The Stars (and Acorns and Olives) are Out!

Hello all! Are you ready for a star-studded Bloom Brigade Parade? We sure are and today, you can bet that Power Poppy’s brand new digital stamp, Olive and Oak, will be the star of the show on more than a few of the Bloomies’ blogs! Have you seen it yet?

Marcella Hawley’s new digital stamp, which is a gorgeous symbol of peace and strength, is just one more way you can create and feel that jolt of gratification in an instant with our Instant Garden Digital Stamps! It’s as easy as download from the email that’s sent to you after purchase, print, color, create, and enjoy! Oh, and repeat often!

Moving on... As I always say, one of my favorite things to do is to tip toe through blogland, looking for inspiration for my Power Poppy Stamps, and to see what everyone is up to. I usually grab one of my favorite beverages, which could be my morning coffee, my afternoon diet coke or my occasional microbrew. It sets the scene. It says, I am going to stay here a while and just enjoy others’ creative pursuits! And, on one of my recent blog-hopping excursions, I stumbled upon Nancy of Rowhouse Greetings’ BRILLIANT creation here...

Nancy used our Asters Abuzz digital set to create these little windows to a bee’s world! I love how she extracted just bits of the image to bring these little guys to life in such a whimsical and colorful way! Fabulous, Nancy! 

Before we hand the torch to our beloved Bloomies, we’re pulling out the megaphone and pepping up the crowd to invite you to join us in this month's Power & Spark Challenge! It's a good one! Look!

HOW TO PLAY: Share your gifts from the heart and showcase ways you might creatively package up goodies, adorn them with stamped tags, or set them in handmade bags or boxes. This Power and Spark Challenge is all about your creative gift presentations so that you can show your art, and your heart! You can check out all the official details here on THIS CHALLENGE POST. The winner will get a choice of a free or digital stamp set from the Power Poppy Shop! Woo hoo! Contest runs through September 30th at 8PM EST. 

Well, I see folks are starting to line up for our “parade” so we best get straight to the action! Smile and wave as you stop by and see what these fine ladies have been up to! ;-)

Allison Cope


Christine Okken


Cindy Lawrence


Julie Koerber


Leslie Miller


Stacy Morgan

Thanks for popping in to say “hi!” Be sure to tune in on Monday when we’ll be bringing you another episode of Inspire Me Monday with a fresh project and inspiration galore. See you back here then!

~Julie

Find Peace and Strength in today’s introduction: Olive and Oak

NOTE: If you were directed here and you are looking for Snowglobe Greetings, please click here! Sorry about that. :)

Hello beautiful people! We are back with an all-new image today that combines the historic symbolism of two glorious plants in an image that has a masculine look with a bit of whimsy.

Whether admired on the branch while gazing upward, scooped up into giant piles with a rake, or spotted on the ground, plucked, and pressed into a book for safekeeping, the oak leaf is a symbol of strength, endurance, and stability. I’ve drawn leaves with sweetly capped little acorns that will one day grow up to be mighty oaks themselves. And then, to see just how far I can stretch our imaginations, I’ve paired the oak with branches of another tree that isn’t likely to show up in the same forest, as it is native to a more Mediterranean climate: the olive.

Olive branches — known since Biblical times as a symbol for peace — have their juicy fruits clustered between the leaves. Olive and Oak, joining forces with a message of peace and strength, is an image I hope you’ll turn to again and again.

This digital Olive and Oak stamp set can be colored in so many ways — from full fall splendor to pale greens and golds and grey-blues, to monochromatic browns... it’s up to you to bring out the best in this drawing and make it your own.

I have to laugh ... I hadn’t realized that not too long ago I introduced another set, Ranunculus, with a single-line sentiment that is also “sending peace”. Can anybody tell that I am in the mood to get some peaceful vibes out into the universe?


Today I have the great honor of introducing the hardest working digi team in show business. These women put so much thought, care, and time into their creations to share with you!! I know their Olive and Oak posts are going to wow you, especially those of you who are into no-line coloring. I mean, mama mia! These are some inspiring cards...

SHOW ’EM WHATCHA GOT, INSTANT GARDENERS!

Jennifer Dove

Broni Holcombe

Cheryl Scrivens

Debbie Olson

Rhea Weigand

Thank you so much for coming by to see the newest botanical blossoms from Power Poppy! As always, this DIGITAL set is available from the Power Poppy Shop right now, so you can be coloring up this fall fantasy today! Enjoy the rest of your day and I wish you peace AND strength! :)

Wrap it Up Baby!

Howdy all!  Happy Monday to you all today!  I'm Allison and I'm your hostess for today's Inspire Me Monday!

If you haven't already checked out our latest Power & Spark challenge for the month of September, you need to do that!  It's all about gift giving!  So I thought I'd share a really quick an easy tutorial on a fun way to package some handmade cards, gift certificate or something else you special you've made for a friend or loved one.  This tutorial will teach you how to make a Fold Over Box that fits A2 sized cards.

