Created to Create!

Hello all! Just a quickie quick post today to share a little something I colored up earlier in the week. Sadly, my entire family is under the weather so energy is at an all time low! :-(

When I saw this new digital stamp Marcella whipped up called Created tp Create, I could not help but want to print it up and color away. It was one of those that I printed and literally worked on all night while watching TV. I would ponder it, color, wait a bit, color some more, get caught up in a show, color a little, grab a snack, and yes, finish coloring! I love when I can just take my time and enjoy every bit of the creative process.

I used far too many markers to mention-- choosing sunny yellows, earthy shades for shadows and then my full color of the rainbow for the little watercolor palette. The shading was done with V0000 and V01. The sketchbook page was given a little bit of depth with the E81 marker in multiple layers. I should mention that I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the blank canvas and that sentiment is from the Power Poppy set Folk Heart. Loved how it seemed to fit perfectly!

Here's a little close up for you!

And then, the sparkle, of course, was added with different size sequins. I added some paper piercing and then some splotchy effects to my card base thanks to a paint splotch background stamp. I am not good enough to add those watercolor drops on my own! ;-)

And that, my friends, is it! I know some of my fellow Bloomies have some creative pursuits to share, so hop on over and see.....

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

And, I will be back again real soon with some more fun stuff to share. One reminder, I do have quite a few goodies FOR SALE HERE! I am trying to pare down my craft room and make it a little less jam packed! So, my spring cleaning effort just might be your GAIN so be sure to check it out! ;-)

~Julie

Colorful & Creative

Is your weekend about to blast off? Well, I sure hope the answer is YES and that you have some fun planned to make life joyful! To start this blog post, I have a confession to make -- yes. I. DO! Well, some of you might remember THIS little post, where I colored up a card and promised to share the results. Well, guess what? I never did! What? I know! I never did!

So, lucky for me, I remembered to finally do that! And, TA DA!

For this creation, I grabbed not my Copic Markers but my Distress Markers. I figured they had been ignored enough and needed to come out of the drawer! I used these colors....

And, the background was created at the same time I made THIS card, which I used Christine Okken's tutorial HERE over on the Power Poppy Blog on how to bring dimension to your cards using embossing paste. I had never used this stuff and so, I was wowed! I will admit, I am not a messy stamper, so this took me a little bit out of my comfort zone, only in a good way! ;-) Here's a close up of the dimension......

And then, a close up of my colored area!

The rest is pretty self explanatory, add a strip of decorative paper, a little twine accented button and... voila! Done!

Before I go, did you know we are almost nearing the end to this fun-filled challenge?

It's Christine Okken's You Pick 3 challenge! Just pick three markers -- ANY KIND of markers -- and use them to color up your card's main image! You can click HERE for more on the official details and linky for your finished creation. Winner gets her pick of a Power Poppy stamp set! :-) So, join in the fun and good luck to you! 

Now it's time to turn things over to one of my fellow Bloomies who whipped up some colorful fun for you all this week! Stop by and say "hey" to.....

Christine Okken

Thanks for stopping by and spending a wee bit of your day with me! You'll have to tune in to the Power Poppy Blog on Monday for a Big & JUICY digital stamp set reveal!!! Marcella has not one, but TWO digital stamp sets to tickle your creative taste buds! One is just about as sweet as they come, another stretches us to live and love sharing beauty on the canvas of life!

See you back here then!

~Julie

MORE STUFF FOR SALE!

HELLO FOLKS! I've reloaded my Stamps & Dies for Sale page HERE with a boatload of new items up for grabs! This is good stuff people -- all items are priced below wholesale prices even though they are in excellent condition. I just need to make some room in my tiny space. Keep in mind, because these sales tend to be pretty fast moving, I can't hold items for you without an agreement for payment. You can see all the details of the sale at the top of the sale page. Thanks for looking!

I also have several dozen new cards on my Cards for Sale page as well that you can check out HERE! 

~Julie

Check it out!

Hello folks! I am the hostess over on the Power Poppy blog today for Inspire Me Monday! So, if you click HERE, you'll see......

Have a fabulous week everyone! :-)

~Julie

Happy Friday!

Hello all and happiest of Friday's to you all! I sure hope that the sun is shining and the flowers are starting to bloom in your neck of the woods! Being in the northern part of the country, I am just starting to see daffodils and hyacinth sprout and the little spots of color are just so heart-warming! It's like these little creations have personalities all their own! I love the jewel tones and just the over all dainty feel of these tiny plants! I digress!

