Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Power Poppy May Release Day 3








Hi there!  Have you been enjoying the Power Poppy festivities this week?  Have you already taken advantage of being able to get your new digi images as soon as they come out?  Oh, I hope so!  I am so happy to be able to share my card with you today....another gorgeous Marcella botanical!  So feast your eyes on this lovely image....


I know, right?  Sheer gorgeousness and I cannot tell you how much fun this was to color!  So let me show you what I created using this beauty...


I started by resizing my image to fit the dimensions I needed for my main panel, printed it out, then die cut it using a square die.  Then I colored my image with Copics.  Next, I put my image panel back in the square die and sponged on some Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen and edged it with my faithful companion, the Krylon 18KT gold leafing pen....I know, I am back on the gold kick again!  Then, I die cut some more layers with squares and some dies from Spellbinders' lovely Captivating Squares set .  I used burgundy, mauve and white card stock and then a bit of patterned paper.  I assembled my layers using foam dimensionals for some to pop them up and that was that.  I left this card sentimentless, which is something that I used to never do, but I am getting a little more comfortable with it.  I can leave it plain or I could go ahead and put a lovely sentiment, like the one that comes with this digi, on the inside.  I like having a few "all occasion" cards in my stash so this one will stay without a sentiment on it.


I absolutely love this image....the detail is amazing and the way that Marcella draws these images with shading cues, makes coloring them a joy.  These are colored like the ones that are about to pop in my mother's flower bed.....there is nothing like beautiful peonies!  Marcella actually has a little post over on the Power Poppy Blog about peonies that you should check out. Well, I hope that you are feeling inspired but don't stop here....please check out what my fellow Bloom Brigade  team mates have created.  I just know that you will love the gorgeous floral display created just for you!  Remember, this is a digital image so you could have this in your inky little fingers today with a few clicks of a mouse and a few key strokes....just sayin'!  :)  Take care and I'll be posting again on May 1st for the Power Poppy Blog Hop!  Hope to see you then and thanks so much for stopping by today!  :)

Christine Okken 
Cindy Lawrence 
Danielle Kennedy 
Dawn Burnworth  
Julie Koerber  
Katie Sims <-----You are here!
Leslie Miller 
Stacy Morgan 
Tosha Leyendekker 

Supplies:  Paper-burgundy, mauve, and white card stock, designer paper from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two "Blush" 6x6 paper pad; Ink-Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen, Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White, Krylon 18KT Gold Leafing pen;  Dies- Spellbinders Captivating Squares set and Classic Squares set and these Copic colors:  RV52, RV55, RV66, RV69, G40, G43, G46

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Power Poppy May Release Day 1

Hi there!  So glad you stopped by for Day 1 of Power Poppy's May Release!  This release is a bit different because it is a digital release...which means, you get your images right away!  How amazing is that!?! Never worked with digis?  Well then now is your chance to try them out....I must warn you though, they can become very addictive!  I have collected quite a little stash on my computer and these beautiful images have a special place of honor in my collection.  The beauty of working with digital images is the ability to resize to fit the space you want to put it in.....like the sentiment for my card today.  So, why don't we just take a look at today's digital image, shall we?


How sweet is that little trio of Gerbera Daisies?!  And they were such a dream to color!  I chose to fussy cut my blooms because I had my heart set on using this sweet little die set for my card.  I sized down the sentiment to fit in the smaller die cut, printed it, then used the die to cut it out.  Next I sponged on a little ink while it was still in the die, gave it a little gold leafing detail with my Krylon gold leafing pen and then layered it with some pink paper.  Then, I printed my daisies, colored them with copics and fussy cut them. 


 I used the larger dies in the set to make my card base...notice the little pierced border....isn't that the cutest little detail?  I think it works perfectly with the daisy images!  I gold leafed the pierced panel, assembled my card base, then attached my sentiment panel and my colored daisies with some foam dimensionals.  The final detail was a white satin bow with a little button and string.  


