Winter Blitz: Camellias

 Hello Power Poppy fans!  Welcome to Day 2 of our fabulous all digital December release!
Today we’re revealing the delicate “Camellia”!

Marcella has illustrated this stunning bloom and here’s what she’s said about this beauty..

"Jewels of the winter greenhouse, stars of Southern gardens, and the state flower of Alabama, Camellias are a symbol of passion, desire and refinement. I was inspired by the Camellias from the gorgeous collection at the Linnean House at the Missouri Botanical Garden."

For my card creation today, I wanted to keep it super simple and a single layer card!

I was inspired by a “candy cane” looking version of the bloom today…

Now, check out the beautiful digital stamp creations of the rest of my fellow Bloom Brigaders:

Allison Cope   - you are here
Christine Okken
Dina Kowal
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
Marcella Hawley on the Power Poppy Blog

Back tomorrow with a fabulous Power Poppy Hop and a chance for you to win the “Winter Blitz” release  just by leaving a comment!

Thanks for joining me today!

~ Ally ~


Sponsored by:  Power Poppy

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Camellias)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock
die cuts: Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles)
ink: Copic Markers, Copic Multiliner 0.5
other:  Pretty Pink Posh (sequins).

Bright Bold Birthday Azaleas

Hello Power Poppy fans!  It’s Friday and time to share another “Peep of the Week” creation!  Would you like to become the newest “Peep of the Week” too?  Check out the Power Poppy Blog and you could be showcased on the Power Poppy Blog too!

With December only days away, it’s considered ‘birthday month’ for my family.  In my immediate family of four, I am the only one NOT born in December!  Yup… crazy right!  A lot of my cousins and my nieces and nephews were born in December too!  It’s just one crazy month.
 
So with that said, I thought I’d share a birthday creation with you today.  This fun and whimsical card was created for my little sister.  She and her hubby live in Ontario so I don’t get to see them that often!

For my card creation, I used the sweetly scented “Azalea” stamp set plus I used the “Happy Birthday” greeting from the “Dynamic Duos: Peonies & Tulips“.

I first die cut the ticket stubs and then stamped my Azaleas using Memento’s “Tuxedo Black” ink.  Then I took a Copic Multiliner 0.5 pen and added some sketched double borders around the ticket shapes to make them stand out a little more.  Here is a close up…

DON’T FORGET about our BLACK FRIDAY SALE happening NOW!

Thanks for stopping in to check out my card today!  Don’t forget TOMORROW is the beginning of our December release and this month, all the images are Digital!!!  So you can instantly grab and create!

Now, check out what my fellow Bloom Brigaders have done today…

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Danielle Kennedy

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Azalea, Dynamic Duos: Peonies & Tulips )
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock
die cut shapes: Sizzix (Ticket Strip
ink: Memento, Copic Markers, Coopic Multiliner 0.5, Ranger Distress (Pumice Stone, Wild Honey)
patterned paper:  Graphic45 (French Country)
other:  Sakura Stardust Pen, Maya Road (acetate butterfly), Pretty Pink Posh (sequins).

That’s One POWERful Sale!

Have you heard?  Power Poppy is having its first official sale!

You know that stamp set you’ve had your eye on forever? Well, now’s your time to get it — and save 20%. Woo Woo Woo!

Power Poppy is offering 20% off all in-stock clear stamp sets in the store. Use the discount code: powerpop20 when checking out to receive the discount. Sale starts Friday, November 28 at 12:00 midnight - and ends at 11:59pm central time.

Sale is good for in-stock clear polymer sets only. Digital stamps and gift card purchases are not a part of this promotion. No rain checks, back orders, exceptions or extensions.

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

~ Ally ~

Peaceful & Purple

Hi stamp and sketch lovers!  It’s time for another fabulous card over at Splitcoaststampers this week!

I just love the new “O Holy Night” stamp set by Power Poppy!  It just screams (silently!) CHRISTMAS!!!

For this image, I coloured it in tones of sepia Copics and then added some shades of purple as a compliment to the design.  I think the purple makes everything pop just that little bit more… don’t you!?

