Poinsettia Hugs

Hello, precious friends! Well, as many of you have welcomed fall, we are still enjoying our "summer" weather here in South Florida. But it's definitely time for making Christmas cards, because Christmas always seems to sneak up on me. 

Today I am sharing one of the most beautiful poinsettia images ever, Poinsettia and Pomegranates.

"An instant classic for Power Poppy, this showy holiday image is finally available as a digital stamp — ready for you to resize, flip, flop, or edit to fit any project you've dreamt up. Elegant poinsettia leaves burst from a whorl of pine needles and sprays of baby pomegranates. Whether you take it on at full speed with punchy reds, inject it with pinks or oranges, go for chartreuse and white, or a subtly shimmering metallic, this image is pretty much an instant knockout. Comes with a lighter version for no-line coloring, plus two new sentiments that are not available in the clear stamp version."

Once again, I could not resist coloring this entire image and giving it center stage. It truly is a lovely arrangement! I resized it and nestled in the sweet sentiment. With all the amazing detail, I decided to use colored pencils, and I am so grateful for the wonderful Kit and Clowder real-time video classes with Alyce Keegan. They are worth the time invested, and I've listed the pencils I used in my "recipe" below. I started with the darkest color and worked to the lightest, and then I finally burnished them for a smooth blend.  

Since this is such a classic image, I decided to make a traditional card using a shaped die and designer papers. I sponged the focal image while it was still in the die, and then I very carefully gilded the edges in gold...and then added some enamel dots. I added some DMC Perle cotton to serve as "ribbon," and finally I popped the focal image with dimensional tape. I actually like the vintage feel of the card, don't you think?

I absolutely love red poinsettias and still remember all the beautiful ones that my mom would array throughout their house during the Christmas season. It was a special time to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is said that the star-shaped leaf pattern of the poinsettia symbolizes the star of Bethlehem.

And behold, the star that they had seen
when it rose went before them
until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Matthew 2:9b-10

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 read more and see who else is joining me!

I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, along with the first anniversary of The Flower Challenge. (I would not be eligible for the Power Poppy prize.)

Precious friends, thank you for your visits and comments that I love reading. Please join me in praying for the victims of the hurricanes and for the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas. God is close to the brokenhearted. Your prayers and love continue to mean so much to me and many others! Thank you, and may God bless you.

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Poinsettia and Pomegranates (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Rustic White (PTI), Soft Suede (SU!), Classic Christmas (Simple Stories)

Ink:  Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, printer
Tools/Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Grand Labels 11 die (Spellbinders), Mini Perfect Layers tool, gold paint pen (Craft Smart), enamel dots (Recollections), DMC #840 Perle Cotton, Copic E43 for edging, 3M dimensional tape, red tape, white tape
Techniques: Digital images using Microsoft Word, sponging, pencil coloring

Card Size: 4½” 5½”
Prismacolor pencils used: Poinsettia Petals – PC925, PC924, PC923, blended with PC938 and PC940; Poinsettia Center – PC1034, PC940, PC923; Greenery – PC1097, PC1005, PC989; Pomegranates – PC922, PC923, PC1034, blended with PC940

SaveSave
SaveSave

Tree Peony

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:

"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

Card Size:  A2
Copic markers used: Petals - R30, RV10, R81, YR000, RV11, RV00; Leaves - G20, G40, G43, G94; Center - YG01, Y13, Y35, Y38, W3

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSave