Sunny Days!

Hi all! Power Poppy's Bloom Brigade is here on this fine Friday to kick start your weekend with a little card making creative inspiration! And, for my creation, I couldn't help by reach for one of Power Poppy's newest stamps called.... Sunny Harvest! Did I mention I LOVE sunflowers????

I used a mix of Authentique, BasicGrey and (gosh, I don't know what the polka dot piece is!) something from my scrap stash. I stamped the bits of wreath from the set, grabbing a 2-1/2" punch and punching away. The "Thinking of You" sentiment was punched with a 1-1/4" circle punch accented with BG0000 Copic Marker and a wee bit of Antique Linen Distress Ink. My main image was colored up using Y21, Y23, Y32, Y35, R27, R21, G20, G24, E25, YR04, YR07, and YR18. Then again, I used BG0000 to shade around my image. 

The rest is matting it all up! I used some Teresa Collins Enamel Dots, a little bit of paper piercing, some May Arts yellow chevron ribbon and some May Arts twine.  The notebook paper edge was done thanks to a die (tried to find it over on Spellbinders but it must be discontinued!) And.... Ta da!!! Fini!

Here's a close up!

Before I let you go, just in case you missed it, Power Poppy took center stage over at the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog with their Card Cafe Thursday! And today, there's another surprise! Head on over to their blog HERE to the and see how YOU could win a.......

That's right! A $25 gift certificate to the Power Poppy Shop! Who wouldn't want one of those? Like I said, just click HERE to find out how you can walk away a winner! And.. one more note! If you plan to use Power Poppy stamps in a creation this week -- join in on our Power Poppy Peeps of the Week Challenge! You can learn all about it HERE! You can also play in Power Poppy's Pop Goes the World Challenge HERE? It's a fabulous color inspiration challenge and if you win, you get a free stamp set of your choice! You have until August 31st -- so get those fingers inky and let us see whatcha got!

Need some inspiration to get those creative juices flowing? Run, don't walk, (without scissors of course) to visit these fine Bloom Brigade members over at their places on the web! 

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber -- you are here!
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks sweet people for taking time to stop by my place! I'll be back soon! ;-)

~Julie

UPDATED SALE!

Hey all! Just an update on some of my sale items! Some of you emailed asking what was in my "grab bags" HERE.  Well, I have updated -- showing links to the stamps that are in each of the grab bags. Did I mention how AMAZING these bags are for the price? I just simply want them to have a good home!

I also added some additional Flourishes stamps HERE if you want to take a peek! ]

The overall SALE PAGE with all links to everything is..... HERE!

Thanks for looking!!

~Julie

Ready to take a little trip?

                                                                                                      SOURCE

Hello all and welcome to a fun-filled creative escape courtesy of Power Poppy! It's one that will take us to Portofino, Italy for a little splash of color inspiration! This month with our Pop Goes the World Challenge, we travel to this upscale resort area along the Italian Riviera which is famous for its picturesque harbor. It's also supposed hot spot with celebrities! And, after looking at this photo -- you can see why! Aren't those colors delish? If you can't journey to Italy to see this beauty in person, I've been told there's a full-scale replica of this area of town at Universal Orlando Resort! So today, we "travel" to this coastal community to be inspired!

THE CHALLENGE:

Look at this photo and and use at least three out of the four colors we've highlighted. Add shades of turquoise or buttery yellow or rusty red or a little bit of grassy green to your creation! Simply use a Power Poppy stamp set, these colors and link up your creation to be in the running! You can read up on all the official rules HERE as well as link up your creation!

On to my creation!

So for starters, I not only followed the inspiration from the photo picking up on the red and green (then adding the yellow in the form of shading), but I am taking part in this week's SCS Sketch Challenge -- which was to pick any one of the sketches from challenge 400 to 499! I picked SC413!

For my card, I stamped those darling apples from Power Poppy's Farmers Market stamp set using Memento Espresso Truffle and then colored it up with my Copic Markers using these markers: E31, E23, E25, E37, YR00, Y21, Y23, R14, R30, R24, and R27. The greens were done with G20, G21, G24, and G28. 

From there, I used some BasicGrey decorative paper called Fact, some brown gingham ribbon and a big bronze button from Stampin' Up! Ta da! Here's a close up!

And that, my friends, is it! Some of the Bloom Brigade took these fabulous shades and let their creativity flow! So, grab your passport to creativity and stop by to see......

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller

Hope you make time to join us for the Pop Goes the World Challenge! We'd love to see what kind of colorful creativity you whip up!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Julie

Need a little inspiration???