Before I get to my creation, I did want to share a special post I helped write over on the Power Poppy Blog HERE sharing some news about one of my fellow Bloomies, Leslie Miller. I truly I wish this dear lady ALL THE BEST!!!!

For this Friday, I did have a quickie card to share and it's all inspired by the latest round of CardMaps over at PageMaps! This is a peek at my sketch....

And this is my take on it using Power Poppy's My English Rose stamp set! 

A quick and easy "how to" goes a little something like this: stamp using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, fussy cut and cut out just some of the foliage. Color using Copic Markers in these shades: R01, RV0000, R81, R83, R85, G20, G40, and G43. The rest is just using scraps of decorative paper to follow the sketch. add a doily and threaded button and... ta da! I also added a little paper piecing for a finishing touch around my sentiment. And that, my friends, is it! Some of the other members of the Power Poppy team took the Cardmaps sketches for a test drive as well and so, if you want a little more inspiration, I have good news! It is just a click away! HERE! 

And here's a look at the close up!

And that, my friends, is it! Time now to take a break and check in on the rest of the Bloom Brigade! ;-)

Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker


Thanks for stopping by and saying "hi!" I hope you have the best weekend possible! See you back here soon! :-)

~Julie

It's a BIRTHDAY Celebration!

Howdy Ho there fellow stampers! Boy do I have a ton of fun to share today. Today is a pretty special day! Not only is it the start of a new month with a new Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge to unveil, it's actually, the start of a new year for Power Poppy! Yes, TODAY marks the 2nd birthday of this fine, fun, FANTASTIC company!

To help us mark this momentous occasion, Marcella has a few gifts up her sleeve! Isn’t that just like her? It’s her company’s birthday and she wants to give YOU the gifts! ;-) So, stay tuned for the deets on that at the end of this post...

With the mark of a new month, we have a brand-spankin’-new Power & Spark Challenge and this one will have you stretching the bounds of your coloring creativity! 

Ms. Christine Okken is the hostess for this colorific quest to create something wonderful with — just THREE markers! Did I hear you gasp? You can’t fathom picking just three? Yes, I know, it sounds like a true (and FUN) challenge! Here’s how Christine explains HERE (that's also where you'll find the official rules and the linky to link up your creation!). In a nutshell, choose three markers by picking three in the same color family, pick three from complementary color families, or, BE COURAGEOUS, close your eyes and choose three randomly! Not sure I am brave enough to do that, but we'll see, the month isn't over yet! ;-)

On to my 3-color creation! Not only did I choose just three colors, I paired it up with one of the latest Pagemaps.com CardMaps sketches! The Power Poppy Bloom Brigade was asked to design cards using these fresh and fun new card recipes and you can find all TEN of the sketches HERE! 

Here was my sketch.....

And, here's my take on it!

As you can see, I kept pretty close to the sketch and, I'll admit, I had a lot of fun doing it! I had some dies that I honestly, haven't put my hands on in a long time -- like the fun edge die and the file folder die with the decorative tabs. It was a great excuse to use a few different tools to get creative! 

And, in line with Christine's challenge to use ONLY three markers, here's the three I picked. You can see I took my inspiration right from the challenge graphic! ;-)

I used BG15, YG23 and R81. You might look at my creation and say, "Hey, how did you get the color range with just three markers?" Here's a tip for you. 1. Grab an acryllic block or plastic palette, scribble off a little color and 2. Use your blender pen to pick up that color. Draw the excess ink off the nib by scribbling on a scrap piece of paper too! I colored dark to light and after I added all the dark that I wanted, used the scribble technique to add lighter layers of color. You can see below what I'm talking about! See the variations of green? Of pink? and of blue? I even used this scribble technique to add the blue shadows around my heart shaped wreath! After I was done, I did add a wee bit of razzle dazzle thanks to some glitter glue too! 

Here's a close up for you! 

And that, my friends, is it! :-) Fun stuff on a few different levels! Speaking of fun -- before we get to the Bloomies and their wonderful weekly creations, we interrupt this blog post to bring you a birthday special from the Chief Peep — Marcella Hawley herself! Since Power Poppy is 2, she wanted to kick off another flowering and empowering year by sharing with all of you! Check out these fun deets! 

Well after all that fun, it's time to pass the baton to my fellow Bloomies. Be sure to check out these fine ladies below and see what they whipped up for your viewing pleasure! I should point out that along the way, you'll see not only a few 3- color creations but some of the sketches in play from the April edition of CardMaps over at Pagemaps.com!  You can find all of the inspiration HERE!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber >>> you are here!

Katie Sims

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Cheryl Scrivens

Thanks for stopping by and spending a little piece of your day with me! :-) Have a great weekend!

~Julie