My Mama the Seamstress with TCP

 

Hi!  I hope your Labour Day was great (if you’re in North America).  One of my core memories as a kid was that of my Mom sewing.  She was a gifted seamstress, and had that as a job full time or part time throughout her life.  I can’t tell you how many garments she sewed for me or for our kids over the years.  She was so gifted at it.  I remember her teaching me and her favourite phrase was “rip it out”.  It always mattered to her that I did it right.  She was always dressed beautifully and almost always something she had sewn.  

So this cute design is in honour of her.  It uses a new digi set from TCP called One Stitch.  It features all kinds of textile arts, embroider, crochet, knitting and sewing.  I coloured the image up with Copics, with some coloured pencil blending added.  

 I used a lot of fun colours to coordinate with this pretty plaid paper, and added little stitching themed dies and buttons from retired TCP dies.  She’s definitely got her fashion on!  

And, just like my Mom - a “you’re amazing” sentiment.  She truly was, and I miss her greatly!  Glad to have a sweet memory of her to celebrate with you today!

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My Mama the Seamstress with TCP

Blossoms for Mother’s Day with Waffle Flower

 

Hello!  I just had a card sale for local friends and realized I didn’t have a lot of Mother's Day or Father’s Day cards, so I decided to add a few to the stash and started with these beautiful die cute blooms from Waffle Flower called  Painted Flowers Layering Die.  These have a really expressive beauty to them with lots of texture and layers.  I added some ink blending details on each petal, and then after I had glued/or put foam dots between the layers, I also added in some details with coloured pencil.  

I layered them on cardstock that I had ink blended with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink, splattered with water, with a little die cut circle as the “wreath” anchor.  I cut an extra blossom with the dies and chose to make a coordinating tag to go with the card.  It’s always nice when you can add something extra like that for gift packaging. 

It has a really fresh look with the pretty colour combination.  The sentiments are actually really old wood ones I had in my stash from Stampin’ Up!  I thought their simple fonts were a lovely touch for the designs.    Thanks for joining me today!  

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Blossoms for Mother’s Day with Waffle Flower

Sunrise Rose

There have been a lot of heavy things in the world in the last weeks and months.  My heart has been deeply burdened for so many, enough that I don’t even know how to put it into words.  So, I won’t try to now, but I will try to bring some hope through what I create.  

It’s been a hard week in our family on a different level.  A beloved teacher passed away who taught our sons for several years, and she was also a colleague of our daughter’s in her first year of teaching.  She mentored our daughter in countless ways and we are so sad she is gone.   She was a rare and wonderful lady.  Then we got the news that my favourite Auntie passed away.  She lived a beautiful life of almost 87 years.  She was my mom’s closest sibling and we spent much of my growing up together with them.  In the midst of all of the necessary isolation we have to live in, we won’t even be able to go to a funeral for her.  But I will remember her life, and the grace and love she showed to us.  

This card is for my Mom as we remember my Auntie’s life.  This Spring we planted a new Morden Rose Bush, called Sunrise, in honour of my mother-in-law who passed away in December.  I wanted something living to be a reminder of her.  It’s a beautiful bush type rose with petals from golden yellow to peach and orange.  I can’t wait for it to begin growing.  When I picked up Marcy’s FREE Rose image, from Power Poppy I used those colours to guide my Copics.  

A beauty of an image!  The sentiment is from Power Poppy’s retired set, Sweet Memories.  I’ve stamped it in both Memento Pear Tart and Bamboo Leaves ink to get the ombre look, and I’ve inked the background with a gradiation of those inks as well.  The framing shape is sanded down and I’ve added some twine and dots for accent. 

Pop on over to see what my friend Leslie has in store today, it’s a beauty!

And....Happy Birthday to Power Poppy’s own lovely Marcella Hawley today!

