Showing posts with label Hops and Barley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hops and Barley. Show all posts

Thursday

Natural Wonders clear collection: Day 2!



Hello again! I sure hope you’re enjoying the Bloom Brigade’s awesome previews of my newest clear stamp collection. They’ve done an outstanding job with their cards, so much imagination put into each and every creation — we hope you find endless inspiration when you see them.

Today we have a rather cheeky set that incorporates the world-wide love of beer with a whimsical look at botany. Add in a few puns, and this may become a go-to set when a masculine card is needed. But of course it works for women, too, as you’ll soon see.

Quick reminder: Place an order on release day, September 15, and you’ll get a special discount!

---------------------------------------------------

We introduced the largest image in this set last fall — the popular digi Hops and Barley. But we’ve expanded on it in the clear version, with lots of fun sentiments and accent images, plus a second focal image that can be colored up so many ways.... 


Introducing O Hoppy Day

We’ve taken a different approach with our beer-themed set, where the main focus are the ingredients that give ales, stouts, pilsners, and lagers their distinct flavors. Crazy to think that beer is just fermented plants, and some of those plants are quite decorative! Hops are the flowers from a hop vine, bringing bitterness, depth, and a range of fruity-citrusy flavors to beer. I happened to see one used as decoration outside a shop while visiting Brown County, Indiana last fall...


While Hops are vivid shades of green and yellow while fresh, they dry to warm toasty tones, perfect for fall. Hops are light and wispy, almost like tiny pinecones made of paper. In my drawing of them, I’ve gone a bit rogue and imagined a vine where Barley and Hops exist together — my own personal hybrid! It’s a great image to bring to life, with plenty of ways to add your unique spin.

Here is an interesting article about the “Botany of Beer” from Longwood Gardens, bookmark it for later!

A second focal image is an Imperial Pint glass — which you can color up to be as light or as dark as you want to go — it depends on the favorite beer of your intended recipient! Be sure to add some fluffy foam to the top, as you’ll see a few of our designers have done.

What’s really great about O Hoppy Day are the puns. We have several that fit inside a bottle cap stamp, and a few others to serve as focal sentiments. Wishing your dad a Hoppy Father’s Day will surely bring a smile to his face!



See you tomorrow for DAY 3 of our sneak previews — where we bring you a set of vignettes that will have you doing a happy dance (at least I hope you will ... I do aim to please!)

xoxoxo,

Tuesday

Hues Inspired by Nature!

Hello sweet folks! This week's Hues to Use is one inspired by the wonder of nature! Are you ready to have a brand new color combo thrown your way to try to spark a little color creativity? Well, I am ready to do the throwin'! ;-) It's time for another edition of....



Well I have to say that I have no real idea what is going on with the photo above but Marcy nailed it when she posted this pic and said simply, "Nature, being all awesome!" I couldn't agree more! This little number was posted almost a year ago, so, whatever this is being awesome, it's probably being awesome again as we speak! 

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 make sure to share a direct link to your creation so we can all see! YIPPPEEE!

Moving on to my card! Now, I have a few birthdays coming up and when I chose this color combo, I knew in my heart of hearts that I would use it to create a few "man cards!" My brother-in-law is a beer lover and it's funny when we hit happy hour together every now and then, he often reads the craft beer menu and he will look at me and say, "Will I like that?" So, more times than not, I end up choosing his beer for him. I figured this image below -- Power Poppy's Hops and Barley -- would be perfect for him! 


I started printing this digital image in a kind of sepia/brown tone and so that's where that color on the 'Hues' is used along with some of the accents in the barley. Then, I grabbed these Copic colors for the barley.....


And these colors for the rest of the image -- the hops and some of the highlights around it! 


After I was done coloring with my Copic markers, I did go back in to add some depth with a few Prismacolor pencils -- using an indigo pencil along with a burnt umber shade as well. I am really loving how a sharpened colored pencil can add that intricate detail that a Copic marker tip can not. 

For the inside of my card, since I knew how I would be using this card and who I would be giving it to, I went ahead and did this (below) on the inside! Printing a faint version of the hops and barley image with one of the sentiments that is included in this digital stamp set! Love! 


And that, my friends, is it! An earthy mix of colors inspired by nature herself! I hope you hand-pick these colors to use next time you create and will play along with me! 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! Can't wait to see who our next designer will be!

Happy stamping & we'll see you back here soon!


~Julie 

Sunday

October's Instant Garden Introduction: Hops & Barley

Hello everybody, I hope this note finds you feeling happy and relaxed... 
because we are about to blow the lid off our Holiday stamp collection, and you are going to need to conserve your energy for OVER A WEEK of previews. This is seriously exciting stuff, let me show you more...


You got that right — we have 8 days of Christmas Clear Stamp Previews, culminating in a BIG BLOOMIE BLOG HOP for our release day, October 24. Look for a BIG SAVINGS promotion on Holiday stamps to come right along with it, so that you can stock up on supplies for making some of the prettiest cards on the planet! 

Today we have MORE fun news, especially if you are a fan of the art of brewing. Do you know what ingredients go into the fermented beverage of beer? Why, you gotta have HOPS. It’s a cute name for a very cute plant, and one that gives beer distinctive, individual flavors, depending on what variety of Hops is used! Throw in more plant-based ingredients like barley, wheat, and rice... and you get some of the spirited beverages that are enjoyed by so many. 

Source: Rodale’s Organic Life

The last several years, we’ve been noticing more and more artisan craft breweries popping up here in St. Louis, Missouri (home to the famous Anheuser-Busch Brewery, creators of Budweiser). We’re definitely a “beer town” as so many folks’ families have worked in the brewing industry over at A-B. I know that the craft beer trend is not limited to St. Louis - not by any stretch!! Just going down the spirits aisle of the grocery store will show you how wide-spread it’s getting, with colorful Ale and Stout labels in all manner of designs standing ready on the shelves. I am partial to “IPA”, the Indian Pale Ale with its bright, citrus-y flavor, and we have a few local craft

In the spirit of this beloved spirit, I’ve designed a new digital stamp set called Hops and Barley, with four libation-themed sentiments for birthdays, holidays, or any day! 


This image can be rotated a number of ways to create all manner of fun cards — and the best part, it doesn’t have to be just for beer lovers, it can just as easily be a pretty botanical of fall bounty. It’s all just about the plants here, my botany-appreciating friends.

Wait until you see what our Instant Gardener team has designed for today’s big release... beauty is brewing!


Hope you enjoy this new digital stamp set —and psssssst — this one will be coming out in clear as well, so if you are a fan of clear polymer, fear not! We can appease everyone’s tastes. 

A little peek at Elizabeth Zaffarano’s creative use of Hops & Barley...

Please do come back tomorrow for our VERY FIRST PREVIEW of the 2017 Happiest Holiday Collection.... it’s kissed with snowy sweetness, for sure! Then follow us all week long for beautiful interpretations of my EIGHT new stamps - prepare for Holiday coloring bliss!

Big hugs and Happy Sunday!