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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Tree Peony

Hello, sweet friends! Can you believe that April is nearly over? Before we know it, school will be out. My eyes continue to heal, but my vision is still not completely clear...so I blink to refocus a fair amount and will see my regular eye doctor for a checkup next week. But I see progress each day. How thankful I am to God for His healing hand.

Today I am sharing a card with you using Tree Peony, and what a delight to see yet another gorgeous example of God's creation. I always love reading what Marcella Hawley shares. Here's what she said about this beauty, and it touched me to read about her precious mom:
"If you think peonies are frilly and fantastic, have you ever seen a TREE peony? The woody cousin of herbaceous peonies, the ones that most everyone is familiar with, have much larger blooms, more exotic coloration, and dazzling centers. The foliage is beautifully cut and is a lighter green than regular peonies, and they grow on large shrubs. Flowers can be 8" across when fully open! This is my homage to the Tree Peony, re-freshed and re-newed for spring release, and a favorite of my mother, Susan. (Her birthday would have been April 29)."
Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Tree Peony, Remixed Digital Image, April 2017

Well, this giant beauty definitely wanted to be center stage on my card! With all the amazing detail in this flower, I could not size this down too much. Then I bravely decided to try my hand again at no-line coloring. No pressure, eh? I finally watched the Kit and Clowder video class I signed up for in March using Power Poppy images. I learned a lot, but I still need more practice (but that's the fun part, right?). As I was coloring, I remembered some of what Kathy Racoosin said in a recent video. She is so real, and I love listening to what she says about coloring and enjoying what you do. She quoted something Jennifer McGuire said and shared some thoughts of her own. I hope you'll check out her blog post using one of Power Poppy stamp sets, watch the video, and listen to what she says as she enjoys her coloring experience. So I colored and really enjoyed it, and I need to do more of it. Sure, I can see areas I need to work on, but like everything else, we learn from practice...and more practice. 

This time I decided what my layout was going to be ahead of time...surprise! It helped me a lot. So I opened my flower image in GIMP, lightened it to a pale gray, and printed it on X-Press It Blending Card. I worked hard to achieve more depth and contrast. After I finished coloring, I decided to fussy cut it and use a couple of tools to burnish the back to give it some dimension. Then I die cut two of the split chevron dies, adhered them together, and added it to the pink card base. I stamped a sweet sentiment from Natural Beauties on a cute ragged-edge die cut and curled it a bit before adding it to the "lattice" for my flower. I added some thin foam squares in the outer areas of the flower and leaves and some thicker foam to the inside and placed the flower onto the "lattice." And...it was done! I was going to add some sequins or something and decided not to. So ready or not, here she is! Hehe!

Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Tree Peony, Remixed Digital Image, Natural Beauties, CherylQuilts, Designed by Cheryl Scrivens, April 2017

When I saw this large peony and read that it was a favorite of Marcy's mom, I was so touched knowing that this is the first year that her mom Susan is not there to celebrate with...and I personally know how hard that is. But I thought of how gracious God is to give us parents who pass along their gifts and talents. Certainly, I know both my parents and grandparents passed along many precious gifts to me that I cherish to this day...and acknowledge that they are ultimately from God. Paul talks about this concept of passing down a legacy in his letter to Timothy, one of his protégés (sons in the faith):

I am reminded of your sincere faith,
a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois
and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure,
dwells in you as well.
2 Timothy 1:5

Now it's time for my stamping friends to hop on over to Power Poppy and purchase this beautiful digital image and use it today. And be sure to visit the Power Poppy blog today to see the beautiful images of tree peonies, and then be sure to visit my teammate Jessie Banks to see her beautiful card and video!

Precious friends, thank you for your visits and comments that I love reading. And remember that I am always happy to answer any questions you may have about using digital images. Your prayers and love continue to mean so much to me! Thank you, and may God bless you.

Blessings, dear friends,


Stamps:  Tree Peony, Natural Beauties (Power Poppy) 
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, White (PTI), Blushing Bride (SU!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine), printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Split Chevron die and Blueprints #13 dies (My Favorite Things), Clear Double Sided Adhesive (Elizabeth Craft Designs), Irresistible Pico Embellisher adhesive, Empressor tool, stylus, Thin 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives), 3M dimensional tape, white tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word, fussy cutting, adding dimension
Card Size:  A2
Copic markers used: Petals - R30, RV10, R81, YR000, RV11, RV00; Leaves - G20, G40, G43, G94; Center - YG01, Y13, Y35, Y38, W3
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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Sunset Sway

Hello, sweet friends! I trust that you had a blessed Easter and are ready for spring. It's such an uplifting time as flowers start blooming in so many gorgeous colors.

Today's beautiful Instant Garden digital stamp set is called Sunset Sway. Here is how Marcella describes this lovely new release: 
"Mingling stems sway and distinct flower forms dance together in this digital image that's ideal for springtime. The interplay between naturalized Clusiana Tulips and Wild Anemones will sweep you right up in the excitement of nature in bloom. This set comes with two large focal images...one features a butterfly, and the other is only the flowers. It includes the blessing: 'May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.' Isn't that a wonderful thought from which we could all benefit?"
Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Sunset Sway, Instant Garden Digital Image, April 2017

These two digital images are exquisite, and there are so many beautiful colors of each flower and the sweet butterfly. I used the image with flowers only and resized it in Word and rotated it a little to fit into the die...and printed it on X-Press It Blending Card. I did resize it again and printed it so this would fit into a smaller stitched square, and I think it will make a nice card set with various small sentiments. But that's for another day (or week). Ha! 

