The Blossom Challenge: Inspired by the Sea

Welcome Power Poppy friends!  Today it’s Christine back with you, kicking off a brand new theme for The Blossom Challenge at Power Poppy!  

This month we have an Inspiration Challenge based on a photo from my recent trip to Northern California for work.  At a local friend’s recommendation we took a day off to head to the coast, driving through the Sonoma Valley wine country to a spot called Bodega Beach.  Its a sweet little coastal town with miles of beaches along the coastline.  It was such a stunning surprise with high cliffs, bluffs and pounding surf; you could believe you’re in Cornwall, England rather than the Cali coast.  The spot I took this picture was at Bodega Head where you are high on the bluffs looking down at the rugged coast above.  In the foreground you can see the vegetation with the pop of pink.  These plants are succulents called Sea Fig, and the flowers bloom a number of different colours.  Its an invasive plant in California, so they’re trying to control it, but it made for a beautiful picture!  

I’ve created two cards with this inspiration:  First up, a design inspired by the colours and plants in the photo.  

It’s a mini-slimline design using Power Poppy’s Gerbera Daisies Stamp set to mimic the flowers of the Sea Fig, colouring them in vivid pinks with my Copic Markers.  They are fussy cut and placed on a layered background with a die cut that I think imitates the sea fig vegetation.  A very FUN new find for me is the Lindy’s Magical Powders that I picked up which bring all the colour to that die cut!  These powders are dye based and activated in water, and result in gorgeous vibrant saturated colour and shimmer.  I think they really give the feel of the succulent vegetation and the colours of the sea.  

Here’s a view that helps you see how shimmery and shiny they are, and what awesome colour you are left with.  I’m going to be using them a lot in my future!  I’m using watercolour paper because it holds the moisture you need to activate the powders.  

The pretty little sentiment is from Power Poppy’s sentiment set, Nice Things to Say (in stock in polymer).  

Now I have a card that is very ocean forward.  

For this design I really took inspiration from the layout and colours in the picture.  I started with the background and used the same Lindy’s Magical Powders on watercolour paper to create sky, sea and ground with different powder colours, activited them with water and let them dry fully.  then I ran the background through an embossing folder I have that has the feel of the vegetation.  Next I brayered watered down white acrylic paint over the embossing to give the feeling of foamy waves and bring some highlight to the dimension of the embossing.  

For this beautiful sentiment I used one of my favourite Power Poppy sentiments M-Powering Words , embossed it with a metallic embossing powder in teal, trimmed it out and placed it on teal glitter paper and a layer of vellum.  Then, I accented the card with pretty dies from The Greetery Curio Summer Findings. 

Now I’ll leave you with the photo without graphics, and I hope this inspiration has taken you on a lovely journey to the sea!  

Join us in The Blossom Challenge this month to create something based on any part of this photo that inspires you.  Be as creative as you’d like!  You could win a $20 Gift Code for the Power Poppy store!  

I’ve added the picture without the graphics so you can visualize all of it for your inspiration.   Link up your creation below!

The only requirements are that you need to use one Power Poppy image or sentiment, and can enter as often as you like.  This Challenge runs until March 18th!  

Want to know who won our Clean Slate Challenge last month? We had some really fun entries!  This month,  Almeslee with her gorgeous Birthday rose was our winner!  Almeslee please contact Marcy at bloom@powerpoppy.com to claim your winners code! 

             You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Inspire Me Monday ~ Just Go For it!

 

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm Ally and I'm your hostess for Inspire Me Monday this week.

When I went to design something to share with you today, I can honestly say I was a little stumped.  I couldn't rattle anything off of the top of my head.  

So when I'm stumped I generally go to Pinterest to get inspired.  Sometimes I type in a color to strike up an image that will get the creative juices flowing.  Sometimes it's looking at glorious florals or sometimes it's even different patterns someone has drawn in their bullet journal.  

This time, I typed in the word "watercolor".  I scrolled.  But not for long when this image got those mental creative juices flowing...

Source

The looseness of the color.  The cooler, bluer tones with the slight touch of warmth.  I was inspired!

So I started by choosing my medium of choice.  I choice watercolor, just like the piece of art.

So I pulled out my watercolor paper and some ink refills that I was going to attempt to use.

I laid down a lot water all across the paper and just dropped soft color in at will.   Some soft purples, some somber blues with a touch of warm peachy tones... there!

Next I grabbed the large floral heart from the "Always Here" stamp set and stamped right in the swirling pool of color.

I then took all of my blues and purples and peach colors and began to losey drop them into the individual blooms and leaves and berries.  I didn't care if I keep my color inside the lines.  I wanted it to f.l.o.w....

I went a little warmer with my colors by adding a bit more of that peachy color but over all I like the loose, unconfined feeling of the final card.

Thanks for dropping by today!  I hope I've inspired you to create.  Now go... CREATE!

~ Ally ~

stamps: Power Poppy (Always Here)

cardstock: Strathmore Watercolor Paper

inks: Versafine (Black Onyx), Catherine Pooler Designs (It's a Boy, Serenade, Stone Blue, Bellini, Royal Treatment)

sequins: Studio Katia (Crystal Clear Confetti)

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11!

