A Post So Fast You'll Freak!

Hello folks and Happy Friday! I will be honest, this little blog post is going to be a quick splash of inspiration to get your weekend GOING! Why? Well, in a matter of hours yours truly and the Chief Creative Peep of Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley herself, will be on a plane bound for Creativation 2017, formerly known as CHA! This is going to be a super special treat for me because in the nearly 10 years Marcy and I have "worked" together, we have never met in person. Never. Not. Even. Once. We have a LOT of catching up to do, don't you think? ;-)

My creation today is actually a "Hey did you see this one?" kind of post! Last Monday over on the Power Poppy blog, it was my turn to host Inspire Me Monday and so I showcased some flat-as-can-be creations that are perfect for mailing, which also -- by design -- put your sentiments in the spotlight!

Here's a peek at what I did!

And here's the link to see how I did it HERE!

Like I said folks, short and sweet post for you! I still have to pack! EEK! So, now it's time to 1. remind you to play along in Power Poppy's Power & Spark Winter Blooms Challenge! You can read all about it HERE. And, 2. share the linky so that you can "Oooo" and "Ahhh" over my fellow Bloom Brigade's latest Power Poppy Creations!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber >>> you are here!

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker 

Thanks for stopping by and as the kids used to say.... "See Ya on the Flip Side!"

~Julie

Winter Blooms

Hello all! Hope your week is ending on a creative high note! I am not sure about you but my neck of the woods could use a warm up! That's why it was fun to take some time this week to snuggle in, grab a cuppa joe and just take some time to color and create!

Here's a little peek at what I whipped up!

And here's why I decided to color up the flower that I did! 

Just in case you missed it, you can click HERE to find out all about this month's Power & Spark Winter Blooms Challenge hosted by the lovely and talented Stacy Morgan! 

On to my creation! I started by stamping bits and pieces from the Power Poppy clear stamp set Glistening Paperwhites. If you look at the set, you can see there are buds and branches and single flowers just waiting to be stacked, cut and colored up! 

And so.... that's what I did! I stamped the pine and berry branch first, then strategically stamped the buds and then on scrap pieces, stamped the flower and the buds and leaves again, knowing I would cut out just the leaves and just the flower to create some dimension. After the images were stamped, I colored them up using some watercolor markers (You can click the link to see which markers I used). It's funny, these markers were ones that I bought at Hobby Lobby with a coupon for $7. I wanted to give them a try! And, they did okay. I love the fact that they have a medium size tip and fine tip. The fine tip came in handy more than a few times for many different projects! To color this image, I had to scribble the color onto a palette and then put it on my image with a Dove Blender Pen. But, I enjoyed using a different medium! After my image was colored, I cut and then added a little bit of razzle dazzle to the center of the flower and the berries with glitter glue! 

Here's a close up for you! 

The rest is just matting it all up! The sentiment is from the Play Ball stamp set. I loved the scripted "Thanks" and wonder why I haven't used it more often! The paper is a mix of Echo Park patterned paper pads that I've stashed away over the years. And that, my friends, is it! This one is going in the mail pronto because I am WAY behind on my post-Christmas Thank Yous!!

As your making your creative rounds, don't forget to pay these fine ladies a visit and see what crafty little things they've been up to this week!


Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber>>> you are here!
Stacy Morgan

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all back here real soon!

~Julie

Birthday Tulips for a Friend!

Hello all and happy Friday! Happy 2017 too! I pray this year brings nothing but happiness and "sunshine!"  Speaking of sunshine, it's one of my New Year's resolutions to make cards that I actually send. I started a birthday calendar and hope to actually stop my day to send off cards here and there to brighten someone else's day! 

This card below went to a friend who is just one of the best. Our kids are friends and play sports together. What's funny is she didn't have a clue I was a card maker. So, I surprised her with a handmade birthday card! 

I started by printing off the Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy onto white card stock and then picked up my Copic Markers. I used YR04, R14, R00, YR07, YG00, YG03, YG06, E40, W00, E81, BV000, BV0000 and BG0000. I think that was all. I really need to photograph the markers used like some of those other savvy stampers! 

Here's a closeup below! You can see that I used a double-stitched rectangle die. While the die was still on, I used a wee bit of Broken China Distress Ink and sponged around the edges. I created the bottom beige portion by using the same die and then cutting off a portion of the piece. On that, I used some beige ink and the tulip stamp from the Dynamic Duos: Peonies and Tulips. I also printed the sentiment from this digital stamp set, created a sentiment flag and laid that over the seam of the two papers. And... ta da! 

And that, my friends, is it! I do have a little fun tidbit to share! Being that it is a new month, there's a brand spanking new Power & Spark Challenge on the Power Poppy Blog for you to try your hand at! 

The WINTER BLOOMS challenge comes with a 100% smile guarantee because our hostess with the mostess Stacy Morgan wants to see your creations in full bloom! Here's what she had to say about this month's quest for colorful creativity! 

"When winter comes, many of us long to say goodbye to the chill and say hello to those cheerful and fresh spring flowers! Did you know there are lots of blooms that sprout at the end of winter? How about camellias, crocus, paperwhites, holly, snowdrops, or poinsettias? Let's see how you can bring these pretty little petals and glorious greens to life and enjoy this last bit of winter as well!"

Thanks Stacy! Now, if you are a little stumped on what qualifies as a winter bloom -- Marcella has taken the guesswork out of it for you and created a link to all the stamps in the Power Poppy Shop that would work beautifully for this challenge! Just  CLICK ON OVER HERE to see all the beauty that awaits!

Moving on... I happen to know that some of my fellow Bloomies are on standby, ready to show you some of the fabulous things they've worked on this week. So.... stop by, say "Hi!" and prepare to be amazed! ;-)

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber >>> you are here!

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for stopping by my little place on the blogosphere! I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead and I'll see you back here soon!

~Julie