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Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

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GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! It seems like forever since I’ve seen those of you who are local. Like many of you, we are sheltering in place and hoping that better (and sunnier) days will be here soon. Especially since our kitchen roof sprung a leak this morning in the midst of all this rain.

Sheltering in place is a lot like retirement, except that I have more toilet paper. And like retirement, I thought my house would be a lot cleaner now that I don’t get diverted by running errands or visiting friends. And I have even more time to craft….

However, the past few days it seems like nothing I’ve colored has turned out the way I wanted. I’ve torn up a lot of failed colored images. Some days are like that although I’ll admit that I’ve had several in a row now. So I decided to ditch my Copics for a few days (GASP!) and play with some other mediums.

As some of you know, I’m a frustrated watercolorist, but this seems like the wrong time to give that another shot. But I do understand Distress Inks — how they react with water and how the colors blend. So I pulled out a Power Poppy stamp set that I recently purchased and decided to see what happens.

Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

I stamped the image on Distress Ink Watercolor Paper using Versafine Clare ink. I immediately covered the ink with clear embossing powder and heat set the image. From there, I pulled out a water brush and a variety of Distress Inks and got to work. Since the image was embossed, I had little trouble staying within the lines so I could apply the color rather loosely. I smushed some ink onto my glass mat (a silicone mat works just as well) and picked up the color with the water brush. I had to play with the colors a bit because using the water brush diluted the ink. By using a combination of layers of color and varying the ratio of ink to water, I was able to get a variety of shades.

I also tried not to overthink the coloring. This was just meant to be a no pressure, easy going, and fun craft project.

Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

It’s a rainy, gloomy day here so hopefully this project brought some sunshine your way! Thanks for stopping by!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

PAPER: Neenah Solar White 110#; Distress Watercolor Cardstock by Ranger; Eat Cake from the
Party Animal Collection by PhotoPlay; Heavyweight Cardstock in Natural by My Favorite Things
STAMP: In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy
INK: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon, Candied Apple, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, Peacock Feathers, Shaded Lilac, Stormy Sky, and Brushed Corduroy
DIE: Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn
EMBELLISHMENTS: Nuvo Fine Detail Embossing Powder in Clear by Tonic Studios

Rowhouse Greetings | Splendiferous by Penny Black

Splendiferous by Penny Black

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings2 Comments

GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE! It’s a cold rainy day here so staying home and coloring is real easy to do.

I’m back today with a new card and a new coloring video featuring the new Splendiferous cling stamp by Penny Black. Once again, this card will be available as a kit from Photo Scraps. If you’re interested, give Tracy a call at 410-549-5187 and she’ll be happy to take your order and mail them out to you. I had enough design paper to make 19 kits so act fast if you want one!

I was inspired by a card made by one of my Power Poppy team mates. Cindy Lawrence was my Copic certification instructor and I always find lots of good tips and information on her blog.

Rowhouse Greetings | Splendiferous by Penny Black

The image was colored using Copic markers. I just used a portion of the full image. I’ve included a coloring video to show how it was colored.

For the banners, I taped together three of the dies from the Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banner Stax by My Favorite Things. After running them through my die cutter, I had a large banner frame, a smaller banner frame, and a solid banner. I stamped the image on the latter using my Misti stamping platform. I should note that the actual stamp is much larger than the banner so the resulting stamped image is only a portion of the original stamp.

To complete the card, I used a trick that comes in handy when I don’t have a solid card stock to match my color palette. I used the chisel tip of my R32 marker to apply two coats of color to the larger banner frame. I repeated the process using the G43 marker on the smaller banner frame. That way my banner frames were exact matches for the colors used in the stamped image.

I’ve included a video below to show how the banners were created and colored.

Music: Acoustic Breeze from Bensound. http://bensound.com

That’s all for now. I’m working one several projects at the same time, one of which is creating a video version of my Strike Up the Band class. More information on that shortly!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies

Paper: Hammermill Color Copy Cover 100#; Apron Strings from What’s Cooking Collection by Photoplay
Stamps: Splendiferous (*) by Penny Black; Summer Berries (*) by Power Poppy [Sentiment]
Dies: Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banner Stax by My Favorite Things
Copics: E50, YR00, R20, V20 (tulip combo 1); R11, R32, R35 (tulip combo 2); YG01, G40, G43, G46 (leaves & stems); V20 (cast shadow)

Rowhouse Greetings | Splendiferous by Penny Black
Rowhouse Greetings | Blue Poppies Perfectly Clear Stamps by Stampendous

March Demo Day – Photo Scraps

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GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! As you may already know, this month’s Demo Day event at Photo Scraps has been cancelled. However, you can still get your Demo Day fix! The store is remaining open as long as they are allowed and are limiting the number of people in the store at a time to 10 or less. Tracy and the gang are also offering curbside service so you can call the store in advance and they will pull your order and deliver it to your car. See the Photo Scraps announcement for details.

Photo Scraps
1213 Liberty Road | Eldersburg, MD 21784
phone: 410-549-5187 | web:  http://photoscrapsblog.blogspot.com/

For this month, I had three cards featuring the Blue Poppies and the Bunch of Blossoms stamps sets by Stampendous. Since I can be there with you in person, I’ve created a series of videos to show you how to color the images and instructions for completing the cards

CARD 1

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • The kit contains two white card stock rectangles. On the larger piece (i.e. the one WITHOUT the sentiment), color a 1/4″ border along all four sides using the B24 marker. Once complete, center and glue the smaller rectangle with the sentiment on top. This will create the blue border behind the sentiment layer.
  • Glue the combined layers to the front of the card.
  • Fussy cut the image. On the back, place foam dimensional squares. Adhere to front of card.

