 and YG61 for the leaves and then used G0000 and BG10 for a little extra pop of color around the berries. I added some white gel pen to the seeds to help them pop a bit. I also added a little bit of Stickles to the centers of my strawberry flowers. 

And, after layering it all up, this is my finished card! 

As I mentioned at the start of this post, this isn't the first time I've played around with words and digital images. I thought I'd share some of my past cards just to show you the possibilities!

For this card above, I created the word LOVE and then used the digital set Graceful Still Life to create a flow of dogwood flowers around the word. 

And, above, I used the set Cuppa Buttercups behind this fun "Hi!"  I love just how cheery and colorful this one turned out to be! 

And there you have it! With digital stamps, there are so many possibilities -- so many more than sizing and printing! Techniques like these help you to create cards for any occasion, using some of your favorite illustrations as inspiration! 

I hope you give this a try! Until next time, 

Creative Confetti: Anything but a Heart!

Hello! I am so happy to be here on this challenge for you! Can you believe that it is February? It was a busy month in January and now we are looking at Valentine's month. Certainly, crafty people think of it that way and that made me think of a challenge for you! I know that we all associate Valentine's Day with hearts, so let's think outside the (candy hearts) box and use no hearts at all.

HOW TO PLAY: Make a card, you should be able to recognize it as a valentine, but use something other than a heart. I can think of lots of things that you can find in the Power Poppy shop. Cherries, berries, red poppies, red roses or any flower. Use your Valentine colors or any color that makes you think Valentine!

On to my creation! 

I chose the strawberries from the digital set called Cherries and Berries. Just by using red and a red gingham panel, it was already looking like a Valentine! I just needed to change the sentiment. I used the phrase from Juicy Strawberries' digital stamp set and changed the word Friend to Valentine. It was easy!

To complete the card, I used a panel of red gingham and I die cut the strawberry panel that I colored with my Copic markers with Paper Trey Ink Mix and Match die called Pretty Brackets. The shading and the touches of white gel pen really make them look juicy! So, you see, a Valentine, without a heart! Now it's your turn to give this challenge a try.

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Since it's a new month, we get to find out who was our lucky winner of last month's random drawing! So, without further ado....

That means, the winner is....

 * * * Theresa Pollack * * *

Want to take a look at Theresa's winning creation? It's clean and classy and beautiful! 

Theresa played along in our Life Imitating Art challenge and was inspired by a Georgia O'Keefe print to create this beauty above. You might not be able to tell, but she mixed the Ultimate Poppy (no line version) and Juicy Strawberries digital sets to and then printed them on a background of green leaves. She added a little color to the poppy's petals to add a little more dimension. Wow! Check out all the details and even a second creation HERE! 

Congrats Theresa! To claim your prize, all you need to do is email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and Marcy will get your winning code to you!

So now it is your turn! I am so excited to see what you come up with for this challenge.  Don't forget to link up your creations using the linky below to this challenge below and remember, every entry is one shot at winning a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop. You have all month long to play!

Until then,
 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Hues to Use: Melting Winter!

Hello my sweet peeps! It's Tuesday, which means that yours truly is popping into the Power Poppy Blog to share a little color-infused fun to help keep those creative juices flowing as we move through the week. This week's inspirational photo has a fun vibe to it because it shows a melting of winter into spring. Take a gander, will you please?

Check out this showy and fragrant Koreanspice viburnum. Marcy snapped this pic around this time last year meaning.......spring is really close people! It. Is. CLOSE! At least that is what I am telling myself as I glance out the window and still see larger than life snow mounds here in the snowy north. Moving on....

HOW TO PLAY: Playing along with us for Hues to Use is easy as 1-2-3 -- use all three colors in your card or creation and then, lickity split, upload your direct link to our linky below so that we can all see and OOOoooo and Ahhhhhh and your marvelous creativity! Doesn't that sound like so much fun??

If you need a little bit of inspiration before you get crack-a-lacking on this challenge, I am prepped to show you what I whipped up using this trio of colors!

As you can see, the layout on this one is super duper easy. I took two green patterned papers and then on the solid piece, I added some texture thanks to my Scor-Pal and a little sanding block. Add some twine and a gold button and that's pretty much it! I did, as you can see, cut my main image with an oval die cut. I thought since this image was so large, it needed something but I was limited in the shapes I could use since, like I said, the image was so large!

What image did I use? Well, I had some digital fun with the Cherries & Berries digital stamp set. I moved the arch of the raspberries twice to create a digital frame around the digital stamp sentiment from the set. To color my berries, I used a mix of light red and hot pink shades. I realize mine is a wee bit more vibrant than the dusty rose in the photo but... it's close! ;-) I used Spica Glitter Pens on the sentiment and added some pizazz thanks to a white gel pen.

