Introducing… So Grateful!

Today is our final day of our fabulous Power Poppy reveal! Today’s new stamp contains everything you need to send out stampy creations to those that mean the most to you… your family and friends!  I know we all have those people in our lives that mean the world to us and now you’ll have a stamp set to use to let them know how much you appreciate them!

Introducing… “So Grateful”!




As soon as I saw the large Dahlia in the beautiful bouquet in this stamp set, I knew I had to make a bold and bright statement with it…


I even managed to add some dimension to the large orange Dahlia… I paper pieced it and added some Olba glue underneath the pieces to help hold them up.  This image is perfect for this technique.

 Now… check out what the rest of the Bloom Brigade has in store for you...



Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Tosha Leyendekker
Power Poppy Blog


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new stamp sets that we’ve revealed over the last three days.  Join the Bloom Brigade tomorrow for one final gander at the 3 new stamp sets!  They officially go on sale in the Power Poppy Shop tomorrow

~ Ally ~

Sponsored byPower Poppy
 
Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (So Grateful)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Stampin’ Up! (Melon Mambo)
patterned paper: BasicGrey (PB&J)
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Clear Wink of Stella Pen
die:  Simon Says Stamp! (Stitched Squares, Stitches Circles)
sequins: Verve Stamps
ribbon:  Offray
other:  thread.

Introducing… Well Played!

Well all you retro-lovin’ stamp fans, today’s new clear stamp reveal is right up your alley!  Today’s Day 2 of Power Poppy’s stamp reveal and do we have a humdinger for you today!

Without further adieu, introducing… “Well Played”!

This groovy set features some equipment that some of us haven’t seen since I was a teenager or younger.  I’m sure if you showed some of the fun images on this stamp set to your young children or grandchildren, thy wouldn’t even know what they were!!!  Scary huh!?!?

So I went a little retro with my card and created a fun water colour rainbow effect to put my pencil coloured image on to!  I just think it’s rockin’ if I do say so myself!

I added some Glaze Pen to some of the details of the record player for a little bit of shine…

Now… check out what the Bloom Brigade designer’s have in store for you...


Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
Power Poppy Blog


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!

~ Ally ~
 
Sponsored byPower Poppy
 
Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Well Played)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Recollections Black Cardstock, Strathmore 140lb Water Colour Paper
patterned paper: BasicGrey (Kneehighs)
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black), eeBoo Pencil Crayons, Sakura Glaze Pen
die:  Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles)

paints: Yarke Moist Watercolors, Delta Acrylic Paint
sequins: CraftMedley.

Introducing… Happy Crabapples!

It’s that time of the month… time to reveal some brand new fabulous clear stamps sets for Power Poppy! Today begins Day 1 of our journey into the reveal of our newest stamp collection, fondly called “Color Me Grateful”!  This collection this month consists of three extremely beautiful stamp sets and our first one is… Introducing… Happy Crabapple!


For my card today, I chose to feature the two smaller "pruned" pieces and one of the touching quotes included in this stunning stamp set.

Here’s a little close up of the added bit of sparkle and shine…

For today's card I used the Splitcoaststampers newest card sketch, SC551.  Click here for more details!

Now… check out what the rest of the extremely talented Bloom Brigade designer blogs have in store for you with sweet stamp set...

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
Power Poppy Blog

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored byPower Poppy

stamps: Power Poppy (Happy Crabapples)
cardstock: Neenah Solar White, MFT (Limeade)
dies: MFT (Cross Stitched Rectangles)
trims: Micheal’s Craft Store
inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Clear Wink of Stella
sequins: Pretty Pink Posh (Sparkling Clear)
patterned paper: MFT (Plaid Patterns 6x6).

Let’s Get Your Drink On!


It’s the last day of our tour of California over at StampNation!

As part of vacationing, you get an opportunity to check out all of the local food while staying in the area.  One of the most beautiful places of California, which I have had the honour of driving through, is the Napa Valley.  It’s beautiful lush valley produces the most beautiful grapes for world class wines of all kinds.

