Power Poppy Coupon

Happy World Card Making Day!  I'm probably in my stamp room right now.

Just a heads up:

Power Poppy coupon is good all the way through Oct. 14.  Enjoy!

The Fox and the Moth

The Fox and the Moth...  doesn't that sound like the title of an old timey fable?  I don't know what the moral would be, but I'm sure it would make a good story.  I grew up on fables and learned a lot from them.  They helped shape my character.  Is there anything remotely similar to fables for kids these days?

Well... in this case The Fox and the Moth is a brand new digital stamp at Power Poppy.  Sigh... you know I love the outdoors, the woods and wildflowers and furry creatures.

Did you know Marcella is doing a Digital Blitz this month?   Bunches of fabulous art to color!  Click here to see the newest offerings, but check back later, too, 'cause Marcella's been in the zone.  Dang, I want to color everything!

I printed this as large as an A2 card could hold and colored with Copics.  The cardstock is Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White.  Framed with Hero Arts Wood Frame (set of 4).

I'm going to hurry and do some more coloring now.  I also have other cards I'll be posting in the meantime.  See you again soon!

Hello Again

Welcome to Monday, friends!  This is the last of the Hello & Thanks cards for now.  I colored a whole batch of these stamped images while we were camping in July, so I feel I've given the set a good share of attention.  When it came time to put this one together I kept it very clean and simple.

A blush of color on the card base.  Pearl steam rising from the cup.

Fall stamping has begun in earnest --  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas...  I'll see you again soon.  Take care!

The Last of the Vacation Pics on Goldens and Garden

Covering Utah and back to Oregon.  Come visit me at Goldens and Garden.

Thank you!

Colorful Watercolored Veggies

The last card this week is a celebration of the harvest season.  It could be a Thanksgiving card or it could be any card.  Just look how colorful those veggies are!  Pretty as a bouquet of flowers.

With Gansai Tambi paints I watercolored Power Poppy's Farmer's Market Veggies on Arches 140 lb hot pressed paper.  Designer paper finishes the grocers kraft card base.  Did a little out of the box cutting of the image, and added no embellishments because I couldn't decide what would look best with it.


The next photo is just for fun.  It shows my very unglamorous coloring space.  I have no craft mat or glass mat, but the coloring table Rich made for me is tempered glass, so it cleans up nicely.  I like to clean it with 90% alcohol so even the Copic smudges come off.  See the white edge on the image panel?  That end was taped onto the watercolor paper before printing.  It's regular cardstock weight and it fools the printer into pulling the heavier watercolor paper through.  Probably most printers will print on WC paper just fine, but won't grab it without being tricked.

I don't tape down my image because I like to turn it every which way when I'm coloring.  Sometimes I do the background first, sometimes I do one element of the image at a time.  In this case, I didn't have time to finish it in one sitting, so I painted a light base of color on each veggie so I'd remember my plan later.

Coloring a detailed image, being fussy and trying to get a result I'm satisfied with can sometimes take a while.  Trial and error is the way it goes.  For me, the fun and wondrous thing about coloring has always been the transformation of the image, and that's why I keep at it.

Okay, that's it from me.  Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Mrs. Purdy with Ribbon

My friend sent some of these lacy ribbon die cuts for me to play with and I knew if I would just bide my time I'd be struck by inspiration.  I certainly do have drawers full of ribbon...  This snowflake ribbon was a perfect fit with a snowflake showing in each section.  It even comes with its own glitter.

After I made the frame I thought about Mrs. Purdy right away -- another gift from the same friend -- so I colored her with Copics, added a sentiment and, well, you can see how purdy Mrs. Purdy looks in her laced up frame.

I'll list the recipe for all parts below my signature.

Christmas card total:  23

Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Retired Mrs. Purdy by Plum Purdy, Power Poppy Simple Joys sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, soft blue Bazzill, white glitter paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Accessories:  Ribbon, Stickles Stardust glitter glue  Dies:  Marianne Designs Craftable Ribbon Rectangle, Spellbinders Scored and Pierced Rectangles, Spellbinders Create-a-Flake Five

Beware of Cute Dog

The calendar says it's the first day of autumn and the view out my window confirms it.  Things sure did change in a hurry.  Not much in the way of falling leaves yet, but rain, shorter days, waning garden.  We've had a lot of exceptionally beautiful days recently, too.  Autumn... when it's good it's very very good!

I made a fall card to celebrate.  This Beware of Dog stamp is new to me, but it was released by Penny Black in 2001.  I was shopping for stamps at 1-2-3 Stitch, searched "Halloween", and this guy (with many others) popped up.  Searched and purchased the Hero Arts Wood Frame die set there, too.  Love that place!

Anyway... I figured this stamp does not have to be just for Halloween.  It doesn't even look like a Halloween stamp here, does it?

That's because I inked the outline with a marker and left out the Halloweenie parts.  Dressed him up for fall with die cut leaves and patterned papers and a sentiment from my stash.  Everything's watercolored with Tombow markers.

But wait, I did make a Halloween card, too.  This time I stamped him as is, cut him out, and tucked him into a simple scene with a stenciled sky background.  Not scary at all.  Just fun.

I see many uses for this dog.  He could pop out of a big present or a cake.  He could ride in a truck.  Wave through a window.  On and on... these are some of the things I've tried him with and will make later.  We spent quite a bit of quality time together in my stamp room, but too many new things need to be colored before this busy stamping season is over.  Seasonal stamps... I swore I wasn't going to buy any...

Have a happy day!

On Goldens and Garden: Arizona

We're visiting Route 66 and The Grand Canyon today.  Hope you'll join me on Goldens and Garden.  Thanks!