cats/katzen

for moo mania and more cats/katzen challenge:

my first 1.1x2.8 inch moo is a cheshire cat, stamp company unknown with a sentiment from viva las vegas stamps, stamped on designer paper from my stash.

my second moo features a stamped image from lost coast stamps, again stamped on designer paper from my stash.

i'm a cat lover so i always appreciate a cat theme!
love to all.

birds and nests... at tag tuesday

for tag tuesday "birds & nests:"

this challenge prompt gave me the chance to use a favorite stamp that i hadn't used for awhile. my dodo bird stamp is from madrat rubber which i stamped on patterned paper and fussy cut.  the eggs and nests are fussy cut from the lunagirl feathers and nests collage sheet.  the wood patterned background paper, butterfly sticker and washi tape are from my stash.

this challenge prompt is up for two weeks starting today; hope you'll decide to join us.
love to all.

gecko galz customer challenge -- life's a circus!

when you are a kid you want to run away to join the circus but when you are an adult you realize that life itself really does seem like a circus sometimes!  well, i do love circus-y things and so i am delighted that this month at gecko galz challenge blog we are challenging you to create something on a circus theme.  here are two cards to hopefully get you inspired.

supplies and instructions: as usual, a new month means new products at the gecko galz etsy shop and as a DT member i am lucky to receive these fabulous new products to play with.  for this card i used the brand new "ombre paper pack" and 3 images from the "circus time stamps" collection of digital stamps.  i digitally arrange two of the stamps on one sheet of ombre paper and printed it out.  i printed out the third and a second sheet of ombre paper and fussy cut it out.  I put it all together on my cardstock with 2 types of washi tape, a prima flower and as always, lots of distressing around the edges.

supplies and instructions: this card also features new products from gecko galz.  i used 3 images from the "circus life 1" and circus life 2" collage sheets.  i also used 3 different papers from the "curiosity shop paper pack."  the background on the cardstock is one of the curiosity shop papers.  i typed the words i wanted to use on 3 additional sheets of paper from the curiosity shop pack.  i cut and arrange everything to my liking, with lots of distressing on each piece, and then finished with a piece of green string.

to play along with the gecko galz blog customer challenge you must use at least one image from gecko galz.  check the blog for freebies or sign up for the monthly newsletter and you'll get a free collage sheet every month.

wishing you happy times; love to all.

april gecko galz inspiration -- showcasing some fabulous papers

every month gecko galz releases new products and these products always include a variety of gorgeous papers. recently i purchased a few prima doll stamps so i decided to do a paper-pieced prima doll showcasing several of the new papers from gecko galz.  my final creation is an easter card.

i used a combination of papers from the new easter parade paper pack and the new flower power paper pack.  i stamped my prima doll "mindy" several times on the different papers.  and then i commenced a whole lot of cutting and gluing! i took some cardstock and cut it to make a card -- about the same size for a legal sized envelope.  i covered that cardstock wiht two more of the gecko galz papers, then added a gecko galz easter image from the easter icons set.  the final step was stamping "happy easter" on more of the gecko galz paper and adding that to the card.  my stamp is from savvy stamps.

please be sure to visit the gecko galz blog to see many more of the design team creations and also to participate in the monthly customer challenge (the theme is "easter time") for a chance to win a gecko galz collage sheet. if you are making things for easter and you're using at least one item from gecko galz then you can join the challenge.  remember that if you sign up for the monthly newsletter (sign up at the blog) you'll get monthly freebies so you'll always have gecko galz images to work with!

love to all.

sweet love goddess and bird

birds birds birds how i love these birds!  it is week two for the lunagirl moonbeams challenge.  we are asking everyone to "put a bird on it"  by adding birds to your art.  the randomly chosen winner will get some shopping $$ for the lunagirl store. i have another tag for DT inspiration this week,

i really enjoyed making this tag.  i started with some wonderful designer paper from my stash which i lightly stamped in brown ink with a "crackle" background stamp from sonlight impressions.  i added a torn strip of some additional designer paper at the bottom.  on the left side i doodled some spirals with my red-gold metallic pro-marker.  i also added the moth, torn from some other designer paper and lots of washi tape.

