Go Big G!

Hi there and Happy Friday!   So, it has been a little while since our last visit...but I am back today to play along in the Power Poppy Challenge with a card to share.  I had a lot of inspiration for this card.  First, did you happen to catch Stacy Morgan's gorgeous creation several days ago.  You can see it here.  She used oranges, but it reminded me of those black and white photos where there is a little something in red and I thought these geraniums would work great.  Second, I don't know if you know this about me, but I am a huge college football  freak!  In particular, I love my Georgia Bulldogs (Go DAWGS!) and so red and black are pretty common colors in this house.  Can you tell that I am ready for the season to begin?  And you thought Big G meant geraniums, right?  ;)

This card is made using several simple layers...some die cut, some cut with a trimmer....all to frame up the real piece de resistance.....the lovely Geraniums image.  Ya'll didn't know I spoke French, did ya?  Ok, I just got a giggle because the thought of me speaking French with my Southern accent....well, it's pretty funny.  Mercy Bo Coops, ya'll.  ;)  Ok, back to business....since I am in such a red and black frame of mind....I thought I would just make my whole card that way!  I used Copics R 20's and Toner Grays and added a little Black 100 for the darkest part of the leaves.  My papers are from My Mind's Eye, and you will have to forgive me, I do not know which 6x6 pad they came from.....they were some scraps I had laying around.  Some stitching, a little die cut tag, a stamped sentiment from the Dynamic Duos: Peonies and Tulips set and some ribbon make a pretty sweet greeting, don't you think?  Good advice for us all...Live a Little!  :)   

Here is a close up of Marcella's handiwork....Mercy, I love this image!  She really captured the sweetness of these blooms, don't you think?  So, that is all I have to show you but you really must check out what my fellow team mates have created for you....I am sure it will be a lovely display created just for your inspiration!  Make sure you leave them a little blog love while you are there too!  I am so glad you could stop by today and be checking back soon....I'll have another project to share with you and THEN it will be time for the August Power Poppy Release and can I just say.....you will not want to miss that!  ;)  So until then, take care!  

Allison Cope 

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

~Katie

Supplies:  Images-Geraniums digital image and Dynamic Duos:  Peonies and Tulips sentiment stamp set by Power Poppy;

Paper-My Mind's Eye patterned papers, black card stock from Papertrey Ink, Naturals White card stock from Stampin' Up!, Classic White card stock from Flourishes; Ink-Versafine by Tsukineko in Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen, Going Gray ink from Stampin' Up!; Dies-Spellbinders dies in Grand Squares, Classic Scallop Squares, Classic Squares Large, Marianne Createables die set in Petra's Square, and tag die from PTI; Other:  red ribbon from scrap.

Power Poppy's July Blog Hop!

Hi there and a big howdy do to you!  Have you enjoyed all of the release week goodness this week?  Marcella really knows how to host a shindig, doesn't she?  The flowers we have seen this week are nothing short of spectacular. Today is the official Power Poppy July Release Blog Hop.  This is your opportunity to get another round of inspiration from the Bloom Brigade, and let me tell you.....my team mates have quite a lot to show you today!  So....let's hop, shall we?  ;)

I chose to use the amazing Geraniums set again but I paired it with the sentiment from the Countryside Bouquet...it's ok to mix and match these things....no rules here.  :)  I think that while geraniums are quite showy in their color, they still strike me as a more humble flower.  They are not necessarily the swans of the flower garden, they just kind of "live simply" but "bloom wildly"....their gorgeousness is absolute but they just have that homey quality....ok, if good ol' home cookin' comfort food were a flower, I  personally think it would be a geranium...lol.  Your thoughts?  :)  Using that line of thinking and my recent adventures playing in the dirt in my own yard lately, I chose to do a more earthy, homey, feel good kind of card....and this is where geraniums fit right  in!  And  if you are going to color geraniums, why not go all the way with fire engine red?  Hee...so let's go RED !  :)

I first sized and printed my image out.  Next I die cut it out using the "Out of the Box" technique.  There is an awesome tutorial for this on the Splitcoast Stampers site here....if you have not seen it yet, it is wonderful! I usually color my image first then die cut, but not when I am doing the out of the box technique...you could accidentally render your image that you painstakingly colored...absolutely useless.  I still get chills thinking back to the horrible "Cherry Blossom Incident of 2014".....it was not pretty and it's still hard to talk about.  Anyways, if you can....just cut before you color for this technique.  

Sooo, geraniums being the "home-body" flower that they are, I thought a little dirt was in order.  I still had my spritzing tool left out on my table, so after coloring her up with  Copics, I set in to sponging and spritzing it with ink-it was loads of fun to get it all "dirty" and I love the effect!  There are so many ways you could color these geraniums up....there are leaf variegations and bloom variations so have fun finding your perfect geranium specimen to color!  I chose to do a leaf variegation with my bold red blooms. 

 Next up....the card layout.  This shape seemed to lend itself to a nice big square, so I went with it and just used a few layers of papers to build it up....if you are going to go rustic and homey, I think gingham and ticking stripe are the way to go, don't you?  Next I did some stitching around those pretty papers.  A little punched border to look like eyelet, some brown polka dot ribbon and a bit of twine feel right at home here too.  Of course, everything is getting a nice sponging of distress inks to age them up and now we can move on to our sentiment. I wanted my sentiment treatment to be simple, so I used  some kraft paper, printed my image and trimmed out a piece to have a little banner.  Some pinking shears made a nice edge, I spritzed and sponged more ink then sewed it to my assembled panel with a random back and forth stitch and then added a little paper clip just because.  To make your tag look really nice and worn, ball it up in your hand and then smooth it back out.....instant age!  ;)  I wanted it to look like the brown paper the nursery gives you to put in your trunk when you buy flowers so you don't get dirt everywhere and the rustic look of it does go with the overall feel of this card.  

