Taking It Day by Day!

Hello all and welcome to the very first Inspire Me Monday of 2015!! Now that we have a new year, we need a way to keep track of those days, don't we? I have to admit, I am a bit old fashioned and I love having a calendar on my work desk to have at a glance. So, I decided I would pair a digital calendar file with some of Power Poppy's GORGEOUS digital stamps and create my own custom calendar for 2015!

Here’s a peek......

Can you imagine the fun I will have coloring up all those beauties? Too much! Do you want to create your own digi-calendar? Well, you can find this DARLING calendar download HERE, over at Mye De Leon. And from there, just use your favorite Power Poppy Digital Stamps to deck it out! Not sure how to do that? Never fear, I'll give you a step by step!

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN DIGITAL CALENDAR!

I started by downloading the calendar file. It is a .zip file, so you need to download, extract files and then open them one by one in a photo editing software program. I used Photoshop Elements to create a base for my calendar.

I have to add that this calendar has a fun diagonal stripe border on the edge. While I liked it, I didn't want the design to get in the way of those beautiful blossoms! So, I cropped my calendar to do away with that border. I created a "new" file and made my canvas 4.5" wide by 5.5" tall. And after dragging and dropping my calendar on top, this is what it looked like below! I wanted my calendar off to the side so that I could add in some of Power Poppy's fabulous digital flowers to deck out the side of each calendar month!

 From there, I opened up my Winter Pick Me Up image and knew I needed to do some work!

In order for me to overlay this image onto my calendar, I needed to erase the background. So, I used this fun little icon that sits off to the left side of my screen called the Magic Background Eraser.

Using this tool, I just clicked on the background and... voila! My opaque background is gone! See?

Afterward, I dragged and dropped my digital stamp to my calendar canvas and size it "just so!"

Now, before I show you this finished page, I want to share a fun tidbit that you may or may not know about when using Photoshop Elements. What if you want to change the orientation of your image or, in other words, flip it? You can!

All you need to do on Photoshop is click Image, then Rotate in the drop down menu and then, Flip Horizontal. What will this do? Well, this.....

It's not as noticeable with this image but, changing the orientation put the snowdrop floral on the top left side instead of the right. this could be important if you want to layer flowers and not have it appear that you just stacked them on top of each other on the side. In this image below, you can see that I switched the orientation of the digital stamp Camellias to make it appear like I have one unified image of flowing florals!

And so, without further ado, a peek at my creation for January!

To color up my image, I did use Tim Holtz Distress Markers and picked up these colors: Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Antique Linen, and Pumice Stone. I did a mix of techniques with these markers, coloring directly onto the image and then softening the color by scribbling on an acrylic block and picking up the color with a blender pen.

Moving on.... I did find this fun little easel at Hobby Lobby, which I thought was perfect to hold on to  my monthly calendars! And, because I believe there are very few cards that DON'T need a little extra sparkle, you can see I added some razzle dazzle to the pussy willows thanks to some glitter glue! See?

So, knowing this will have a home on my desk, I will have so much fun coloring up each month as I move through 2015! I will remind myself to share my new calendar each month over on my blog HERE!

If you want to make your own custom calendar, just follow the link above to the downloadable calendar and, of course, accessorize with some of those beautiful Power Poppy Digital Stamps! The good news is, I happen to know Marcella is making more (new digital varieties will be coming soon!) So, you can truly make this as you go with new images all along the way! What fun!

Thanks for stopping by and joining me for this edition of Inspire Me Monday!

~Julie

Hello 2015!

Hello all and Happiest of New Years to you! I am hopeful that by the end of this year, 2015 and I will be BFFs. I am praying and wishing for nothing but the best for all of YOU as well! As we kick off a new year, let's let you in on a little secret! Okay, so it's not a secret. We LOVE looking at what YOU create with Power Poppy Stamps! And that's why each week, we invite you to share your fabulous creations with our little linky below. Each week we'll draw a card or two to be honored as the Peep of the Week! 

