Power Poppy Instant Gardener - April Release

Hello, sweet friends, and I hope you are all done with your taxes! Today is also the day for the Power Poppy Instant Garden Digital Release for April, the monthly digital stamp collection from Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley. Remember, you can buy, download, print, and color the digi images - in an instant - today!

Here is what inspired Marcella to draw this gorgeous image:

This image is based on my recent trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden. It's a zig-zag of branches from a flowering crabapple tree, which are blooming RIGHT NOW in St. Louis! :) I've drawn my image with flowers, leaves, and fruit all in the same image - now, in real life that only happens if the little fruits are leftover from last season, but I think it looks adorable to see all three of them together! 

Look at this absolutely beautiful image - the new digital stamp release called Flowering Branches, and there are two lovely sentiments just in time for Mother's Day. Oh, the possibilities with this image!

After browsing through many beautiful images of flowering crabapple trees on the internet, I decided to use the entire digital image and colored the flowers a deep rose (when the buds turn to flowers, they lighten). Once I finished coloring, I struggled with whether to make a simpler, matted card or use a decorative die (the decorative die won out again...sorry!). I fussy cut the focal image piece and added another fussy-cut "mat," and then pierced it. There are two layers of the white lattice die glued together and mounted on the rose card stock with the focal image on top. It's simple (easy to mail) and hopefully showcases this beautiful flowering branch! Don't you just love the little crabapples?

Now it's time to visit my amazing Instant Gardener teammates and to visit Power Poppy's website to get this new digital release - today (wait to see you them all)!

Broni Holcombe

Cheryl Scrivens <me>

Debbie Olson
Jennifer Dove
Rhea Wiegand
Marcella Hawley on the Power Poppy Blog

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought or question, and I hope you have a wonderful week! And warm hugs to all...spring has arrived in all its splendor!

Blessings,

Stamps:  Flowering Branches (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), White and Autumn Rose (PTI)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Elegant Labels dies (Spellbinders), Perfect Layers tool, piercing tool, Glue n' Seal adhesive

Techniques: Digital images using Microsoft Word, fussy cutting, paper-piercing

Card Size:  5" x 7"
Copics used:  YG01, YG11, YG17, G24, R22, R24, R56, R59, RV000, R81, R83, RV55, RV66, E42, E43, E55, BG0000, BG000

Friendly Camellia

Hello, sweet friends, and may I wish you a happy Friday as you look forward to the weekend! May you have a time of rest and refreshment and a wonderful Lord's Day.

I made this card for this week's Sketch Challenge on Splitcoaststampers and rotated the sketch 90 degrees to accommodate this sweet little camellia in a glass dish. The most enjoyable part of making a card for me is coloring, and I often wish I could just color an image and then "wave a magic wand" to have it made into a card - ha! But that is part of the fun too! I kept this card simple and used some designer paper, added a thin ribbon in the middle, and stamped the sentiment at the bottom. The card seemed to "beckon" me to do some paper-piercing for added interest around the oval and the bottom half. Because the scalloped oval around the flower was cut from designer paper, I sanded it to show some of the white base. And the oval image is popped on the card with dimensional tape (so it's still very mailable).

This card reminds me of some of the beautiful blossoms my husband has brought home from our friends' house after he has helped them with their computers. They have a gorgeous garden and many flowers and plants. They often send him home with either a single flower (and I can place it in a glass bowl much like this one) or even a bouquet or a plant. They are precious friends from church, and Mary's partial to pink...so this card seems perfect for her.

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, or thought, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I continue to be in awe of the beauty God has shown all around us and feel so blessed to be able to try to imitate some of what He has given us.

Blessings,

Stamps:  Simply Camellias (Power Poppy) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card (Copic), White (PTI), Vintage Bliss (Simple Stories)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Oval and Scalloped Oval dies (Spellbinders), ribbon (Michaels), Perfect Layers tool, piercing tool, sanding tool, 3M dimensional tape

Techniques: Paper-piercing, sanding

Card Size:  A-2
Copics used:  RV00, RV10, RV13, RV14, YG11, G43, G82, G46, E35, BG0000, BG10, BG01, T1

Happy Resurrection Day!

Hello, sweet friends, and may I wish you a blessed and joyous Easter Sunday - Resurrection Day! He is risen indeed!