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Sunrise Rose

Lilacs for Mom

Hi Friends!  Sorry for the absense, in the background I’m working on some fun stuff for later this month, but I also needed to create a Mother’s Day card for my mom, so, I pulled out some of my digi images that I had previously printed and found this lovely one, Lilacs and Lemons.  I know it was on sale last week (sorry!) but because it’s a digital image, it’s also really affordable.  My mom loves purple, so I was drawn to this beautiful pitcher of lilacs, with the pretty lemons to accent.  Al the colouring is done with Copics, and I’ve paired wiht with some pretty plaid paper that picks up a lot of the colours in the image. 

The sentiment is stamped with another lovely Power Poppy set, Sweet Memories, and I’ve added a wee button and twine to accent. 

Pop on over to see what my lovely friend Julie, is up to today and then the Power Poppy Blog! 

Thanks for stopping by!   

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Lilacs for Mom

Reading Time

This sweet scene is such a reminder for me of all the reading we did with our kids.  There was one book our daughter wanted read to her at least 10 x a day when she was small.  It was called “Meet My Buddy”, but you know what, it all paid off, she was reading on her own without us really teaching her, before Kindergarten started, and now she is going to be a teacher after she graduates from University this spring.  I love how reading transports you to other times, other places, with unique characters, and what a gift that is to our kids.   I think this image is pretty precious, it's from ADFD and it’ s called Book Time.  I love the mom’s messy bun and the cute pigtails on the daughter.  Very fun to colour too. 

Printed onto XPress it Blending card stock, and then coloured with Copics in this fun colour palette that’s one of my favourites.  

I used some pretty polka-dotted paper, created stripes in the blanket they’re laying on, and then added some polka-dots onto the little girls shirt with a white gel pen.  A bit of grossgrain ribbon, some tiny scallops and enamel dots complete it.  

Hope today is the perfect adventure for you!  

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Reading Time

Mom’s Peony

Today we’re bringing you a brand new challenge for the lovely month of May from Power Poppy!  Our equally lovely hostess Kathy has challenged us to Frame It Up!  You can create a frame on your card, frame a creation or decorate a frame.  

Have you seen Marcy’s new digi?  It’s called Tree Peony, and it’s such a beaut!  Later today she’ll be releasing another new digital image that I think you’ll love too.  

I was really looking forward to printing this image up nice and big to get a lot of colouring in there.  It did not disappoint.  Though....it did take me about 2 hours to colour :) I’m not speedy at colouring.  

Last weekend my husband and I made a quick trip to Vancouver, BC.  He had some meetings there for work and I was able to take off from Thursday to Saturday, so we zipped over there.  I love the west coast!  Vancouver is at least a month ahead of us in growing season, so everything is blooming beautifully.  They have such a different climate from the prairies and can grow very different trees and plants and it was glorious!  We even got a couple of days of sun to soak it all in, and just one day of rain.  

One evening we went to Granville Island to walk around the shops and market.  A little flower stand had some gorgeous blooms, including some really pretty peonies. I thought for sure they must be tree peonies because they were so large and full, but apparently they were simply regular peonies - just Vancouver sized :)  I loved the colour of them because they went from a peachy pink outside to a really light inside (below), so that was the inspiration for the colouring. 

I created a frame by using some dies to cut into the big image.  I often do this with larger images because I love how the inset design pairs with the outer frame, having the coloured image on both parts.  

Gorgeous aren’t they?  

This one was fun to colour and good brain work too.  My natural inclination would be to colour the deeper tones of the flower in the centers or inner petals.  This flower however has the darker colour on the outer parts of the petals, and lighter insides, so its opposite of what I’d normally do.   The challenge was how to still create depth in the deeper petals while still staying true to the color of the blooms.  I used a BV00 marker to create shadow in the areas that would be shadowed and I’m happy with the result.  A few clear sequins add some sparkle and the sentiment from our Sweet Memories set makes it perfect for Mother’s Day.  Both of our mom’s love peonies.  

Here’s the Copics I used.  Below I included a few more pictures from the trip.  I thought you might enjoy some of the things that were in bloom.  

Magnolias galore!  That is one tree we would not be able to grow here, so it’s always so delightful to see them there.  Cherry trees were in bloom too, and they’re so spectacular as they cover the street boulevards.  

