the creative closet by cindy lawrence

Spring Has Sprung....Well Almost!

Hello, & a very happy Friday to you, friends!

Can you believe the first day of spring is in just a few days?  You'd never know it here in New Hampshire...snow, snow everywhere.  I am hearing that we're getting another snow storm next week too.  I don't know about you; but I am SO ready for spring!

I had a little fun creating a super quick card with Power Poppy's newest digital stamp set, Cup of Columbine.  I, of COURSE, adore the stunning flowers & sweet teacup in this set; but my very first thought when I saw this set was to use just the robin & egg.  Sometimes it's just fun to create a simple card, don't you think? 

The patterned paper I used is an oldie-but-goodie from Prima, called Alla-Prima. I printed the black-line image onto X-Press It Blending Card, & colored it with Copic Markers.  I used my Scor Buddy to score a couple of lines at the top, and rounded the bottom corners.  A simple bit of striped teal twine, and three yellow enamel dots dress the card up just a bit.

I did print out the entire image in a pale blue for the inside of the card.  Both the inside & outside sentiments are from the Lilac Time stamp set, and were stamped in Memento Espresso Truffle ink.


Here's a peek at the Copic Markers I used:

I used both warm & cool grays, as well as earth tones to color the robin.  What fun she was to color!

Check out the Cup of Columbine digital stamp set, and get yours today:

Next up, you'll want to swing by the rest of the Bloom Brigade blogs to see their fabulous creations!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Marcella Hawley
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Have a terrific day, friends!  Thanks so much for visiting with me today!

 

~Cindy

 

 

A Little Perseverance & Fabric Inspiration

Hello & a very happy Friday to you, friends!

Remember last week when I was so frustrated with the image I colored?  Well, it sat most of the week on my desk.  I could neither bring myself to throw it out, or make it into a card.  Finally, I turned it into a card yesterday. ...and I don't hate it.  So, that's good, right? Haha!  

I used Power Poppy's Rose All Day digital stamp.  It is SUCH a stunning image, and it comes in both a black line version and a no-lines version.  I chose to work with the no-lines version for my card.

I printed out the no-lines image onto X-Press It Blending Card, and colored it with, ummm....just a "few" Copic Markers.

So, yeah, pretty much all of them. Haha!  I used a lot of earth tones and grays for this one, as I wanted it to have a darker, moody feel.  I was also doing a little fabric matching in honor of this month's fabulous Power & Spark Challenge.

You definitely want to play along with this challenge!  Click on the graphic above for all the details.

The fabric I was inspired by I was actually wearing last week when I began coloring this image.  It's a pair of my favorite LuLaRoe leggings.  Check it out:

Pretty, right?  Once I finished coloring the image, I colored the entire background with a T9 marker, and added a smattering (love that word) of opaque white dots with my white Kirarina Wink Pen.

Be sure to swing by Allison's, Kathy's, & Tosha's blogs to see their gorgeous creations today!

Have a fabulous Friday!

 

~Cindy

 

 

Power Poppy Power & Spark Monthly Challenge

Hey everyone~

It's time for Power Poppy's monthly Power & Spark Challenge!  Yhis month the fabulous Ally has challenged us to be inspired by fabric!

Here's what she said:

"We find inspiration all around us!  I always am gawking at the amazing fabrics we wear, fabrics we use to upholster our furniture and the fabrics we lay over us at night. So this month, take a look at some fabric swatches that inspire you and use them as a stepping stone to create a fun card."

I absolutely LOVE this idea for a challenge!  I chose a fun fabric pattern (a favorite pair of LuLaRoe leggings), and went to town coloring up a very detailed no-line image from the stunning Rose All Day digital stamp set.  I spent several hours coloring this image yesterday, and well... I'm still not finished with it.  I'm a little rusty in my coloring since taking so much time off to recuperate from my surgery; so at about 10:30pm last night I called it a day. I just bit off more than I could chew. So, I'll post my finished card & fabric inspiration sometime in the coming week. :)  

For now, you can check out the fabulous creations from the other Bloom Brigade designers, and definitely play along with this month's awesome challenge!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan

Have an amazing Friday, friends!