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY IN OUR PEEP OF THE WEEK CHALLENGE: All you need to do to get in the running for the Power Poppy Peep of the Week is use the linky below and share a new Power Poppy creation. Just that simple! It can be anything — a card, an altered item, a 3D creation, a set of cards, ANYTHING! We can't tell you how much we love to see what you create!

OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy Stamps on your creation! 
• Link up your creation using the Linky below (It helps us to find you! Although it’s not a necessity to win. We scour creations all over the web!).
• Could you please mention the Peep of the Week challenge in your blog or gallery post with a link back to this blog post? We would sure love it if you did! 
• We’ll accept entries up until Thursday @3PM EST and will announce the Power Peeps of the Week next Friday for our Peep of the Week post.

MEET OUR PEEP OF THE WEEK!

Pauline Godfrey created an absolute beauty -- so much so -- we decided her creation should be a solo act this week for Power Poppy's Peep of the Week Challenge! We love the soft sage hues that serve as a backdrop to this exquisitely colored Winter Pick-Me-Up digital stamp from Power Poppy! And, if the coloring and die cut frame isn't divine enough for you, how about that sweetly tied bow and splash of pearl accents? Beautifully done Pauline! We are so excited to add your beautiful creation to our Power Poppy Peep of the Week Board over on Pinterest! 

How can YOU end up being honored in this way? Simply show us your card making style using Power Poppy Stamps and then link up your creation below! And, if you’re a Peep of the Week Winner and would like our POWER POPPY PEEP OF THE WEEK BLOG BUTTON to “wear” on your blog with pride? Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we’ll send that button right to you!

As we make our way to the weekend, I am sure you'd love a little creative inspiration? Well, these "Bloomies" below have a special treat! They are not only sharing their latest Power Poppy Creations, some are even showing off the brand new Pagemaps.com Cardmaps sketches! So, hop on over and see.....

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to stop back next Monday! I'll have a fun little tutorial that's sure to get your 2015 off to a great start! ;-)
~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

It's a Peep of the Week Parade!

Hello Power Poppy Peeps! For those of you who celebrate Christmas, we sincerely hope you enjoyed this blessed day and that you were surrounded by all the wonderful things that make your heart smile! :-) We have a special little "present" on the Power Poppy blog today! We get to pick a name from those who entered cards for our Power Poppy Peep of the Week challenge for the month of December! That person wins a stamp set of choice! 

Not sure what a Power Poppy Peep is?

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY IN OUR PEEP OF THE WEEK CHALLENGE: All you need to do to get in the running for the Power Poppy Peep of the Week is use the linky below and share a new Power Poppy creation. Just that simple! It can be anything — a card, an altered item, a 3D creation, a set of cards, ANYTHING! We can't tell you how much we love to see what you create!

OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy Stamps on your creation! 
• Link up your creation using the Linky below (It helps us to find you! Although it’s not a necessity to win. We scour creations all over the web!).
• Could you please mention the Peep of the Week challenge in your blog or gallery post with a link back to this blog post? We would sure love it if you did! 
• We’ll accept entries up until Thursday @3PM EST and will announce the Power Peeps of the Week next Friday for our Peep of the Week post.

READY FOR OUR PEEPS OF THE WEEK PARADE?

We are calling it a "parade" this week because are literally showing off not one, not two, not three but FOUR creations this week because we thought they were ALL stellar and deserved a shout!

First up, Nancy in Iowa, your dreamy and fanciful color combination using Power Poppy's stamp set Poinsettia just made me smile! Even though Nancy used Copic Markers on this beauty, I love the dreamy, almost watercolor look she captured here! Fabulous Nancy!

Barb Thompson brought a dash of whimsy to the table here with this fun and geometric mix of decorative papers in such fun and perky colors! I love the splash of gold shimmer too! And, look at that coloring! So incredibly fun with the accents of white to make those ornaments from the Bottlebrush Holiday stamp set "shine!" Well done Barb! We done!

Brenda, Brenda, Brenda! This pop of red and white? That bit of gold? That embossed background? That fancy schmancy die cut frame? oooOOOOooo la la! It all adds up to one beautiful creation using Power Poppy's Poinsettia stamp set! 