 Here’s this week’s Card Sketch, SC516, for this week:

Come and join us today for a great card sketch challenge!

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (O Holy Night)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock, Stampin’ Up!, Bazzill
die cut shapes: Spellbinders (Create a Flake 5, Fancy Tags), Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles)
ink: Memento, Copic Markers
patterned paper:  Carta Bella (Warm & Cozyme)
other:  Wink of Stella Pen (clear).

Good Cheer Up in Here!

Howdy all!  And welcome to another edition of Power Poppy’s “Peep of the Week” Challenge!  If you would like to join in the fun this week, you can check out the challenge rules right here.

This week I’m showcasing one of our newest release stamp sets called “Merry Littles”.  This stamp set is jammed packed full of sweet holiday images like mistletoe, holly, a Santa hat and much, much more!  So very useful!

I started my die cutting my star shape, air brushing on some Copic E53 for some colour and then stamping the sweet little Christmas tree with Versamark ink and added some silver embossing powder.  Add added some cool sparkly silver string loop de-looped behind the star.

I used some Memento “Rich Cocoa” ink for the die cut scalloped circular sentiment, also from the “Merry Littles” stamp set and added a vellum snowflake behind that!

For my vellum band, I first tore the edges of the vellum so the edges appeared more jagged and nature looking.  Then I took that little Christmas tree image again, using Versamark, and stamped them back to back all along its length.  I also added a touch of Copic R17 to all the little ornaments of the Christmas trees.

I couldn't resist using this great sketch from Freshly Made Sketches today for my card design:

I also took some colour & shape inspiration from the photo aspect of this week's Fusion Card Challenge.  I used the silver colour from the star and bells, the creamy colour from the music paper and the star shape too!

The very first Power Poppy Sale is coming, which will run for a full 24 hours on Black Friday!

Stay tuned to our Blog for the discount code.

Happy shopping to come everyone!



Now… off you go on a hop through all of the Bloom Brigade blogs...

Allison Cope – you are here!
Danielle Kennedy
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Happy hopping everyone!  Come and play along!  We'd love to see your Power Poppy creations!

~ Ally ~


Sponsored by:  Power Poppy

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Merry Littles)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock, Recollections, Bazzill, Avery Elle White Woodgrain Cardstock, Vellum
edge punch:  EK Success
die cut shapes: Spellbinders (Stars, Snowflake Wonder, Splendid Circles), Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles)
ink: Memento, Versamark, Copic Markers, Ranger Distress Ink
embossing powder:  PK Glitz
patterned paper:  Echo Park (Christmas Time)
other:  Wink of Stella Pen (clear), silver string.

Ornamental Creations

Howdy all!  Today I’m over on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog sharing a super fun and EASY Christmas card.

I’m featuring the gorgeous papers and embellishments from the My Mind’s Eye’s newest holiday collections, “Joyous”  and “Sleigh Bells Ring”.

Come on over and check out my holiday card craft right HERE!

Save the date - Friday Dec. 5 - SCT will be releasing the Winter issue for free download and free viewing online. 

Happy holiday card making!
~ Ally ~

150 Challenges at StampNation!

Over at StampNation we are celebrating our 150th challenge!!  WOOHOO!  And we’re celebrating in NEON STYLE…

Imagine Crafts has sponsored the entire Dream Team and they’ve also got a fun prize for you to win this week too!

So come on out and play along with our fun challenge this week for your chance to win!!

Not a member of StampNation, maybe you should be!

~ Ally ~

Gift Giving Fun & a Tutorial at StampNation!

Today over at StampNation I am showing everyone how I made this cute little Fold Over Box Card with a video tutorial.

My card/box today features the cute stamp set “Candy Cane Kisses” by Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps! And I'm entering it in their Wednesday challenge...

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps: Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps (Candy Cane Kisses)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock, Recollections, Bazzill
patterned papers:  Doodlebug Designs (Frosty Friends)
inks: Copic Markers, Memento (Grape Jelly)
other:  Stickles, Wink of Stella Pen.

Purple Mittens and Teal Boughs

Welcome to another fabulous Power Poppy's “Peep of the Week” challenge.  If you are new to our challenges, make sure you check out the Power Poppy Blog for all the creative details, right here.