Yesterday I enjoyed coloring this lovely digital image from Marcella Hawley (which is now available in a clear set called Daffodils). It was so relaxing to sit and color while listening to beautiful music (in between doing laundry).

I made this card for two challenges on Splitcoaststampers. The first was Friday's Free for All challenge to use flowers (an easy one for me...hehe!), and the second was yesterday's Inspiration Challenge to be inspired by a previous card or cards you've made. I chose the French Lilac card and the Dancing Daffodil card a few posts ago. I used a fancy die and gilded edge from the lilac card and the oval shape from the other card that also had daffodils.

For this card, the image needed to be the main focus. These flowers are so beautiful (along with this adorable snail) and so much fun to color. I love daffodils and here in Florida periwinkle/vinca is everywhere in so many gorgeous colors. After coloring and die cutting, I started to figure out what card stock to use for the background. My first thought was to match the vinca, but I decided to use a soft blue...I think it works. Using my gold Krylon pen, I carefully gilded both the oval and the rectangle die. The rest was just gluing (and waiting for it to dry!). 

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought or question, and I hope you have a wonderful week! And may I encourage you to remember that Christ Jesus is real, He is risen, and He reigns - today and every day. If you are a follower of Jesus, He is with you in whatever you are doing each and every day. Praise God!

Blessings,

Stamps:  Dancing with Daffodils (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), White (PTI), Soft Sky (SU)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Tranquil Moments and Heirloom Legacy dies (Spellbinders), Glue n' Seal adhesive

Techniques: Digital Imaging

Card Size:  A-2
Copics used:  BV000, BV01, V12, BV13, YG01, G20, YG03, G43, G45, G46, Y38, Y00, YR30, Y11, YR31, Y21, E43, E81, W3, W5, BG0000

Believing and Trusting...with Great Hope

Hello, sweet friends, and happy first day of spring!

I started this card on Monday for the Clean and Simple Card Challenge called "No Patterned Paper," and then I saw Thursday's Ways to Use It Challenge called "Triple Play" using combinations of threes. So I decided to combine the challenges. I used a layered decorative die for my CAS challenge and used three colors for my image and three layers on my card. It's been far too long since I've played a challenge on Splitcoaststampers, and I hope to play again soon.

I colored my rose and added a little blue to soften it, and then I added this encouraging sentiment. I used Labels 28 for my focal image and layered it on the coordinating A2 Devine Eloquence die on top of the pink card stock. I added gold with my Krylon pen to dress it up and then pierced around the top layer.

As I worked on this card Monday, I thought about my dear dad whose birthday it was...he would have been 91. And I have to say, it was a hard day. I still miss him very much after 15 years (it sure doesn't feel like that long ago). He was dearly loved -- he loved people and had a smile that would make anyone smile back! But most of all, he loved the Lord and had great faith, which gives me the true hope of seeing him again one day. A dear friend recently lost her mom, and I am praying that she too is comforted by this precious Scripture passage.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
-- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought or question, and I hope you have a wonderful week! And warm hugs to all...spring is here!

Blessings,

Stamps:  Old Tea Rose, Anemones (Flourishes) 

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), White (PTI), Pretty in Pink (SU)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Labels 28 and Devine Eloquence dies (Spellbinders), Glue n' Seal adhesive, piercing tool

Techniques: Paper-piercing

Card Size:  A-2
Copics used: BG000, RV00, RV02, RV11, RV21, RV14, YG13, G24, G94

Power Poppy Instant Gardener - March Release

Hello, sweet friends, and welcome to the Power Poppy Instant Garden Digital Release for March, the monthly digital stamp collection from Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley. You can buy, download, print, and color the digi images - in an instant - today!

I am delighted to share this month's digital release and will simply share Marcella's wonderful inspiration notes...it says it all far more beautifully than I could.

This image features awakening daffodils and twirling foliage in a tangle of periwinkle (Vinca minor), with a roly poly snail. A "just because" sentiment (with a transparent background) shares the daffodils' twirling sensibility!