 

~Cindy

 

From Your Biggest Fan

Hello crafty people!  

It's been a while, hasn't it?!  Immediately after I returned home from Creativation, I went in for surgery.  I had a total knee replacement just over two weeks ago, and I'm really just now starting to feel "normal" again.  I do seem to only make it to about 3 in the afternoon, though, before I'm completely wiped out.  So strange for this night owl!  All in all, recovery is going well, and I'm on track for a happy & active spring coming up. :)

My card up there was created with Power Poppy's darling new images from the Va-Va-Valentine stamp set.  These are the cutest Valentine stamps I have ever seen!  Seriously, SO SWEET!  They are digital stamps; so you can size them as you wish.  Always love that option!

I used patterned papers from Carta Bella's Words of Love pack.  I colored the image on X-Press It Blending Card using the following Copic Markers.

I added some fresh white polka dots to the fan blades using a White Pearl Kirarina Wink Pen.  Love how opaque they are! 

A few heart sequins are all it needed to finish off the details of this simple card.  The card size is just 3.75" x 5", perfect for a Valentine.

This is the first coloring I've done in weeks, and it felt SO good to get my precious markers out again.  Oh, how I have missed them!

Be sure to swing by the rest of the Bloom Brigade blogs to see their amazing creations!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Marcella Hawley
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Have a fantastic Friday, friends!  Soooo good to be back here again!

~Cindy

 

Power Poppy, Card Maps, & Prizes!

Hello crafty friends...and Happy New Year!!!

The Power Poppy design teams & PageMaps.com have teamed up to bring you a fantastic selection of Card Maps (aka: card sketches) to give your card making an inspirational boost! 

It also happens to be this month's Power & Spark Challenge!  If you play along with us, you'll be in the running to win a $50 shopping spree to the Power Poppy store!  This month there's a BONUS too...  PageMap's Becky Fleck is offering a $25 Power Poppy gift card as well if you leave a comment on THIS post over at PageMaps: Power Poppy Giveaway.

Here's a look at my card:


I worked with one of my very favorite oldie-but-goodie patterned paper packs, Basic Grey's Sweet Threads.  Love the happy colors & patterns in that one!

My image is from Power Poppy's Everything's Even Rosier stamp set, which I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, and colored with the following Copic Markers.

Here's a look at the sketch I was given:

Be sure to swing by the Bloom Brigade & Instant Gardener Power Poppy designers to see their beautiful creations, and to play along with this month's challenge!

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

Cheryl Scrivens

Barb Walker

Nancy Sheads

 

Have a most beautiful day, friends!  Thanks so very much for stopping by!

 

 

 

~Cindy

 

 

It's a Power Poppy Christmas!

Hello, crafty & creative friends!  Today the Power Poppy Bloom Brigade thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite Christmas projects with you.

I am really into SIMPLE these days.  I spent a lot of years making thousand layer, super complicated cards.  Now, when I see someone else make a card like that, it very often takes my breath away.  I still love 'em!  I just rarely want to make them. Haha!  Simple fits my lifestyle right now. :)

Here are a few of my holiday faves from the last year or so:

You can click on any of the card photos to go directly to the original blog post.


This one's made using Boxwood & Cranberries, such a fun set to color!

Next up, here's one created using Simple Joys, a very favorite holiday set of mine!


Here's one created with another favorite of mine, Holly Golightly.  I am so enamored with that canning jar. :) 

One last card to share created with the Under Glass: Christmas Traditions stamp set.  Love the vintage feel of this one!

Be sure to swing by the rest of the amazing Bloom Brigade blogs to see their Christmas favorites.

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Marcella Hawley

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

That's all folks!  I want to wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate)!  May you be blessed beyond measure!

Thanks for spending a bit of 2017 with me!  I have some fun plans in the works for 2018 that involve teaching classes...perhaps in your area!  Looking forward to sharing all of that with you soon.

Love & Blessings,

~Cindy

 

Power Poppy Friday: 12 Days of Christmas Day 8!

