Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice!

Hello sweet peeps! Okay, raise your hand if you can't wait until fall when Pumpkin Spice Season starts!! Yes, I know I raised my hand before I even finished asking the question. The only thing better than a pumpkin spice latte would be a calorie-free pumpkin spice latte. Can't they please invent that? Pretty please? 

Since the season is here, why not add a little bit of fall flavor to our card making? I say YES! Let's do it! That brings us to this week's Creative Confetti Challenge that I hosted earlier this week over on the Power Poppy blog! Check it out! 

Want to know more on how to play along? Simply click HERE! I also have some suggestions there on some "spicy" sets you can ink up to play along with us! ;-) I'm not sure you won't have visions of pumpkin spice swirling in your heads (or a mug) before this challenge is over!

Want to see my take on this tasty challenge?

When I dreamt up this challenge, I knew I had to use Power Poppy's brand new stamp set, Fortunes of Fall! I just love the vignettes in this set and the pumpkin trio was pretty much perfect for a Pumpkin Spice Challenge! I started by stamping with Memento Rich Cocoa and then grabbed my Copic markers to color this image up. 

Here's a close up look at this colored up image....

To mat it all up, I reached for shades of olive, kraft (to bring out the nutmeg color) and orange (for my pumpkin) and ta da! It's a wrap! I added some twine, a button and some fun die cut accents and that, my friends, is it! Remember to use the link above to hop on over to the Power Poppy blog to read up on all the rules and FUN! Everyone who plays along gets their name thrown into the hat for a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop!   Just capture the Pumpkin Spice "feels" and get those fingers inky! 

Want to see what one of my fellow Bloomies whipped up this week? Check out the fabulous....

Stacy Morgan

And don't forget to pop on over to the Power Poppy Blog for a dose of GOOD VIBES!

Until next time!

~Julie 

The Natural Wonders Collection is HERE!

Well hello there! If you've been following the Bloomies this week and their sneaky peek of Power Poppy's Natural Wonders Collection of clear stamps, then, you'll be happy to know that TODAY IS THE BIG DAY... and... it comes with an even better surprise! 

Use code WONDER15 at checkout to save 15% off your entire order — even sale items. And with this sale comes a few more clear and a digital stamp set to savor today too (digi news coming later on the Power Poppy blog!)! 

Introducing Cabbage and Kale

Cabbage and Kale has four images of varying sizes with a coordinating die set too! 

Now let’s get to the BIG REVEAL of the full stamp sets in Natural Wonders — EVERYTHING is available for purchase in at powerpoppy.com

Chrysanthemum XL

O Hoppy Day

Fortunes of Fall

Cabbage and Kale

If you like what you see, and just can't wait to get your hands on these brand new stamps... don't forget to use WONDER15 at checkout to get 15% off your entire order.

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

---------------------------------------------------

Comment on the Bloom Brigade’s blog posts during ANY of this week’s Natural Wonders release (including the Power Poppy blog). We will select FOUR blog commenters to win the stamp of their choice. Winners will be announced by 5pm central time on September 15 (today!) on the Power Poppy blog. The more comments you leave, the better chance you have to win. Hop to it, loves!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you love this release as much as I do! Can't wait to see what YOU do with these new sets! 

~Julie

Power Poppy Sneaks: O Hoppy Day!

Hello all! Have you been following all the action over at Power Poppy Central HERE? Well, if not, you need to play a little catch up! Yesterday, Ms. Marcella kicked off the sneaks to a brand new fall-themed clear stamp collection honoring those Natural Wonders!  Today marks day 2 of the sneaky peeks!

The set being shown off today, I tell you, is right up my alley!

