Thursday, July 31, 2014

Dear Friend


Well we’ve arrived at Day Five of fabulousness from Power Poppy’s Share Your Sunshine August Release.  Pretty spectacular stuff coming out of the hands of Marcy and it’s been delightful to share them with you each day.  Today’s set is one I loved from the start when Marcy first gave part of it to us in Digi form.  And now that she’s added even MORE image to play with and fabulous sentiments, it’s even better!  




I am completely charmed by this beautiful geranium almost going wildly out of the pot!  The way it trails is so airy feeling and pretty!  I paired this stamp with some older MME Indie Chic papers, so I coloured up the geraniums with a rich orange and deep green (YG91 - 99) on the leaves and then some BG’s on the clay pot, popping that up onto a sponged (Memento Teal Zeal) Spellbinders shape.  


I also had fun with the trims, a pleated satin green and the blue stitched grosgrain, and Baker’s Twine.  A couple of buttons finish it off.  And isn’t that a lovely dreamy font for this beautiful sentiment?  So fabulous!  

I’m excited that you don’t have to wait much longer .....just till tomorrow until all five of these new sets in polymer are released.  It’s been so fun showing them off to you and I look forward to the Blog Hop tomorrow!  I have something fun in store!  





The Bloom Brigade always has something wonderful inspiring to show you so please go visit and pop by the Power Poppy Blog to hear Marcy’s take on this sweet set.  I love her behind the scenes words and pics!

Christine Okken
 (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Countryside Bouquet Deluxe!



Introducing.....Countryside Bouquet Deluxe!  I’m excited that Marcy put this beautiful set into polymer AND that she added so many other elements to the set.  It’s so lovely!  

Here’s what Marcy had to say about this beauty!  

The clear polymer set is the deluxe offering - you get three more single flower stamps plus a foliage stamp, plus five small sentiments! This one lets you have it the easy way (hey, I am just feeling like a single sprig of sage today) OR the hard way (I'm going deep with the full bouquet plus accents inside of all the components breezily tossed around!). 



I decided to try something along the lines of a Countryside collage, with pops of colour.  This card is very inspired by a beautiful design by Bridget Finlay.  She used a pop of pink in black and white and this fantastic layout which I’ve had pinned for inspiration for a long time.  

I wanted to have that same neutral background effect with the pop of colour too.  Mine is definitely more busy feeling, sort of an infusion of flowers.  

The background is embossed with VersaMark and Clear Embossing powder, and the circular layer is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black with cool gray copics.  Then I added the single blooms of cosmos in a really rich deep orange popping them up on the design.  



Memento London Fog for the sentiment, enamel dots, ribbon, baker’s twine and a button finish it all off.  



Here’s the Copics I used.  

And now you can be continually inspired by these Bloom Brigaders playing along today.  



Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker


See you again tomorrow for more Power Poppy Inspiration!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Water-Splashed Gerberas


Welcome back for Day 3 of our fantastic Power Poppy, Share Your Sunshine August Release!  

Today we’re bringing you something you’ve been requesting ... a polymer set combining some of our previously offered digi Instant Flower Garden images.  So, by popular demand here is Dynamic Duos : Glads and Gerberas.   Marcy has added several new sentiments in a more contemporary-looking typestyle, perfect for thank yous and for cheering people on!  Its a gorgeous array of summer flower sunshine.  Be sure to visit the Power Poppy Blog to see what she has to say about this todays set.  


I decided to do a little water play with this Easel Card design.   First I embossed the gerbera daisies in White Craft ink and white embossing powder on Cougar Opaque cardstock.  It’s fabulous to watercolour on watercolour paper, but you can also get great effects on regular cardstock with a technique like this.  I wanted the colour to sweep over the design and stain the paper rather then blend in a lot.  Perfect for cardstock.  

I took some reinkers and a waterbrush, and took different saturations of ink and water and just swept right across the cardstock with the brush laying down more flat on the paper.  I came back and lightly watercoloured little bits and pieces of the image here and there to give it some definition.  Super fast and easy, and a neat artistic effect.  

The big key with watercolouring on cardstock is to understand that the paper will stain more quickly than "move colour", and be sure not to add too much water or use your brush too much as the paper will deteriorate and pill.


I also watercolored the white seambinding to give it some loosely stripedy color to match the design.  


Now you can head on over and see some more fabulous inspiration from these Bloom Brigade lovelies.  



Allison Cope
Christine Okken
 (you are here)
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Tosha Leyendekker


See you back here tomorrow for some more floral beauties!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Sunny Harvest



It’s a gorgeous sunny day!  We’re celebrating with our Share Your Sunshine Collection at Power Poppy bringing you some stamped sunshine.  Today’s set, Sunny Harvest is going to delight you!  It’s a combination of gorgeous sunflowers, bittersweet berries and chinese lanterns.  It’s just full of joy!  As sunflowers are a favourite of mine I had to start there.  