If you don’t already know, purple, is one of my favourite colours!  And I try and use it whenever I can.  I was in need of a gift for my son’s teacher today as today is my son’s last day at his current school.  He’s off to a new school on Monday to begin a new way of learning and dealing with his emotions.  So for today’s challenge, I chose to showcase some purple on my cute little Fold Over Box Card.

I used the darling new stamp set “Bough Wow Wow” as my focal image for my box. 

Here’s a close up of my little box…

And when you open it up, it reveals a little box full of chocolate treats.

If you look closely, there’s a little “Thanks Bunches” stamped in the corner.  That’s one of the cute sentiments from the “Lavender” stamp set.



If you are looking for another fun tutorial for giving those GIFT CARDS for this Christmas.  Why not check out my Power Poppy tutorial on making a simple envelope closure gift card holder HERE.
 


Now make sure you play along with us over at Power Poppy!  Now, take a gander through all of my fellow Bloom Brigade blogs…

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Tosha Leyendekker

Happy hopping everyone!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored by:  Power Poppy

Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Bough Wow Wow, Lavender)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock, Recollections, Bazzill
patterned papers:  Doodlebug Designs (Frosty Friends)
die cut shapes: Spellbinders (Labels 22)
inks: Copic Markers, Memento (Grape Jelly)
other:  Stickles.

Think Negative?!?

This week the Dream Team over at StampNation is inspired to create using NEGATIVE SPACE!  Yup… this one was actually quite hard for me because I have a hard time sometimes leaving negative space on my creations.

Here’s a little sneak peek of the Dream Team at work…

Can you guess which one is mine?

Don’t forget that the A Very Trendy Holiday Card Class 2.0 is in full swing!  You can purchase this class right here.  It’s packed full of inspiring card using all of the fabulous trends in card making this season.  You don’t want to miss it!!!

Hope you’ll come along and play along with us!  Not familiar with StampNation… why not check us out!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

~ Ally ~

Pink & Puppies

Howdy stampers!  It’s Wednesday and today is a crazy day in my crafty world.  First off, we have a brand new challenge over at StampNation going up today!  Here’s a little sneak peek from some of the Dream Team members…

Can you guess what this week’s challenge might be?  Hmmmm….

And second off, it’s Wednesday and at Splitcoaststampers, we have another fabulous sketch for you today!  Here it is!

And here’s the card I created for this week’s sketch…

I changed up the stars in the sketch to hearts and featured this retired stamp set from There She Goes stamps.

And to follow along with the Puppies theme, here is another card I made last night to give with out Cub Scout donation of dog & cat food for a local animal rescue organization.  It’s one of my favs… and so simple to make!

I hope you all have a fabulous Hump Day!

~ Ally ~

25 Days of Christmas Tags & a Giveaway!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  We had quite a few centimeters of snow on the weekend that is stuck on the ground.  Sadly enough, this is not our first snow fall of the season.  We had our first one back the very first week of September in Southern Alberta!!!!

This year, along with some of my fabulous StampNation Dream Team members, I get to share a fun Christmas tag with you today!  We’re all being featured as part of Tracey McNeely’s “25 Days of Christmas Tags” event on her blog, “My Creative Opinions”!

I chose to have some fun layering some stamps and images on my tag.

Believe it or not, I started with a good ol' regular manila tag from Tim Holtz for this creation!

Here are the basic steps to achieve my back ground:

a)  Stamp a musical note back ground using black ink across the entire length of the tag.  Heat set ink.
b)  Add a wash of watered down white acrylic paint.  Let dry.
c)  Ink up the branch mask with black ink and use it as a stamp for the branches.  Colour in the image with Copic multi-liner pens.  Heat set.
d)  Add another wash of watered down white acrylic paint.  Let dry.
e)  Add some blue inks to the sky of the tag using an applicator sponge.  Let dry.
f)  Lay the “Falling Snow” stencil over the tag and apply 3D Molding Paste over the stencil.  Pull of mask and let dry.
g)  Mist with Glimmer Mist.
h)  Add coloured and fussy cut stamped images from Clearly Besotted’s “In Stitches: Christmas”.  Stamp the greeting at the bottom.

