Power Poppy Flower Challenge

Hello to you!  I finally made it back to the blog after a rather long, unplanned absence.  Everything is okay, but the spring garden and cleaning bug bit me and I got distracted.  I know better than to let card making go too long because the next thing you know I've gotten out of the groove and it's hard to find it again.

I was happy to see the Power Poppy challenge is back and Bloomie Christine has decided to make it a "Blossom Challenge".  Each month there will be a different theme but will always include flowers.  Players must use a Power Poppy stamp -- digi or clear.

These Love One Another May flowers were already printed up and sitting in my digi box.  Just add color.  I had cropped it quite a bit but not this much, sheesh.  A coloring failure (ahem) resulted in the necessity to excise one tulip in order to save the rest of the image.  Hence, all the flowers were cut very closely and glued on.  You can hardly tell in the photo, but it's more obvious in real life.

Coloring was done with Tombow markers and minimal use of my homemade blender pen on hot pressed watercolor paper.  I stenciled a brick background and added a sentiment from a retired Power Poppy clear stamp set.  The card is a mini-slimline at 3 1/2" x 6".

The Blossom Challenge at Power Poppy -- April Showers Bring May Flowers

I hope to see you here again soon.  Time will tell.  Have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Power Poppy Love One Another digital stamp, retired Power Poppy clear stamp sentiment, SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds  Paper:  Neenah white for card base, Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot pressed watercolor for image  Ink:  Printer for image, Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment, SU Going Gray for brick wall and splatters  Coloring:  Tombow markers with minimal blender pen  Other:  Frantic Stamper Old Brick Wall stencil

Rainbow Folk Hummingbird

Hello everyone!  Well, I didn't get to do as much in my stamp room this week as I'd hoped.  Sometimes there are just too many other things that come up... you know how that goes.  The week is not over, but the rest of the days are full.  However, I did manage to color something and, gosh, it sure does look bright.

 

The stamp set is Pinkfresh Folk Hummingbird -- just something I came across and loved when I was scrolling through the Pinkfresh site.  I stamped the flowers directly, but the hummingbird was cut with the coordinating die and popped up.  The flowers were watercolored with Stampin' Up! inks and the bird was colored with Tombow markers and my homemade blender solution.

The frame is just two Tombow marker colors -- a lime green and sort of a tropical blue scribbled onto a large acrylic block, spritzed with water, and then the frame was smooshed into it repeatedly.

I made this card with a number of challenges in mind:

• Double D - Birds.  Can be birds, bird nests, birdhouses, bird cages.  Bird stamps and dies are one of my many weaknesses.
• Colorful Options - Pretty Pink.  I tried to use more pink, but it just didn't look right, so I'm hoping my hummingbird represents a rainbow of color, which is the other option.
• Four Seasons - May Spring Challenge.  I believe this looks like spring.
• NBUS Challenge #38.  First time to ink up this Folk Hummingbird set.  Thank you for the challenge, Darnell!

I'm not good at playing multiple challenges, so this is a lot for me.

I sure do appreciate your visit and comments.  I know blogger has been eating a lot of comments lately and that's a sad thing because we all want to know when our friends stop by.  Wishing you good health and happiness!

Stamps:  Pinkfresh Folk Hummingbird  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, other white for card base  Ink:  Palette Noir (image), Memento Tuxedo Black (sentiment)  Coloring:  SU inks for watercolored flowers, Tombow markers and homemade blender for bird  Other:  Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Wildflower Bunch

Welcome to a new week here at Running With Scissors!  I hope all the lovely mothers out there received the special treatment you deserve on Mother's Day.  It was a very nice day at the Miller house and I was not neglected.  I even got extra smooches from Wally and LuLu.

I'm hoping to play in some challenges this week.  Today's card is for the Four Seasons May Challenge which is "Anything Goes Spring".  There's a mood board which you can see further down, and it inspired me to finally color this never-been-used Deep Red Wildflower Bunch.  I don't know if these can be considered spring flowers, but they sure are pretty!

I chose Copics on Neenah white for the coloring as I felt it would be easier with the detail.  There's a lot of sketchy shading in this stamp, which is one of the things that makes it so pretty once colored, but it can be hard to follow if the image is not crisply stamped.  Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah super smooth white gives a nice, crisp image.

I'm not sure a close up photo is value added, but an extra dose of pretty can't hurt... so here you go:

I mixed up different dies which are all listed in the recipe.  The circle is popped up.  The white fence in the inspiration photo led me to the white die cuts.  I have a weakness for lattice so I used one of my old favorites.