This stamp set pays homage to the beer lovers in your life and I have to say I have a few. Montana is the land of hops, wheat and barley -- literally -- and so naturally, we are craft beer lovers at heart. You have to support the farmer down the road raising the hops and barley, don't you? I mean, it would be a shame not to! ;-) O Hoppy Day features so many fun accents. Of course, it has that beautiful sprig of hops with barley intertwined but it also has a vignette of a full pint glass - just waiting to be savored. Make it a pilsner? A stout? Or a red ale? You choose! There's also a darling little bottle cap that you can deck out with a handful of different sentiments. Oh, I just love it!

On to my creation!

I started by stamping the large image of hops and barley all over my kraft colored background panel using Memento Peanut Brittle ink. After that, I stamped the pint image in Memento Rich Cocoa ink and took my Copic markers and went to town coloring!

I decided to make my beer a pilsner and loved grabbing a few shades of yellow and when I was done, added a few light grey shades and BV000 to color the glass. When I was done coloring, you can see that I had a little fun with my white gel pen adding bubbles. :-)

The sentiment I added is a mix -- I stamped the bottle cap and then that darling "cheers mate" sentiment. I accented with white gel pen and then stamped another coordinating sentiment with Versamark and then heat embossed with a white detail powder and.. ta da! Just a sweet and simple card for one of the many beer lovers in my life!

And that, my friends, is it!

The Bloomies are holding up their glasses to raise a toast to this set as well! So, you'll want to hop on over and see what they're serving up!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber >> you are here! 

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

I have to say you're going to want to stay tuned! Tomorrow's set is just such a beauty for fall and might be my favorite of this clear release! So, if that doesn't make you want to swing back by, I am not sure what will! ;-)

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you back here soon!
~Julie 

Get in SHAPE!

Hi all! Have you been following the fun that I have been whipping up over on the Power Poppy Blog on Tuesday's? Every Tuesday, I help usher in a new challenge to try to spark a little creativity. We're calling it.....

And the whole idea behind it is that -- I will literally throw up an idea and let the creative bits fall as they may! So, this was the challenge for this past week!

When I issued the challenge, I shared a little of the inspiration behind it all. Recently, I've been seeing a lot of cards and creations with frames at the center of them. I like the look! I saw it HERE when I opened up a Stampin' Up catalog. And, I watched it live and in living color with the fabulous Jennifer McGuire HERE recently. So, I scratched my head. I lost some brain cells thinking and I came up with a way to mimic this look using my favorite stamps and a little digital manipulation! So, this week's challenge is all about using shapes as a kind of focal point in our cards or creations! You'll have to click on over HERE to see my tutorial for the card I posted over on the Power Poppy blog! That's also where you'll find exactly what you need to do to play along! Today's the last day to enter in order to have a shot at winning at $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop! 

So, on the blog, I showed how to create frames using PhotoShop Elements. And, as promised, I am going to give you a peek at the other two cards I made using this same tutorial!

For starters, here's a look at the page of shapes I made....

After printing, I printed off a second page of masks using a removable Avery label...

Here's a look at the card with the hexagon frame! In my tutorial, I mentioned that I could not have done this witout the MISTI stamping tool. If you are stamping over a mask, there are times when the mask leaves a void. If you are using the MISTI, it allows you to reink and then stamp a second time. 99% of the time, that will do the trick to alleviate that void!

Here's a peek at the other two cards after I masked to give you an idea of what I did....

I will say that the Sunflower card was a bit trickier because I had to create a mask and then a reverse mask. I masked the circles first so that I could sponge on some ink through my stencil design. Here's a pic showing the panel after I sponged on the ink and removed my circle masks.

And then, I reverse masked so that I could stamp some of the sunflowers from the In Praise of Sunflowers stamp set in the actual circles! 

Here's a look at the finished card. I ended up coloring my image with Copic markers and coloring all the backgrounds behind the sunflowers in different pale shades just to give it a little extra "oomph!"

The last card I did was super easy. It was as simple as cutting out the mask, masking the frame and then stamping over top with the help of the Misti. This time, I used the Olive and Oak Expanded stamp set and stamped using Memento Luxe Rich Cocoa. I like the depth of this ink and it works well with watercolor, which is what I planned to do! 

