Flowers Always

Hello, dear friends, and happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful and restful weekend. 

It's the 15th of the month, and I am delighted to color up the new Instant Garden digital image from Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley called Flowers Always. Marcy shares this:

"I have been very intrigued with folk art and primitive art for a long time. Not the super duper primitive, so much as the decorative arts of rug hooking and quilting. Doing this research led me to stumble upon a bunch of crewel embroidery images." 

This is a really neat image with lots of versatility. I found some beautiful crewel embroidery patterns, decided to use some designer paper as my color palette, and started by opening Microsoft Word and dragging in the main image. Once I resized it, I dragged in the sentiment and resized it as well. Since I decided to use an oval die, I made a copy of the sentiment in Word and cropped each one (cropping the quote from one and the author from the other). Then I moved and centered them under my main image and started coloring (with beautiful music that is also playing as I type).

Since I did not use a decorative die, making the card took nearly as long as coloring it! I love using my Perfect Layers tool for even matting, and it came in very handy for this card. I die cut my image with an oval die, matted it by fussy cutting, and just had to paper pierce it (yes, it was begging for it - hehe!). And I used a ribbon across the card, and it was finally done.

I remember years ago when I did embroidery and how I would look at the back of my work and be amazed at what a mess of threads and knots it was. However, the front was beautiful. That reminds me of how God works. He is creating a "beautiful tapestry" as He transforms me into the image of Christ. From my perspective, my life is as messy as the back of one of my pieces of embroidery. But I can be assured that He is always working in my life with the ultimate plan of working all things together for my good and for His glory. 

And we know that for those who love God
all things work together for good.
Romans 8:28

Now it's time to visit the rest of the Instant Gardeners. After all the inspiration, I'm sure you stampers will definitely want to hop over to Power Poppy to get this new digital release to use today and also check out the entire digital collection that continues to grow. And don't forget to visit the Power Poppy blog to read more about this gorgeous new digital set.

Rhea Weigand
Barb Walker
Cheryl Scrivens <me>
Broni Holcombe

Thanks so much for visiting and sharing a comment, thought, or question. I love hearing from you and am always happy to answer questions, so don't hesitate to email me. (I am entering this in this week's Word Art Wednesday challenge.)

Added Note: Marcella Hawley posted a Special Note on Tuesday, February 16, that I wanted to share with you, and I trust that you will join me in praying for her and her entire family.

"It is with the heaviest heart that I must share with you this news. My beloved mother, Susan H. Smith, passed away on February 6. You can read my special post about Mom's life here. We cannot thank you enough for the prayers and good thoughts everyone has been sending."

Blessings,

Stamps:  Flowers Always (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Classic White (Neenah), Vintage Cream and Enchanted Evening (PTI), Tangerine Tango (SU), World's Fair Collection (Graphic 45)

Ink: None (printer)
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Grand Ovals dies (Spellbinders), Enchanted Evening Satin Ribbon (PTI), Perfect Layers tool, piercing tool, 3M dimensional tape
Techniques: Digital images using Microsoft Word, paper-piercing

Card Size:  5” x 6¼”

Magnolia Sunshine

Hello, dear friends, and I trust you have had a wonderful and blessed week and are looking forward to the weekend.

Well, it's the 5th of the month, and I am so happy to color up the newly remixed digital image from Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley called Magnolia Sunshine. And it's a wonderful one to chase away the winter blues and to remind us all that spring is coming! Marcy shares this:

"It's hard to mess up Magnolia Sunshine. Whether colored in or left alone, this showy medallion-shaped bouquet, featuring a remix of Saucer Magnolias, Trumpet Daffodils, and Snowdrops, leaps off the page. It's jam-packed with joyful details and is the perfect springtime digi stamp to add to your collection. I selected this mixture of flowers because they are some of my mother's favorites; she grows so many varieties of each of these plants in her garden! The sentiments are quotes from Frances Hodgson Burnett's book, The Secret Garden, and would be the finishing touches on an uplifting card for certain."

For my card, I used Microsoft Word and pulled in the main image and a digital sentiment from Winter Pick-Me-Up and resized them to fit into a die. I printed it on X-Press It Blending Card and started to color with no real direction other than using this new die set because it fit so well. I chose to go with pink magnolias and yellow daffodils. I was delighted to discover that snowdrops are white and green and really do grow up out of the snow! I die cut my image using the main die and also cut a piece of white card stock with the same die to use the outer decorative frame adhered to Papertrey's Soft Stone. Then I used my handy Perfect Layers tool for an even mat. For a bit more interest, I decided to pierce around the focal layer (yes, you know how much I love that). Once again, it's a very mail-friendly card -- especially given the increase in postage rates!

This sentiment is a appropriate one for so many occasions, and it reminds me of how many dear friends and family members are always in my thoughts as I pray for those in need. And then I realized that we are always in God's thoughts -- and always in His care. What great comfort and peace it is for me to know that He will always comfort us and will never forget us. 

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the LORD has comforted His people
and will have compassion on His afflicted.
...Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you
on the palms of My hands.
Isaiah 49:13, 16a

Now is time to hop over to the Power Poppy blog for lots of inspiration, a new monthly challenge - and more! And then you will surely want to go to Power Poppy to get this new digital release to use today -- and also check out the entire digital collection.

Thanks so much for visiting and sharing a comment, thought, or question. I love hearing from you and am always happy to answer questions, so don't hesitate to email me. (I am entering this in this week's Word Art Wednesday challenge.)

Blessings,

Stamps:  Magnolia Sunshine, Winter Pick-Me-Up (Power Poppy) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card (Copic), White and Soft Stone (PTI)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Elementals #11 - Bracket Coved Labels die (Frantic Stamper), Perfect Layers tool, piercing tool, 3M spray adhesive
Techniques: Digital images using Microsoft Word

Card Size:  A2