And last, but certainly not least is this pretty in purple work of art! Not only do I adore the layout, but that bow is perfect, the doily is so sweet and the embossed background is divine! Patti Willey, you have ALL my favorite elements packed into one oh-so-lovely card! That more, it’s refreshing to see our Dynamic Duos: Glads and Gerberas stamp in the middle of the holidays. Bravo.

CONGRATS PEEPS OF THE WEEK WINNERS!

We are so excited to add these beautiful creations to our Power Poppy Peep of the Week Board over on Pinterest! How can YOU end up being honored in this way? Simply show us your card making style using Power Poppy Stamps and then link up your creation below! And, if you’re a Peep of the Week Winner and would like our POWER POPPY PEEP OF THE WEEK BLOG BUTTON to “wear” on your blog with pride? Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we’ll send that button right to you!

NOW TO OUR LUCKY WINNER FOR DECEMBER! THAT WINNER IS.........

PATTIE GOLDMAN!

Congrats Pattie! Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy with your stamp set choice and your snail mail address and we'll get your winnings right to you!

FYI: Since next week begins a new week, we decided to put the link up for January a wee bit early, giving you even more chances to win a free stamp set next month! So get creating and be sure to link your creation up using our linky below! 

Speaking of links... before we go, we have to share the links to some of the most talented card designers in the WORLD! We might be a wee bit biased but these ladies (members of our Bloom Brigade) have some fun creation to share. So, stop on by and see what they whipped up!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims

Thanks so much for stopping by today! We hope you have a wonderful, relaxing and creative weekend ahead and we'll see you back here soon!

~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday: A Card Set Walk-Through

Happy Monday before Christmas Power Poppy friends! It’s Christine bringing you some sunshine on the shortest day of the year.   Are the holiday preparations moving forward madly in your house?  We are getting to the homestretch with ours with a full-day fudge production line on the weekend and some shopping today.  All my preparations are very late this year due to a broken leg, so today when it came to my tutorial, I was at a bit of a loss for what to show you!  My creativity, like my leg is a little un-exercised!   I did need to create a set of cards for a gift exchange with friends, so for the sake of practicality, I thought I’d walk you through the design process, and maybe it will inspire you!  

I began with the lovely Camellias digital set, tilted them on my screen so I could fit 6 on a page of XPress It Blending cardstock.  I love this cardstock for digis because it’s light and prints from my printer beautifully, and it’s great to colour with.  

Next I gave the blooms some bright yellow colour with Y11, Y13, Y14, and Y17 Copic Markers.  I particularly like this yellow combination because the Y11 is quite light and the Y17 quite saturated, giving you good contrast between light and dark.  

Next, I added some rich green to the leaves and buds with YG91, YG93, YG95, YG99.  From the pictures I’ve seen of camellias, the leaves are a lovely glossy green colour.  After I took this picture, I spent some time fussy-cutting out each set of set of blossoms so I could give the final cards some dimension.  

Then I gathered some supplies I wanted to use in common on each card.  I don’t think that camellias grow on lattices, but I sure wanted to make them look like that on the card, so I pulled out this Spellbinders Lattice die, some yellow gingham ribbon and the contrast of black accents in cardstock and this pretty damask washi tape.  

When I work with really detailed dies, I add a piece of wax-paper beneath the cardstock on the die so that the details of the die slip through well.  It’s so frustrating having a detailed die, stay in the die!  So this way after some really good passes through my Big Shot, the lattices come out easily.  

Next I knew I wanted to create a “window” for the flowers and the background of the lattice behind.  

And here’s the final set of cards.  I attached the lattice right against the cardbase, then popped up the black frame, with the camellias tucked behind the windowed design.   To make the set simply elegant and yet tied together, I added washi tape to the bottom of the cards and also to the envelopes.  

Each card has it’s own sentiment from the lovely Dynamic Duos:  Peonies and Tulips.  It’s one of my favourite sets from Power Poppy for it’s variety of sentiments.   Then I’ve added a double bow in gingham, a button and twine, as well as a smattering of faceted black gems to add interest to the black cardstock.  

