Inspire Me Monday - Thinking of Spring!

 

Hello, Power Poppy Fans! It is my turn again to bring you the Inspire Me Monday project. I continue to be plagued with migraines, exhaustion, and joint pain. I appreciate everyone who has prayed for me over the past months! It is so frustrating and debilitating! I have been trying to do EVERYTHING on my good days, which is not that...well that good for me! 

Now, what an uninspiring opening! However, I know that many of you are also battling "stuff" right now, and you can relate. I also know, like me, you are probably looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. For me that light is spring and Easter. I live where the weather is pretty fine all year round, but for those who live in snowy climates, you must be ready for SPRING!

To get that spring feeling, I pulled out a bunch of spring images and printed them in a large, coloring book page size. If you go to the Power Poppy Store, and do a search on "spring" you will see many amazing stamps pop up!

I pulled out some colored pencils and started to color and experiment. I tried this pencil brand on that paper. I tried this color combo of green, and then that other one. I played and flitted around like a butterfly! I spent a lot of time planning, which is my normal mode of operation. 

However, I really needed to just get to it! I knew that I may only have one good day out of three, and here I was fiddle-faddling around! Mercy sakes!

In the end, I settled on printing this image (Lilac and Lemons) onto kraft cardstock to color with colored pencils. This is as far as I got because, I continued to be bothered by the fact that this brand of pencils does not have color names! They each have a unique number, but no names! Because my brain cannot let go of something once I latch onto it, I decided to give each and every one of the 168 pencils in this set a name! Yes, I did! (If you are interested in such things, visit my personal blog on March 11th to see the end product.)

I had a few happy days researching colors and thinking up descriptive color names, and just having a creative party for myself! Which did not translate into a finished project in time for today's post, but it did give me a fun boost of creativity!

At this point in time, I have been allowing my creativity to go off on adventures. If I don't I am simply unable to create at all. But, although I did not actually MAKE anything I still wanted you to have something to look at. Here are a few of my past spring inspiration pieces!

I colored this project last month, over a few weeks time. The image is the Volumes of Beauty digital stamp. I colored this with only Crayola colored pencils! I was proving a point about coloring with inexpensive materials. I love how this turned out, even with budget products!

This is the Shimmering Flight digital stamp colored with Copics and glitter gel pen. I love the different textures on this project!

This bright "pop in the eye" project was also colored with Copics. The image is the Luminous Bouquet digital stamp. This panel is one of  a series that I colored a few years ago. I place these panels on my desk each month for a spot of color and inspiration! I highly recommend surrounding yourself with your own creative efforts! 

I hope that you get inspired to grab some spring images, some spring colors, and have a day of colorful play! Don't feel like you must have a finished project at the end of it. Just explore your creative spirit and see what happens! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Fresh Digi Releases Today!

Hello my friends ~ and welcome to our first Instant Garden introduction of 2020. The TWO digital downloads we are ushering in today made a brief appearance last year as the subjects of a coloring class with Kit & Clowder. And now I’m happy to make them available to everrrrrrybody! 

Lisa Johansen created a butterfly card bursting with candy shop colors!

These two images explore several themes. Among them are change, transformation, and self realization. And we’ve brought in the concepts of time and flight. I originally composed these images along with Alyce Keegan, whose insights into what might be fun and challenging for colorers and crafters is fabulously spot-on. 2020’s introductions include a few more twists.

It’s Time to Fly...

Time to Fly in watercolor by Jessie Banks

and here is Shimmering Flight!

Shimmering Flight captured beautifully in markers and pencils by Allison Cope

Turquoise gem version by Barbara Campbell

Can you even? Our designers brought these images to life so beautifully, filled with spirit and vibrancy! The illustrations are filled with details and interesting areas to add your unique spin.

With butterflies, anemones, and the gears of time, Time to Fly comes with three variations in the download: One as seen above, one with the butterfly wings much simplified, and one with more simple watch hands for a crisp look. 

Shimmering Flight a juicy stalk of hollyhocks (as seen all over the place in New Mexico on my trip last summer), and nestled inside is a jewel where a dragonfly has landed. A second option has a wonderful turquoise-and-silver pendant in the style of Native American jewelry. This image comes both with and without the dragonfly friend. 

Each digital download comes with a few variations and all images are in both black and very light grey for “no-line” coloring.

Broni Holcombe even paired her stunning watercolor of Time to Fly — isn’t this a fun color combo? — with a sentiment printed onto vellum from another of our digital sets.

Gloria Stengel’s Time to Fly progress

I always love to see a process shot, and was thrilled to see Gloria Stengel’s work as she adds tiny details in pencil. Look at those gear details and the tiny dots on the butterflies! 

Enjoy working with these images, and if you purchased them while taking the Kit and Clowder classes, you should have gotten an email with links to download the updated variations.

Happy weekend, everyone!