tags of wonderland

 i'm hosting the new two week challenge for tag tuesday and i'm asking everyone to make their tags on the theme of alice in wonderland. here are a few tags to get your creative juices flowing.

this tag has a variety of images from various gecko galz collage sheets and kits.

mostly gecko galz images here as well, with a background from itKuPiLLi imagenarium "celestial backgrounds."

this last one is mostly gecko galz with a central image from the octopode factory, that i colored in with colored pencils.

hope you enjoy and make time to play!

love to all.

more fabulous faces

there's one week remaining to play along with the "faces" challenge at tag tuesday. here are a few more faces tags i made for this challenge.

face stamp by invoke arts; sentiment by leavenworth jackson stamps. designer paper, butterfly brad and washi from my stash.

face stamp by technique junkies; sentiment stamp from viva las vegas stamps. butterfly is from lunagirl. washi from pipsticks, paper from stash.

face stamp from lost coast designs; sentiment stamp by penny black stamps. washi, border, flower, enamel dot, etc., from my stash of supplies. 

i stamped many more of my face stamps onto various book pages and designer papers but they didn't all make it onto tags. i'm sure they will turn up in future projects, stamped and ready to go!

love to all.

fabulous faces

it's my turn to choose the next two week tag tuesday challenge and i've chosen the theme of "faces." i own so many faces stamps that i could have made 30 or more tags (embarrassing but true)! in fact i did make several but will just share 3 today -- come back next week for the second installment!

stamp by technique junkies; sentiment is from tim holtz ideology; washi tape from pipsticks and the rest are items from my stash.

face stamp by rubber stampede; sentiment stamp by 100 proof press; the rest are items from my stash of supplies.

just so you know that all the faces do not have to be human! this lovely cat face is from lost coast designs and the sentiment is from leavenworth jackson stamps. background paper is gecko galz and the rest are stash items.

i hope you will have fun with this theme, there are so many ways to play with faces!

love to all.

hats and headgear and a wonderful prize!

for the next two weeks i am hosting the latest challenge at tag tuesday; i have a great challenge for you and great news.  first the challenge: hats and headgear!

both tags start with a tag base, paper by jodie lee designs and then a variety of images from lunagirl collage sheets, lace and flowers from my stash.

speaking of lunagirl, here is the good news!  karen of lunagirl agreed to sponsor the challenge and she made a very special collage sheet for a prize: "do you like my hat?"

well, if you like these hats (who wouldn't) please enter the challenge at tag tuesday for the chance to win. make a tag featuring hats or headgear and you'll be in the running!

love to all.

twigs and bare branches

for tag tuesday "twigs and bare branches" i started with some packaging paper that came in a mailing:

and i tore it to create a sort of tree...

the background is some lovely textured homemade paper (not made by me sadly) and i also added a little bird from a lunagirl birds collage sheet.

not so bad for my little creative idea.
may the trees and birds bring you joy.
love to all.

tags of christmas at gecko galz!

"tag, you're it!"  that's the customer challenge at gecko galz this month.  every december at gecko galz we celebrate all month with tags of christmas and other winter holidays. our design team members make tags representing christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa and new year's to inspire you.  visit the blog every day to see what creative things are there for you to see.

products: background designer paper by my mind's eye; santa from "santa claus lane" collage sheet by gecko galz;  poinsetta berry and sleigh from anna griffin christmas card kit; distress ink and christmas tree die cut from my stash.

instructions: starting with a cardboard base, i cut the size and shape of tag i wanted and covered it with the designer paper, distressing the edges with ink.  i cut out the santa and adhered it, along with the tree die cut on the covered base.  i added the poinsettia and sleigh last.