Now, myself, I am not wine drinker (sorry Cali!) but I do enjoy a nice cool glass lemonade, especially pink lemonade so I chose that drink to inspire my card creation today.  can you guess which card is mine...
Don’t forget to check out the other six cool challenges for our virtual California adventure.  You still have until August 5th to create, share and earn a draw ticket to one of fabulous sponsored prize packages from Ellen Hutson and our mystery sponsor, which Catherine Pooler has revealed it today!  For more details, check this out!

Happy vacationing everyone!

~ Ally ~

California Vacation

Howdy all!  We’re at Day 6 of our week long virtual California Vacation over at StampNation!
Today we’re celebrating in San Francisco and it’s all about using lots of colour!  Join me and the Dream Team for today challenge.  Here’s a quick sneak peek of the creations.

I’m also sharing a video on how I created my fun Distress Inks card…

Yesterday we went to the San Diego Zoo…
Saturday we visited Alcatraz…

And on Friday, we rocked the Hollywood Boulevard.

Catherine has revealed the LAST CLUE in our secret sponsorship game.  Have you checked them all out?  Do you have any guesses yet?  This is one fabulous sponsor!!!

If you haven’t checked out StampNation for yourself, you should!

Have a great Monday everyone!

~ Ally ~

Introducing… Hollyberries & a Sale!

Today we have brand new digi stamp being released today Power Poppy! Introducing…. “Hollyberries”!

This little holiday beauty is actually on sale today… and today only for HALF PRICE!  So don’t wait… get your hands on it right away!!!  Plus all of the Happiest Holiday Stamps are 20% off today!!!

I used a very simple card design today to show off that beautiful Hollyberries image.

To achieve my back ground, I first coloured the back ground using a Copic B93.  Then I added shadows underneath the berries and leaves using B99.   Then I coloured over the entire back ground again with B97.  Then I took my Colorless Blender (Copic 0) and just adding dots of blender solution to make the blotchy back ground.  I always create my back grounds before colouring my images.


Now… check out what the rest of the amazing Bloom Brigade designer blogs...




Allison Cope – you are here!
Cheryl Scrivens
Christine Okken
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan 
Tosha Leyendekker
Power Poppy Blog


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!


~ Ally ~
 

Sponsored byPower Poppy

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Hollyberries)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock
patterned paper: BasicGrey (25th and Pine)
ink: Copic Markers
gold pen: Sakura Pen-Touch

other:  gold string, thread.

Minty Mittens

Happy Friday everyone!  It’s Friday and time to share another fabulous Power Poppy creation along with my fellow Bloom Brigade.

Now I have another frosty creation for you just like my winter inspired tutorial found HERE on the Power Poppy Blog today.

But there’s a great reason why I’m showcasing Christmas cards this month… it’s because we have a clear stamp sale coming TOMORROWYup!  20% off of all of the stamps included in the Happiest Holiday Collection! That’s 8 stamp sets on sale and just in time to start thinking about your holiday card creations.  Make sure to take advantage of this sale as it is a ONE DAY ONLY sale!  So get shopping!

One of the sets on sale tomorrow is the “Bough Wow Wow” stamp set!  It’s friggin’ adorable and includes this cute little hanging mitten wreath…

I just adore a holiday card with a non-traditional colour scheme don’t you!?

Now… check out what the rest of the extremely talented Bloom Brigade designer blogs have in store for you...

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Power Poppy Blog


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored byPower Poppy
 

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Bough Wow Wow)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, MFT (Grapesicle), MFT Vellum
patterned paper: Doodlebug Designs (Frosty Friends)
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Versamark, Copic Markers
die:  My Favorite Things (Cross Stitched Rectangles)

embossing powder: Zing! (Powder)
sequins: CraftMedley
glitter:  Martha Stewart
other:  thread.

Let's Go to the Beach!

Hi everyone! Today on our StampNation California Vacation we are headed to the Beach.