Hey friends!

You are going to want to hop on over to the Power Poppy blog today!  Why, you ask?  Well, simply because I am the hostess....AND you have yet another chance to win a $50 shopping spree in the Power Poppy store!

Here's a peek at my project:

There are complete, step-by-step instructions for this project, as well as free downloadable templates for you, over on the Power Poppy blog.  Check it out!

Have a fabulous weekend!

~Cindy

 

Good Vibe Friday: From Our Nest to Yours

Hello crafty friends!

I'm back today with a very simple card created with Power Poppy's Tweet Tidings stamp set.

I decided to create a single layer card, which I haven't done in quite some time.  The cardstock is a pretty shimmery white from Taylored Expressions.

I stamped the image in Memento Desert Sand ink for a no-lines coloring effect.  Here's a look at the Copic Markers I used.

Quite a few shades for such a small image, eh?  What can I say?  I like lots of depth.;)


I stamped the sentiment in Memento Potter's Clay ink, and tied a bit of natural twine around the top of the card.  The final detail is at the very bottom of the card.  I distressed the bottom edge by running a bone folder over it several times until it began to "curl up".  

That's all, friends!  I didn't even dress up the inside of this one, as I wanted to leave lots of room for the personal note I'm going to write inside.

Be sure to swing by the Bloom Brigade blogs to see their fabulous creations.

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Marcella Hawley
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Have an amazing day! Thanks so very much for stopping in for a visit with me today.

~Cindy

 

Power Poppy Good Vibe Friday: A Merry Flowering Santa

Hello crafty & creative friends!

It's time for another Power Poppy Good Vibe Five Friday post!  I chose to work with the spectacular Flowering Santa stamp set, which was brand new with this month's release.  Oh, how I loved coloring that image up!

My card begins with a white card base that has a subtle shimmer to it.  I layered on a strip of white cardstock, a bit of pretty patterned paper from Echo Park's Winter Wishes collection, & a 1/2" strip of sparkly white ribbon. I added a little something extra by wrapping pretty silver cord around the card several times.  I stamped the word "Merry" in Memento Elderberry ink and fussy cut it with a pair of super sharp scissors.

I stamped the Santa image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on X-Press It Blending Card, and colored it with the following Copic Markers.


One last bit of sparkle was added to the rims of Santa's glasses, the word "Merry", and several of the flowers with my Wink of Stella brush pen.  Small white dots center the flowers, and are made with the White Pearl Kirarina Wink Pen.

Check out how pretty the sparkle is:


Here's a quick peek at the inside:

Remember to play along with this month's Power & Spark Challenge.  Full details can be found by clicking below:

Swing by the other Bloom Brigade blogs to see their fabulous creations:

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
Julie Koerber
Marcella Hawley
Stacy Morgan


Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends!  I'm so very glad you did!

Have a beautiful Friday!

 

~Cindy

 

 

Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge: A Little Portion Control

Hello crafty & creative friends!

It's a brand new month, and therefore it's time for a brand new Power & Spark Challenge from Power Poppy.  This month's challenge is called Portion Control.  Now THERE'S a little something I could use some help with! 😂

I'm this month's hostess, and I thought it would be fun to create our projects using only portions of our images.  So...no full images on your cards for this one!  You can either use a portion of one image, or a whole bunch together for a fun collage.


Of course there's an awesome prize in it for the winner as well!  Check out the Power Poppy Blog for full details.

I chose to use several portions of the same image for my card.  (Since I can never have just ONE portion.) The image is from Winter Wonderland.

I colored the image using the following Copic Markers.


The colors on my card were inspired by this month's Hues To Use color challenge.

Such a pretty color palette, isn't it?!


Here's a look at the inside of the card.


The sentiment is from the darling Holly Golightly set.

Be sure to swing by the rest of the Bloom Brigade blogs to see their fabulous creations.

• Allison Cope
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <--- You are here!
• Julie Koerber
• Katie Sims
• Marcella Hawley
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

Have yourself a fantastic day, friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Cindy