the beautiful lady is from the lunagirl "goddess" collage sheet and the bird is from one of the many "birds" collage sheets at lunagirl.  the stamped "je t'aime" is a stamp by rogue redhead designs.  i stamped it on tissue paper and tore that as well.

i hope you will join our fun!  there is a nice lunagirl vintage bird image freebie here and more here if you are interested as well!
love to all.

for the love of birds

i adore birds.  and apparently so does karen at lunagirl moonbeams because for the second time on her challenge blog she has chosen "birds" as the challenge theme.  specifically the challenge is to "put a bird on it."  link up a creation featuring birds in some way for the chance at shopping credit at the luminously wonderful lunagirl store.  i'll share a tag for my first DT piece.

i used some pretty designer paper from my stash, a sun stamp by uptown rubber stamps, some washi tape, some letters and some stick-on lace along with, of course, a lovely bluebird image from the lunagirl "birds 4" collage sheet.

remember that the bluebird of happiness can best be found in your own backyard!  come join us.

love to all.

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.

i'm sorry...

when i saw this sad little fellow on the lunagirl "boys 1" collage sheet i knew i had to use him for my next DT piece for the "let's hear it for the boys" challenge at lunagirl moonbeams.

i'm sure he really didn't mean to cause any mischief and he is truly sorry for what he has done.  hopefully he won't do it again, but after all, he is just a little boy and he is still learning!  i tore the image and distressed all the edges with "old paper" distress ink.  i adhered 2 coordinating designer papers to my cardstock, added the image, some washi tape, a flower with a brad (that's an apology flower of course!).  the sentiment is handwritten on some additional designer paper, torn and distressed.  when i don't have the sentiment i want handy in stamp or sticker form i will write it.  my handwriting is generally pretty illegible so i have to really concentrate to get it right for my cards.

enjoy!  i hope you'll find the time to make something featuring a little boy and join our challenge at lunagirl. one more week to play along.
love to all.

a trio of sisters

at the gecko galz facebook page/yahoo group one of the august monthly challenges is "sisters".  i may have gotten a bit carried away...

as i browsed through my many gecko galz collage sheets looking for images with sisters i found three images i really liked from various sheets.  i could not settle on which i wanted to use so i just went ahead and used them all!

the background designer paper is also from gecko as well as the clock in the corner.  i used a torn strip of gecko designer paper and wrote "sisters" on it in my old dusty cursive.  i finished with some distress inks and washi tape.

i'm also linking up to the "sisters/girlfriends" challenge at scraps of color.

love to all.

statues

the "statues" prompt at tag tuesday for this week stumped me.  in the end i made 2 tags -- one that failed to meet my aims and one i like regardless of whether it met my aims!  this tag which i feel pretty good about uses a favorite stamp from stampers anonymous.  this stamp is reminiscent of a statue or bust and i liked the effect from stamping it on a combination of dictionary and designer paper.

somehow she seemed to want to wear a lace veil so i gave her one, along with some other simple embellishments.

so, on to the tag i made first and which did not meet my expectations.  i have a photo i took on my cell phone of a dancing lion.  my friend and i debated if the lion was meant to be from wizard of oz.  we couldn't decide. but for my tag i attempted to add some wizard of oz elements (from a gecko galz collage sheet).  it just didn't come together as i wanted it to.  i'm sharing it anyway since it is all about the journey anyway.

happy rest of your week; love to all.

very fancy purple lady

here is a very fancy purple lady on my tag; purple being my favorite color and "favorite color" being the current challenge at lunagirl moonbeams.  you have one more week ('til sunday) to link up a creation in your favorite color for a chance to win a CD of vintage images, valued at $25.

i used some designer papers, flower and leaf stickers and washi tape. i don't know where she is going but it is surely somewhere very fancy.

i'm entering this tag in the artful times blog challenge #60, make a tag,
and linking to scraps of color week #31 "anything goes."

enjoy; love to all.

