Do it for the DADS!

Hello sweet folks! How's your week shaping up so far? Did you happen to catch Catherine's tutorial yesterday on making the most out of digital images? I have one word... WOW! If you haven't seen it yet, click HERE to "catch" the action and see what she masterfully whipped up!

I have to say her creation is serving as the inspiration for today's Creative Confetti! With her card, we are going to set a theme for the week to....

HOW TO PLAY: While the title suggests we're going to create for Dad, really any masculine cards will do! Let's show the men in our lives that we care enough to create the very best for them! And, if you have a dad you need a card for, you'll be ahead of the game when Father's Day rolls around on June 16th!

On to my creations! In honor of this challenge, I thought I would cue up a few of my "manly cards" to showcase a few different masculine stamp sets that Power Poppy has created over the years!

I made this one above for my brother-in-law who has a birthday around Father's Day -- so this little creation using Power Poppy's O Hoppy Day stamp set served as double duty! I also offered on the inside to buy him a beer! ;-)

This card above went to my hubby who used to be a gear head. In fact, we joke that my wedding ring is his old 1993 Harley Roadster, which I hate to say he sold in order to buy my ring. So you can see why Power Poppy's Move the Soul stamp set was a perfect way to honor my guy! :-)

This card above using Power Poppy's Play Ball stamp set was a Father's Day card a few years back. The kids decided to serve up a baseball-themed Father's Day and in addition to this card, we got family tickets for the minor league team here in town. It was a great day ... and it's a great set to take one of your guys out to the old ball game! Also, did you see a portion of this set was made into a digital stamp set called Baseball Vignette, with even more Father's Day sentiments! Click HERE to see!

So, do you have a guy in your life who could use a little handmade love? I sure hope so because I'd love to see your creation! After you finish up your card, don't forget to link it up using our linky below! Every entry is one more shot at a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop! 

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Because it's a brand new month, that means we get to dig into all the entries from last month and draw the winner for that $25 gift code! So, let's get to it!

After we threw all the virtual names into our hat, random.org mixed them all up and drew....

That means the winner is...

SHARON at RAINBOWS AND BORDEAUX!

If you want to take a peek at the winning creation, take a gander! Isn't it a beauty?

Sharon used French Lilac by Power Poppy and some Prismacolor Pencils with amazing results. I love that she made this one for her mom since purple is her favorite color. So sweet! Sharon, all you need to do is email us at bloom@powerpoppy.com and we will get that code right out to you! Happy Shopping! 

And there you have it folks! Some manly creations topped off with a springtime beauty! We can't wait to see what YOU create this month! 

Happy Stamping!

~Julie

a.k.a. The Creative Confetti Thrower! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I'm Looking Over .... a Good Vibe 4!

Hi-dee Ho happy stampers! Happy Friday to y'all! We are just days away from the day when the Luck 'o the Irish rules and everyone who isn't a little Irish worries that if they don't wear green, they might be pinched! Yes, that would be me. :-) I decided instead of honoring this wonderful day of the week with FIVE good vibes that I'd mimic that lucky little four-leaf clover and dish out FOUR good vibes to get you through your weekend spurts of creativity! 

ARE YOU READY? 

If you look above, you'll get a little teaser of some of the Power Poppy goodness that I plan to share with you all today! First up on our little trip through the blog-o-sphere is over to Gloria Stengel's place on the web where she colored up Power Poppy's Luminous Bouquet in such a dynamic way my jaw dropped! One extra special little tidbit as well -- Gloria has been coloring up one Power Poppy image each month since September and has some beauties that she shared just a few weeks ago. If you missed her post, you really need to click HERE to see for yourself! In the meantime, check out this beauty below! Look at the depth of that coloring and those absolutely fabulous bits of clover! Ahhhh... thanks Gloria! This is indeed a treasure!

You don't need me to tell you that Jennifer Dove is an absolute master at Copic Coloring. But, if for some strange reason, you didn't realize that, check this out sweet peeps! I mean, come on! Look at this hoppy bunch that Jennifer has going green! This little image is from Power Poppy's stamp set called O Hoppy Day! Being from a family who truly loves their craft beer, I say "cheers" to this one for sure! Since St. Patty's Day tends to revolve around green beer, I included this one just for funsies!

Cynde Whitlow pulled out the big guns i.e. her Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils to create this perky little pop of luck! What's awesome about Cynde's work of art? Not only did she use a digital stamp set that you can buy, download, print and color in a matter of minutes (Power Poppy's Wish You Luck digi), she has a video HERE to give you a step by step guide on coloring up your own bunch of lucky little clover leaves!