And here's my finished card! I used water-based markers, scribbled on a palette and then picked up the color using a water brush. After I was done coloring, I did accent with a white gel pen and then flicked some of the water color back on my main panel for a little extra effect. See? 

And that, my friends, is it! I little "how to" in masking and the different ways you can use masks to add a little impact with a framed focal point. Hope you give this a try! I had a ton of fun with all three of these cards!

Cindy Lawrence

Christine Okken

Ally Cope

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for popping on over to say "hi!" Hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you back here soon!

~Julie

Happy Friday Folks!

Okay... who is ready for a weekend out there? I know I am! And, on this Friday, I have some pint-sized fun to share! Recently, some friends had a baby shower for my niece who is due to have her second baby girl any day now! Well, with Power Poppy's stamp set Precious Baby hot off the production line, I thought I would break it in and make a card for the shower.

But, I had a problem....

I only had 15 minutes to make one! Yes, I am "that" woman who leaves almost everything to the last minute. EEK! So, I scrounged and found some things that I had already cut out -- namely a die cut that I had already sponged with pink ink. How perfect was that find? So, I gathered up a snippet of ribbon, a punched circle for a sentiment and went to town!

So, after stamping my little "Sweet Pea" on white cardstock and punching out with a 2-1/2" circle punch (no time for die cuts), it fit perfectly on my previously die cut and sponged circle! Whew! I colored up the little lady with just a few Copic markers -- RV00, RV02, R81, R83, YG03, YG15, G20, Y21, and Y35.

Here's a little closeup! You can see that I also added a few dots of white gel pen to the eyes to make them "sparkle!" :-)

I also took the sentiment from the set, stamped using Black Onyx Versafine ink. I punched out with another circle, added a hole at the top to string some silver cord and then attached to my die cut circle through one of the cutouts.

Add some pink satin ribbon and some decorative paper that I dug out of my scrap bin and... Ta Da! I did make it in 15 minutes and was able to get out the door in record time! Winning! This just goes to show that if you cut something out for another card and it doesn't work -- set those little snippets and die cuts aside in a special spot that you can look through when you need them in a hurry. :-)

I know these fine ladies will be bringing on their own heavy dose of eye candy and inspiration! So, be sure to roll through this link list and see what they have in store!


Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber >>> you are here!
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

And that, my friends, is it! I hope you have some fun things planned in the days ahead. Thanks, as always, for stopping by my place here on the web to see what I've been up to! Love your visits!

~Julie

More Days of Digis!

Hi all! I sure hope you've been checking in over that the Power Poppy Blog because there's been a ton of excitement brewing -- especially if you love Marcella's digital stamp sets! It's day four of the....

Today's offering is one that makes my heart skip a beat! I may be landlocked in Montana but I do love, love, love the beach. I love the sand in my feet, the sound of the waves and above all, just the way it makes me feel -- I know you know what I mean! So, it goes without saying that I absolutely adore this darling little vignette with shells, fern, plumeria and a handwritten note. Introducing Gifts From the Sea!

Doesn't your blood pressure lower just looking at this lovely little scene? I know mine does! Makes me want to "Seas the Day!" ;-)

On to my creation!

After I printed off the image, I reached for my Copic markers and just went to town. I wish I could share ALL the markers I used but honestly, I just grabbed on the go. There was a healthy mix of earthy shades with the rosy colors that I tried to bring out in some of the seashells. I grabbed some BV markers to color up the glass inkwell. I love Marcella's vignettes -- just such a joy to color up! 

And, here's a closeup!

I wasn't the only one that took this image for a spin. We have some of the Bloomies and Instant Gardners joining me today! And... I can't wait to see what they whipped up! 

Stacy

Barbara
Christine
Cheryl

And, my friends, tomorrow is the last day of the 5 Days of  Digis and it brings another fun illustration that can be colored up in an instant! So... be sure to tune into the Power Poppy Blog to see how this all wraps up! 