Let's head to the beach, and soak up some sun. It's going to be a fun day of playing in the ocean, napping on the sandy shore and playing at one of the gorgeous California beaches.

Here is a peek of the DT's cards.


We would love to have you join us on our virtual vacation!
 

Click here to learn more & join StampNation now!

Thank you for visiting and have a great day!

~ Ally ~

California... Here We Come!

Howdy all!  Today’s the first day of StampNation’s California Virtual Vacation

Each day for the next week, Catherine and the Dream Team will be issuing a new California inspired challenge.  Along the way, we’ll be visiting all kinds of cool spots in California where we’ll be pulling cool challenge ideas to get you creating and sharing with us!

California is known of course as the Golden State and that's where our first challenge begins…. GOLDYou need to add GOLD to your card or project!

So for my card today, I used some cool gold paper that I die cut and added to the top and bottom as well as heat embossing a golden sentiment…
My card today features the detailed  “Poppies” stamp set from Power Poppy.  I first die cut the curve of my white cardstock and stamped the poppy image multiple times along the bottom edge of the curve.  Then I used my Copics to colour it in and some Copic Blender Solution to “dot” and push back some of the colour.  I just love how this effect turned out!

Here’s a quick close up…

I also incorporated this week’s Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge into my card.  This week’s challenge SC550 was to actually use one of the SCS sketches between SC500 & SC549 and I chose SC534:

Here’s a little sneak peek at what the SN Dream Team has created for today’s challenge…
And here another sneak peek at some of the amazing creations our Dream Team is sharing this week...
We are lucky enough to have Ellen Hutson sponsoring our event along with another Mystery Sponsor.  Hmmm.... who could it be... and what have they got in store for a prize?!?!  Catherine will be providing clues all week long...

I hope you liked my card!  I’ll be sharing lots more inspiration this week for our StampNation California Vacation.  I sure hope you’ll join us!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored byPower Poppy
 

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Poppies)
cardstock:  Recollections White Cardstock, Bazzill
golden paper: WorldWin
ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Versamark 
die:  Spellbinders (A2 Curved Borders 1)
embossing powder: Micheal’s Craft Store.

“Wild Cards: 21 Techniques with Favorite Supplies” Review

I was given an opportunity to check out a brand new class from Craftsy this week called “Wild Cards: 21 Techniques with Favorite Supplies” hosted by Catherine Pooler.

So here’s a review of the class for those of you who are interested.

First of all, if you are new Craftsy, it’s a pretty cool place for those people who like to craft.  It offers numerous on-line classes for not only paper crafters but for people that crochet, knit, quilt, sew and much, much more.  It offers a variety of beginner, intermediate and advanced style courses of many kinds. It’s a great place to learn a new skill or brush up on an old one!

Instruction:  I have to say, Catherine Pooler, is just one of those people who could put a smile on anyone’s face.  She is real and funny and a great teacher.  She is concise in her teacher skills but admits to her failures (as we all have experienced in paper crafting).  She was upbeat and positive and was willing to laugh along with herself.  A fine teacher for sure.

Lessons:  The on-line class, “Wild Cards: 21 Techniques with Favorite Supplies”, is split into 7 lessons.  Each lesson is further split into mini lessons and each step of the video is clearly split into its subsequent class techniques. There is a lot more than 21 techniques in this class!!!

Some of the lessons include how to:
  • heat emboss
  • use a stencil
  • use embossing paste
  • second generation stamp
  • and much, much more!
Some of the products that are highlighted include:
  • Versamark, dye, distress and pigment inks
  • die cutting tools & Stick It Paper
  • glossy accents & stencils
  • and a new product called Ferro Paste, plus many more!
The on-line forum allows you to watch the lessons as your own pace and stop and review videos at any point.  It even has a 30-second review feature when you may want create along with the video or are making notes.

Questions & Feedback:  If you have questions, there is a forum specific to each lesson to ask away and you can also review what other people have asked as well.  You can get feedback from not only the instructor but your classmates too!