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check the gecko galz challenge blog daily for more tags of christmas every day this month!  also come back here on december 12 and 25 to see more tags i've made for the season using gecko galz products.

link up your own tag to the blog for the chance to win gecko galz prizes!  just make sure to use at least one gecko galz element.  you have until 11:55pm ET/USA december 20 to play along.  link up to the blog or if you do not have a blog send a photo of your project to geckogalz2014@gmail.com. 


i'm linking this tag to crafty hazelnut's patterned paper challenge since i did use patterned paper!

love to all.

inky hearts

we've been asked to "get inky" at tag tuesday this week and that means stamping.  and since i'm still making little trinkets for valentine's day i made a tag of inky hearts.

the background paper forming the base of this tag is from the gecko galz "smitten" paper pack.  there are 3 heart stamps that i stamped and overstamped over the background, all from hero arts.  the kissing lips stamp at the bottom is from leavenworth jackson stamps company.  the face is from the face to face jewel it collage sheet by gecko galz.  true confessions: i had not intended to include the face.  i stamped a cherub stamp and totally flubbed the impression so i saved the tag by covering it with the face image.  looks kind of mysterious!

although i usually make "moos" for the moo mania and more challenges i am including this piece since the theme there is "hearts" and we are allowed to post any type of creation.  i'll post an actual moo later this week,

have a lovely week.  love to all.

gecko galz inspiration for november -- plus a freebie!

this month the customer challenge at gecko galz challenge blog is "sugar plum fairies."  play along with this theme, using at least one item from gecko galz for the chance at a fabulous gecko galz prize. 
here are a few more christmas-magic tags for you.

products and instructions: i used some of the brand new products available at gecko galz this month -- background paper from the "merry and bright" paper pack and a vintage image from the "christmas magic" collage sheet.  i also used two holiday banners from my stash and a little christmas stocking brad from eyelet outlet.

products and instructions: i used more of the brand new products available at gecko galz this month, from the "blue christmas" kit -- background paper from "blue christmas" paper pack and the sugar plum fairies are from the "blue christmas 1" collage sheet.  i added lace, ribbon, button brads (from eyelet outlet) and snowflake dies.

products and instructions:  here i again used items from the "blue christmas" kit -- background paper from "blue christmas" paper pack and the sugar plum fairies are from the "blue christmas 1" collage sheet.  i finished the piece with die cuts, banners and ribbon from my stash.

i hope you will join the challenge -- it is a good way to get holiday creations made!  remember to use at least one product by gecko galz to be eligible for a prize. you can get gecko galz freebies by signing up on the blog for the monthly newsletter and getting the free collage sheet there or check out the freebies on the gecko galz pinterest page.

now, as promised:

here is your digital freebie, this darling santa!  enjoy!

love to all.

 

use your wings -- gecko galz inspiration

faces always fascinate.  and with wings you take flight!  two of the new gecko galz collage sheets this month are called "face to face" 1 and 2.  i used images from both of those collage sheets for these tags.

the background sheets on both tags are gecko galz also, the "merry and bright" paper pack.  the wings on both are from lunagirl and the sentiment on the tag below is from tim holtz.

 

i'm linking these to the take a word challenge "wings."

 

although these flying women are not technically sugar plum fairies as a gecko galz challenge blog DT member i do want to remind you of the "sugar plum fairies" challenge at the blog.  you must use at least one gecko galz item to qualify but there are plenty of freebies available on the gecko galz pinterest site.

 

love to all.

august gecko galz inspiration -- 3 curious tags (and a freebie!)

today i am sharing three tags using some of the products which are new at the gecko galz store this month.  my tags all feature images from the "curiosity shop" digital stamps and paper packs.

"vision"

 

supplies and instructions: the steampunk lady is from the curiosity shop stamps set and the paper she is printed on as well as the background paper on the tag are from the curiosity shop paper pack.  as you can see I arranged the images as i liked and then added a black border, prima flowers, a bit of rick rack, some letter stickers (from a tim holtz set), a bird sticker and a postmark sticker used as a hole reinforcement.

 

"all in your head... or not"

 

 

supplies and instructions: once again the lady is from the curiosity shop stamps set and the paper she is printed on as well as the background paper on the tag are from the curiosity shop paper pack. behind the lady is a digital stamp from the gecko galz "industrial stamps" set.  the moth and button stickers, words at bottom --"or not" -- and compass brad are all from tim holtz sets.  i've also used 2 different die cut borders, one at top and one at bottom.  i arranged everything to my liking and then adhered the pieces.  there are also enamel dots at the top left and bottom right.