purple lady dancer

you can just hear the music as this dancing darling strikes a pretty pose.  in purple.  and in celebration of the "favorite color" challenge at lunagirl moonbeams.  you make something using your favorite color.  and you have the chance to win a CD chock full of vintage image awesomeness worth $25.

i love this belly dancer girl.  she is from the lunagirl "purple 1" collage sheet and the butterflies are from lunagirl too.  the rest are stash items -- a variety of designer paper and stickers which are torn and arranged on the tag base, then the cut out vintage image, some washi tape and a butterfly.

i'm linking up to artful times challenge blog for their challenge #60 to make a tag.
also linking to pink saturday.

come play with us!  love to all.

vintage gothic with flowers

here is an ATC to hopefully inspire you to enter two challenges for which i am a design team member:
1) "a bouquet of flowers" at the cheerful stamp pad -- use multiple flowers as your central image, challenge sponsor is lunagirl -- one week left to enter; and
2) "vintage gothic," a new two week challenge at lunagirl moonbeams challenge blog -- make it vintage and make it gothic.

my ATC is covered in designer paper and vintage parisian tissue paper. the girl with the fan is from the lunagirl vintage gothic collage sheet.  the bouquet of flowers is also a lunagirl image.

enjoy; love to all.

vintage mother's day

in celebration of mothers everywhere the new two week challenge at lunagirl moonbeams is "vintage mother's day." link up creations featuring mothers in a vintage style for a chance to win shopping credit at the lunagirl store.

the beautiful featured vintage image is from a lunagirl collage sheet.  i've used coordinating designer papers, borders and a flower.  i'll be posting more mother's day cards with lunagirl images throughout the next two weeks as i've used this opportunity to get cards made for many of the mothers in my family!

have a beautiful week; love to all.

a menagerie of animals and papers...

as a DT member of both the lunagirl moonbeams and cheerful stamp pad challenge blogs i usually make separate creations for both challenges but this is a very busy time and i found myself combining this week -- though i am happy with the result...

we are in week two of the "use 3 different papers" challenge at cheerful stamp pad while at lunagirl moonbeams we are starting a brand new challenge called "menagerie" or "vintage animals."  i fell in love with the vintage farmyard image from lunagirl and felt it would look pretty against several coordinating papers.  i also included flowers, washi tape, a sticker sentiment and distressing.

the prize at cheerful stamp pad is a unique one this time -- the randomly selected winner will be offered a guest designer spot at the blog.  the lunagirl prize will be shopping credit at the lunagirl show.  all good stuff!

happy week; love to all.

3 different designer papers

the latest challenge at the cheerful stamp pad has a fun prize attached.  the challenge is to use 3 different designer papers in your creation (canvas, card, tag, whatever you like).  this time the randomly selected winner will get the chance to be a guest designer at an upcoming challenge on the blog.

i chose some bright and fun colors for my 3 designer papers and i used them to make this ATC.  this was also a perfect challenge to combine with the week 15 "anything goes" challenge at scraps of color and the "fool for you" challenge at the gecko galz yahoo group which is to use a clown.  the clown here is a gecko galz vintage image.  the butterfly is a brad from alphastamps.

two weeks to play along at the cheerful stamp pad!
love to all.

guest designer spot at crafting by design!

it is an honor to be able to provide some crafty items for the latest challenge at crafting by design.  the current challenge is "birthday greetings" and the challenge sponsor is lunagirl moonbeams. as a member of the lunagirl DT i was asked to provide some goodies for this challenge.  i wanted to do something a little different so i decorated some gift bags to use for birthday gifts.

i've used 2 different vintage images from lunagirl -- the children on a donkey and the "birthday greetings;" the rest of the pieces are various designer papers, tissue tape, flowers, buttons and lace, etc.

here is another:

the frog invitation is from the "watercolor alice" collage sheet and the "happy birthday" is from one of the birthday collage sheets, both from lunagirl.  again, i've got sheet music, designer papers, tissue tape, flowers, a doily and more to decorate.

stop on by crafting by design to play along!

love to all.