Inspire Me Monday: Digital Mash Up!

 

Hello all and Happy Monday! I have to admit, I didn't have a ton of time to craft this week so I thought of a way to share a little creative tidbit this week, in a bite-sized post! So, here we go!

Have you ever looked at two stamps or images and wished you could combine them to make a completely new image? Well, the beauty of digital stamps is.... you CAN! 

I'd been looking at the Glittering Glass Santa ornament and that lovely branch....

And, I wondered, what can I perch on that branch instead of an ornament? Well, I'd always been a fan of the little birds in the digital set Cardinal Couple! 

So, why not mash up the two images?

I started by opening up the cardinal image and then, I knew I needed to start "erasing" the cups and berries in the image...

If you have a photo editing software, most of them have an "eraser" tool, allowing you to take out pieces and parts in one fell swoop! I use Photoshop Elements and the tool is actually... an eraser! On this image, I was careful to erase everything but the bird and her little feet and made the tool rather small to get into all those nooks and crannies. 

Next, I opened up the Glittering Glass Santa image and then erased dear Ole Santa! Sorry, Santa! 

After he was erased, I clicked on the layer and duplicated it so that I could arrange the two branch images just how I wanted it in a way that a bird might perch on it. (To do this, you right click on the layer to the right and "duplicate" will be an option. 

But you can see above.... wow... that's a lot of foliage. I decided to get rid of the lower portion of the branches on both and then just arrange the top portions by tilting, dragging and dropping. 

I should mention, I used the magic eraser tool and with one click completely erased the background so that I could "see" the top branch over the bottom.  

And, I also shortened the lower branch erasing up to a portion that looked natural. See? I know this seems complicated but... trust me... it's not. If you erase too much? Pushing Control Z is your friend! :-) 

Then, all that is left to do is perch my little cute birdie! Below is a look at my finished digital image, just ready and waiting to be printed. While I don't have a picture of it, I also printed off the male cardinal. I wasn't sure I'd use him but wanted him on "standby!"

And here's a look at how it all came together! Some die cuts, a wee bit of layering, some sparkle, ribbon and a little bling! I now officially have my first Christmas card ready to send! I should mention that the sentiment is from a Power Poppy clear set called Simple Joys! 

Here's a little closeup! 

Now, after I finished my card, I thought, "Wow, that little birdie looks a little lonely!" So, remember that male cardinal I said I printed? I ended up coloring him up and tucking him into my layer so that they would be looking lovingly at each other. 

Truth be told, however, I honestly can't decide if they are looking lovingly or if the lady birdie is just looking at the gent saying, "Hey, quit being such a creeper cardinal!" I might have to look at this card just a wee bit more before the jury comes back on that one! Long story short, this was a tutorial on digital mash-ups, not creeper cardinals so... my work here is done! ;-)

Hope you took something fun away from all of this and... I hope you have a beautiful and creative week! See y'all next month! 

Day 5: Holiday Treat Box

Hello, my sweet peeps! Julie here today with Day 5 of our 12 Days of Christmas extravaganza! If you are just joining us, you have some catching up to do! ;-) There's Katie's tags, Stacy's Gift Card Holder, Tosh's Gift Bag Topper, and Mindy's Christmas Organizer! Be sure to click on the links so you can get some fun-filled ideas on ways to spread some homemade cheer!

If you play along with us during any one of the 12 days and try our project at hand, link up your creation HERE and you’ll be in the running for our Power & Spark 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. That’s right – you’ll have 12 ways to enter. Play along once or try all 12 days for more chances to win a $50 shopping spree to the Power Poppy Shop!

On to my creation! 

During this time of year, I am always looking for fun ways to package up small things. Maybe it's some of my Cookies & Cream Truffles, Peanut Butter Toffee, boxes for jewelry, gift cards... well, you get the idea! So, I did some "figuring" and came up with this little handled box that is perfect for all of those things.... and more!

So, let's get started on how to make this super easy box! This little creation took just minutes to cut, score and fold and afterward, I had a ton of fun decking it out with a little bit of sparkle! 

I started with an 8-1/2" by 11" piece of red cardstock...

