Inspire Me Monday - A Special Treat for a Valentine

Hello Friends, How are you today? It’s Kathy from The Daily Marker and I am back for another installment of Inspire Me Monday.

 I am crossing my fingers that you will enjoy todays post. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and my goal is to make it meaningful with a sweet treat for my loved ones. Chocolate covered pretzels are easy to make so I thought I would show you how I like to make them with a video today. 

You can also see the video here in HD. If you like the video a thumbs up is always appreciated :)

I wrapped the plastic baggie (gallons size) around the pretzels and taped the sides down to make tidy little bundles like you see here. 

Pre-cut card stock was scored and a window was die cut. 

I am not the measuring type so I took a quick snap of this in case you might ask and hope it helps. Usually I just sorta wing things. 

These pretty olives from the Olive & Oak Expanded stamp set will be turned into Valentine heart berries to decorate my packaging. 

Before I began I wanted to do a quick test to check my colors and to see if turning the olives into hearts would work. 

A fine tip Sharpie marker is Copic-friendly and doesn’t bleed. I drew a heart right on top of the olive and used a white gel pen to cover up the shading on the olive just above the heart.  

You can see how it the tip of the “olive” is white now and it makes it easier to see the heart. 

I didn’t want to spend a lot of time coloring since the packaging will probably go straight in the trash.  Add a line of brown on the leaves. 

Then... add some yellow on top of that brown line and adding more yellow to the other parts of the leaves.

Add some green...any green for that matter. 

Now it’s time to color mash with an "0". Go over the entire leaf with the zero and it will blend all of the colors. 

If you really want the image to pop and have more time trace over the image again with that sharpie marker. Add a white highlight line with a gel pen. Add a coat of glossy accents on the heart shaped berries when you finish them all. 

Since these are for my family I wanted to add some blue around the image to make it pop more. First I traced around the image with BG02 and traced around BG02 with B00. To fade out the line from B00 I traced one more time with a very light color or you could use the "0" but, I used BG0000. 

(read this to a non crafty friend and they will wonder what the heck you are taking about lol)

At first I was going to leave the circle open in the center but decided to add it. I like the way the sprinkles from the pretzels resembles a shaker card. Thanks for letting me share something that I enjoy doing with you today and have a great week.
Hugs, Kathy

Sunshine & Good Thoughts!

Hello all and the happiest of Fridays to you! How’s your week going so far? We hope that it has brought nothing but sunshine and good thoughts! 

Today, we’re here to deliver a bit more sunshine thanks to the vivid imaginations of our designers, who never seem to disappoint in the creativity department! We’ll share the links to our Bloomies a little later on in this regularly scheduled blog post. But first, last week we kicked off something new and fun! That’s right, it’s a FUN Power & Spark Challenge to kick off the NEW year. Chick-Check-Checkity it out! 

If you missed us last week or didn’t catch the details, here’s hostess Tosha Leyendekker's challenge in a nutshell: All you need to do is STRETCH YOURSELF! This is a double challenge that encourages you not only to create a card with a tall format but stretches your creativity by encouraging you to try or use something new in the process! You can read up on all the official details HERE. That’s also the spot where you’ll link up your card once you finish playing along! We can’t WAIT to see what you whip up! 

Want a peek at one of the entries that already caught our eye? Take a look at this colorful wonder by the talented Tricia Traxler using both the Cozy Cupfuls and Potted Primroses (for the fun sentiment) stamp sets! The bright colors just make me wanna smile! We especially love seeing Cozy Cupfuls, which was released with our Holiday collection, done up in such punchy, saturated shades of pink, yellow, and green. Perfect!

So, follow along with Ms. Tricia and take us up on this challenge! After all, if you win, you get to pick which Power Poppy stamp set you get to add to your collection! Fun stuff!

Speaking of fun stuff, we give you.... The Bloom Brigade! Hopscotch your way through our list to see what fun these crafty cats are showcasing on their blogs today!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Be sure to come on back for Inspire Me Monday, as you’ll be treated to a project with Kathy Racoosin that’s so sweet, you’ll be ready to pounce for Valentine’s Day crafting.