You can just see a bit of the inside the design  where I added a strip of black washi tape to tie all the parts together.  

One last closeup of the details of the design and thes gorgeous camellia flowers!  At our gift exchange this present was traded for at least 3 times.  I gotta admit, that sure makes a girl feel good :)  

Thanks for joining me on this card set walk-through!  Blessings to each of you this season.  I hope that you have some time to reflect, to hope and to spend time with someone you love. 

T Minus Six Days Folks!

Hello Peeps! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Are you all ready for the holidays -- you creative people out there in the blogosphere? Shopping done? Baked goods frosted and sprinkled? I have to admit I have a little more Christmas festivity to cook up before the big day. If you're anything like me and might need to create a few last minute cards, fear not Power Peeps, have we got a treat for you! Not only will we honor those customers who have dazzled us with their artistic charm, but in this mix of creations, we know you will blog hop away with a few last minute ideas to make your holidays merry! 

Have you been a Power Poppy Peep Yet? If not....

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY IN OUR PEEP OF THE WEEK CHALLENGE: All you need to do to get in the running for the Power Poppy Peep of the Week is use the linky below and share a new Power Poppy creation. Just that simple! It can be anything — a card, an altered item, a 3D creation, a set of cards, ANYTHING! We can't tell you how much we love to see what you create!

OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy Stamps on your creation! 
• Link up your creation using the Linky below (It helps us to find you! Although it’s not a necessity to win. We scour creations all over the web!).
• Could you please mention the Peep of the Week challenge in your blog or gallery post with a link back to this blog post? We would sure love it if you did! 
• We’ll accept entries up until Thursday @3PM EST and will announce the Power Peeps of the Week next Friday for our Peep of the Week post.

READY FOR SOME HOLIDAY-INSPIRED
PEEPS OF THE WEEK?

This cheerfully decked out gingerbread house crafted by Pattie Goldman is so sweet, you might just get a cavity looking at this card! I adore the candy cane accents, the beautiful ribbon treatment and that splash of bling to boot! It’s a keeper I say! 

Simple elegance pretty much sums up this beauty by Susie Lessard using our Poinsettia stamp set! Those gold accents, embossed sentiment and splashes of color around this gorgeously-colored petals? Blissful! I love the fact that this card is flat, meaning not only will it bring sighs to anyone who recieves it, it's perfect for mailing too!

Last, but certainly not least, is this fussy-cut piece of perfection created by Sharyn Polesel which also uses our Poinsetta stamp set! I can only imagine how long it took Sharyn to cut around each detail but man, oh man, the results are stunning! I also squealed at the beaded floral centers and that gilded ribbon. It surely adds a touch of class!

CONGRATS PEEPS OF THE WEEK WINNERS!

We are so excited to add these beautiful creations to our Power Poppy Peep of the Week Board over on Pinterest! How can YOU end up being honored in this way? Simply show us your card making style using Power Poppy Stamps and then link up your creation below! And, if you’re a Peep of the Week Winner and would like our POWER POPPY PEEP OF THE WEEK BLOG BUTTON to “wear” on your blog with pride? Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we’ll send that button right to you!

If you're looking for a little creative inspiration from our Bloomies, these talented ladies are taking this Friday off to enjoy some downtime with their families. We hope you do the same and have a MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS! We'll be back next week with one last group of Peep of the Week Winners for 2014... and we'll have the December stamp of the month winner too! So, be sure to swing on back next Friday! 

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS!

~Julie

Link Your Creation Here!

Inspire Me Monday: Screen Divider Card

Hey there - happy Inspire Me Monday! I’ve got a fun project to share today that I hinted at on my blog a few weeks ago - you might remember if you were here for the Camellia release hop! My project today is a Screen Divider Card - this is a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers that we featured last month during our Holiday Tutorial Blitz, but it's a great card for any occasion.

The instructions and measurements are all available at the link above. For this version, I wanted to use a single colored image to cover all 4 panels - the panels can be cut and decorated separately, but aren't we all looking for ways to cut corners and speed things up? This was a great way to color the panels all at once, and the larger Camellias were much easier to color in. Even at this size, the detail is incredible!