Four Seasons May Challenge - Anything goes spring

NBUS Challenge #38 -- My Wildflower Bunch is a first time use.  I believe it's been in the basket less than a year, so not as long as many of my other poor, neglected NBUS.

Enjoy yourselves this week and I hope you find plenty of reasons to smile.  Sending hugs to all!

Stamps:  Deep Red Wildflower Bunch, Lawn Fawn Wavy Sayings  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80 & 110 lb, years old CTMH Summer Cloud Blue  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Joy Crafts Square Frame, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers, Lawn Cuts Fancy Wavy Banners, Scotch branch foam mounting tape

California Poppies

Friday greetings, friends!  Today's card will wrap up the Rubbernecker for this week.  Next week, if stamping happens (and I'm pretty sure it will) I'll do something different.  However, I still have another week of Rubbernecker to share later.  I know!  I let things pile up, but this idea of sorting my NBUS by company and staying focused on one company at a time has really helped make a difference in the overflow of those baskets.

Today I'm using Poppies, which was another clearance item.  I did not have any sweet little poppies like this so was happy to add them to my collection.  They're  colored very simply with Tombow markers and blender.  The sentiment is also Rubbernecker, but one I've had for many years.

I did outside the box die cutting, then popped up and tied the ribbon.  Feeling good about using that ribbon.  No big bulky bow to hinder mailing, so this works for me.  The card base is vanilla on vanilla, with the layer partially embossed.

I'll be sharing my poppies at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #38 again today.  Pretty sure I'll never run out of NBUS no matter how hard I try!

I'll also share again at Can You Handle The Pressure?  I did not use the optional "pastels" twist, but the embossing is a prominent part of the card.  I really appreciate how this challenge has nudged me toward my embossing folders more often.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Enjoy your weekend!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Poppies, RN Just Because sentiment  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor, Cougar 100 lb vanilla, pale green Bazzill  Ink:  Palette Noir  Coloring:  Tombows and blender pen  Other:  Gingham ribbon, linen thread, Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls embossing folder, miscellaneous rectangle die, foam mounting tape

Fox with Hearts and Flowers

They say "to plant a tree is to believe in tomorrow", and I figure the same goes for making Valentines in May.  Purple Valentine hugs.

Continuing with the Rubbernecker cards, I'm using another of the fox critters I colored in April.  It was their first time out of the package and before I put the set away I colored the whole bunch with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits.  The heart paper is 110 lb printed cardstock, a nice weight for a simple card, and I had just the right shade of purple for the die.

Inside is a friendship sentiment from the Fox set, with the addition of a Valentine sentiment from an older SU set.  I decorated with more of the heart paper.

No challenges today.  Just me stamping.  I gave the foxes a good run and I'm happy about that.  Flowers coming Friday.  I hope to see you then!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Fox Set, SU Holiday Wishes (Valentine sentiment inside)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White for coloring, Park Lane 110 lb printed cardstock, Memory Box Wisteria  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits  Dies & other:  Poppy Scribble Daisy Heart Frame, Poppy Hugs Heart

Pastel Bird

Hi!  I'm back with another week of Rubbernecker.  I've seriously been having fun with these stamps.  Honestly, what gets into us that makes us wait so long to use our purchases?  You might be the rare person who gets right on them, but I know I'm not alone in my habits.  I'm trying to change my ways.

Today my Rubbernecker is in the sentiment and the dreamy background.  I've had the sentiment and leaves for a while, but the flower is relatively new and not used till now.  I don't do much with silhouette stamps, so I danced around this one for a while and then I found my way.

The background is the Versamark resist technique.  I stamped on glossy white cardstock with Versamark ink, let it set for a day while I was busy doing other things, then came back and blended the inks over top.  The pastel shades gave me a very soft and delicate background for the Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch, which is also being used for the first time.  Colors and other details are listed in the recipe below my signature.

Two challenges today:

Can You Handle the Pressure?  Card must use an embossing folder, and their optional twist this time is pastels.  I embossed the entire Blush Blossom card with a Wicker Weave folder, then swiped the front with a white pigment pad to make the color even more soft and sweet.

I'm also sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge #38 because my Rubbernecker flower and the bird & branch die set are first time use.

I'll be back soon.  Happy crafting!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Smiles and Thinks of You sentiment, Silhouette Flower #4, Rubbernecker Leaves (name?)  Paper:  Glossy white, textured semi-gloss white, SU Blush Blossom, Neenah 110 lb white for bird and branch  Ink:  Versamark, SU Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, white pigment ink (to lighten card base), Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment  Dies:  Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles (image panel), Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets  Other:  Cuttlebug Wicker Weave embossing folder, gold cord