Then, on Tuesday, we’ll be unveiling the very newest addition to our Instant Garden a.k.a. our digital stamp sets! Wanna peek? Okay, okay!! Take a gander! This image was literally ripped from Marcella’s drawing board -- how cool is that???

Now, don’t you want to see the WHOLE thing? And, just when you thought there couldn’t be any more to look forward to... we’re going to introduce you to our newest member of the Instant Gardeners design team. She’s got a huge heart, a beautifully classic style, and her cards have started quite the buzz around the Power Poppy HQ. Come on back NEXT TUESDAY, January 19th, and get ready to be WOWED!

Have a fabulous weekend, with even more sunshine and good thoughts — and we’ll see you back here soon!

~Julie

Inspire Me Monday: Fun Grid Back Ground Building

Howdy all!  Welcome to another Inspire Me Monday here at Power Poppy! 

I’m your hostess Ally and today I’m sharing an easy tutorial on how to make some fun back grounds using a grid technique.

Last Friday I introduced two fun cards showcasing some cool hand made back ground paper.  Check them out…

These two cards showcase the “Cozy Cupfuls”, “So Grateful” and “Good Thinking: Love Notes” stamp sets. Sooo cute, right?

So today, I thought I’d share how I made that back ground.  All you’ll need is some paper, a few smaller sized stamps, a pencil, a ruler, an eraser and some imagination!

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join me in my scraproom.

Here’s another close up of our grid inspired back ground card featuring the stamp sets “Good Thinking: Love Notes”, “Bough Wow Wow” and “Potted Primroses”.

Take a look at the layered vellum blooms…

And the cute little peek-a-boo window to show off the sentiment…

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope my tutorial and cards inspire you try this fun technique on your next card.

~ Allison Cope ~


Supplies
stamps: Power Poppy (Good Thinking: Love Notes, Bough Wow Wow, Potted Primroses)
inks:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark, Copic Markers
embossing powder:  Stampendous! (Detail White)
cardstock:  Neenah (Solar White), Recollections (110lb White), Vellum
patterned paper:  Lawn Fawn (Let’s Polka Mon Amie 6x6)
dies:  Avery Elle (Dotted Die), Simon Says Stamp (Stitched Squares)
sequins:  CraftMedley
other:  ribbon

New Year, New Challenge!

Hello happy stampers! We hope you are ringing in the new year with a whole new creative spirit. If you’re still searching for a little bit of inspiration, never fear, Power Poppy is ready to help “spark” your designing “power” with our first of 2016 Power & Spark Challenge. Check it out!

HOW TO PLAY:  

The Power & Spark “Stretch Yourself” Challenge is a DOUBLE challenge: We want you to start by stretching your card canvas by using a tall card format AND then stretch your creativity by trying a new technique or using a new product that you’ve been wanting to try in your creative pursuits! Now’s the time to go for it!

Our Bloomie Tosha Leyendeker is the hostess with the mostest, let’s take a peek at just how far she stretched herself. Not only did Tosh deck out a portion of her card with Power Poppy’s Potted Primroses with a sentiment from the Good Thinking: Renewal set, but she did it in “tall” order! As for the “new,” Tosh used some brand spanking new dies — new to her — along with some papers she had not yet put to use. 

It’s a beauty, don't you think? Look at all of those wonderful layers...

So, why not follow Tosha’s lead and Stretch Yourself in a whole new direction as we kick off 2016? 

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 January 31 @ 8:00pm EST. At that point, we’ll draw the winner randomly and make the announcement right here on the first Friday of February!

Some of our fellow Bloomies did some stretching as well. Hop on over to see what they whipped up and then, get creating yourself! Don't forget to link up your card using the linky below!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Katie Sims

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a bit of your day with us! We hope you have a wonderful weekend and... as always... we’ll see you back here real soon! 

~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

Here Come the Hellebores!

The snipped branches of Holly on my mantel are practically petrified, the Christmas tree is starting to droop... I think you might agree, it’s high time we got some FRESH FLOWERS up in this joint! And no better flower to usher in a new month of digital stamps than the mighty, mighty Hellebore.