 

Hello Everyone! 

It's the penultimate day of our 12 Days of Christmas here at Power Poppy - DAY 11! Its me Jenny Colacicco and I'm thrilled to be joining you here on the blog today to share some more Christmassy goodness featuring the gorgeous and hilariously punny Season's Greenings stampset.  Ally already shared some beautiful inspiration using this set that comes in both clear and digital versions, (in case you missed it you can check it out here).

I'm going to be watercoloring my card today and have a few behind the scenes process shots to give a little insight to my card creating.  This is a fully one layer card so great for mailing too!

I first stamped my image using a watersoluble ink as I'm doing 'no-line' watercolor -  I want the outline to blend in with my coloring rather than being a stark outline.  I typically use Distress Ink for this.  There are other 'no-line' inks that are also great such as Amalgam from Gina K or Barely Beige from Simon Says Stamp, but Distress seems to be my constant go too. I use a stamp positioner to stamp - particularly when stamping on watercolor cardstock (I'm using Arches hotpress) which is textured -  the positioner lets me stamp a couple of times to get a clear impression.  Im using Old Paper Distress ink. 

When I do no-line watercoloring on small detailed images I like to use small brushes - I'm using a 00 round (and I might go up to a 2 round for larger areas) which helps me control the paint and add my outlines where I want them.   I focus on each 'item' at a time, outlining the image with my brush where there would be shadow,  pulling out the coloring with a damp brush and then building up layers and shading. 

I'm using pan watercolors from Altenew for my watercoloring.  I particularly like to have pans so I can stamp my image, set it on a clipboard and then sit down in front of the TV one evening to color!   Here's a close up of the wreath itself. I just love that little chickadee perched on the top of the wreath.  You'll see I free handed a hanging hook from the wreath up to the top of the panel too.   I wanted to give a sense of an outside door.

I also stamped the bird from the set down at the bottom of the scene as if he was talking to the little guy on the wreath, and shaded in the background and ground loosely to ground the bird and the wreath.  

I flicked white paint over the panel when dry for some snow in the scene.  To finish, I heat embossed the sentiment in Metallic Copper embossing powder (from WOW! Embossing).  It's a little hard to see in the photo but I added a few clear Nuvo Crystal Drops to the berries for a little dimension.

And don't forget...!

ALL DIGITAL STAMPS 20% OFF — NO CODE NEEDED 

and

10% OFF CLEAR STAMPS — USE CODE 12DAYS

- - - - - - - -

Wanna WIN some amazing prizes?  

Be sure to head to the Day 1 post on the Power Poppy Blog, HERE for more details on the 12 Days of Christmas fun and frolics!   Stay tuned for the final day tomorrow and enjoy!  Stay safe and happy holidays everyone!

Jenny 

Inspire Me Monday - Keep it SImple

Happy Monday everyone! Jessie here today keeping things simple (which is different for me) using Blossoming Cherries digi stamp!

I started things off by printing the image using my HP CP1025NW color printer onto 140lbs hotpress Arches watercolor paper, and taping it down to my hardboard to paint!

I kept things with  one coat of colour, except for on the blossoms where I added 2 layers of the pink just for some depth. I used my StoneGround Watercolour and played with 5 colours, Merigold Orangs, Scarlet, Cerulean, Raw Sienna Warm shade, and Burnt Umber. 

Marcella's lovely line work does most of the work in this one, it adds the details to the branches as well as the leaves which made this one super fast to paint up. I love how the light washes of colour really bring this dreamy branch to life!

I have no idea what I am going to do with the finished piece here, I may cut it down and make a slimline card out of it, I am also thinking of putting it in a white frame and tucking it in among my houseplants.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugz
Jessie

Inspire Me Monday - Loosen Up

Hey all! Jessie here sharing another Inspire Me Monday post with you all! 

Today's topic I am focusing on is loosening up, I am always very controlled with my watercolours, I love the looks I achieve, don't get me wrong. But I hold my brushes like a pencil, always  use a small brush and make that colour do exactly what I want it to do. 

So today, I pulled out some larger (for me) quill brushes and printed off the Sunflower Poppy stamp, a stamp I have coloured many times before and went in with colour.

I started off by just splashing in some yellow, green and blue as an underpainting. All over the image and into the background, not being real fussy about it at all. Then I went in with my smaller quill brush and started working on some detail, painting in the stems and leaves, adding pinks and purples to the flower petals. Using a very granulating (Hematite Violet Genuine) for the center of the sunflower. This whole image is so outside my comfort zone, but it came togehter in the end and looks alright for my first looser attempt.

I next wanna do the same thing, or maybe continue with the same image and push it to the point I feel like its over worked (I did to much to it). Just to find that line. I am taking my time , while at home, to see how far outside of my normal I can step and this project was for sure outside of my normal. 

If you have paints and you want to try the same thing, I am serious, grab your paints throw a bunch of light washes over the background, let it dry then work out your details. It is challenging but really fun to do!

Thanks so much for sharing some time with me this week.
Jessie

Inspire Me Monday: YouTube LIVE Watercolor Painting

Howdy everyone!  Allison Cope here!