CARD 2

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • Place foam dimensional squares on the back of the image. Adhere to the larger white rectangle.
  • Adhere to front of card.

CARD 3

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • On the white rectangle card stock, color a 1/4″ border along all four sides using the R22 marker.
  • Place foam dimensional squares on the back of the image. Adhere to the larger rectangle. This will create the peach border behind the sentiment layer.
  • Adhere the combined layer to the front of the card.
Rowhouse Greetings | Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

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GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with another card featuring the Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher Digital Stamp Set by Power Poppy.

Actually, it’s relief that I have a card to show you today. I’ve been going through a bit of a dry spell – no card making mojo and I just wasn’t satisfied with anything I colored. So I went back to basics – I used X-Press It Blending Card instead of the Hammermill paper that I’ve been using of late. I stuck to a pared down color scheme (although it didn’t stop me from using a lot of markers!). Since I was using a digital stamp, I could enlarged the image instead of struggling with a tiny spaces to color.

Rowhouse Greetings | Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

I printed the digital stamp on X-Press It Blending Card. Since I didn’t want black lines, I changed the image color to gray and set the transparency at 30%. This lightened the lines enough that I could still see them, but they fade into the coloring.

I colored the image with Copic markers, using a two different green combinations so that the leaves would not all look alike. I stuck to a single combination of RV markers for the tulips and warm grays for the pitcher for simplicity.

Rowhouse Greetings | Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

I selected a sentiment from the Potted Primroses Clear Stamp Set by Power Poppy and stamped it with Versafine Clare ink. The image layer was cut using second largest die from the Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables set. I also used the largest die from the Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables set to cut a plain white piece of cardstock.

Rowhouse Greetings | Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

From there, I started layering my papers. I’m often asked about the adhesives that I use for my cards. When I first started, I used a variety of tape runners but I found the layers separating on some of my cards. Then tried out various glues because I like being able to wiggle my layers a bit if they don’t go down straight on the first try. Most of the liquid glues I tried warped the paper or caused it to buckle. Tracy at Photo Scraps introduced me to Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue and I’ve been using it ever since.

Rowhouse Greetings | Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy
Power Poppy Bloom Brigade

Allison Cope
Broni Holcombe
Christine Okken
Leslie Miller
Lisa Johansen
Gloria Stengel
Stacy Morgan

Hope you found some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110# (card base); X-Press It Blending Card by Copic; Party Patterns 6×6 Paper Pack by My Favorite Things; Tiny Check 6×6 Paper Pack by My Favorite Things
Stamps: Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher Digital Stamp Set by Power Poppy (image also available in the Loving Tulips Clear Stamp Set by Power Poppy); Potted Primroses by Power Poppy
Ink: Versafine Clare in Nocture by Tsukineko
Die: Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn (S | SP); Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn (S | SP)
Adhesive: Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
Copics: RV52, RV55, RV63, RV66, RV69, BV20 (tulips); YG03, YG17, YG21, B34 (leaf combo 1); G20, G24, G46 (leaf combo 2); W0, W1, W3, W5, BV20 (pitcher); BV00, BV04 (shadow) [DB]

Rowhouse Greetings | Spring Fairy Puddle by Mo's Digital Pencil

Spring Fairy Puddle by Mo’s Digital Pencil

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings3 Comments

GOOD AFTERNOON FRIENDS! This post is going to be short and sweet. I’m running errands before I head off to my parents’ house this afternoon. If it’s Tuesday, then it must be pizza day and we can’t miss that! When I’m not there, I have to pre-order their Tuesday pizza for delivery, but today, we’ll go out for our pizza fix.

I’m still playing around with some digital images from Mo Manning. Today’s project features the Spring Fairy Puddle digital stamp because who can resist coloring a fairy riding a frog? Obviously I can’t so I’ll just drop this here for your enjoyment!

Rowhouse Greetings | Spring Fairy Puddle by Mo's Digital Pencil

I toyed with the idea of creating some sort of water splash for the background. As many of you know, I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler so creating something free hand is definitely a bad idea. I often use pointillism to create backgrounds and decided that I could mimic water with shades of blue and blue green. So my frog got a watery background with no drawing required on my part.

Rowhouse Greetings | Spring Fairy Puddle by Mo's Digital Pencil

And on that note, I’m off! Can’t be late for pizza!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; X-Press It Blending Card by Copic; Prestige Cardstock in Cornflower by My Favorite Things
Stamps: Spring Fairy Puddle by Mo’s Digital Pencil; Grateful Heart by Penny Black
Ink: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko
Die: Zig Zag Rectangle Stackable by Lawn Fawn
Copics: V20, E50, E51, E11, E93 (skin); BV00, B0000, B000, B00 (hair); BV00, B000, B00, B01, BG10 (clothing); BV20, BV23, YG01, YG03, YG63, YG67 (frog); BV00, BV01 (frog’s eye); BV00, B000, B00, B01 (ribbon); V20, BG000, BG10, BG11, B000, B41, B45 (background)