Once established in the garden, I do believe Hellebores are indestructible. Their scissor-edged leaves are tough like leather, they bloom when there is SNOW on the ground, and then their mysterious and seemingly delicate blossoms last for months and months and mon.... they are one of my favorite plants, hands down.

Here are some hot-n-heavy Hellebores in bloom in my mom and stepdad’s garden last spring, just to give you an idea of their fierce beauty, and a peek at some of the colors. If you do a Google search, you’ll see that the range is huge, and many times the colors are combined in the same plant. From pure white to ivory, from the palest lemon to intense chartreuse, through every intensity of pink, into deep purple, blue... and even black.

This one’s a double, with twice the petals for maximum speckled awesomeness.

I am not above lying on the ground to get a good shot... and to become one with the earthy goodness that gives birth to these beautiful plants. Look at the subtle shades of yellow and peach and chartreuse... heralding life and cheerfulness to the garden.

Delicate or indestructible? You be the judge!

Hellebores: They’re just cool.

Today I have a digital stamp set for you featuring my remixed illustration and an inspiring sentiment to match that features this queen of the winter garden. I call it Hellebores. You know sometimes I will try to come up with a snappy name for these sets, but with this one, why even try? My inclination was to call it, “Oh, hell ya! Hellebores Rule!” but I don’t know how well that one would go over. So let’s just keep it simple. Introducing: Hellebores!

Wouldn’t you like to see what a few of our inspired artists, our Instant Gardeners and Bloom Brigade design teams, have done with my Hellebores? After you take a trip ’round to their blogs, I hope you’ll come back and give Hellebores a try in your crafty garden.

Cheryl Scrivens
Debbie Olson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Take care and thank you so much for coming to check in with us! Enjoy yourself in whatever adventures you pursue today.

Inspire Me Monday: A little “Winter Pick-Me-Up” with How-to Video

Welcome once again to Power Poppy’s Inspire Me Monday with Rhea Weigand. Today I am sharing Winter Pick-Me-Up with an instructional video on how I do the backgrounds of florals.

I printed the digital image at 150% of its original size, and at 30% opacity. It is framed in a 5x7 very old frame passed down through the family. I chose it because it really helped pop the fluffy willow twigs from the project.

Enjoy the video. My voice is a little low so you may want to turn up the volume. Beware to turn the volume DOWN when the music starts...lol. It may startle you.   

Here are the colors used to create this piece.

Thanks for visiting today!

CHEERS TO 2016!!!

Hello all and Happy Friday! We hope your days have been nothing short of Merry & Bright! On this first day of 2016, let us be one of the first to say.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU! 

With the holidays winding down and most of us falling into winter nesting mode, let's not forget that we are only on the 8th day of Christmas! Remember? There are 12! So, given that, don't miss out on the final days of Power Poppy's Holiday Stamp Sale! Simply enter the code HOLIDAY10 at the time of checkout to cash in on your savings!

With the close of 2015, came the close of our final Power & Spark Challenge for the year -- one where we let you hop scotch all through our past challenges to pick your favorite from the last 12 months! We called it the Power & Spark Rewind Challenge! And guess what? It's time to announce the lucky stamper who will get her pick of a Power Power Stamp Set! 

Random.org threw all the names in their computerized hat and drew the number.....

... meaning our winner is.....

MELANIE ANN MACKENZIE!

Melanie chose Cindy Lawrence's Shabby & Chic challenge and the results were stunning! I love the antique cream feel she's got going on with the distresed and sponged edges! Just delightful! I also love that she colored up the blooms from Power Poppy's Simply Camellias stamp set with just a bit of Ranger Distress Ink -- phenominal! 

Congrats Melanie! All you need to do is email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and share which set you'd like us to send your way! Don't forget your address and we'll pop those goodies in the mail to you right quick!

That's it from us here today! The Bloomies will be back next week after their holiday respite to showcase brand new creations and help kick off a brand new Power & Spark Challenge! Be sure to tune in on Monday when Rhea Weigand brings us the first Inspire Me Monday of the new year with a video tutorial that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! 

See you then sweet stamping friends!
~Julie