Don't you think that daisies are a cheerful flower?  They always make me smile!  So are you getting inspired?  Well, make sure you check out what all of my fellow Bloom Brigade team mates have created for you!  I am sure you will not be disappointed!  I am so glad you stopped by today!  Make sure you check the Power Poppy site tomorrow for Day 2 of May's release!  I will be back with you on Tuesday for Day 3.  Hope to see you then!  :)

Christine Okken 
Cindy Lawrence 
Danielle Kennedy 
Dawn Burnworth  
Julie Koerber 
Kathy Jones 
Katie Sims <------You are here
Leslie Miller 
Stacy Morgan 
Tosha Leyendekker 

Supplies:  Paper-white and pink card stock; Ink-Melon Berry-PTI, Whisper White-SU!; Dies- Nellie's Choice Ann's Paper Art Stitching dies Square 1; Other-ribbon, button, string, Krylon 18KT Gold Leafing Pen; foam dimensionals
And these Copic colors:  YR61, YR65, YR68, YR14, E35, R30, R32, R35, R37, R39, RV10, RV11, RV13, RV14, RV17, YR30, YR31, YG01, Y17, Y26

Saturday, April 26, 2014

A Little Power Poppy Peek for May...

Hi there everybody!  I hope you are having gorgeous Spring weather wherever you are!  It has been absolutely gorgeous here lately....finally!  Can you believe it is already almost time for another Power Poppy Release?!?  Tomorrow our release week will start and you will get to see what all we have been getting ready for you.  To tide you over until then I do have one teensy weensy little sneaky peek.....


And that's all you are gonna get out of me until tomorrow!  ;)  Now don't go tellin' everybody, k?  I hope you will be back for Day 1 of Power Poppy's May Release...I can't wait for you to see what Marcella has in store for you!  Take care and see you soon....

~Katie

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Think Peaceful Thoughts


Hi there everybody!  Happy Saturday to you.  I hope you had a good week.  I have a little card to share with you today.  I have been itching to use those feathers in Power Poppy's new release set Marcella's Mixtape: Vol. 1 and I got to thinking about how I could pair it up with a sentiment from another new release set Good Thinking: Renewal and that is when it came to me....a pillow.  Who doesn't love a good feather pillow?  If that doesn't say peaceful, then I don't know what does!


So, here is my pillow card!  Now, before we go into the details, I did want to mention that there is not one bit of coloring on this card....zero....nada....nil.  Do you ever feel like just stamping somtimes?  Well, then you are in luck, because these stamps are so versatile, you don't have to color them!  I made this card base like a pillow, complete with an insert that you can see in another photo.  I made a little piping border (by scoring some pink paper) and white trim for the pillowcase and sewed them to my patterned paper panel. Then I thought it might be cute to make my tag like a true tag you would find sewn onto bed linens so it is just a hand cut banner edged with pinking shears.  I added a seam binding bow and sweet little feather tag to mimic the packaging on a set of linens.  I actually pulled out my Crop-A-Dile....a tool I haven't used in ages to set the little eyelet for my tag.  


Here is a side view of my card....I made a little insert to fluff out my card by taking a little bubble wrap I had left over from a package and simply folding some white card stock around it and slipping it in the card.  I really wanted to go get a little sachet packet or make my own to make this a card and little gift combined but I have a caught a bad cold and am not able to get out right now!  :(  I will definitely be making more of these cards later on so I will make something better for the insert then.  The card base is a normal landscape layout and I attached my pillowcase top using some Scor-tape at the top and bottom to leave the middle open for my insert.  The finished card size is 4" x 5 1/4" .


