Christmas-y Notes in a Little Box

Hello hello! It’s like 2 weeks ’til Christmas, and 2 days ’til Hanukkah  – how’s your holiday crafting going?? A while ago, in the thick of my card-production haze, I decided that what I absolutely needed to do–at that very moment–was to make something different. And then the Power Poppy 12 Days of Christmas December Challenge rolled in with some fabulous not-the-usual-cards-and-stuff inspiration. (Seriously, if you haven’t checked it out–click that link!)

So I’ve been dying to play with the Under Glass: Christmas Traditions set from Power Poppy, and what I came up with were some little holiday-adjacent notes that can be used for post-holiday thank yous, or for tucking into a gift, or as just something to send when you get an unexpected card and need to reciprocate (!!) I love the little scenes that you can put into the cloches, to create your own little world in there…

I colored these cards with colored pencils, in that same color palette I’ve been working with lately (below).

I’ve really enjoyed working with a few select colors. It seems to streamline how I choose to color each element of my projects (limited choices!), and I’ve learned a lot about shading/under coloring, because I can’t go looking for more colors to add in. Bonus: I can be lazy and just leave the pencils out on my table for a few weeks 😉

Once these cards were colored, I added sparkle with Stickles and Wink of Stella, but these cards can also be colored very simply. I just like to get all extra sometimes.

Oh, and the “Holiday Hello” sentiment is from Power Poppy.  The others are from a Waffle Flower set (“Heartfelt Thanks”) and Simon Says Stamp (“Thanking you for thanking me”). My notecards and envelopes came from Paper Source.

To contain and present my cards, I finally got to use my Gift Box die from Lawn Fawn.  While I’m only showing off three card designs in this post, the completed box is sized to hold six 4 bar-sized notecards and envelopes (that’s 3-1/2″ x 4-7/8″ or 8.9 cm x 12.4 cm). What’s really ingenious about the die set is that you use one die for both the bottom of the box and the lid! That’s because you also cut some paper corners for assembling the top, and therefore ensure a perfect fit! If that sounds confusing, Lawn Fawn has a video demonstrating how to use the set, and it’s really much simpler than it sounds.

I stamped Flowering Santa onto some grey cardstock, and colored him in with that same color palette. Of course, I needed some more sparkle, so I sprayed the whole thing with some shimmer spray, as well as stenciled on shiny aqua embellishment mousse around my Santa.  I also added some glittery Nuvo drops to the flower centers, and a glittery heat-embossed “Merry” sentiment.  Then I assembled the box lid and bottom, and packed it with the note cards.

This was a fun project to put together.  You can go as simple or as all-out as you want for decorating and coloring, and customize the contents for any recipient.

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Merriest Berries – a new digi from Power Poppy!

Hello! Have you seen the brand-new digital stamp set from Power Poppy yet? It’s called Merriest Berries, and it has seasonal greenery, ribbons, and yes – lots of berries! There’s three different styles of be-ribboned clusters, and even a candy cane nestled in there.  But my favorite feature of this release might be the sentiments: they say “Merriest Wishes” in sleek script, and the words are available together and separated, so you can customize to your heart’s content.

I decided to make a circle-shaped card with the candy cane option, so I was glad that I could move around the “Merriest” and the “Wishes” to get everything to fit. I thought a shiny rainbow theme would suit, as we are still in the throes of summer here in SoCal.  I colored up the image with my colored pencils, and added silver accents via foiling, a silver gel pen, and a silver-glittered background. I discovered that you can shade (somewhat) over the metallic pen, and I added a hint of shadow here and there.

I love how colored pencil pops against kraft card stock, and the berries and sentiment glow in the light.

Merriest Berries is available in the Power Poppy shop  now, and you can be downloading and coloring in no time!

