how to train a seahorse...?

what is this lady doing underwater with seahorses?  does she think they are her pets?

challenge #94 at the cheerful stamp pad is "anything goes" and we were given some fun digital images designed by "lil diva" to play with by our challenge sponsor stitchy bear stamps.  i noticed the adorable seahorses right away and colored two of them with pencils and gel pens, not sure what i wanted to do with them but knowing i wanted to do something.

meanwhile i was doing a bit of a clean up of digital images i had printed and not used and found this very cute and mischievous looking bathing beauty i'd cut out from a lunagirl collage sheet earlier this summer. both the beauty and the seahorse had a slightly cartoon-ish quality to them and it got me thinking.  i used some paper i'd treated with alcohol inks and began to build my scene with with the digital images, the vintage image and some underwater-themed stash items.

since this lady thinks the seahorses are her dear little underwater pets i finished the piece by handwriting a cartoon balloon on some designer paper.  i wonder whether she will have any success training them?

since this is an anything goes challenge please feel free to link up anything nice you are working on.

i'm linking up to "anything goes" challenges at creative corner challenges, sister act card challenge and brown sugar challenge (#BSCB-109).

love to all.

she sells sea shells

here is one of my july DT pieces for gecko galz! all of the vintage shell images as well as the sentiment come from the "she sells sea shells" collage sheet at gecko.  the girl is from the july freebie sheet available at the website.  the shell-shaped chipboard base is from alphastamps.

ah, summer, how i love ya!
love to all.

vintage seashore and bathing beauties #3

here is one more 4x6 postcard celebrating the beach and the gorgeous vintage images of lunagirl moonbeams! you have a week remaining to link up your own beachy creation for a chance to win shopping credit at the lunagirl store.

my postcard base is another piece of map.  there is a seashore scene at the base from alphastamps and the four beauties are from lunagirl.  i threw in some little fish and crustacean stickers for fun.

enjoy; love to all.

vintage seashore and bathing beauties #2

here is a bathing beauty dancing her way along the beach on my tag.  she is a vintage image from lunagirl and i've made this tag to encourage you to join the latest challenge at lunagirl moonbeams.

link up your beach-inspired creation for a chance to win shopping credit at the lunagirl store!
love to all.

vintage seashore and bathing beauties #1

hooray!  after a little challenge vacation lunagirl moonbeams is back with the most delightful challenge of all -- vintage seashore and bathing beauties.  i've shared before that the beach is my happy place and guess what? this is a scheduled post because i am on the beach myself right now hooray!  i made this postcard featuring lunagirl images in june and mailed it far away...

i mailed it to australia!  which is also the part of map i chose for a background for this postcard.  you see i signed up for a postcard swap through unruly paper arts and i got matched with a partner in australia.  so i could not resist doing a bit of a homage to her home country in my piece.  i do hope she will like it.  the images are from lunagirl except the souvenir shell which is by twisted papers.   there are some stickers and borders as well from my stash and a bit of washi tape.

link up your own beach-themed creation at lunagirl for a chance at shopping credit at the lunagirl store!
love to all.

by the sea

my favorite things include the ocean and the beach so the reader art quest for june at unruly paper arts is right up my alley -- it is "by the sea."  thinking beach and ocean also makes me think vacation so i made a 4x6 postcard.

the base is cardstock i spritzed with a variety of spray inks.  it is covered in designer paper, borders and images all from alphastamps.  there are some additional stickers from my stash here and there on this piece.

i'm linking this up to the week 22: summer fun at scraps of color.

in a couple weeks we will be starting the vintage seashore and bathing beauties challenge at lunagirl moonbeams so stay tuned for more beachy creations coming from me featuring lunagirl images.

enjoy; love to all.

lunagirl challenges update

hey friends -- if you are a fan of the challenges at lunagirl moonbeams i wanted to share that we are on a brief summer hiatus until july.  as lunagirl owner and muse karen shared:

