Black, White & Read All Over!

Hey Peeps! It's Tuesday, which means your crazy color combo creator is here to share a vivid trio of hues in the hope that it might just jumpstart YOUR creativity. I feel that -- with a little juggling of those hot spots on the color wheel --- this challenge might get you to pick up some combinations that you might not normally reach for! And getting out of your comfort zone is frankly... a GOOD thing! Right? I mean, it grows synapsies in the brain when we go outside our zone!  

So, without further ado, welcome to this week's......

Today's little inspiration point is one that's super close to our creatively fearless leader's heart. Yes, that would be Ms. Marcella!! Anyone who knew her amazing, artful, creative, joyful, exuberant, charismatic, and endearing mama --- Susan -- knew that she loved her New York Times crossword puzzles. As Marce says, she "loved to work them, excelled at completing them, and delighted in triumphing over every single square." So, when I spotted this photo below on Marcy's IG feed, I knew we had to make it the centerpiece of a Hues to Use Challenge. This is a photo of Marcy remembering her mama and rising to the crossword of all crossword challenges in honor of this special lady. On top of that, who doesn't love a good, vibrant, and "contrasty" combo of pitch black, alabaster white and cardinal red? 

On to my creation! Not too long ago, I was walking around my neighborhood and spotted the most beautiful red azalea bush in full bloom. Honestly, living in the colder climate that I do (Montana), I didn't think we could grow azaleas. So this, my friends, was a bit of additional inspiration for my Hues to Use project for the week. Take a gander at this beauty, will you? This isn't my neighbor's plant but it looks just as vivid and lush! 

Source

 And so, after gazing on these rich red blossoms, this is what I came up with! 

I started with Power Poppy's stamp set Azalea, stamped it in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then, grabbed these Copic marker colors to get started!

I have to admit, coloring in shades of red is NOT my strong suit. Soooo....this was more than just a color challenge for me. It was an out and out challenge. Red has, in fact, always been the trickiest color for me. That's why I just breathed in the photo above before I even got started -- just to try to plan my color attack. I will say that I started dark to light with this one so that I could try to better control where the dark shades went. And this was the result.....

While it wasn't easy for me. I am rather pleased with how the coloring turned out! I actually might not shudder in my shoes next time I decide to go red! Moving on from there, it was all about the fussy cutting and matting. I grabbed bits and pieces from my decorative paper stash. Some of the paper is from My Mind's Eye. Some is from Stampin' Up. All of it is forever old! So, I was glad to be able to put some of these papers to good use! And that, my friends, is it!

BEFORE I LET YOU GO, I HAVE SOME 

EXCITING NEWS! 

Now, don't all raise your hands at once (even though I know you will want to) but.....

1. Who would love to be able to design with some of the prettiest stamp images on the market?

2. Who would love to headline one of the most creative blogs in the stamping universe? Do I have your attention yet? ;-)

If you answered YES to those questions, we'd like to see you play along in our Hues to Use all month long! At the end of the month -- starting in July -- you just might earn a spot here on the Power Poppy blog as one of our Hues to Use guest designers! Can you even stand it? How fun does that sound? So, get those fingers inky and take these Hues to Use for a test drive. We'll be watching and looking to see who might like to help us host this fun-filled challenge! Meantime, I can't wait to see how you put cardinal red, pitch black and alabaster white into creative play! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Julie

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