I set the margins to 0" and resized the Camellia image to 9.34" x 6.37". (Those measurements don't have to be precise! Just somewhere around there will give you the size needed for this project.) NOTE: Be sure to set your printer settings for borderless printing - otherwise, you'll have a quarter-inch white border around the edge.

The piece I needed for my screen divider panels is 4" x 8.5", so I trimmed across at 4" and then cut the rest of my sheet into card front sized panels and created two other cards.

Before coloring with markers, I used a glaze pen to protect the tiny stamens of the flowers. The glaze pen acts as a resist medium, even with alcohol markers.

After coloring, I added some deeper shading with a pencil.

My panel was cut into 4 equal pieces, 2-1/8" wide.

I sponged the edges of each panel lightly so that each one seemed like its own design.

Here's a little tip for cutting the legs of the screen divider card - I centered and stuck my die to the back side of a Post-It note. the edges of the note helped me to position the die right where I wanted on the edge of the card each time.

I folded the card in half and cut the center panels first, then did the outer panels.

I always score around the edges of each panel for a more finished look.

Here's a closer look at my finished creation!

I hope this gives you some ideas for using digital stamps in a larger format! These little cards make beautiful decorations as well. Happy holidays to you!

It's That Time Again!

Hey Peeps? How was your week? Fab-YOU-lous we hope! And, we also hope you have some weekend creating in store because as always, we would LOVE to see what you do with Power Poppy stamps! You have no idea just how much you inspire us! So, get stamping and then enter to be one of our next PEEPS OF THE WEEK! Your entry could end up being our monthly winner for a free stamp set of choice!

HERE’S HOW TO PLAY IN OUR PEEP OF THE WEEK CHALLENGE: All you need to do to get in the running for the Power Poppy Peep of the Week is use the linky below and share a new Power Poppy creation. Just that simple! It can be anything — a card, an altered item, a 3D creation, a set of cards, ANYTHING! We can't tell you how much we love to see what you create!

OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy Stamps on your creation! 
• Link up your creation using the Linky below (It helps us to find you! Although it’s not a necessity to win. We scour creations all over the web!).
• Could you please mention the Peep of the Week challenge in your blog or gallery post with a link back to this blog post? We would sure love it if you did! 
• We’ll accept entries up until Thursday @3PM EST and will announce the Power Peeps of the Week next Friday for our Peep of the Week post.

IT’S NOW TIME TO UNVEIL THIS WEEK’S PEEPS!

This first creation from Patti Willey just pops with vibrant holiday color! Not only do I love the clean and classy layering but that fussy cutting is off the charts spectacular! If you are like me and still need some cards to add to your Christmas card stash to send, this is one fabulous splash of inspiration using Power Poppy’s Poinsettia set!

Oh my goodness, two weeks in a row we’ve had a beautiful and starry sky using Power Poppy’s O Holy Night set! Check out that windswept snow, the falling flakes and the glowing light of the moon. I think Shelby Thomas nailed it! 

Congrats to this week’s winners! We are so excited to add these beautiful creations to our Power Poppy Peep of the Week Board over on Pinterest! How can YOU end up being honored in this way? Simply show us your card making style with Power Poppy Stamps and then link up your creation below! And, if you’re a Peep of the Week Winner and would like our POWER POPPY PEEP OF THE WEEK BLOG BUTTON to “wear” on your blog with pride? Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we’ll send that button right to you! 

If you are looking for a little extra inspiration for your weekend creating, look no further than our fabulous Bloom Brigade! These lovely ladies have some fabulous creations to share today! 

Allison Cope

Cindy Lawrence

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber 

Leslie Miller

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks so much for stopping by! And remember, if you create, don't forget to link up your Power Poppy cards below. Not only do we want to be inspired by your talents, we want to give you a chance to win Power Poppy stamps with our monthly drawing! Each card is one entry! So, get creating folks! ;-)

See you back here soon!

 ~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up