Power Poppy Quiet Christmas Release - Day 10

Welcome to Day 10 of the Power Poppy Quiet Christmas stamp release! Before we start, I am just going to say that this is my favorite set of the whole release! It is just up my alley!

Today we are showcasing Joy to the World Bouquet.

I mean, look at it, folks! It is STUNNING! Marcella has such a way with botanical imagery and bouquets! I could color flowers all day, every day! 

Here we go! I am so excited about this image and how I colored it. I try not to toot my own horn in public {in private...another matter}, but today....wow, all I can say is sometimes I surprise even myself! 

My goal this past year was to try to color flowers as if they were part of a vintage botanical book. Do y'all remember old-fashioned postcards and such, where the flowers were painted so beautifully? I really wanted to be able to do that. And, frankly, I think this is a very close try! What do you think?!?

This coloring was not without issues. I started it several times on different papers. I even got quite far with a colored pencil version. But, nothing was how I envisioned it! In the end, I used Copics, with a bit of fine line pen, some colored pencil, and a tiny bit of white gel pen.

Folks, I almost quit a few times. Those red Copics! Wow, they are just difficult to work with sometimes. And I really wanted to make sure I had lots of shades of red, not all same, same, same, you know?! I had to refill several markers half-way through as well. Thankfully I had the refills on hand!

I used the digital version of the Joy to the World Bouquet and printed it at about 6 1/4" tall, and in no-line version (pale gray lines). I printed onto the white cardstock I always use for Copics. (I did try a few different cardstock types, but decided that my old tried and true Hammermill worked the best for me.)

I did not make a card out of this image as it's so big. I just double matted it so that I can put it on my desk to enjoy all season!

I tested out a bout a bazillion red combinations before I was happy. I did not write down any combinations as I had just about every pink and red marker out, plus a few orange and yellow markers! I wanted to make sure I had a deep plum red, a bright red, an orange-red, and a pink-red. I think I did it!

I also worked to make sure the veins on the ivy stood out. I ended up just coloring the ivy leaves and adding the veins back in with colored pencil. The skinny pine boughs were done in fine line pen and pencil, with just a tad bit of Copic. The Copics are just too fat for such thin lines, at least in my hands they are!

I feel very brave to have tackled so much red, but I am so very happy with the end result. I hope that you are inspired to pick up your deep, dark Copics and have a play! Just remember...it is only paper and ink! Have a try, see what happens. And, don't toss it out if it seems to be going badly at first. Sometimes you don't see how great it looks until the ink dries and the whole thing is colored in! 

Now, get yourself on over to the Power Poppy Blog to see all the scoop on this fantastic release. I have also linked the other  Bloomies below! Check out all the eye candy! Who knew you could have so many color combinations?!?!

Jenny

Leslie

Christine

Gloria - You are here

Barbara C

Julie

Lisa

Allison

SathyaKala

Broni

Catherine

Stacy

Power Poppy Blog

Power Poppy Stamps: Joy to the World Bouquet

Cardstock: WorldWin  Papers (black, red), Hammermill (white)

Copic markers: various

Colored pencils: Prismacolor Premier

Fine line pens: Arteza  Inkonic

Gel pen: Signo Uniball white