Sunflowers come in so many fabulous shades, but I do love a traditional golden yellow, especially in a bunch!  So this wrapped bundle of sunflowers with the rich yellows contrasted with some deep blue was the direction I went.  I wanted the design to have a rustic, almost masculine feel so I stuck with lots of straight lines, and blocks of colour, as well as sequins, linen thread and a felt flower accent.  

I added some colour to the felt by giving it a few Copic strokes of colour to match the flowers and deepen it from a bright yellow to more of a warm yellow.  I wound the linen thread through the sequins to help your eye travel along the design and to mimic the ties on the flower bundle too.  


Here’s the inside of the design stamped in Memento Peanut Brittle ink.  


Here are the Copics I used.  


Now head on over to the rest of the sunny show from the Bloom Brigade!  



Allison Cope
Christine Okken
 (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker



Sunday, July 27, 2014

Farmers Market


I am so excited to begin our Sneak Peeks at Power Poppy this month!  You will be totally wowed by what we’re going to show you in the week ahead.  It’s such a fabulous combination of polymer sets that I know you will love.  

Today’s set just *might* be my favourite for the month...but then again so *might* tomorrow’s set too!  I might just be saying that every day :)  

But today’s set, Farmers Market is indeed totally awesome!  It combines all the most beautiful autumn bounty that you might see at your local farmers market in a set.  Marcy did a fabulous job!  

Here’s what Marcy told us about the inspiration behind this set, "Inspired by the bounty of the local market - the freshness of our earth's gifts, the saturated colors, the rustic baskets.... I think there is something really dear about the market that creates a coziness and sense of community. Folks standing in line to pick out the perfect heirloom tomato, or the newest variety of colorful cauliflower (did you know it comes in orange and purple and bright green, not just white?) The bounty we carry home in our arms - some of us wondering..."What the heck am I going to do with all of this?" but we buy it anyway! "


Just LOOK at this wonderful apple box!  So amazing right?  It was so fun to colour, and just think of all the combinations you could put in there for the varieties of apples we have.  

I stamped the image on Xpress It Colouring paper in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Copics.  Granny Smith are some of my favourite apples so I had to include them in there.  

I wanted to include some rustic touches so the edges are sponged and sewn, and the background strips are embossed with woodgrain and distressed with ink.  


A bit of twill, ruffled cotton ribbon, twine and enamel dots finish it all off.  



Inside I distressed the sentiment panel to give it that woodgrain look as well.  



Here’s the Copics I used.  




And now you can jump on over and see what the rest of the Bloom Brigade playing with today’s set have to show off to you!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
 (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Beauty Captured - Twenty-Eight

I thought another tour through the garden would be good today.  

I had heard on the weather report that we were in for a intense wind storm, so I went out as it was starting to capture some photos of the flowers, just in case it got ugly.  Little did I know what would happen!  


Astilbe.  I moved this one this year and it’s doing so much better.  



Lilies!  My different lilies have started to bloom, I really love these ones because of their burgundy colour.  


These are my favourite lilies we have.  When they bloom the blossoms are as large as dinner plates, and they are a beautiful rich yellowy orange.  




Some clustered roses.  They are a lovely rosey red.  




Sunflowers!  I didn’t plant a lot of them, but this one was the giant.  The petals are so frilly and the seeded center is so intricate!  It’s so fun to watch a giant sunflower grow.  I could see by how tall it was on the fence how much it had grown each day.  


Sometimes I think the back of sunflowers are just as interesting as the front.  These were a small variety, but the mix of colours is lovely.  



And from the front!  


And zinnias.  This was the first year I’ve planted them, and the ones I chose are a variety so each plant has multiple colours of blooms.  Really nice.  


And then the wind and rain storm came with a vengeance all night long and into the next day.  The next morning I was talking to my older son in his room and woosh we saw the tree blow into his window.  I said to him, “wow the wind is getting strong”, and he said - “No mom look, the tree split again!”.  We went out to check on our tree out front.  

It’s a Manitoba Maple and it was a little sapling when we planted it 15 years ago,  it’s grown to be at least 50 feet high over the house.  Last summer one of the three base sections of the tree split off.  We had hoped we could save the tree and cinched it together with strapping.  Though it didn’t look as healthy as it could we were hopefull it would recover.  

Well the wind storm and rain snapped the strapping and anchors we had on the tree and a whole section was splitting away about to fall on the house.  

I wasn’t quite sure what to do as my husband is in Mexico City on a missions trip with the team....here my sons and I are in a crazy torrential wind and rain storm and we’re stuck.  Gratefully one of our neighbours drove by as we were inspecting the tree and suspended their plans for the day to help us cut the tree down and save the house.  For the next two hours in the pouring rain we cut and hauled it down.  