Some Rhododendrons were starting to bloom, this one was quite stunning as it covered a whole sidewalk near Granville Island.  

Some pretty tulips in Stanley Park were loving the sunshine.  The colouring on these blooms reminds me a lot of the peonies above too, I love that peach to pink tone.  

So, join us in the Frame it Up Challenge!   The big, big BIG news is that this time, instead of being entered to win a Power Poppy set....you’ll be entered to win a $50 Gift Certificate!  Wowee Shopping fun!  

Here’s my creative Bloom Brigade Sisters playing along today....

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

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Mom’s Peony

Loving Tulips and Sweet Peas

We’re back to reveal two gorgeous floral sets for you from Power Poppy!  Introducing the very beautiful Loving Tulips and Sweet Memories!

Today I have a card from each set to show you.  So first we’ll start with Sweet Memories....You may remember that Marcy illustrated a digital version of sweet peas not too long ago.  It showcases a big cluster of sweet peas all tucked together, but this new polymer set allows you to mix and match individual sweet pea sprouts and wee pea pods together with swirly tendrils, to create something totally unique.  You could do borders or single stems, clusters or an arrangement...it’s full of possibilities.  

Here are my first Sweet Memories ...

I loved putting these trailing blooms together in an interesting way, and then with the addition of those fun pea pods, I think it gives the design something so fun!  I decided to split the focal piece a bit so that it has the feeling of borders to the card.  I cut some of the flowers to have that “out of the box” style of cutting, hanging over the middle.  Then, I popped up the inside layers, in-setting the middle where I located the white embossed sentiment.  There are several really sweet sentiments in the set, including some like this one, that are perfect for Mother’s Day.  

I added a fun embossed element to the lower half of the card.  I thought this embossing pattern looked a lot like the swirls of the sweet peas.  A few enamel dots finish it off.  

I used a lot of different Copics for this one too, so I just listed them here for you.  BV01, BV02, B60, B63, B66, B69, G0000, G00, G02, G05, G07, RV52, RV55, RV66, V12, V15, V17

Now, I hope you’re up for a Spring Fling with Loving Tulips!  

One of Marcy’s most popular digital images is called Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher and by popular demand it’s become one of the pieces of this creative polymer set.  It’s paired with some really uniquely styled sentiments and decorative elements that use a polka dot treatment. It also contains a pretty single French tulip which is what I used on my card today.  

I started by stamping the four single french tulips from the set, using Memento Gray Flannel ink and then after colouring them with Copics, I trimmed them out carefully.  I created a framed window in the barnboard patterned paper that perfectly fit the gorgeous splashy hello sentiment.  I love how these polka-dots look embossed in silver!  Then I just tucked in the tulips around the opening.  

I’ve added some silver string, and silver sequins.  The Copics I used are below.  You’ll see that I have a lot of warm grays in there.  I started out thinking I might just colour the leaves and stems in grays for a more neutral palette, but I just didn’t like how it turned out, so I added the greens overtop and it feels much fresher, but the gray undertones really give them nice contrast, and warms them up to match that barnboard paper.   

So how about some more gorgeous flowery inspiration from the rest of the Bloom Brigade!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Catch you again tomorrow with two more amazing sets!  Thanks for popping by!

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Loving Tulips and Sweet Peas

Pop Goes the World Challenge

Welcome to our first Challenges at Power Poppy!  We’re so excited you joined us for the fun!

This challenge is inspired by this gorgeous sunset photo using purples, oranges, yellows and grass green.  I thought it would be fun to recreate the feel of the sunset with these beautiful Gladioli from our new Instant Garden digi set. 

After I printed the image on some heavy cream card stock I die cut it out and leaving the die on I sponged these pretty colours on the design.  The colouring is with Copics.  For the card I used a Tim Holtz Stencil to sponge in the background to have the same colour feel as the main image.  

There’s some pretty seam binding to match the colours in the design and I trimmed out just a little of the sentiment for the front of the card (printing in a soft orange colour - so great to do with digis).  And then added a pretty orange beaded gem to accent.  