Here is a little view of the inside of the card....I used another sentiment from Good Thinking: Renewal and staggered them across the bottom of the card with some more of the feathers from Marcella's Mixtape. I used my Atyou Spica clear glitter pen on the large feather and the tiny feather tag on the card front to give them a little shimmer.  So, are you feeling relaxed?  I think this is what I am going to do right now...try to relax and just breathe....although, it would really be awesome if I wasn't so stuffy and coughing right now.....lol.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and an even more wonderful Easter!  I am so happy you could stop by today and I'll be seeing you soon with some new goodness from Power Poppy!  :)  Take care until next time and think peaceful thoughts.....:)

~Katie

Supplies:  Stamps-Power Poppy's Marcella's Mixtape: Vol. 1 and Good Thinking: Renewal; Ink-Memento Espresso Truffle, Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo, PTI- Berry Sorbet, Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake; Paper-white card stock, dp's from My Mind's Eye Lost &Found Market Street 6x6 paper pad; Dies-Spellbinders Labels Twenty Eight; Tools- Pinking Shears, We R Memory Keepers' Crop-A-Dile, Singer Sewing Machine; Other-Pink Seam Binding Ribbon, White Eyelet, Atyou Spica clear glitter pen, string

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Inspiration in Blue with Springtime Love











Hi there.....so glad you could stop by today!  It has been a bit since my last post, but I simply could not resist getting outside since we  have been having some fabulous weather lately!  The temperatures are rising, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the plants are thriving!  There is something so wonderful about just sitting on the front porch watching all of this awesomeness happen....not to mention all of the inspiration that it provides.  My garden definitely provides me with tons of inspiration as well as treasured mementos, a song, a childhood memory (I am most definitely a sentimental soul).....so what inspires you?

My project for today actually was inspired by a plate.  We have a set of everyday dishes in blue and white....they were gifts from our wedding and we still use them often.  I have always loved the pattern and when I saw the circular image from the Springtime Love set, it immediately reminded me of those dishes.  I have a very small collection of blue and white pieces that I have throughout the house and so I grouped some of them together for an inspirational photo.  Now, let me go ahead and apologize to you photo savvy folks out there...I am still very much a novice about photography so my pictures from a professional standpoint probably could be improved upon....but for me, it is a huge step up from when I used to use a little pocket camera....lol!  :)


The plate on the left is one from the set of dishes I was referring to...doesn't it remind you of that image from Springtime Love?  So, with that being my inspiration for my card it pushed me to try a technique that I have been a little leery of doing.....coloring in a tone on tone fashion.  I am sure there is a more official term for this but the general idea here was to just use blue.  Scary, right?  Actually, once I started, it really wasn't as difficult as I thought....it kind of takes many of the color choice dilemmas away since you are limited to a few colors but your image can still be impactful....


I stamped my image in Memento's Nautical Blue and die cut it with a Spellbinders circle die.  Then I colored this image using Copics in B91, B93, B95, B97, B99, C-0, and C-1.  That's it....just those colors!  Now, if you have read many of my posts, you know there are a few crafting items that I have a true love affair with....I think we all have a few items like that, don't we?  Well, one of mine is this incredible die set from Marianne Design.  I could use it on many more cards than I do, but I try to limit myself so all my cards don't look exactly the same...lol!  However, I do feel like this was the perfect die set to go with this theme so here it is....Anja's Squares.  I still get giddy when I use this set! Then to really send me over the edge, I used another item from my "list" of must haves....a metallic leafing pen, but this time I used silver.  It is like all of my favorites on one "plate".....a gorgeous Marcella floral image, my favorite die set, and metallic edging...a true trifecta....sigh.  


Just look at the wonderful detail that is such a trademark of all of Marcella's beautiful images....it really makes it such a joy to color!  My card was assembled using most of the dies from the Marianne set and then a Spellbinders scallop circle die for a little extra matting and the smallest die from Spellbinders Labels Eleven for my tag.  The silver leafing is from Krylon's Silver Leafing pen.  The sweet little sentiment is from one of the other wonderful sets from this first Power Poppy release... Good Thinking: Renewal.  This set is chock full of wonderful sentiments in beautiful fonts...you could actually build a card around some of the sentiments in this set!  Here is one last photo of my card....


Oh, I did use some Whisper White craft ink from Stampin' Up! to sponge the navy layers and some Bashful Blue ink also from SU! to sponge around my image before silver leafing it and added a bow to finish it off.  