Be sure to check out more awesome creations by the design team here:
Nancy
Broni
Rhea
Barbara
Jessie
Jennifer

One more thing! This is my first post as an Instant Gardener for Power Poppy, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to join such a special and talented team.  Look for more posts from me here, and occasionally on the Power Poppy blog.

Have a great day! I love questions and comments, so don’t be shy 🙂

Faux Damascene Cards with Metallic Watercolors

Hi everyone! Today I’m showing off some dramatic and shiny cards that are reminiscent of the bold Damascene jewelry from Toledo in Spain.

These black and gold pieces (below) are made by inlaying precious foils onto a base metal, which is then oxidized to create that deep black background.  You’ll see pieces featuring flowers, birds, and geometric designs.

Credits, clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4

I recently spent some of my birthday money on the Finetec Pearl Colors palette (below). Isn’t it gorgeous? The bright metallic pots sitting in their black case inspired me to try to get that Damascene effect on paper.

For my cards, I used the Vibrant Thanks stamp set from Power Poppy, and clear heat-embossed the Zinnia and Coreopsis onto black card stock.

Then, I just started laying color from the palette onto the stamped images, using a size 0 watercolor brush.  The embossing acted as a resist, and kept the details from getting painted over.

I am not a painter, so I was pleased at how easily the flowers filled in.  Between the two cards, I managed to use all the golds (and silver) in the palette!

Once the paint was dry, I added metallic sentiments.  I also painted, then die cut frames to give the panels the look of bezeled brooches.

I think they look so cool in the sunlight! If you don’t have a Finetec palette, other metallic paints, metallic gouache, Perfect Pearls mixed with water, or even metallic pens would give a similar effect.

Thanks so much for reading! Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question.

Project info:
Paints: M600 Pearl Colors palette (Finetec)
Stamp sets: Vibrant Thanks, Tree of Life, Olive & Oak Expanded (Power Poppy)

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THE SKY IS THE LIMIT Challenge

I’m down to the wire, but here is my entry for Power Poppy’s THE SKY IS THE LIMIT challenge.

Here is my inspiration photo, taken by me, with an iPhone, no filters. I live in SoCal, and winter is when we get spectacular sunsets. Sometimes the sky is lavender, and sometimes it is neon with the last glow of the sun.

I decided to go bold with my entry, showing off the amazing hues of my sunset.  I haven’t seen the sky go green yet, but I think it sets off those pink, oranges and purples so well. I stamped multiple images from the Orchids Rock set, to create a sort of pattern.  This card is another step away from a realistic style of coloring, but I really like playing with these images in new ways.

One technique I used a lot of this time was tip-to-tip blending. For both the background and the flowers, I either needed a marker I didn’t have, or needed to “invent” a new color. I’m definitely still learning, but I’m glad for the practice.

The sentiment is from the same set–I figured that anyone who receives this unconventional card will appreciate the inspiration. 🙂

COPICS Used:
BV0000, BV000, BV00, BV04
YG0000, YG00, YG03
YR0000, YR000, YR02
RV0000, RV000, RV00, RV02, RV25

Countryside Bouquet Accordion Birthday Card

My mom is an artsy lady who likes to paint with watercolors.  When her birthday comes around, I always try to make her something pretty and creative, or perhaps show her a new technique I’ve learned.

I think these accordion card dies from Karen Burniston are so cool! They’re easy to put together, and the finished card looks so impressive.  You can learn more about the dies and assembling the cards from Karen Burniston herself in this video.

For this years birthday, I used the Countryside Bouquet digital stamp from Power Poppy.  For each of the three main panels, I colored just the Coreopsis, or just the California poppy, or just the Salvia in the bouquet.

On the back of the of one of the panels, I included a small version of the bouquet, with all three flowers colored.

I wanted to add some trim pieces around the edges, and I chose flourish edges from the Frame Edges die set.  I cut 16 of these edges to go around the panels of my card. A tip for cutting out these pieces: run strips of paper through your xyron before cutting, and you will get a perfectly cut, perfectly sticky trim piece, with no extra adhesive clinging to the edges, and no trying to glue down tiny swirls of paper!

