The Good Vibe 5 Keeps Flowin'!

Hello all and Happy Friday folks! Are you ready to be hit up with a hefty dose of GOOD VIBES? Well, we have five of them for you! ;-) . We found quite a bit to be inspired by this week in blog land and we cannot wait to share these crafty finds with YOU! 

GOOD VIBE No. 1

Ahhh.... Our friend from the Netherlands -- Misseke -- is at it again with gorgeous coloring in her little corner of the social media world. Just take a peek at her take on Power Poppy's Flower Bomb digital stamp set. Not only do we love the depth of her coloring but we love the fact that -- just in case you want to see her coloring in action -- she has a speed coloring video just for you! Just click HERE to see it all -- up close and personal.

GOOD VIBE No. 2

ENABLER ALERT!!! Just in case you missed it, we have some fresh-picked digis to share. If that isn't enough of a tickler for you to check out Cherries & Berries, maybe Christine Okken's colored up card above will be the push you need to grab up these lush digital delights for your own fruit-filled cards and creations.

GOOD VIBE No. 3

If you're anything like me, when you get to coloring with Copic markers, you tend to reach for pretty much every marker you own! Well, that’s why this week's Inspire Me Monday is pure creative genius. Mindy Baxter uses amazing restraint and shows us how we CAN make beautiful things with 10 markers or less! Check out her ab fab tutorial HERE.

GOOD VIBE No. 4

There are times in life when you need a little reminder about how wonderful you are! Don’t we all need to follow these little words of wisdom above and not only let our light shine but surround ourselves with others who actually love our “light?” Words to live by, my friends.

GOOD VIBE No. 5 

OK, everybody — here’s a set that’s a REAL FAVORITE with our customers and our designers alike, and it’s on sale for three days only!! Pick up Simply Camellias in clear for $11.99, or the single-image digital download of Camellias for only $1.99. Special pricing ends on Sunday at midnight, so hop to it to save up to $6.


There you have it folks! Are you full of all kinds of warm fuzzies? We surely hope so! And, if you need a little inspiration to get through your creative weekend, be sure to check out this week's.....

Essie Swartz is our guest hostess this week and, if you ask me, she creatively slayed it! ;-) So, follow her lead, take a cue from Hues to Use,  and then, be sure to share by adding a link to YOUR card on THIS POST. We love to see all the ways you put Power Poppy in the spotlight!

Now it’s time for the all-star line up, the Bloomies are back...

Come see what cards are in the limelight this week, beautifully crafted by our designers.

Christine Okken

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Have a fabulously colorful weekend, and we’ll see you back here in a few days, you won’t want to miss awesome Ally Cope’s newest Inspire Me Monday tutorial!

~Julie

Hues to Use: Daylily Delight!

Hello all! Another EXCITING day here on the Power Poppy Blog! It's Tuesday, which means that we have another explosion of color to shoot into the world wide web, hoping to cover card makers far and wide with a heavy dose of creative inspiration! It's time for the next Hues to Use! 

This week's delish color combo was born right in the lush land that surrounds Marcella's home that she lovingly dubs her "terrarium." Some of the Bloomies had the distinct pleasure of visiting Marcella's garden and man, it is a sight to see -- everything impeccably kept with the perfect variation of greenery and color tucked into every square inch! This week's color inspiration features her Hemerocallis-- a drop-dead gorgeous daylily -- rich with shades of fuchsia, lime green, and pale pink. Truly swoon worthy, wouldn't you say??

Now to the second part of the fun today. We have ANOTHER guest joining the ranks here on Hues to Use. This sweet lady is someone who has been wowing us all at Power Poppy for quite a while! Take a trip through her Instagram -- ESCards  and you'll see why. Wowza, tons of Power Poppy Goodness there folks! Well, enough rambling from me! Let's hear a little bit about this uber talented lady and see this week's Hues to Use Creation!

Introducing....

Taken inside the Taj Mahal by the tour guide who was looking out through a marble honeycomb screen at Essie. 

