Inspire Me Monday - The Blossom Challenge - June

Hello and welcome to the Blog! The Power Poppy Bloom Brigade is bringing you a monthly challenge the third Monday of every month! The lovely and super talented Christine Okken is your hostess each month! The challenge is called The Blossom Challenge and will be a different theme or type of challenge each month! 

This month the theme is: Glassy Eyed. So grab a Power Poppy image and create a project featuring glass containers, something under glass, or containing glass elements! To top it off, the BEST Power Poppy glass images are on discount at 25% OFF too! 

Note: You do NOT have to make a card! If you like to color at 8 1/2 x 11, you may print your image at that size and share your finished coloring page! Or, you may create another type of paper craft project featuring Power Poppy images.

Our challenge WINNER will receive a $20 gift card to use at the Power Poppy Store!! The challenge is open until July 18th! Link up your project to the Power Poppy Blog for a chance to win! Winners will be posted next month on the Power Poppy Blog. 

The May winner is posted today on the Power Poppy Blog...hop over to see if it is you!

Now here is a look at my inspiration project for the challenge, Glassy Eyed! 

I chose the My Favorite Pear digital stamp set for my project. The pears and flowers are sitting in a bowl, that can be colored as glass or pottery or metal. I chose to color mine like thick, leaded glass.

Often leaded glass items have intricate patters that make them almost opaque. I colored the bowl with just a suggestion of the ribbon and pears, and the water showing through the glass. 

To create my project I first printed My Perfect Pear onto white cardstock using the no-line version and sizing the image to approximate 6" x 8". I decided to use the sentiment from the Peonies digital stamp set.   

I positioned the sentiment onto the blank message card using some Photoshop magic. Here's how! 

1. First, I created a blank, transparent page onto which I placed the main image, which I then sized to 6" x 8". 

2. I used the Magic Wand tool (told you...magic!) to select and delete the white background from the little card element. 

3. I then placed the sentiment onto the message card, adjusted it and sized it to fit. 

4. I then selected the main image and chose the Bring to Front option, to make sure the sentiment was behind the bits of ribbon. 

I will confess that I started this project three or four times, using different papers and coloring mediums! I finally decided to use Copic markers to color the image, but then add Arteza colored pencils (with the addition of one Prismacolor and one Irojiten pencil) for shadows and highlights. 

I wanted to have green pears and strawberry plants with white flowers and just a few fruits starting to develop. 

The glass was complicated and I used Copics, colored pencil, a white chalk pencil, and a white pigment gel pen to get the look I was going for. It looks much better in real life than it does in the photos. My other confession is that my new studio has terrible lighting! I am having such a difficult time taking good photos! I need to invest in something....but not sure what will help! 

I am pleased with the finished coloring. It makes me think of vintage images from old greeting cards or postcards.

I ended up turning the coloring project into at 5" x 6.5" card, which fits into an envelope made for 5" x 7" cards with no problems.

I hope you have fun with the challenge this month, and please tell your friends! It will be great to have a lot of participants in our monthly Blossom Challenge at Power Poppy!

Make sure you visit the Shop, because there are a few NEW things to grab! Plus there is a 25% off sale on the "contains glass" offerings!

To see all the inspiration, and to read the challenge details, visit the Power Poppy Blog HERE. 

Inspiration List

Power Poppy Blog
Essie
Gloria - YOU ARE HERE
Barbara C.
Lisa
Nancy
Christine

Power Poppy Digital Stamps: My Perfect Pear, Peonies

Cardstock: WorldWin ColorMates Smooth and Silky Brown, Hammermill White

Printed paper: My Favorite Things Celebration 6x6 pad

Sentiment strip: Simon Says Stamp

Alcohol markers: Various Copics

Colored pencils: Arteza Expert 120 set, Prismacolor Premiere White, Tombow Irojiten Horizon Blue

Charcoal pencil: Brusarth White

Gel pens: Pentel Pigment Gel Ink White

Enamel dots: Doodlebug Sprinkles Cupcake Glitter

Die template: My Favorite Things Die-namics Skinny Strips, Spellbinders Grand Rectangles

Adhesives: Scor-tape, ATG, Art Glitter Glue