Hello, sweet friends! Can you believe that April is nearly over? Before we know it, school will be out. My eyes continue to heal, but my vision is still not completely clear...so I blink to refocus a fair amount and will see my regular eye doctor for a checkup next week. But I see progress each day. How thankful I am to God for His healing hand.
Today I am sharing a card with you using Tree Peony, and what a delight to see yet another gorgeous example of God's creation. I always love reading what Marcella Hawley shares. Here's what she said about this beauty, and it touched me to read about her precious mom:
Well, this giant beauty definitely wanted to be center stage on my card! With all the amazing detail in this flower, I could not size this down too much. Then I bravely decided to try my hand again at no-line coloring. No pressure, eh? I finally watched the Kit and Clowder video class I signed up for in March using Power Poppy images. I learned a lot, but I still need more practice (but that's the fun part, right?). As I was coloring, I remembered some of what Kathy Racoosin said in a recent video. She is so real, and I love listening to what she says about coloring and enjoying what you do. She quoted something Jennifer McGuire said and shared some thoughts of her own. I hope you'll check out her blog post using one of Power Poppy stamp sets, watch the video, and listen to what she says as she enjoys her coloring experience. So I colored and really enjoyed it, and I need to do more of it. Sure, I can see areas I need to work on, but like everything else, we learn from practice...and more practice.
This time I decided what my layout was going to be ahead of time...surprise! It helped me a lot. So I opened my flower image in GIMP, lightened it to a pale gray, and printed it on X-Press It Blending Card. I worked hard to achieve more depth and contrast. After I finished coloring, I decided to fussy cut it and use a couple of tools to burnish the back to give it some dimension. Then I die cut two of the split chevron dies, adhered them together, and added it to the pink card base. I stamped a sweet sentiment from Natural Beauties on a cute ragged-edge die cut and curled it a bit before adding it to the "lattice" for my flower. I added some thin foam squares in the outer areas of the flower and leaves and some thicker foam to the inside and placed the flower onto the "lattice." And...it was done! I was going to add some sequins or something and decided not to. So ready or not, here she is! Hehe!
When I saw this large peony and read that it was a favorite of Marcy's mom, I was so touched knowing that this is the first year that her mom Susan is not there to celebrate with...and I personally know how hard that is. But I thought of how gracious God is to give us parents who pass along their gifts and talents. Certainly, I know both my parents and grandparents passed along many precious gifts to me that I cherish to this day...and acknowledge that they are ultimately from God. Paul talks about this concept of passing down a legacy in his letter to Timothy, one of his protégés (sons in the faith):
I am reminded of your sincere faith,
a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois
and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure,
dwells in you as well.
2 Timothy 1:5
Today I am sharing a card with you using Tree Peony, and what a delight to see yet another gorgeous example of God's creation. I always love reading what Marcella Hawley shares. Here's what she said about this beauty, and it touched me to read about her precious mom:
"If you think peonies are frilly and fantastic, have you ever seen a TREE peony? The woody cousin of herbaceous peonies, the ones that most everyone is familiar with, have much larger blooms, more exotic coloration, and dazzling centers. The foliage is beautifully cut and is a lighter green than regular peonies, and they grow on large shrubs. Flowers can be 8" across when fully open! This is my homage to the Tree Peony, re-freshed and re-newed for spring release, and a favorite of my mother, Susan. (Her birthday would have been April 29)."
Well, this giant beauty definitely wanted to be center stage on my card! With all the amazing detail in this flower, I could not size this down too much. Then I bravely decided to try my hand again at no-line coloring. No pressure, eh? I finally watched the Kit and Clowder video class I signed up for in March using Power Poppy images. I learned a lot, but I still need more practice (but that's the fun part, right?). As I was coloring, I remembered some of what Kathy Racoosin said in a recent video. She is so real, and I love listening to what she says about coloring and enjoying what you do. She quoted something Jennifer McGuire said and shared some thoughts of her own. I hope you'll check out her blog post using one of Power Poppy stamp sets, watch the video, and listen to what she says as she enjoys her coloring experience. So I colored and really enjoyed it, and I need to do more of it. Sure, I can see areas I need to work on, but like everything else, we learn from practice...and more practice.
This time I decided what my layout was going to be ahead of time...surprise! It helped me a lot. So I opened my flower image in GIMP, lightened it to a pale gray, and printed it on X-Press It Blending Card. I worked hard to achieve more depth and contrast. After I finished coloring, I decided to fussy cut it and use a couple of tools to burnish the back to give it some dimension. Then I die cut two of the split chevron dies, adhered them together, and added it to the pink card base. I stamped a sweet sentiment from Natural Beauties on a cute ragged-edge die cut and curled it a bit before adding it to the "lattice" for my flower. I added some thin foam squares in the outer areas of the flower and leaves and some thicker foam to the inside and placed the flower onto the "lattice." And...it was done! I was going to add some sequins or something and decided not to. So ready or not, here she is! Hehe!
When I saw this large peony and read that it was a favorite of Marcy's mom, I was so touched knowing that this is the first year that her mom Susan is not there to celebrate with...and I personally know how hard that is. But I thought of how gracious God is to give us parents who pass along their gifts and talents. Certainly, I know both my parents and grandparents passed along many precious gifts to me that I cherish to this day...and acknowledge that they are ultimately from God. Paul talks about this concept of passing down a legacy in his letter to Timothy, one of his protégés (sons in the faith):
I am reminded of your sincere faith,
a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois
and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure,
dwells in you as well.
2 Timothy 1:5
Now it's time for my stamping friends to hop on over to Power Poppy and purchase this beautiful digital image and use it today. And be sure to visit the Power Poppy blog today to see the beautiful images of tree peonies, and then be sure to visit my teammate Jessie Banks to see her beautiful card and video!
Precious friends, thank you for your visits and comments that I love reading. And remember that I am always happy to answer any questions you may have about using digital images. Your prayers and love continue to mean so much to me! Thank you, and may God bless you.
Blessings, dear friends,
Stamps: Tree Peony, Natural Beauties (Power Poppy)
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, White (PTI), Blushing Bride (SU!)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Split Chevron die and Blueprints #13 dies (My Favorite Things), Clear Double Sided Adhesive (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Irresistible Pico Embellisher adhesive, Empressor tool, stylus, Thin 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives), 3M dimensional tape, white tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word, fussy cutting, adding dimension
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Split Chevron die and Blueprints #13 dies (My Favorite Things), Clear Double Sided Adhesive (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Irresistible Pico Embellisher adhesive, Empressor tool, stylus, Thin 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives), 3M dimensional tape, white tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word, fussy cutting, adding dimension
Card Size: A2
Copic markers used: Petals - R30, RV10, R81, YR000, RV11, RV00; Leaves - G20, G40, G43, G94; Center - YG01, Y13, Y35, Y38, W3
Copic markers used: Petals - R30, RV10, R81, YR000, RV11, RV00; Leaves - G20, G40, G43, G94; Center - YG01, Y13, Y35, Y38, W3