After I got the trim pieces placed on my card, I ran a clean brayer over them to make sure they were stuck down securely.

I used a combination of dies from the accordion card set and other circle dies to cut out my colored images and backgrounds.

I once I assembled the panels, I added some additions to the back, such as a sentiment (not shown) and this sweet quote, stamped on some Basic Grey Fresh Cut Paper.

I also made a custom envelope, using more Fresh Cut paper and my WRMK envelope punch board.

You can see the finished card in motion on my Instagram.

Camelia Tags and a Gift Bag

I’m back with some more tags. Previously, the Power Poppy blog has inspired me to deconstruct those gorgeous floral images, and it may be my favorite twist on the usual stamped and colored card.  This time, I printed and colored the Camellias digi stamp.  I was experimenting with shading some acid green leaves, and the finished image turned out *really* vivid!

I decided that maybe the flowers would be most effective in small doses, so I die cut a slew of tags. I backed all of them with lavender card stock, and then stamped and heat-embossed small sentiments on each. Several of the Power Poppy stamp sets have a perfect, tiny “For You” that’s just perfect for a gift tag.

My newly-crafted tags inspired me to make this little gift bag for my friend Dani, who gifted me a couple of ink pads.

I cut the bag pieces from card stock that is a much brighter light green in real life! Then I die cut a butterfly, outlined the shape with stickles, added some acetate for backing, and assembled the bag.

I filled it with some Speculoos-filled chocolate cups from Trader Joes, and tied the top with some lavender seam binding.  I tied my tags together with twine and then attached them to the bag. I think it looks very springy!

 

Supplies:

Power Poppy Camellias digital stamp
Copic Markers
Avery Elle tag die: Simply Tags
Simon Says Stamp tag die: Tiny Tags
Lawn Fawn Treat Bag die
Hero Arts butterfly die: Antique Butterflies & Flowers Framelits
Paper Source Lavender card stock and twine

It’s Never Too Late For Tags!

Hi there! I had grand plans to write several blog posts about my Christmas crafting, but then I caught a bug over Thanksgiving that has really thrown a wrench into those plans! However, I’ve really enjoyed making all sorts of tags this season, and I thought I’d share those with you.

The tag on the left is my take on the chalkboard trend. I heat embossed (with white powder) a sentiment from Power Poppy’s Joyful Arrangement Stamp set onto a a die-cut tag from Papertrey Ink.  I couldn’t believe how perfectly everything fit! I added some sweet greenery cut  with Impression Obsession dies. The candy-striped twine is by Lawn Fawn.

The center tag uses that great cool santa from Ellen Huston’s Tis the Season stamp set. A little copic coloring, a pom-pom and a few jingles bells finished this tag off. I’ve got a variation on this tag further down the post.

The right-hand tag is my CASE of Nichol McGuirk’s super cute No Peeking tag, using Mama Elephant stamps and Pretty Pink Posh dies and sequins.

I really enjoyed making these ticket tags! Instead of making punching holes and using twine, I decorated some small clothespins (washi tape, super easy) and used those for attaching my tickets.  These tickets are only 2″ long, so tiny die cuts, gems and stickers look right at home.

Punched tree shapes let me make use of all of those sequins and enamel dots I seem to be hoarding 😉

Here’s that santa again, but this time the tag has a built-in pocket (I know it’s hard to see!). I made this pocket tag by die cutting a folded piece of card stock, with the left edge of the die just off of that fold when I ran it through my Big Shot. I secured the edges of the tag with 1/8″ Scor-tape, and it will juuuuust fit a gift card in that pocket, so using strong adhesive is key.

These round tags use stamps and a die from Papertrey Ink’s Tinsel and Tags kit. I created an ombre look with Avery Elle pigment inks.

Merry Christmas Eve!