I wanted my little critters to be balancing one on top of the other for fun!

Here’s a quick peek at all the glimmer and shine on my tag today too:

 
AND A GIVEAWAY…
Tracey is offering up some prize packages to some lucky commenters today!  YOU… yes, YOU can win one of the prize packages from our lovely sponsors just by leaving a comment below today!!!  More information about our lovely prize packages can be found on Tracey's blog.

Reverse Confetti
Clearly Besotted
CAS-ual Fridays

Neat and Tangled
Paper Smooches

Lawn Fawn

I will be drawing at random, one lucky commenter to receive one of the prizes supplied to Tracey. 

All you have to do to win is…
Leave me a comment telling me (also tell me your first name & leave me a way to contact you!) …

If you were going to make tags for your holiday gifts,

what would YOU put on your tags &

as far as design, what characters or greenery or 
designs would you put on them!?

Good luck!  A winner will be selected and posted here on my blog on Wednesday November 26th.

Here is a recap of the previous years' 25 Days of Christmas Tags on Tracey’s Pinterest Boards.  Click the year to take you to her yearly creations:

2013               2012                2011

Thank you Tracey for the wonderful opportunity to share some fun tags with you & your followers this year!  I can’t wait to see what she has in store for you for the rest of 2014!  Enjoy!

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Clear Besotted (In Stitches: Christmas, Building Backgrounds)
inks:  Memento (Tuxedo Black, Cantaloupe, Tangelo), Ranger Distress (Broken China, Faded Jeans), Stampin' Up! (Coastal Cabana), Copic Markers (B000, B00, BG0000, BG45, BG49, YR12, YR15, YR16), Copic Multi-liner Pen 0.5
stencils: Memory Box (Garden Bare Branches), Simon Says Stamp! (Falling Snow)
3D Molding Paste:  American Traditional Designs
cardstock:  X-Press It White Cardstock
mist:  Tattered Angels (Iridescent Gold)
tag: Tim Holtz Manila Tag
ribbons:  May Arts
button:  Queen & Co
other:  white acrylic paint.

The Happiest Holiday Hop with Power Poppy!

It’s official!  All of the latest Happiest Holiday Stamp Collection sets are on sale in the Power Poppy Shop! 

This month’s new releases include:

Bough Wow Wow

O Holy Night

Merry Littles

Heaven & Nature Sing

But there are 4 other stamp sets in the Happiest Holiday Stamp Collection:  Bottlebrush Holiday, Frosted Gingerbread, Joyful Arrangements and Poinsettia. And each one is striking beautiful in its own unique way.

Today I’m going to showcase the beautiful “Merry Littles” and the “Bough Wow Wow” stamp sets together.

I began by stamping my bough onto X-Press It Cardstock using Memento “Rich Cocoa” ink and colouring it with my Copic Markers.  Then I stamped the “Holiday Hello!” greeting using Memento “Lady Bug” ink.  I even added some Stickles to make some of the piece sparkle…

Now… off you go on a little holiday hop through all of the Bloom Brigade blogs..

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Dina Kowal
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
Marcella on the Power Poppy Blog

Happy holiday hopping everyone!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored by:  Power Poppy


Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Merry Littles, Bough Wow Wow)
cardstock:  X-Press It Cardstock, Recollections
edge punch:  Martha Stewart
die cut shapes: Spellbinders (Pagemaps)
ink: Memento, Copic Markers, Ranger Distress Ink
embossing folder:  Cuttlebug
other:  Stickles, Iridescent String.

Join me at Simon Says Stamp! Today

Today I get to share a fun tutorial all about how to colour with the POINTILLISM technique and Copic Markers on the Simon Says Stamp Blog!

 I was so uber excited when Stephanie approached me about sharing this technique with her readers.   Thanks Stephanie… you made my day girl!

Now, click on over and check out my delicious card creation using the Simon Says Stamp exclusive stamp & die set called “Fruity Sweet”.

Hope you’ll come out and check out my tutorial!

~ Ally ~