"I am originally from a very (very) small town in rural Ohio, and was raised by a crafty mother—who did a lot of needlework, knitted, and gardened. Her hands were never still and she loved to make things. We made our own Valentine cards every year using old holiday cards, sequins, and glitter. Crafts are sort of a big part of my childhood. I stopped crafting after college while I poured everything I had into my career as a military officer. Nowadays, I’m a civil servant for a very large government agency just outside Washington DC. I am beyond fortunate to have a kind husband who indulges my crafty habit. He’s my best friend and my much better half. We have one teen boy (Thing One) and a tween girl (Thing Two), who make me laugh and keep me on the road driving to all the usual kid activities. Thing Two is my card critic and has her own table in the “Craft Lair." We have a very spoiled, slightly aged cat who views our family as her on-call Glam Squad. She calls often and loudly.

A couple of years ago, when Thing One and Thing Two were suddenly old enough to not need me every second of my non-working hours, I rediscovered crafting—first I made birthday party decorations, and then a few red rubber stamps and an ink pad or two came home with me from the local big box craft store. I discovered card making through You Tube and Flickr. There was a slippery slide (okay, it was a headfirst plunge) into cling stamps, die cutting, Cpics, colored pencils, heat guns, and the like.

Power Poppy stamps and digis became a go to. I love the delicacy of the flowers and the original, fun sentiments. Those stamps make me feel like an artist, even though I’m certainly not. Marcella and Bloomies never disappoint and their generosity and enthusiasm, which come through on your blog posts and pictures loud and clear.

My Hues to Use Card using Flowers, Always

I’ve remade this card three times—which never happens with me, but I really wanted to make something special. And, not gonna lie, that color triple was a little challenging for me, although I’ve grown to love it. I hope you’ll like the results! 

The one above on gray cardstock was my first attempt (colored pencils), but Thing One said, “it’s very dark..is that a sympathy card?” Thanks, son. So, back to the drawing board. 

Next go round, on white Neenah with Copics, was better, but the background was (Thing Two said this): “Meh.” She was right, dang it. 

So, I carefully peeled off the card and the second iteration backing, used a stencil with texture paste, distress inked the textured stenciled stripes on the background and now we all agree… better! And this is a BIG card, measuring 9X5 inches. 

I do love to enlarge Marcella’s pretty designs, and this design of hers reminds me of the Elizabethan embroidery designs and tole painting (I think that’s what it’s called) my Mom played with when I was a kid. I remember liking this sort of design so much as a teenager that I embroidered my jeans with similar flowers and leaves. I have a picture of an apron pocket I embroidered for my mother back then that she later cut apart and framed and gave me as a housewarming present. It hangs in my kitchen.

Thanks for letting me take part in Hues to Use. I'm quite excited about my very first guest design spot -- to have it be for Power Poppy is a double-daydream come true! I am such a card geek!

Best, 

Esther a.k.a. "Essie"

Well, Ms. Essie, the pleasure was all ours! We love your take using Flowers, Always and do see that beautiful similarity between your stamped creation and that beloved embroidery that you crafted so long ago! Well done my stamping friend!

I do have a piece of news too! Essie shares that she will have a blog soon and I have to say that I personally cannot wait to see all the beautiful things she posts! 

Do you want to try your hand at this lush color scheme with this week's Hues to use? Play along! Get those fingers inky! Then, use our linky to enter your card! You could be one of our next guest designers for the week. What fun! 

~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspire Me Monday: Coloring using only 10 Copic Markers

Coloring using only 10 Copic Markers

Hi everyone. It's Mindy here from My Creative Scoop! Today I'm sharing a fun tutorial which is absolutely perfect if you don't have many Copic Markers in your collection. I'll be listing my Copic Markers used throughout the tutorial but please keep in mind you can use whatever 2 coordinating colors you have. In this tutorial, I'm using the Power Poppy stamp set Bough Wow Wow. 

Alright, let's get start coloring! I've stamped my image using Memento Desert Sand Ink onto my Copic Xpress it cardstock to get that no line technique. So take your lightest green and color in all the little leaves on the vine.

Then, take your darker green and make a tiny line, or flick going up the center of the leaves. There's not enough room for any detailed shading. 

Then take your N3 and trace along one side of the fuzzy snow puffs.

Using the N0, go along the side of the N3, blending it out.

Then, using N0 create small dots in the fuzzy snow puffs, we want to give them some texture so they look fuzzy.

Then again with the N3, make some more dots for texture in the fuzzy snow puffs. Stay closer to the shaded side of the snow puff so that side appears shadowed -- but still add small dots all over. Then take the N3 and shadow the starting point of the ribbon intertwining throughout the image. Afterward, take your N0 and blend out the N3. Still, leave a white area.