You can also share your projects for a quick critique in the classes’ gallery. See how other have interpreted the lessons and see what kind of cool stamps and inks everyone else is created with. 

Cost:  This course is originally priced at $30.76 and even without the discount right now ($15.37) I think it is still worth the money to view all the fun techniques Catherine shares in her videos.  I'm sure most seasoned paper crafters would learn something new.

Conclusion:  Overall, this class is fantastic!  It’s well worth the money spent especially if you are relatively new to stamping and need a few ideas as what products to purchase first and how you might use them.  Catherine is a fun and up-beat instructor and makes each technique look easy and fun to try.  I give this class 5 thumbs up out of five!

If you’d like to purchase this Craftsy class, click here for a 50% discount! Woohoo!!!

Ranunculus Love

Happy Friday! Today the Bloom Brigade and I are showcasing the newly released digital stamp set… Ranunculus!
This digital bouquet comes with an additional sentiment; “Sending Peace”.

For most of my floral cards, I always Google the blooms to check out what colours they tend to come in and get an idea of what shade of green their stems and leaves are.  So for today’s card, I was inspired by this stunning bouquet I found initially on Pinterest (gotta love that site!!)…
Source

Aren’t those swirled shades of deep pinks and glorious purples delightful?  Sigh…

So here is my card inspired by this image…
I watercoloured the image using a variety of water based inks.  It's not my most favourite card by any means - I desperately need some creative mojo.  Do you have any of that n hand at all?

For the sentiment I chose to use one from the clear stamp set “Best Day Ever” stamp set instead.

Now… check out what the rest of the extremely talented Bloom Brigade designer blogs have in store for you...



Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Power Poppy Blog



Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored byPower Poppy


Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Ranunculus, Best Day Ever)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, MFT (Razzle Berry)

patterned paper: MFT (Dots & Stripes Sorbet)
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black, Grape Jelly), Ranger Distress (Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint),  Stampin’ Up! (Rose Red
die:  My Favorite Things (Cross Stitched Ovals)

trim:  Micheal’s Craft Store
twine: Darice.

We’re Going on Va-cay!

Every quarter at StampNation, we have a Virtual Event….and it’s just about time for our next one.
Our Virtual events include daily challenges, videos, inspiration projects from the Dream Team and a few prizes!

The beauty of this vacation is that you can travel with us no matter where in the world you live!  Last year we went to the beach for vacation.

This year we are going to CaliforniaWOOT!!!


We would love to have you join us on our virtual vacation!

Click here to learn more & join StampNation now!
 
Thank you for visiting and have a great day! 

~ Ally ~

Christmas in July with a Twist

Howdy all everyone!  I’m back from the land of Scout camp.  I was honoured to join another local Scouting groups summer camp wit their Cub group to add another leader for their 5 day event.  Let me tell ya, camp makes you tired; long sleepless nights, warm campfires, yummy food and fun activities with all the kids.  I’m glad to be home.

This week StampNation is celebrating “Christmas in July” with a twist; a colour twist!  Here’s a peek at all the Dream Team card creations this week.
And here’s a little bit more of a close up of my own card creation with Purple Onion Designs & WPlus9…
Lots of cuteness going on this week!

I’ve also incorporated the StampNation challenge into my Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch creation this week.  Check out this Christmas cutie…

He’s the shepherd & sheep from the SugarPea Designs collection, “Lost Without You” stamp set. The stamp set has been on my wishlist for awhile now and it finally arrived yesterday so I just HAD to ink him up right away!

To check out my card sketch this week, click HERE and come and play along!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope your summer is going along just dandy! 

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps: SugarPea Designs (Lost Without You)
cardstock:  Recollections White Cardstock, Flourishes
patterned paper: My Mind’s Eye (Merry Little Christmas)
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Sakura Glaze Pen
die: Pretty Pink Posh (Stitched Duos 2), WPlus9 (Landscape Border Dies).
 
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