You all may know from past blog posts and chit-chat that I am a big admirer of daffodils. I have planted many varieties in my garden through the years, and some of them are nice enough to return each spring (when I haven't let other plants overtake their space...). Meanwhile, my mom, Susan, is a true daffodil devotee. She is a member of the American Daffodil Society and has planted gajillioins of varieties all over the yard from bulbs she has tracked down with "daffodialaholic" desire from her various sources. Each spring, she calls me to come over and "cut a ton and make big bouquets!" and I always oblige (who wouldn't?). They come in many shades of yellow, cream, and white with the most delicious colors for the "cup" - apricot, pink, salmon (of course, yellow, white, green). The differences are subtle but really quite dreamy to play with.

Look at these delightful daffodils, periwinkle, and wonderful little snail - the new digital stamp release called Dancing with Daffodils.

Having a love of daffodils, I decided to break out and start manipulating this digital image to show how versatile it is with just the daffodils...what can I say...I love technology. So you might say that I went out to Marcella's "garden" and gathered a bouquet of daffodils! I used GIMP (the free photo-editing software), but you can also use Photoshop. Both Julie Koerber and Allison Cope have shared great tutorials to take out the mystery of working with digitals...using Photoshop, Word, and GIMP. Be sure to visit these wonderful tutorials, and don't be shy about asking questions:

I Bought a Digital Stamp...Now What?

Digital Stamps...Part Two

When I saw these daffodils, I thought of how "friendly" they are...growing together and seeing new friends added each year as new bulbs are planted. So I decided to digitally "mask" the daffodils and put three together (more about that below). After adding the perfect sentiment from Camellias, I colored my daffodils with a darker "cup" and added some blue highlights to match my card stock. Who doesn't love blue with yellow? Then I used the main die from A2 Filagree Delights to cut out my focal image, fussy cutting around the oval, and colored the edge with Copic marker B41. Since I wanted to pop the decorative die over the blue card stock, I used two die cuts from the main Filagree Delights die and glued them together to give them some body and adhered to my blue card stock, used Perfect Layers for an even mat, and adhered it all to my card base. And once again, this is a mailable card - yay!

So how did I make my "masked" Power Poppy bouquet? I opened my Dancing with Daffodils image with GIMP, immediately renamed the temporary file "Daffodil Bouquet Layer 01," flipped it horizontally for a mirror image, erased all but the masked piece I wanted (two daffodils), removed the background, cropped it, and saved it as a .png file. (Make sure you do not overwrite your purchased and copy-protected digital image.) Next I reopened the original Dancing with Daffodils image, renamed my temporary image "Daffodil Bouquet Layer 02," erased all but the left daffodil, removed the background, cropped it, and saved it as a .png file. These temporary mask files help us achieve what we do when using Eclipse masking paper to make masks for our physical stamps...one is the "digital" foreground image, and the other is the "digital" background image. [Note: This copyrighted image is designed by Marcella Hawley, and these temporary files are protected by the same copyright. So keep them in your personal library, and do not share them.] 

I could have used GIMP to "group" my bouquet of daffodils, but I like doing it in Word and think it is easier for beginning digital stampers. In Word, I dragged in each of the two "bouquet" pieces, resized them (be sure to hold down the Control key so you don't distort the image), and arranged them. I "sent back" the left daffodil and made it a little larger. Now I have two "masked" images from Dancing with Daffodils in Word to make my bouquet. I selected my digital sentiment and added it the same way. Once I had the sizes and shapes arranged the way I wanted, I grouped them (hold down the Control key and select each piece, then right click and select "group"). Now I can copy and paste this "group" to print out four on a page (having done all the creative work, I love to make more than one card). 

So now it's time to visit the rest of the amazing Instant Gardeners and to visit Power Poppy's website to get this new digital release - today (no shipping required)!

Broni Holcombe

Cheryl Scrivens <me>

Danielle Kennedy

Debbie Olson
Jennifer Dove
Rhea Wiegand
Marcella Hawley on the Power Poppy Blog

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought or question, and I hope you have a wonderful week! And warm hugs to all...spring is coming!

Blessings,

Stamps:  Dancing with Daffodils, Camellias (Power Poppy) 

Paper: Solar White (Neenah), White (PTI), Bashful Blue (SU)

Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, A2 Filigree Delights dies (Spellbinders), Glue n' Seal adhesive, 3M dimensional tape

Techniques: Digital Manipulation using GIMP and Microsoft Word

Card Size:  A-2
Copics Used:  Y02, Y11, Y21, Y23, Y28, YR12, YR20, YR21, YR30, E81, E84, G40, G43, G82, YG11, YG17, YG45, B0000, B41