Then with your lightest brown shade the mittens. You want to make a harsh shadow at first then flick towards the center of the mitt. Notice the shadowed areas and don't just outline the mitten.

Then add some details with your darker brown, and define the shadows and the design in the mitten. 

Trace over with the lighter brown again, blending out that harsh line between the 2 colors. Notice there is still some white into the center part of the mittens.

Then take both colors and by adding some dots to the mittens you'll give that yarn - texture look. With the darker color, make more dots at the shadowed areas and fewer in the lighter area.

Then take a light pink (or any other color) and trace the heart but notice on the left side I went a little thicker. We want to create that round 3D look to this heart.

Then on the shadowed side, trace using the darker pink.

Then, flicking the darker pink out towards the center, pull through filling in the heart.

Depending on how dark you want your heart to be, you may want to repeat the 2 previous steps. Once you are happy with your heart's definition, take the darker color and trace the stitches all around the heart.

I wanted my ribbon to pop out a little more, so I added some more N3. Depending on how heavy you go, you may need to re-soften using your N0 again.

Once finished, I wanted to add a little something around the image. So, I added some dots using G0000, filling in the white areas inside and gradually coming out around the image.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and it inspires you to create a color, even if you don't have many Copic Markers to work with.

For more tutorials, classes, and inspiration please visit my blog, My Creative Scoop!

♥ Mindy

Digis on the 5s Release: Cherries and Berries

Hey there, folks! It’s been a little while since I’ve had a Digis on the 5s digital stamp set to share — I’m doing my best to return to my regular release schedule (5th, 15th, 25th of each month). Thank you for your patience... hopefully new images to play with are always worth the wait.

One thing’s for sure, today’s digital stamp set is PACKED with fruity goodness. Want to see a peek — three gorgeous cards created by the diva of die design herself, Rhea Weigand?

You are going to get THREE different fruit-filled illustrations in one purchase. PLUS three sentiments! The newly remixed Cherries and Berries is available for download now from the Power Poppy Shop!

Oh, you’re going to have some fun with these guys! Be prepared with your most saturated reds, oranges, pinks, and purples — because baby, you’re gonna need ’em to give these images a punch! Add loads of sweetness to any card with any of the images in this set. And can you believe you get three in one set? That’s how we’re rolling at the Power Poppy today.

Ready to take on Cherries and Berries for yourself? Come grab it HERE!

Our Instant Gardener, Rhea Weigand created THREE knock-out cards with this set.... and today on her blog, she’s showcasing the first one. You’ll get to see the breakdown of Copics and find out more about how she made the cards in the coming weeks... STAY TUNED! Today, come see Rhea’s Cherry card, which is simply a work of art in and of itself. How does she DO it?? I bow down.

Enjoy and have a great weekend — don’t forget that our clear stamp sale ends tonight at midnight.

xoxoxo!

Good Vibe 5 is Back!

Hello my peeps! After a busy week packing up orders for my wonderful customers (THANK YOU!!!! Your packages are on their way!), I am back on the blog with the Good Vibe 5 — and I couldn’t be happier about that. With my puppy sitting at my feet while I type this, life is feeling pretty sweet.

You know what else is sweet, we’re still having a SALE at Power Poppy — Hurry, this great deal ends tomorrow. Offer good on ANY in-stock clear stamps, not limited to the new ones.

NOTE: New stamps are going fast, some designs have limited quantities remaining and will soon be on reorder!

CLICK HERE to visit our website and explore the sale.

Good Vibe No. 1 

As I mentioned above, good vibes are flowing, glowing, and absolutely emanating from our new clear stamp collection — Abundance! Five new sets hit the shop this week, from this gigantic Dahlia to tiny vignettes that fit under a glass cloche, there is something for everyone who delights in details.

Good Vibe No. 2 

My oh my, is Elizabeth Zaffarano on a creative tear — our papercrafting sista from Cali is BACK this week at Inspire Me Monday with a tutorial that will help you get a gilded jumpstart on Holiday cards. So much sparkle, so little time!

Good Vibe No. 3 

Our Hues to Use color challenges are posted every Tuesday, and we invite you to link up the cards you make based on our color palette launching pad. I was so taken with this card by Colorin’ Kate — her colored pencil skills are off the charts! Check out all of the pretty cards made with this scheme, and add your own — you may be chosen to be featured in a future Hues to Use column.