Here are the measurements of the cardstock you will need:

• TWO - 6" x 6 1/2" (lid & bottom)
• ONE - 1" x 11" (belly band)
• ONE - 8" x 6 1/2" (3D box)
• ONE - 6 1/8" x 4 5/8" (box topper) 

STEP 1:
Using your 8" x 6 1/2" sized cardstock, SCORE all 4 sides at 1".  Then cut V-shaped tabs like the image below.

STEP 2:
Add a strong adhesive to the outside of each tab and adhere the tabs to the inside of the box to create sides (see photo insert).

STEP 3:
Using the 6" x 6 1/2" pieces of cardstock (TWO), SCORE on one side of each piece at the 1" mark on the long side (6 1/2" side).

STEP 4:
Add strong adhesive to the inside of one of the 1" scored strips of the cardstock.  Adhere the 1" strips together as shown to create a 3D card.

STEP 5:
Decorate the inside of your lid base using the desired patterned paper.
Adhere the box to the inside of your card using strong adhesive.  The box is designed to have a 1/4" gap all the way around the edge of the box.

Decorate the inside of your box if desired.  Make sure to trial the piece of paper before you adhere it to the bottom of your box.

STEP 6:
Create a box topper to fit your piece of 6 1/8" x 4 5/8".  I used the festive "Bough Wow Wow" stamp set to decorate the top of my Fold Over Box.  I kept the colors simple, using only warm greys and red to color my stamped image with so it matched my patterned paper.  DO NOT adhere your topper to your cardstock until the after the next step.

STEP 7:
Take your box topper cardstock and make a mark indicating the center of your topper.  Then carefully wrap your belly band around the box loosely and crease it to match the height of the box. If you wrap the belly band too tight, you won't be able to get it on and off easily.

Adhere your belly band ends either under or on top of your topper (it's your choice!).  I ended up adhering mine underneath.  The pencil line won't show because your going to adhere your topper right over top of it!

STEP 8:
Adhere your topper to your topper cardstock using a strong adhesive.
You can further decorate your box by adding decorative paper or ribbon to your belly band or even around the edge of the box.

At last, you have a little decorative box to send some fabulous cards or a gift...

And here it is with the topper and belly band off.  As you can see, I added a little bit of patterned paper to the lid so it wasn't too bare when the topper was removed.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you'll join me and the Bloom Brigade and play along with our Gifts from the Heart challenge this month!  Remember, anything goes when it comes to gift giving!

Happy stamping and creating everyone!

~ Allison ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Power Poppy (Bough Wow Wow)
cardstock:  Stampin' Up! (Real Red), Neenah Solar White 
inks:  Memento (Grey Flannel), Stampin' Up! (Real Red)
patterned papers:  Photo Play Paper Co. (Dear Santa 6x6) 
pens:  Sakura (Glaze), Copic Markers
dies: Cheery Lynn Designs (French Pastry Doily)
lace:  Decollections (Lace Tape)
other:  Stickles, thread.

It's Bloomie Friday!

Happy Friday Y’all! It's time for another fun-filled episode of Bloomie Friday! That's what I am going to affectionately call today since we love to share the parade of projects whipped up by the clever and artistic hands of our Bloom Brigade each Friday. It’s a great end to the work week and a great kick start to your creative weekend! 

Speaking of creativity, we love to scour the web looking for the latest Power Poppy inspiration dreamt up by YOU -- our Power Poppy Peeps. And, dear stamping friends, this one by Becky Egecrone caught our eye with not only her fantastic use of pattern but her oh-so-sweet coloring and fabulous zig-zag stitched layout. LOVE! 

Just in case you wondered, Becky used Power Poppy’s charming set titled Go Wild. She also decked it out with some colored pencils and mineral spirits for that perfect blend! Ohhhh la la! 

Before we move on to our Bloomies, did you see we kicked off a new challenge last week? Check it out folks!

HOW TO PLAY: All September long, share your gifts from the heart and showcase ways you might creatively package up goodies, adorn them with stamped tags, or set them in handmade bags or boxes. Have a fun gift card holder? Share it! This Power and Spark Challenge is all about your creative gift presentations or handmade gifts! Show your art.... and your heart!

As the entries start to come in, we immediately fell in love with this one from Nancy Kirk. Not only do we love the embossed handmade box annd bow, but that tag in wintery blues and cardinal reds just POPS! I wonder what kind of fun trinkets she'll tuck inside! ;-)

Why not join Nancy in this challenge and show us your ideas for using a little stamping on your next gift? You can read up on all the Official Rules and link your creation right here on THIS CHALLENGE POST. The winner will get a choice of a free or digital stamp set from the Power Poppy Shop! Who wouldn't want that? Contest runs through September 30th at 8PM EST. 

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for -- our Bloom Brigade Parade! Go check out what these lovlies have been up to and don't forget to say “hi” while you're there!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan 
Leslie Miller

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with us! Be sure to tune in on Monday when Ally Cope joins us for another edition of Inspire Me Monday! See you back here then!

~Julie

Ripe Berries Anyone?

Hello Power Poppy Friends!  Today I am bringing you Berry It Digital Stamp.  I couldn't make the August 25th post to release this image so I thought I would share it with you on my monthly inspiration post with a little coloring tip.