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

~Julie

Who wants a digital freebie???

Hi all! Are you ready for a super dooper fun surprise? Well, brace yourself! Power Poppy is kicking off 5 Days of Digis! And... it all starts TODAY!  This first release is one that literally everyone can enjoy! Why? Well, because it is FREE! Check it out, will you?

Kindness Is The Way is Power Poppy's first 100% FREE botanical themed digital download! Whether you've never worked with digital stamps before and want to give it a try -- risk-free -- or you are an experienced digital download aficionado in search of new flowers to color, this image is here for you! Marcella has prepared an allover pattern of Gerbera Daisies in black and no-line versions. Then you also get two versions of the background with the phrase "Kindness is the Way" superimposed, using lettering that you can color in. Lastly, a single Gerbera Daisy is included in case you want to just keep things sweet and simple.

On to my creation! While I absolutely love the words Marcy used to set inside the image, I wanted to free fly and just use the Gerbera Daisy background. I thought I would "scribble color" the background but then got caught up adding flicks of color here and splashes there. What I thought would be a quick color turned into more than an hour -- actually I have no idea how long it took because I was listening to an audio book and just got lost in time! So here goes!

I am not sure if you can tell but I tried to print off the digital background with just regular black ink. Well, my printer decided that I was out of ink and printed it kind of a sage green instead. So, instead of fret about it, I went with it! I colored the background behind the flowers with Copics and reached for G0000 and highlighted areas with BG70 and BG10. The flowers were colored with B60 and B63 for the petals and YG03, Y02, Y17 and accented with white gel pen and glitter glue. The sentiment was stamped in a light green ink and is from the Power Poppy clear set called Always Here. 

Here's a closeup! 

I know this isn't terribly realistic in the color scheme but it made me happy so.. there you have it! ;-)  I wasn't the only one to color up this little bundle of blossoms! Be sure to stop by these lovely ladies places too! 

Stacy

Christine

Barbara

Cheryl 

Since today is only day one of the 5 days of Digis -- what's coming up? Well, here's a little sneaky peek! The theme of this release is kindness, love, peace, curiosity, and meaning. Each of these images was created from the heart, with the intention of Marcella sharing parts of herself with.. ALL OF YOU, a little more than usual. We can't wait to unveil them to you in the hopes that each will bring a new kind of joy to you in your crafty endeavors! So, be sure to stay tuned to the Power Poppy blog for the latest! 

Until next time!

~Julie

Inspire Me!

Hello stamping friends!This month over on the Power Poppy Blog, yours truly had the chance to dream up the challenge for the latest Power & Spark Challenge! And.... I can't wait to see how you take it to the next explosive level! ;-)

Are you ready? Let's see what's in store!

HOW TO PLAY: Every Monday here on the Power Poppy blog we invite the best of the best creative minds to share a little bit of their creative process. The hope is that they will "inspire" and spark a crafty revolution! Each Inspire Me Monday feature offers either a coloring lesson, a technique or maybe even a fun little digital "how to!" You can find all of our Inspire Me Monday features HERE on this link. Once you scroll through all these fun and informative posts, to take on this challenge, all you need to do is pick one as your source of inspiration and give that coloring lesson, technique or tutorial a try! Just that simple!

On to my creation! Goodness, this was a tough one. I literally went through every Inspire Me Monday. Did you know we've had this feature on the blog since April of 2014? WOW! That's a lot of inspiration waiting in the wings! So, after going through and revisiting a ton of fun posts, I chose THIS post by Ally Cope -- Fun With Masks! I had just bought some masking sheets and wanted an "excuse" to rip them out of the package and give them a try! 

First up, here's a peek at one of Ally's cards so you get the gist of what I did when I followed in her creative footsteps! 