Hello all! I have something fun to share today! A few weeks ago, the amazingly talented Kathy Jones honored me by featuring me on her blog as one of the card artists she is inspired by! (You can see her post HERE!) To say that I was flattered and humbled would be.. well.. an understatement! If you've never checked out Kathy's blog, click HERE to see all the amazing creations she pumps out on a weekly basis!

With this honor, Kathy asked that I answer a few questions AND share some other artists who inspire ME! Fun stuff, right? So, here goes the questions!

1. What am I working on?

I am actually just coloring! I have started to pick up my Copic markers and stamped images so that I can just spend some time relaxing and coloring. I find that the more I enjoy the coloring process, the more I enjoy the creative process! One thing that I need to do a better job of is picking what papers I want to work with BEFORE I color. While I don't have this problem often, there have been times when I have found it difficult to match up a colored image with some of the decorative paper in my stash!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I actually have NO idea! I usually only create cards with colored images. And, many of my creations don't have a ton of "extras." I tend to be a cleaner stamper -- I might add ribbon or buttons or a doily, but other than those embellishments, my cards are usually just layered up with some stitching, distressed edges or my favorite paper pierced edges!

3. Why do I create what I do?

I actually create to escape. There are times when my "day job" is a wee bit stressful. Since I work from home, knowing that I can take a break to color or create helps me unwind. I love putting on some music to create, dance and maybe even belt out some tunes as I go!  

4. How does your creative process work?

Lately, I've found a ton of inspiration by combing some of my favorite boards on Pinterest. I see a layout that I would love to try. I see techniques that I would love to test. When I just hit my craft room without surfing first, I will take time to just flip through decorative papers or look through stamp sets that are begging to be used. After picking out some things I would love to create with, I start to color and know it will be fun to put all the pieces together!

Now to the fun part! The part of the post when I get to share a few artists who INSPIRE ME! 

Christine Okken: Christine Creations

Christine is not only an amazingly talented artist, but a dear friend! Every single time I visit her blog, I am taken aback -- not only by her wonderful coloring skills that truly bring out the best in every image she touches, but her color choices as well. If you look at her creations, she has an incredible ability of combining decorative papers and color schemes to bring these images to life in such a vibrant and beautiful way! You truly need to see your style with your own eyes! So, visit her at Christine Creations!

Ally Cope: Your Memories With Ally

When I think of Ally Cope, I think pure talent. She is always rocking new techniques and sharing tutorials on her blog. Each one has her distinct touch! She is a master with inks and backgrounds and I have honestly NEVER seen her create where I didn't say -- WOW, she really took that to the next level! You have got to check out her Tutorial page on her blog HERE -- what a source of inspiration there! While you're hopping, check out her entire blog HERE! 

And that, my friends is it! Thank you so much to Kathy who nominated me as one of her inspiring card makers! I was so happy to share the love and honor two ladies who are so insanely talented! Thanks so much for stopping by! And, if you want to leave a comment, feel free to share a link to a card designer or artist who inspires YOU! I'd love to see some of their work too!

~Julie

It's a Power Poppy Hop!

Hello all and Happy Friday!! Welcome to another Power Poppy Hop -- a day when ALL of the Power Poppy Bloom Brigade shows off another fabulous creation AND let's you know that the August Release is now LIVE in the Power Poppy Shop HERE! Woo hoo!!

On to my creation!

It is hysterical. I had no idea (maybe it was subliminal) that when I made my card using the new Sunny Harvest Set that I would match Power Poppy's signature green and orange colors! But hey, I like it! I stamped this beautiful Chinese Lantern using Memento Espresso Truffle Ink on Cougar Opaque White Card Stock and then using my Copic Markers to color it all up! I used YR09, YR01, R14, Y32, Y21, YR00, E23, E25, E27, YG21, YG00, YG23, YG25, G20, G21, G24 AND G28. I used E81 to shade around my image and blended with a blender pen. 

The rest is just matting it all up! The decorative paper is a mix of BasicGrey and Stampin' Up. I added a little Stampin' Up ribbon for the band of color and used a SU punch for my sentiment (which is also a part of the set) Add some Teresa Collins Enamel Dots for color and some paper piercing and... ta da! Done! Oh, I almost forgot, I did sponge some Antique Linen Distress Ink around the main image panel and my sentiment. 

Here's a close up!

And that, my friends is it! Be sure to hop on over to see the rest of the Bloom Brigade! And again, don't forget  -- all of these sets are ready for the taking HERE over at the Power Poppy Shop!


Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber >>> you are here!
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker


Enjoy your weekend! I'm off to watch a basketball tournament, which means I'll have no voice on Monday -- YES, I support my team vocally! ;-) See you back here very soon!

~Julie