SPECIAL OFFER: Pick up the Ranunculus digital stamp set used in this card for $2.99 for a limited time. Save $3!

Good Vibe No. 4

I really feel as if I can smell the fragrance of peonies from looking at this pretty pastel card! So happy I saw it a few days ago on Instagram, created by our sweet customer, Emily White (@tessnowhite on Instagram). This beautiful image, created with watercolor pencils, features our Dynamic Duos Peonies and Tulips stamp.

SPECIAL OFFER: Pick up the Peonies digital stamp set is $2.99 for a limited time. Save $2!

Good Vibe No. 5

Our AUGUST Power & Spark Challenge was JUST ANNOUNCED this morning! Tosha is the hostess, and she’s asking us to Mix & Match this month. What exactly are we mixing and matching? Well, scroll down to read the post and find out! Then join us with your creation! Plus, find out who won July’s $50 Shopping Spree at Power Poppy. CLICK HERE for that post. Cindy’s card above is on TODAY’s blog roll, featuring our brand new addition to the Instant Garden, Monarchs and Milkweed.

---------   --------   --------

Are you keeping up with our color inspiration challenge, Hues to Use? Posted every Tuesday! Go get your color-pickin’ wheels kickin’! Julie Koerber curates a palette to set the stage, then we share a card made with this palette, and THEN you add your cards so we can come see what you’re making with Power Poppy stamps. This week’s card inspiration is by our customer, Tricia Traxler, come see in detail right here.

Don’t forget to see today’s post by Julie! So much goodness to catch up on this week. Enjoy a colorful weekend, you awesome, creative spirits. Tomorrow we’ll have a new digital stamp set that is super sweet with loads of options!

xoxoxoxo!

August Challenge: Mix and Match!

Hello folks!  It's a new month, which means, there's a brand new challenge on tap designed to unleash a little creativity and share in this wonderful word of card making! If you missed out on the fun for our Copy A Bloomie Power & Spark Challenge for July, don't miss out on checking out the amazing entries that poured in HERE! The colors, the layouts, the inspiration from our beloved Bloomies was off the charts wonderful!

On to this month! The fabulous Tosha Leyendekker is the challenge hostess and she wants all of us to.....

How do you play? Well, I will let the hostess with the mostess explain! Take it away, Ms. Tosh!

“Let’s mix things up a bit this month. I’m calling this month’s Power and Spark Challenge “Mix and Match”. Let’s combine ANY KIND of Power Poppy stamp sets: Clear with Clear, Digital with Digital, or if you’re really feeling adventurous...Clear with Digital. You must have at least two different stamp sets included in your project. If you don’t have two sets, use the one you have and combine it with an image you’ve found from another brand.”

Well, isn't that a fun and unique challenge? We sure hope you flip through your Power Poppy sets and dream up some creative ways to Mix and Match! Just to help get that mojo a-flowin’, Tosh is sharing her card where she mixed and matched two very festive digital stamps -- Power Poppy’s Wreath: Felt Leaves & Fruit and the background was created using the Hollyberries digital stamp.

Don't you love the antique feel Tosh created? The synergy of traditional Christmas hues with that pop of black stitched grosgrain ribbon? I know I do! So, follow Tosh's lead and mix and match your favorite Power Poppy images with reckless abandon! We can't wait to see what you whip up and... remember... if you play along and you happen to be the lucky winner in our monthly random drawing, you could win a....

$50 SHOPPING SPREE AT THE POWER POPPY SHOP! 

THE OFFICIAL RULES:

• Use Power Poppy stamps if you have them. If not, it is a great way to win some! 
• 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 $50 SHOPPING SPREE TO 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 August 31 @ 8:00 PM EST. At that point, we’ll draw the winner randomly and make the announcement right here on the first Friday in September.

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

Moving on, we have a winning name to draw from our July Power & Spark Challenge! After random.org put all of the names in the virtual hat, the number drawn was...

                                                 
Which means the winner is.....

 ••••• Rosali! •••••

Rosali ripped a page out of Ally Cope's creative book and used THIS card for her inspiration! The results are clean and classy with a bold pop of color! Love it! She used Power Poppy's Succulent Singles to pull off this look! Don't you adore that vibrant pop of primary colors? So crisp, vibrant and FUN! 