This months tip:  Don't be afraid to use grays to make your colors deeper and more rich looking.  It helps to give more dimension and contrast to your projects. 

Here is how I teach to use grays; When I've colored a few berries with the regular colors, I decided where I want to make RV99 (in this case) darker.  I then added N7 to that area and immediately went over it with RV69.  These two colors will blend together on the paper making the top color a darker shade and you won't see the gray.  Then I will blend it out with the sequence of colors, this is done lightly.  Once you get the hang of it you can just start by adding gray before your darkest color and blending out from there. 

I used N gray because I didn't want any blue or brown undertones.  

I only do this with Copic XPress Paper as it allows me more time to work with my coloring and has less of a chance of looking "muddy" with more ink added.   

I will be back next month for more coloring tips!

Rhea

Keep Climbing with our new Clematis digi

Hello and thank you for coming by to check out our newest digital introduction, Climbing Clematis!

It’s a busy Labor Day weekend so I’m going to cut to the chase with this one, so you can get over to our designers’ blogs to soak up the beauty of possibilities with this illustration and sentiment.

I can wait to share some of my adventures with Clematis in the garden, as they really are magical plants, and their twisty tendrils and starry seedheads just as fascinating as the flowers themselves. Pretty sure the butterflies agree with me!

I think these ladies have created cards that will send you into the happiest of tailspins — so let’s go take a tour! For today we have some of our beautiful Bloomies AND an enchanting Instant Gardener to showcase Climbing Clematis. Feeling so grateful to be able to share this loveliness with you today:

Cindy Lawrence

Christine Okken

Cheryl Scrivens

By the way.... both Cindy AND Cheryl had a birthday this week! Wishing a Happy Birthday and a big weekend of fun and family and all the good things in life to these two special gals!! xoxo

Have a fantastic weekend, loving wishes to ALL OF YOU!

You Got That Spark?

Hi all! How's your September starting out? We hope that a new month brings a whole new spark of creativity and what better way to get that mojo a flowin' than to usher in a new Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge! This one is hosted by the amazing colorist and super sweet designer.... KATIE SIMS!

HOW TO PLAY: This month Katie would love nothing more than for you to get great ideas for your gift giving season! Here's what Ms. Katie had to say about her September Challenge!

“Hello and a happy September to you! This month’s Power & Spark challenge is all about giving. We all know the paper crafting community has some of the biggest, giving hearts around so let’s celebrate that with “Gifts from the Heart.” Show us your creative gift presentations or a hand crafted gift…. or both! Try stamping  your own wrapping paper, decorate your own gift bag or tag, craft a gift set of note cards... you choose how to show your art and heart for a special someone. Even though the holidays are just around the corner, any time is a great time for gift giving so this challenge is open for any occasion.”

While this challenge is open for any kind of gift, Katie chose a dazzling gift bag for her sample. I just love the way it shimmers and shines -- just like the holidays!

Katie used a mix of stamp sets from Power Poppy: Poinsettia, Merry Littles (for the smaller poinsettia) and then Bottlebrush Holiday for that cheery sentiment! If this gift bag, full of luster, isn't inspiration enough, stay tuned! The Bloomies have used this challenge as a stepping off point for their Friday creations and man, oh man, will their projects make your head swirl! ;-)

But first......

THE OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy stamps if you have them, but if you don’t, this is a great way to WIN them
• Link your creation below using our Linky (please use the exact URL from your post instead of a generic blog address.)
• Please mention Power Poppy in YOUR blog or gallery post with a link back to THIS challenge
• The winner will receive a free clear or digital stamp set of choice from the Power Poppy Shop
• Enter as many cards as you’d like, as long as they fit the theme of the challenge!
• Deadline to enter is September 30 @ 8:00pm EST. At that point, we'll draw the winner randomly and make the announcement right here on the first Friday of October.
  
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MORE WINNING NEWS... Okay folks, the exciting thing about the first Friday of the month is that we not only unveil a new challenge, but we share the winner of last month's challenge! After last week brought an end to our Power & Spark Shabby Chic Challenge, we threw all the entries into that little number generator that we know and love -- random.org. And, without further ado, the winner is.....

That means our Power & Spark winner for August is...  

BETH FROM NANA’S MEMORIES & MORE!  

Want to see Beth’s shabby chic Christmas wonder? Well, take a gander! She used Power Poppy’s Poinsettia stamp set in such a beautiful way! I personally love the music note decorative paper and the little bit of sparkle she added as well! The distressed edges really add to that shabby flair! 

CONGRATS BETH! Simply email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and let us know what stamp set or digital stamp set that you’d like and we’ll send it your way! 

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Oh, Oh, OH!!!! Now’s the time when we hand the baton to our Bloomies so that they can run off with all their creative ideas and inspire you ALL! So, stop by, say hi, and let that inspiration fly!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Katie Sims

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with us! We can’t wait to see your gift giving ideas from the heart this month! Be sure to tune in on Monday when our own Ms. Rhea Weigand is back with some awe-inspiring coloring tips! See you back here then!

~Julie

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