Here’s a quick look at the inside and the entire sentiment.  I’m going to use it for my Mom for Mother’s Day this weekend. 

So now we’d love if you’d jump in on the Pop Goes the World Challenge!  Grab the digi of your choice from this month’s collection and go have fun!  

Use any three of these colors in your card or creation and link to the Power Poppy Blog. Entries will be accepted until 3PM EST on May 30th. A Winner announced on June 2nd, after the June Release.  And ....the winner wins a set of their choice!   Keyword for online galleries is: PPWORLD1.

The Bloom Brigade has lots of colour inspiration to jumpstart your creativity...

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

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Pop Goes the World Challenge

For You, Mum!

Happy American Thanksgiving to my many friends south of the border.  Because we are a "dualie" family, we'll also be having an American Thanksgiving supper tonight with some friends.   So, I'm cooking today too.

One person I am especially thankful for is my Mom.  She's a tremendous woman period.  And this past week she came over for the day to help me paint my daughter's new room.  At 76 she's still amazing and was such a kind help to me.  So I made her a card with the perfect new set from Flourishes.

I don't know if it's the Canadian in us, but I've always called my Mom - Mum.  And my kids call me Mum.  I didn't even realize that was different from anyone else till I was an adult.  And to have a set that has a sentiment "For you, Mum" just makes me smile :)

I had fun with these beautiful fluffy yellow wattle flowers, coloring them up with Copics, but then adding some dimension (and realism) with some Flower Soft.  Did you know you can color your Flower Soft too?  All I had was Polar White Flower Soft, so I just used a few drops of Copic reinker in a little container and threw in a pinch of Flower Soft, mixed it around and it was the perfect color I was looking for.  Below you can see the dimension a little better.  It has more of the look of what I've seen wattle to look like.

The image from Bloomin' Aussie Florals is stamped in Memento Ink on Flourishes Classic White.  I used our brand new Flourishes dies to cut out the shape, this one is called Perfectly Pierced Classic Frames.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I've finished the bottom of the card with Edgeabilities Dies, Classic Decorative Inserts and Classic Edges Two.   The scroll design and piercing matches perfectly.  The papers are from our new 123 Create Kit - For the Record.  And then a little bit of rhinestones and  Nestabling to frame out the image and balance the big old silk bow on the other side.  

Now get yourselves ready for this tomorrow at Flourishes !!!

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For You, Mum!

Those May Flowers

We've been having beautiful weather this week.  All my perennials are growing and it won't be long before they are blooming.  Today finds us at a wedding of 2 of our former students marrying one another, so it will be a joyful spring day with weddings and flowers.  The Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge Team has another challenge to invite you into this week too.  We want to see how your April Showers have turned into Flowered May creations! 

I took this beauty - Mom from Our Daily Bread Designs and stamped it twice with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I colored with copic markers (YG91, 93, 95, 99;  R00 R01, R11, R12, R14;  and R29, R39 and R89).  Then cut out and extra Wild Rose Blossom to pop it up. 

I trimmed it in an Out of the Box fashion with Labels 10 Nestabilities, and then added Ultrafine Flower Soft in Sage . 

I repeated the flower design by overstamping it around the sentiment in Ruby Red, and paired it with some great designer paper Jocelyn by SEI. 

So please join us by showing us your flowers this week at ODBD.  The challenge is ODBDSLC13 for linking at Splitcoaststampers and be sure to add your link to the ODBD Blog.  Each week there are prizes! 

For more deets see the ODBD Blog. 

And see more floral beauties with the Challenge Team:  America, Chris, Francie, Natalie, Patter and Sabrina

Recipe:  Stamps - ODBD Mom;  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Ruby Red;  Paper:  Ruby Red, Gina K Pure Luxury White, Jocelyn by SEI;  Accessories:  Big Shot, Labels 10 Nestabilities, Floral Accent Shapeabilities, Dotted Sheer Ribbon, Chenille Dots Ribbon, Dimensionals, Copic Markers, Large Oval Punch, Red Rhinestones, Flower Soft, Crystal Effects, Bow Easy 

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Those May Flowers