I loved just how fun and easy this technique looked! While Ally used some masking sheets made by another stamping company, I found these online a few weeks back and wanted to have them in my stash for masking digital stamps. I figured if I printed the digi on the paper and cut it out, I'd be able to do some of the cool ink background techniques that Amy Shulke takes on in some of her classes! (Click the link to see for yourself!)

I realized after I took the picture above, that you can't really see the label number -- it's 6465 and I bought it on Amazon HERE, just in case you were curious! ;-)

So, as you can see below I used Power Poppy's Abundant Petals Stamp Set and after I stamped all over my 4" by 5-1/4" piece of white cardstock, I used the Abundant Petals Coordinating Dies to cut out my masks! I like the fact that when you put the mask down, you can kind of still see the stamped image below so you know that you are in the right spot!

From there, I took two daubers and started creating my sponged background. As you can see, I used Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks. Now, please don't look too close at my sponging, I am not the greatest at sponging ink on backgrounds! But, I never stop trying! ;-) I will say I was impressed at how well my masks stayed put! 

From there, I lifted the masks, added a stitched scallop frame die and the sentiment that I embossed in white from the M-Powering Words stamp set.   

All in all, this was a super easy card to create and a fun technique that I am pretty sure I'll give a try again soon! Now it's YOUR TURN to take one of these Inspire Me Mondays for a spin! When you do, don't forget to link up your creation below! 

If you want to read up on the Official Rules.... just click HERE! 

Before you go, you can't leave without hitting up these links below and seeing what some of our fabulous members of the Bloom Brigade have to share! Get ready, as always, to be WOWED!


Christine Okken
Julie Koerber >>> you are here!
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for popping by! I hope you all enjoy your weekends my sweet stamping friends!

~Julie

Its a Digital Blitz!

Can you just feel the buzz of excitement over at Power Poppy today? Well, listen... hear it? I knew you would! Today Marcella is taking the lid of a massive Digital Blitz! What does that mean? She's releasing TEN illustrations previously available exclusively as clear stamps as digital downloads to PRINT, COLOR, & CREATE! Each image will be in black, no-line, and include one sentiment. So exciting! While all of the digital images will be available with new sentiments, I decided to cue up the clear set versions just to show you a pop of color and what YOU can do instantly thanks to these amazing works of art being available as a digi!

So, let's share! I should point out the price on all of these digital images ranges from just 4 bucks to 6! What a creative infused bargain! 

Digi 1: Dahlia

Digi 2: Lady Slipper Orchid (if you want to see the details on the faux linen technique that I used for this card, just click HERE!)

Digi 3: Lilac & Lemons

Digi 4: Irresistable Peonies - while I am showing off the bouquet from Peony Muse, this digital bouquet will be already fashioned for you! Click the link to see for yourself! ;-)

Digi 5: Perfect Poppies 

Digi 6: There's a Parakeet in my Teacup

Digi 7 Bring Home Some Sunflowers

Digi 8: Tea Cake with Strawberries

And also, these fine images as well! 

Digi 9: Wildflower Mini

Digi 10: Farmer's Market Veggies 

Want to check out what the rest of the Bloomies and Instant Gardeners did with these illustrations? We have a Digital Blitz hop... just for you!

Jessie Banks
Stacy Morgan 
Julie Koerber

Cindy Lawrence

Allison Cope

Kathy Jones

Tosha Leyendekker

Elizabeth Zaffarano

Christine Okken

Barbara Walker

And, that's not all the fun that Power Poppy has in store! 

Check this out peeps!

Yes.... all stamps on sale with the exception of the brand new Creative and Curious collection. Here's another fun deal, you can use this code as many times as you wish between now and June 30th. the code is above: COLORINGCHALLENGE!

We, of course, have to say before the month is over, there will be at least one more fun deal that you'll want to stay tuned in to catch! We thank Kathy Racoosin from the 30 Day Coloring Challenge for kicking off this daily creative challenge to color just a little bit each day!