This picture shows the crack in the tree, and we had already cut away all the parts that were falling toward the house.  You can’t tell in the picture but it was pouring sheets as we were doing this. 


And here’s our older son lumberjacking the larger sections of the tree apart.    He said it was a good workout!  

I was so grateful for our neighbours, and the help of my son.  We were drenched and tired when that one was over.  Hopefully after it dries out this week we’ll break it down into smaller pieces and haul it away.  

What an adventure!  I’m so sad for our tree.  It provided a lot of shade to our house....but I’m also incredibly grateful to still HAVE our house intact!  

Lots of plant damage, but you never know how some plants will recover.  So I’m still hopeful.  

Alright gang...back in the morning with some beautiful NEW Power Poppy!  



Friday, July 25, 2014

A Banner Day!

Hello friends!  Friday has come around and the Power Poppy Bloom Brigade has another round of inspiring designs for you!


Today I pulled out the gorgeous Dynamic Duos: Peonies & Tulips to give some love to the peonies and a Happy Birthday design.  I pulled out some older MME paper to give some punch to the colours with some gorgeous corals and bright greens.  



Accents include white crochet lace, seambinding, baker’s twine, a button and some pretty Kraft sentiment banners. 


Here is the inside of the card.  I stamped the peonies again in SU Blush Blossom ink and lightly coloured a few more areas with my copics to softly give it definition. 



Here’s the Copics I used above.

  


And here’s the Bloom Brigade playing today!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken 
(you are here)
Danielle Kennedy
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller




And be sure to check if you were the Power Poppy Peep of the Week on the Power Poppy blog!  You have another week to play along with us and get in the running for Power Poppy goodies!

Sunday starts our August Sneak Peeks and you are going to be SO HAPPY!  Can’t wait to show them to you!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Super!

I’m getting in just under the wire for this week’s Deconstructed Sketch...here’s another MFT creation with this awesome Torico set that I love, You’re Super.  She’s coming in to save the day!


It’s so fun to colour her in lots of vibrant colours and let her shine!  Papers are Echo Park All About a Boy and the stars are cut with my Silhouette Machine.  


See you back here tomorrow with some Power Poppy fun!  

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Gracias: Uno, Dos, Tres

On Sunday I sent a team of 22 high school students and leaders to Mexico City to work with our friends and fellow Pastor there at two Churches doing VBS.  The people there are so special to us and they really live out sacrificial love to our team when we are there, so I made a bunch of simple thank you cards to send along with the team that they can use.  I think I made 22 cards - so I chose to go with designs that were easy to replicate in multiples, and relatively flat designs that could be packed in suitcases for transport.  


This first set is done with Power Poppy’s beautiful Sassy Succulents set.  There are so many beautiful types of cactus in Mexico that I thought it would be perfect.   

I also decided to give them all a watercoloury feel stamping them on damp watercolour paper and moving the colour around with a waterbrush.  Very impressionistic :)  The sentiment is computer generated with some simple pleated ribbon accenting and tiny rhinestones.  



These next two designs were created with The Cat’s Pajamas new set Simple Blooms.  On this first geranium card I added colour to the stamp with markers and did some repeated stamping, giving interest to the design through texture and some pretty banners, pearls and lace.  


This design was also coloured with markers and then stamped, and then I added some detailing with the fine point of the markers after it had been stamped.  



Again, computer generated sentiments to match the designs and some cream lace as accent.  

All simple - but all conveying that gratitude we have for their kindness to our team.   

Here’s some fun SALE news from The Cat’s Pajamas that starts Friday... :)  



Monday, July 21, 2014

Serving Up Happy Birthday


We’re back for another TCP Tuesday Challenge!  Your chance to jump in and have some fun and win TCP goodies!

Today our Challenge is “Anything Goes!”  That’s right, use all your creativity to make...whatever your little heart desires!  


This week I pulled out an older TCP set I have Commemorating You and the matching die Stamp Trio Cut Ups for some Birthday fun that’s gone POSTAL!  The dies make this super easy to create linked or single stamp postage.  I stamped the butler serving up a gift in Memento Nautical Blue, added SU Pool Party elegant borders and then the postage circle stamp in Memento Bamboo Leaves.  

The circular star background is TCP’s Star Rosette CutUps, just not make into a rosette.  I used those stars from the die to do a little accenting as well.  The papers are Carta Bella, It’s a Celebration.    Here’s the dies that I used.  




And be sure to join us in the Summer Blog Hop!  There’s two ways to win this week.  Not only can you play in today’s TCP Tues Challenge, but there’s still time to use anything from the newest Summer release and enter to win the...


Just use at least one stamp, or die, or Cutable from our new summer collection and add it to the Inlinkz  on the TCP Blog in the top right column. You could win a $50 Gift Certificate! It’s that easy.