Here is her close up....Hello, Pretty!  Didn't Marcella capture the beauty of geraniums to a tee?  The detail in all of her images really makes coloring them up pure joy.  And remember, this is a digital image, so you can make it as big or as small as you like....AND it is available for purchase now!  What could be better than that?!  Well, that is it for my card today....I hope you got a little inspiration here but you have got to see what the rest of the Bloom Brigade has created for you.....you are going to love it!  So go have fun!  Thanks so much for stopping by here...so glad you did and I look forward to your next visit soon!  Until then, take care!

Allison Cope 

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


Supplies:  Images- Geraniums and Countryside Bouquet digital sets from Power Poppy; Inks-HP printer, Ranger Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, and Peeled Paint, Stampin' Up markers in Early Espresso, Soft Suede, and rumb Cake (for use with spritzer tool); Paper-Patterned papers from My Mind's Eye 6x6 pad, Crumb Cake from SU!, Tonal neutrals and Classic White card stock from Flourishes; Dies-Spellbinders Labels Twenty Two and Grand Scallop Squares; Other-ribbon from SU!, twine from May Arts, paper clip from Tim Holtz, ink spritzing tool from Stampin' Up!, and these Copic colors:  G40, G43, G46, G29, YG91, RV95, RV99, R20, R21, R22, R24, R27, R29, and R59.

Power Poppy's July Release Day 2

Hi there and welcome back!  I am so glad you could come back for Day 2 of Power Poppy's July Release.  Did you enjoy yesterday's festivities?  Quite a lot to take in, right?  Well, that was just the beginning, and there is a whole lot more where that came from.  So, when you think summer flowers...what do you think of?  One that immediately comes to my mind is geraniums.  I picture beautiful red or pink geraniums in  pretty pots on freshly painted white porches.....lovely summer sightings here in the south but I imagine it is pretty similar everywhere.  I have to admit.....I had quite a good time coloring this lovely image up...so much so, I colored it up a few times and you'll see it again soon....I promise!  So let's all take a look at this gorgeous new set....

Geraniums.  Aren't they beautiful?  Earth certainly does laugh in flowers.  Thankfully, she also has a wonderful sense of humor!  Now, let's take a peek at what I created with this set....

Does Marcella know her flowers, or what?  I absolutely love this image and I can tell you it was a dream to color!  I printed my image, die cut it out, then colored it up with Copics.  Next, I sponged a little Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen and Evergreen Bough and layered it with some dark pink card stock.  I actually chose a sentiment from an earlier set, Good Thinking:Renewal  because this is an anniversary card.  My dearest friend and her husband recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, so I thought "Plant Love" was certainly appropriate.  They certainly have sown many seeds of love along the way and 35 years is definitely a blessing and a testimony of their commitment to each other.  She is a country girl at heart, like I am, so I thought she would really like these geraniums.   The rest of the card is more dark pink for the card base, a layer of white card stock and a couple of designer paper layers.  The ribbon is actually some from a gift that this same friend gave me a while back....I love the natural feel of the fibers and thought it would look great with the nature inspired theme.  A little twine and button, my sentiment layered in a die cut circle and some flowers and leaves and this card is done.  I did add a little Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush accents on some of the geranium blooms to give it a little sparkle.  OH...and lookie....straight stitched lines.....can you believe it?  Miracles never cease, do they?  ;)  

Can you believe the detail on these gorgeous blooms and leaves?  Once again, Marcella has outdone herself.  Are you itching to create your own project with this lovely image?  Well, you can....like today!  This is another digital image and it comes with a beautiful sentiment too....and both are available in the Power Poppy store immediately....like now....so what are you waiting for?  You could have this lovely digital set with just a few clicks of the mouse and a few keystrokes!  How's that sound to you?  Don't forget to check out what the other Bloom Brigade ladies have created for you.....I can honestly say, prepare to be amazed.  Make sure you leave them a little blog love while you're there and then get on over to the Power Poppy shop and get your own digital image!  And don't forget to tune in tomorrow for a look at what Day 3 will bring...  another true masterpiece that I know you will love.  So, take care and I hope to see you tomorrow.  Thanks so much for stopping by and join me in wishing my friends a Happy 35th Anniversary!  ***S & B-sending much love to you and wishing you many more years of happiness!

Allison Cope 

Christine Okken 

Cindy Lawrence 
Danielle Kennedy 
Dawn Burnworth  
Julie Koerber  
Katie Sims <------You are here
Leslie Miller  
Tosha Leyendekker
Marcella Hawley

~Katie

Supplies:  Images-Power Poppy's Digital set "Geraniums" and stamp set "Good Thinking:Renewal" ; Ink-Ranger Distress inks in Antique Linen and Evergreen Bough; Paper-white, light pink and dark pink card stocks-Flourishes, green print paper-Stampin' Up!, bird print paper-My Mind's Eye Lost & Found "Market Street" 6x6 pad; Spellbinders die sets-Labels Twenty-Eight, Standard Circle Small, and Shapeabilites Rose Creations; Other-button-PTI, twine-May Arts, ribbon- Tim Holtz and these Copic colors:  R30, RR32, R35, R37, R39, R59, G40, G21, G24, G28, andYG91.