I am so happy you could stop by today and take a peek at my card!  I hope this will give you some ideas on the versatility of these sets and inspire you to create your next masterpiece!  :)  You can always check out Power Poppy's website and blog for inspiration and....did you know, that Power Poppy is also on Pinterest and Splitcoast Stamper's?  These blooms are just popping up everywhere!  I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks again for your visit!  Take care until next time.....

~Katie

Supplies: Springtime Love and Good Thinking: Renewal sets from Power Poppy; Navy, light blue, and white card stock; Spellbinders die sets in Classic Circle Large, Labels Eleven, and Classic Scallop Circle Large; Marianne Design die set "Anja's Squares"; Stampin' Up! ink in Bashful Blue and Whisper White Craft; Memento ink in Nautical Blue; Ribbon in Bashful Blue from SU!; Krylon Silver Leafing pen

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Power Poppy's Blog Hop!

Hey ya'll!  So, did you enjoy all of the sneaky peeks this week?  Can you believe all of those gorgeous images that Marcella drew just for you?  I cannot tell you how much fun we have all had getting all of our projects ready for you and now it's time for one last reveal....our first Power Poppy Blog Hop!  So get comfy and let's get started!  :)












Ok, so I don't make any secret of the fact that I am a true Georgia girl....complete with the southern accent.  :)  When I first saw this Azalea set and the beautiful sentiments that accompanied them...well...you can just imagine my excitement!  So for today's post, I just had to use my new favorite of all time set...Azalea.  I wanted to have this card really represent me.  I love all things vintage-y, nostalgic, a little more traditional than shabby (which I guess explains my gold leafing obsession)....anyways, just kind of a mix of styles.  I decided to do sort of a collage using the images and sentiments from this set.  I thought it might be fun to make it look "vintage road trip"....is that a theme?  :)



I started this project by finding a state of Georgia cut out for my Silhouette...I sized it to fit the area I wanted to cover on my card.  After cutting it out,  my intention was to do a single stitch line around the edge, but again with the sewing machine issues.  Its tension problems are now giving me tension problems!  So, after I botched sewed the edge, I decided to make it look more random so I stitched around a couple of more times.  Quit laughing!  Sooo, next I stamped my beautiful azalea image on to white card stock with Memento's Tuxedo Black ink, colored it with copics and fussy cut it out.  Then, I stamped my main sentiment on some cute musical paper and punched it out and backed it with a Spellbinders die cut.  For my little banner, I just hand cut it and stamped the sentiment on it.  Everything got a good coat of Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo.  For my card base, I layered a few papers from my scrap box...except for my map paper...that is from October Afternoon's  "Seaside" 8x8 pad.  I have been saving that map paper for a special occasion!  :)  The final card size ended up being 4 5/8" x 5 7/8".




So, are you feelin' the road trip vibe?  Can you hear Ray Charles singing Georgia On My Mind?  I hope so!  And I also hope that you have enjoyed all of our festivities this week! Remember...all of these stamp sets are now available in the Power Poppy store!


  So, why don't you keep on the hop and see what all of my incredibly talented Bloom Brigade team mates have made for you?  These ladies have been bringin' it all week so I am sure there is plenty of gorgeousness for you to see!  Make sure you leave them a little blog love while you're there!  And thanks so much for stoppin' by today...you come back real soon now, ya hear?  ;)



Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Dina Kowal
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

~Katie

Supplies:  
Stamps:  Azalea
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress inks in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo; Not Quite Navy-Stampin' Up!
Paper:  White card stock; Brown card stock; October Afternoon "Seaside" paper pad; scraps
Other:  Spellbinders Blossom die set; Circle punch-Stampin' Up!; Ribbon-Very Vanilla grosgrain-Stampin' Up!; Paper clip-Tim Holtz; Faber Castell Pitt White pen
and these Copic colors:
YG61,YG63,YG67, YG91, R20, R21, R22, R24, R27, R29, R59, BV000, E40, E42, E44, E47, E49