And that, my friends, is it! You can't see really in this photo but the pinkish ivory was used to highlight around my image. Those light colors can be tough to photograph at times -- but that color is there -- I promise!

So, are you going to get those fingers inky and play along with me? I sure hope so! When you do, just link up your creation below! Like we always share, our guest designers are all chosen from our weekly link list, so we would REALLY love to see what you've got up your creative sleeve! It could have you playing with some digital stamp set freebies followed by some time in the Power Poppy Spotlight! YIPPPEEEEE! Can't wait to see who our next designer will be! We will have a new round of guests coming up in the next few weeks so, stay tuned!

Thanks so much for popping in this week and seeing the latest color cues with Hues to Use! 

We'll be back with more inspiration.... SOON! 

~Julie 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Good Vibe 5 Keeps Flowin'!

Hello all and Happy Friday folks! Are you ready to be hit up with a hefty dose of GOOD VIBES? Well, we have five of them for you! ;-) . We found quite a bit to be inspired by this week in blog land and we cannot wait to share these crafty finds with YOU! 

GOOD VIBE No. 1

Ahhh.... Our friend from the Netherlands -- Misseke -- is at it again with gorgeous coloring in her little corner of the social media world. Just take a peek at her take on Power Poppy's Flower Bomb digital stamp set. Not only do we love the depth of her coloring but we love the fact that -- just in case you want to see her coloring in action -- she has a speed coloring video just for you! Just click HERE to see it all -- up close and personal.

GOOD VIBE No. 2

ENABLER ALERT!!! Just in case you missed it, we have some fresh-picked digis to share. If that isn't enough of a tickler for you to check out Cherries & Berries, maybe Christine Okken's colored up card above will be the push you need to grab up these lush digital delights for your own fruit-filled cards and creations.

GOOD VIBE No. 3

If you're anything like me, when you get to coloring with Copic markers, you tend to reach for pretty much every marker you own! Well, that’s why this week's Inspire Me Monday is pure creative genius. Mindy Baxter uses amazing restraint and shows us how we CAN make beautiful things with 10 markers or less! Check out her ab fab tutorial HERE.

GOOD VIBE No. 4

There are times in life when you need a little reminder about how wonderful you are! Don’t we all need to follow these little words of wisdom above and not only let our light shine but surround ourselves with others who actually love our “light?” Words to live by, my friends.

GOOD VIBE No. 5 

OK, everybody — here’s a set that’s a REAL FAVORITE with our customers and our designers alike, and it’s on sale for three days only!! Pick up Simply Camellias in clear for $11.99, or the single-image digital download of Camellias for only $1.99. Special pricing ends on Sunday at midnight, so hop to it to save up to $6.


There you have it folks! Are you full of all kinds of warm fuzzies? We surely hope so! And, if you need a little inspiration to get through your creative weekend, be sure to check out this week's.....

Essie Swartz is our guest hostess this week and, if you ask me, she creatively slayed it! ;-) So, follow her lead, take a cue from Hues to Use,  and then, be sure to share by adding a link to YOUR card on THIS POST. We love to see all the ways you put Power Poppy in the spotlight!

Now it’s time for the all-star line up, the Bloomies are back...

Come see what cards are in the limelight this week, beautifully crafted by our designers.

Christine Okken

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Have a fabulously colorful weekend, and we’ll see you back here in a few days, you won’t want to miss awesome Ally Cope’s newest Inspire Me Monday tutorial!

~Julie

Digis on the 5s Release: Cherries and Berries

Hey there, folks! It’s been a little while since I’ve had a Digis on the 5s digital stamp set to share — I’m doing my best to return to my regular release schedule (5th, 15th, 25th of each month). Thank you for your patience... hopefully new images to play with are always worth the wait.

One thing’s for sure, today’s digital stamp set is PACKED with fruity goodness. Want to see a peek — three gorgeous cards created by the diva of die design herself, Rhea Weigand?

You are going to get THREE different fruit-filled illustrations in one purchase. PLUS three sentiments! The newly remixed Cherries and Berries is available for download now from the Power Poppy Shop!

Oh, you’re going to have some fun with these guys! Be prepared with your most saturated reds, oranges, pinks, and purples — because baby, you’re gonna need ’em to give these images a punch! Add loads of sweetness to any card with any of the images in this set. And can you believe you get three in one set? That’s how we’re rolling at the Power Poppy today.

Ready to take on Cherries and Berries for yourself? Come grab it HERE!

Our Instant Gardener, Rhea Weigand created THREE knock-out cards with this set.... and today on her blog, she’s showcasing the first one. You’ll get to see the breakdown of Copics and find out more about how she made the cards in the coming weeks... STAY TUNED! Today, come see Rhea’s Cherry card, which is simply a work of art in and of itself. How does she DO it?? I bow down.

Enjoy and have a great weekend — don’t forget that our clear stamp sale ends tonight at midnight.

xoxoxo!