As always, I struggle with what to do for my layout. In the end I paper-pierced the around the focal image and placed some lace with an overlay of seam binding and Perle cotton diagonally. I added the sentiment from Burst of Kindness using my Mini MISTI and then put it all together using some thin foam squares. I added some Wink of Stella and decided to stop there! 

Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Sunset Sway, Instant Garden Digital Image, Burst of Kindness, CherylQuilts, Designed by Cheryl Scrivens, April 2017

Beautiful flowers remind me of God's amazing goodness. We can completely trust in our Heavenly Father to provide for all our needs - great and small. Even during difficult times, God is with us and has the future in His hands...and will never let us go.

Consider the lilies, how they grow;
they neither toil nor spin;
but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory
clothed himself like one of these.
"But if God so clothes the grass in the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,
how much more will He clothe you?"
Luke 12:27-28

Now it's time for my stamping friends to hop on over to Power Poppy and purchase this beautiful digital image and use it today. It's always such fun to see the beautiful cards that are made. And surely visit my teammates to see what gorgeous cards they've made and leave them some love. I always love reading Marcy's post.
Oh, dear friends, you are such a joy to me, and I am grateful for your visits and your sweet comments. Thank you for visiting with me today, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. May God bless you.

Blessings,



Stamps:  Sunset Sway, Burst of Kindness (Power Poppy) 
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Winter Wisteria (PTI), white (Bazzill)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine), printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Grand Labels 11 (Spellbinders), Mini MISTI tool, paper-piercing tool, Mat Pack piercing guide (SU!), lace (May Arts), seam binding (Hug Snug), white Perle cotton (DMC), Thin 3M Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives), Wink of Stella, red tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word
Card Size:  4 3/4" x 5 3/4"
Copic markers used: Tulip Petals - RV000, R81, R83, RV34, R85; Tulip Leaves - G40, G43, G94, YG01; Tulip Center - T5; Anemone Petals - BV000, BV00, BV02, BV11, V12, V17; Anemone Leaves - G20, G21, YG21 YG01; Anemone Center - YR21, YR23, Y11, YG01, YG03; Shading - B0000, 0
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Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Hyacinth Bulb in Glass

Hello, sweet friends! My eye surgery went well, and I am beginning to see better each day. It takes time for the tear film to fully "recover," and given my other health issues...I'm sure to need extra time for healing. I thank you all for your prayers and your love. You are so dear to me.

Today I am sharing a card with you using Hyacinth Bulb in Glass, and it's been a fun one to research -- especially after reading what Marcella Hawley has shared about it:
"Let’s zip back to the 18th century Holland, when hyacinth bulbs were quite the rarified rage. People could not get enough of the beautiful scents and rich colors, helping to drive the business of professional flower growing hot on the heels of the tulip. Soon folks were forcing the bulbs into bloom indoors to brighten their windows when it was too chilly for anything to flower. Hyacinth glasses and vases were designed to cradle the bulbs and hold them just above the water; roots were coaxed from the bulbs down into the water, sending the bulb into bloom soon after. In a nostalgic nod to these wonderful windowsill displays, we have Hyacinth Bulb in Glass, so that you can have blooming hyacinth whether or not you have a bulb and a glass!
Includes a sentiment by the visionary Coco Chanel hand-lettered by a reverent Marcella Hawley. :)
This set includes a no-line coloring version of the Hyacinth Bulb in Glass image."

Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Hyacinth Bulb in Glass, Remixed Digital Image, April 2017

The hardest part was deciding on what color to use for my flower. To begin my card, I pulled into Microsoft Word both the flower image and another sentiment from Sweet Simple Things and re-sized them to fit an A2 card. After coloring the flower image, I decided to color in the background with a pale yellow. I also added some shading and highlights. I die cut the rectangle and decided to paper-pierce...something I've not done in quite a while. Then I matted it onto the lavender scalloped die and added some small nail-heads just under the sentiment to balance out the card. I adhered it to the base...and it was done. But why stop there, right? I added some Wink of Stella and some white gel pen for the flower centers and some Irresistible Pico Embellisher to pop them up. Then it was done! Hehe!

Power Poppy, Marcella Hawley, Hyacinth Bulb in Glass, Remixed Digital Image, Sweet Simple Things, CherylQuilts, Designed by Cheryl Scrivens, April 2017

When I think about "forcing a bulb to bloom," I know we can do that by creating an environment conducive to its growth. We ourselves need a proper environment in which to grow spiritually. For us that means time spent reading God's Word, praying, meditating, and asking the Lord to guide us in our spiritual growth so we may become more and more like Christ. 

All Scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16

Now it's time for my stamping friends to hop on over to Power Poppy and purchase this beautiful digital image and use it today. And be sure to visit the Power Poppy blog today to see what Marcy has in store for us...I hear there are some surprises coming...that's all I can say now! Hehe!

Precious friends, thank you for your visits and comments that I love reading. Your prayers continue to mean so much to me...so thank you! May God bless you.

Blessings, dear friends,


Stamps:  Hyacinth Bulb in Glass, Sweet Simple Things (Power Poppy) 
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Lavender Lace - retired (SU!)
Ink:  Printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Blueprints #20 dies (My Favorite Things), A2 Matting Basics B dies (Spellbinders), paper-piercing tool, Mat Pack piercing guide (SU!), Wink of Stella, white gel pen (Sakura), Irresistible Pico Embellisher, red tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word, paper-piercing
Card Size:  A2
Copic markers used: Petals - B60, B41, BV04, V01, RV52; Leaves - G40, G43, G24, G94, YG03; Bulb - V99, E44, E43; Sprouting Roots - E81, E84; Glass - B000; Background - Y000; Shading/Grounding - YR30, E50, E51
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