CONGRATS ROSALI! You've won a $50 Shopping Spree — contact us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we'll send you your shopping code!

With all of that color bursting forth today, time now to turn things over to some of the most talented card designers in all of blog land!

Stop by, say “hi” and see what these fine ladies have been up to this week!

Cindy Lawrence

Christine Okken

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

And, be sure to stop back by on Monday when the sparkling colorista Mindy Baxter will take center stage for our next Inspire Me Monday! You will not want to miss this one because Mindy is sharing some tips and tricks to get maximum color with minimum Copic markers in hand!

AND: Today we have TWO new posts on the Power Poppy Blog — don’t miss soaking up the fun of Marcella’s Good Vibe 5 — CLICK HERE.

Until then!

Julie

An InLinkz Link-up

A Cozy Kind of Hues to Use!

Hello Friends! And welcome to another fun-filled edition of Hues to Use! I am going to warn you, if you scrolled down to get a glimpse of this week's color inspiration, it might have flat out busted your "cute meter!" I mean, look at that face, will you?

If you missed the MONDO news at Power Poppy Headquarters -- here goes!! Below, my sweet friends, is our Power Puppy-in-Chief, Tibbs! I know. I know. You just can't stand how darn cute he is, can you? This little multicolored furry wonder is a Welsh Corgi that might be small in stature but he's pretty BIG in personality! Since we've been overrun by totally adorable photos of Tibbs in action on Marcella's Instagram and Facebook pages, why not share some of that cuteness to make the card making world smile a bit bigger today? So, my friends, Tibbs is our color inspiration! To add a pop of color, we borrowed from Ms. Clara’s wardrobe and added a POP of hot pink!

Moving On! We are so blessed to have another ever-so-talented guest designer at the helm of 'Hues' today, who is sharing her design prowess and giving us a chance to get to know her a little bit better! So, would you please give a warm Power Poppy welcome to.....

It’s such a privilege to be sharing a card with you today from my studio in Wisconsin! My name is Tricia and I have enjoyed stamping ever since my sister-in-law gave me my first stamp set and catalog for Christmas somewhere around 20 years ago. Yes… I started stamping when I was 9. SNORT!!!! Hmm -- I guess that age thing doesn’t quite work since I just celebrated my 30th anniversary with my husband! OK, so I’m a forty-something stay-at-home mom and wife with three grown children, a daughter-in-love, a very adorable but paranoid mini Schnauzer, and the most wonderful husband in the world. To keep me busy I enjoy cross stitching, blogging about my cards and helping women manage their time and their homes through my online planning company - GraceWorks Purpose Planners. My stamping style is mostly clean and layered, I love to color, and I love to make cards to encourage people. But enough about me! Let’s stamp!

I just love the picture of Tibbs, don’t you?? I loved the pop of pink and decided to use the image from the Get Wool Soon digi set. I thought it would look warm and cozy… like when you are inside during a Wisconsin winter!

After I printed my image, I decided I would try using a combination of alcohol markers and watercolor pencils for my coloring. I started by laying down a layer of color with a variety of different markers… Copics, Spectrum Noir, Chameleon, Pro Markers, I combine them all!… and then I pulled out my Staedtler Karat Aquarelle pencils to add the final touches.

After I finished my coloring, I cut a few mats with some petite scalloped circle dies and layered my matted image over a background that I had cut out with a stitched rectangle die and then embossed with a wire fence pattern. I stamped the sentiment on a stitched strip and attached it to the card with foam dots. And then, really, I couldn’t help myself, I added Stickles to the steam and some glittery enamel dots to the sentiment strip. I like fairly simple cards, but I just have to have some sparkle!!

Thanks so much for walking through my card with me! I hope you’ll be able to play along!!

Thanks Tricia -- we love our sparkle too and... we love your "Tibbs-inspired" creation!  Just in case you want to keep tabs on Tricia, you can find her blog -- Simply Stamping -- HERE!  I am sure you won't be disappointed if you hop by and see what she's been up to! Her work is stellar folks! So, take a gander at Tibbs and join Tricia in this week's challenge! Who knows, your card could turn a few heads -- so much so that you could be our next guest designer for the week!

Get those fingers inky and then link up your creation below!

~Julie

An InLinkz Link-up