And for our last Good Vibe 4 this week, you need to join me for this week's Creative Confetti! At the center of it all is sending a little luck to those you love! Check out this week's challenge where you can mix a little luck and a little green to share good wishes with others!  For my creation, I used one of Power Poppy's brand new digis called Shamrock 'n' Roll, which I think is too darling for words with those sweet pops of clover and that darling little blossom at the center of it all!

And that, my friends, concludes our lucky little round up to get you in the Irish spirit of St. Patty's Day! So, I bid you farewell with a little love from the Bloomies, and this wee Irish blessing -- May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door!

Christine Okken

Julie Koerber

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for stopping by! We'll be back soon with more ways to inspire and WOW! ;-)

Happy St. Patty's Day!
~Julie

Inspire Me Monday: Coloring with ZIGs

Welcome to Inspire Me Monday!  I’m Allison Cope. Today I’ve gathered a variety of floral and other images stamps and were going to make a simple square card.  We’re going to be coloring in our images with ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers.

Come and join me at my desk and join along in the fun!

Click here for HD.

The gorgeous stamp sets that I used today included “Abundant Petals” (Maidenhair fern), “O Hoppy Day” (Wheat), “Succulent Singles” (2 Succulents), “Peony Muse” (Peony bloom & bud) and the “Cabbage and Kale” stamp set.

And here's a close up of all the different layers...

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope you enjoyed my card making process.  I'd love to hear what you think in the comment section below.

Happy crafting!

~ Ally ~


stamps: Power Poppy (Abundant Petals, O Hoppy Day, Succulent Singles, Peony Muse, Cabbage and Kale)

dies: Power Poppy (Abundant Petals Dies, Succulent Singles Dies,  Peony Muse Dies, Cabbage & Kale Dies), Catherine Pooler (Circle Dies) 
inks: Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps (Wicked Black), Catherine Pooler (Flirty Fuchsia, Sweet Sixteen), ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers 
sequins: Pretty Pink Posh (Sparkling Clear)
cardstock: Recollections (110# White)
other: Stickles (Star Dust)

Natural Wonders clear collection: Day 2!

Hello again! I sure hope you’re enjoying the Bloom Brigade’s awesome previews of my newest clear stamp collection. They’ve done an outstanding job with their cards, so much imagination put into each and every creation — we hope you find endless inspiration when you see them.

Today we have a rather cheeky set that incorporates the world-wide love of beer with a whimsical look at botany. Add in a few puns, and this may become a go-to set when a masculine card is needed. But of course it works for women, too, as you’ll soon see.

Quick reminder: Place an order on release day, September 15, and you’ll get a special discount!

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We introduced the largest image in this set last fall — the popular digi Hops and Barley. But we’ve expanded on it in the clear version, with lots of fun sentiments and accent images, plus a second focal image that can be colored up so many ways.... 

Introducing O Hoppy Day

We’ve taken a different approach with our beer-themed set, where the main focus are the ingredients that give ales, stouts, pilsners, and lagers their distinct flavors. Crazy to think that beer is just fermented plants, and some of those plants are quite decorative! Hops are the flowers from a hop vine, bringing bitterness, depth, and a range of fruity-citrusy flavors to beer. I happened to see one used as decoration outside a shop while visiting Brown County, Indiana last fall...

While Hops are vivid shades of green and yellow while fresh, they dry to warm toasty tones, perfect for fall. Hops are light and wispy, almost like tiny pinecones made of paper. In my drawing of them, I’ve gone a bit rogue and imagined a vine where Barley and Hops exist together — my own personal hybrid! It’s a great image to bring to life, with plenty of ways to add your unique spin.

Here is an interesting article about the “Botany of Beer” from Longwood Gardens, bookmark it for later!

A second focal image is an Imperial Pint glass — which you can color up to be as light or as dark as you want to go — it depends on the favorite beer of your intended recipient! Be sure to add some fluffy foam to the top, as you’ll see a few of our designers have done.

What’s really great about O Hoppy Day are the puns. We have several that fit inside a bottle cap stamp, and a few others to serve as focal sentiments. Wishing your dad a Hoppy Father’s Day will surely bring a smile to his face!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

See you tomorrow for DAY 3 of our sneak previews — where we bring you a set of vignettes that will have you doing a happy dance (at least I hope you will ... I do aim to please!)

xoxoxo,