"Lunagirl Moonbeams challenges will take a little break for the month of June, while Lunagirl goes on vacation! 
Be sure to join us for the next challenge starting on JULY 7
on the fun theme of VINTAGE SEASHORE & BATHING BEAUTIES!"

and what a wonderful challenge theme it will be!  here is something i made and posted last summer on that same challenge theme with a vintage lunagirl image (and other goodies):

enjoy; i'll still be blogging in june of course but no more lunagirl DT pieces until july!
love to all.

alphastamps sea siren ATC swap #3

here is a third and final ATC that i created for the july alphastamps "sea siren" swap.

this siren fell so in love with her own song that she is lost in her own reflection.  the siren image, oyster shells, and sand dollar borders are from alphastamps.  the tissue tape and background papers are from my own stash.

soon i will receive swap ATCs from other participants which i will share here as soon as i can.  if you'd like to learn about participating in alphastamps swaps you'll need to join the yahoo group here.

enjoy your week; love to all.

alphastamps sea siren ATC swap #2

earlier this week i posted one of the ATCs i submitted for the july swap at alphastamps -- "sea sirens."
here is another:

i cut the girl out of the beach scene she was in so i could plunk her little log into the sea anemone of a different scene, deep in the ocean.  both scenes were from alphastamps collage sheets.  the saying at the bottom was a part of the original beach scene with the girl.  the turtles are digital stamps from mcmahon five designs which i added for an extra bit of whimsy.  if you follow the siren song of this lady you may find yourself at the bottom of the ocean...

love to all.

alphastamps sea siren ATC swap #1

every month there is a swap of some kind or other at alphastamps.  with alphastamps swaps you must use alphastamps products but that is no problem since the products are awesome!  i decided to get their monthly kits just for the summer (because i have a bit more time to play).  i missed the june swap but was able to participate for july -- the task was to make 3 ATCs on the theme of "sea siren."  here is one of my creations.

i cut these two bathing beauties out of a collage sheet from alphastamps.  there is a fellow in the corner who thinks he is sneaking a photo of two pretty girls but what he doesn't know is that he is now being drawn in by their siren song.  his ship is sunk!

although the background papers were my own all other images and embellishments are from alphastamps.
hope you enjoy!
love to all.

a dreamy bathing beauty

one more week for the bathing beauty challenge at lunagirl moonbeams. make a card, ATC, tag, canvas, or altered item of your choice featuring a bathing beauty for a chance to win a lovely collage sheet from lunagirl.
my DT creation features an image from the lunagirl bathing beauties sheet #2.

i've got a variety of papers and items here.  the shell is also from the lunagirl collage sheet.  the dream stamp is from inkadinakado.

if you'd like to participate link your challenge piece here.
love to all.

another bathing beauty, in pink

the regal image on this tag is from the lunagirl bathing beauties collage sheet and has an ancient grecian feel to it.  i'm providing it as a little extra inspiration to join the lunagirl moonbeams bathing beauty challenge.

i started with a stamped pink tag, added tissue paper, a scrap of inked paper, a seashell border from alphastamps and a butterfly brad.  i love working with these images and if you are the lucky winner of the challenge you could win one of the collage sheets for yourself!

i'm also playing along with the crew at pink saturday.  stop by and have a look at the goodies there too.
happy weekend and love to all.

by the beautiful sea....

our new challenge at lunagirl moonbeams is "bathing beauties," just in time for summer... (which can't come soon enough if you ask me).  winner gets a lunagirl collage sheet!

this challenge makes me happy because i love the beach.  the image in my card comes from the bathing beauties #4 collage sheet from lunagirl.  she's pretty cheeky, yes?  my background was done by swiping inks on some card stock, distressed around the edges.  the sand dollar and seahorse borders came from alphastamps.  the stamped letters are from a magnetic letter set by pixie press, stamped on some handmade paper in my stash.

my card has a favorite old song running through my mind.  sing along with mickey mouse and enjoy!

now one last thing.  if your bathing beauty is a woman, you can also link your card up to the "my kind of gal" challenge at cheerful stamp pad.
love to all...