And scored on the longest side at the 1-1/2", 2-1/2", 4-1/2", 6-1/2", 8-1/2" and 9-1/2" lines.

Now, you'll flip the paper 90 degrees and score at the 2" line. Flip the paper 180 degrees and score there at the 2" line as well. 

Now you are going to cut out sections of these scored areas, like so! I've blacked out all the places you need to cut. On the flaps in the middle scored section, I only shaved off an inch on those so that the box could fit together nicely.

And this is what it looks like afterward. I also angled the cuts on that center flap area so that the paper didn't bunch when I ended up gluing all the flaps! And, for a little something extra, I did corner round the two top flaps. You don't need to, of course, but use any kind of decorative corner punch you have for a little extra pop of interest! 

Oh, and here's an extra tip for you! What's fun is, if you have a Fiskar's trimmer that has an arrow showing you where the blade is, you can make quick work of all this cutting, just by lining up your scored lines with the cutting trough. See?

To fold, all folds are mountain folds except the ones at the 1-1/2" and 9-1/2" marks. Those are valley folds. 

From here, you can see that I sandwich that short flap in between the full-size flaps and tape them together like so. One behind... 

And the next flap will go in front. You can see that I already have those flaps all taped up, ready to secure. 

And this is what it looks like taped up -- nice clean edges!

Here's a peek inside my box! You can see there's a bit of room for goodies! You can also see that I lined up my front and back top flaps, marked a spot for holes and then punched so that I could later string some cording through to hold it all together.  

From there, I measured that front panel and got 4-1/2" by 2". So, to make sure my digital stamp fit properly, I created a canvas to fit that measurement in PhotoShop. I used Power Poppy's Gingerbread Family digital stamp set. 

From there, I printed and colored it all up! Adding a bit of razzle dazzle with the help of glitter glue after I was done. I used a scalloped circle punch with some red glitter paper and a circle punch for the sentiment from the Simple Joys stamp set by Power Poppy. 

This little box was super fun and super fast to create. Remember, if you give this project a try, be sure to link up your creation HERE so that you're entered in this month's 12 Days of Christmas Power & Spark Challenge for a $50 Shopping Spree to the Power Poppy Shop!

Thanks so much for joining me today! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Christine's project that would be a beautiful addition to any mantle, doorway, or even around the tree! See you then!

~Julie

Inspire Me Monday: Paper Piecing with Digital Stamps

Welcome to another fabulous Inspire Me Monday!  I'm Allison Cope and I'm your hostess this week.

I don't know about you but when I first started creating with digital images I did a lot of experimental printing of them.  I wanted to see how they would print using my inkjet versus my laser printer and how the quality would turn out.  So after much experimenting, I decided to go a little bit further.  I decided I wanted to experiment with printing my images out on patterned paper.  After all, I LOVE to paper piece so I figured if I could do it with a regular stamped image, then I surely could do it with a digital image.

So after testing non-permanent adhesives and different thicknesses of patterned paper products, I learned a few things.  So today, that's what I'm here to do... teach you some tips and tricks to paper piecing with digital images!

I'm going to be showcasing a very dear to my heart image today, the "Chickadee in Barberry".  It holds a special place in my heart as it reminds me of my childhood home all nestled in the maple bush in Ontario where we would have Chickadees, among other birds, visit our bird feeders all winter long. They were so fun to watch!

So grab your favorite beverage and join me in my craftroom today for a fun adventure...

View in HD here.

And another quick look at my final card...

To add a quick sentiment to my card, I used the beautiful new holiday clear stamp set "Simple Joys" to add that finishing touch.

I'd love to hear what you think of my tutorial and I'd love to know if you'd attempt digital paper piecing yourself the next time you create with digital stamps.

Thanks for joining me this week!  I hope you have a great week and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

Happy printing, cutting and creating!

~ Ally ~ 


Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Chickadee in Barberry, Simple Joys)
cardstock:  Recollections (110# White)
patterned papers: Lili of the Valley (Snow Princess 8x8), Lawn Fawn (Peace Joy Love 6x6)
dies: SugarPea Designs (Stitched Flags), MFT (Stitched Scalloped Basic Edges)
corner punch:  EK Success
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black)
other: Marvy Uchida (Liquid Applique)

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. :)