Today we're going to do something a little different!  Later today I'm going to go LIVE on YouTube (HERE) with a watercoloring project for a last minute Valentine's Day card.

You will also be able to see it after the live as well on the same link above.

Please join me at 2:00pm EST on YouTube and we'll have some fun together!

See you then!

~ Ally ~

Inspire Me Monday: Brusho & Copic Markers

Howdy and welcome to another Inspire Me Monday!  I’m Allison Cope and I’m your hostess this week.

Today I’m going to share a fun Fall card featuring the “Chrysanthemum XL” stamp set and some Brusho and Copic Marker coloring.

So grab a mug of your favorite warm drink and join me in my craftroom!

Click here to watch in HD.

For my sentiment, I used the “Giving Thanks” from the “Fortunes of Fall” stamp set.  Here’s a look at the final card…

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you get inspired and go and create something fun this week!

~ Ally ~


stamps: Power Poppy (Chrysanthemum XL, Fortunes of Fall)
cardstock: Strathmore (Cold Press Watercolor), Recollections (110# White)
ink: Versamark, Catherine Pooler (Peppermint Scrub), Copic Markers
dies: MFT (Stitched Rectangles), Elizabeth Crafts (Happy Birthday)
dots: Kraftin’ Kimmie (Lovey Dots)

Inspire Me Monday - You Don't Always Have to Finish It!

Hey all! Jessie here today, with a sneak peek of the new Clear Stamp release coming later this week. Also some of my ramblings.

I started off by stamping out the soon to be released, Big Sexy Blooms stamp set, on some Arches 140lbs hotpress watercolour paper. If you think this set is great, wait till you see what else is coming when peeks start on Wednesday!

I painting in the negative space, so the space where there are no flowers with a light blue colour. That kills off the white space that will not be filled with colour at the end, by using a light blue it will still read as light space between the florals.

It is hard to see here, but I put a super light wash of colour over all the petals in the floral to, again, get rid of the white space and make it easier to build up the layers of colour.

 Those of you that play along in Kathy Racoosin's Daily Colouring Challenge, will understand this one. This card is not complete. You do not have to finish everything in one sitting. This weekend was cray busy. My son had a baseball tournament on Saturday, then we went golfing on Sunday. But I spent about half an hour colouring. And this is what I accomplished1 It is okay that this will take me till Thursday to complete!

You can see how as I add the darker paint near the center of the floral you start seeing the depth of colour. 

After I got all the initial layers of red layered on, I pulled out Moon Glow (Daniel Smith) and put that over top of everything. This will grey out all the colours and mute out the start of the flowers. Then I get to come back in with the reds and bring that colour back.

Layering colours is one of the most import things to achieve the depth of colours I like to have in my floral cards. those initial layers, and the moon glow will shine through the bright reds that are being layered on top.

So this is as far as I got on Sunday. But I hope you enjoyed the little bit of info. And always remember it doesn't have to be finished in one sitting!

Make sure you come back on Wednesday to see what everyone has made for the New Release coming very soon!

Hugs
Jessie

Inspire Me Monday with Kathy Racoosin

Hello Friends! Welcome to another Inspire Me Monday. My name is Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker and I am super excited to share with you today. 

Today I hope to inspire you grab a pencil and alter one of your stamps for a new look literally drawing a few lines. I am inking up this beautiful Amaryllis Bliss. 

Even though this is a holiday flower I love the wide open spaces on the petals for watercoloring. Tombow markers are super easy to watercolor with and awesome for on the go watercoloring. 

Gina K. Designs amalgam ink is great for "no line" watercoloring plus the ink can be used for alcohol markers. 

This card is pretty tall and narrow measuring at a pretty solid 10 inches. 

The paper that I prefer is cold pressed and 140 lbs . I love the texture of cold pressed paper instead of the hot pressed that is smooth and no texture. 

Cut your watercolor paper to it's desired size. Draw two lines from the top of the flower. If your lines are crooked that can be even better ... more natural so don't worry about how your lines might look. 

Sketch a vase and stamp the sentiment inside the vase. Stamp a leaf onto your stem. 

Start watercoloring on one of the flowers that doesn't stand out as much. I like to think of it as a warm up. Be sure to leave some areas white without any color. 

Start with a first layer of color and once it's all dry add another layer color on top of the first layer. 

To make the smaller flowers stand out I used some dark grey on the parts of the flowers that touch the main center flower. 

You can see how intense the color can be when you add a second layer. When I travel and talk about my coloring tips this is my mantra. 

Don't worry about what direction the light is coming from because that is to stressful. If you create a darker area and a lighter area on each petal or stem etc. that will please the eye and your coloring will look great. I like to say that I am faking it because I really don't know where the light is coming from but, it looks pretty good because I have those light and dark areas. Does that make sense? I sure hope so! 

Let's bring back the joy of coloring or painting. Step outside of your comfort zone and draw a stem for a tall and dramatic card. Don't be afraid to add those dark areas because that will really enhance your coloring. 

Thanks for your visit today and have a great week! Hugs, Kathy Racoosin