 

"it's an adventure"

 

 



supplies and instructions:  the man is from curiosity shop digital stamps; he is perched on a sort of a steam engine from the "industrial stamps" digital stamp series and the background papers are from the curiosity shop paper pack.  i've also used lots of washi tape, a camera sticker and the word sticker "adventure."  this collaged tag is pretty busy with images and ideas and is definitely an adventure!

i hope you like these tags, they were fun for me to make.  for the past few months gecko galz has been offering a free digital stamp if you visit all the DT blogs.  our theme this month is art nouveau. here is the one i get to share with you:

my final reminder for this post is that the august customer challenge at the gecko galz blog is "life's a circus."  feel free to link up a new creation on the circus theme, be sure to use at least one item from gecko galz to be eligible for the prize -- shopping credit at the gecko galz etsy shop and possibly other goodies as well.  if you don't own anything by gecko galz there is lots of great stuff at the etsy shop but there are also always freebies on the pinterest page, on the blog, or by signing up for the monthly newsletter you'll get a free collage sheet each month.  i hope you will play along!

love to all.

marie antoinette, an iconic face and figure

i've noticed many artists enjoy working with images of marie antoinette.  if you are one of those people this new two week challenge is for you.  offered up jointly by lunagirl moonbeams (the challenge sponsor) and the cheerful stamp pad, you are invited top link up a new creation to both blogs featuring an image of marie antoinette.  here is a tag to get you going.

for my tag i started with some designer paper from my stash which was already covered in french script.  i gave the paper a light going over with watered down white gesso.  next i selected an image from the "marie" collage sheet by lunagirl and cut it out.  i also added a scene from the lunagirl "dreams of paris" collage sheet and a compass from the lunagirl "winds and roses" collage sheet.  i arranged and adhered these pieces, distressed the edges and also added a prima flower, some washi tape and a fleur de lis brad.  should you play along with this challenge you will have the random chance of winning a prize from lunagirl.

though images of marie are lovely to look at, nevertheless her life was an unfortunate one.  though she was born to wealth and ascended to become queen of france, she was apparently vain and frivolous.  the french people were struggling and revolution was afoot.  she was ultimately executed.  if i could rewrite history i would make her a more generous person and arrange a happy ending for her and for the people of france in those treacherous times.

our challenge prompt at tag tuesday this week is "faces."  i'll be linking this tag to that site as well, acknowledging the fascinating face of this intriguing character.

love to all.

valentines

sharing some valentines i've made over the years.  may every day of your life be filled with love.

love to all.

school days

lesson number one: bring flowers for teacher...
our prompt at tag tuesday this week is "school days."  hidden in my stash i found i had a tag with some letters and numbers on it already.

i added some strips of paper with script and some school girls from a lunagirl collage sheet called "girls 1929."  these girls are bearing gifts which gave me the idea to focus on gifts for teacher.

enjoy; love to all.

another tag for the cheerful stamp pad

this is week two for the "tags" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. any and all tags are welcome, whether single tag, a tag book, whether stamped or mixed media.  just come join the fun.  the challenge sponsor is vintage image madness. the randomly selected winner will get some vintage goodies.  i've got another tag featuring a vintage image madness image here.

i have a beautiful blue tag which i stamped with a french script stamp from stampin' up.  i have some designer paper, the vintage image, the butterfly, a flower, etc.  i know, i know, another gypsy like image.  i'm obsessed!

love to all.

"love me two" & pink saturday!

the very talented Trishia of frenchkissed postcards has two challenges going on and with today's 2 tags i am participating in the "love me two" challenge.  Trishia takes vintage postcards and works absolute magic on them and makes them available 3 ways -- monthly free downloads on her blog and for sale in her etsy and zibbet shops.  she offered free downloads of "underloved postcards,"  that is, images no one seemed to be interested in buying!  we were challenged to make at least 2 tags and send them to her by march 13.  i finished mine today and will mail them monday.

this lady is an absolute hoot. i placed her on a french script stamped tag with some nice designer papers and embellishments.

i think this lady represents what we would have seen if marie antoinette took typing classes... (smile.) in any event congrats to her on typing up "her best story" and i for one hope she gets it published!

Trishia has set a goal to bring in new customers in 2012.  i have downloaded many of her free images over the past months and made use of them in my creations.  so i was very glad to officially become one of her new paying customers last month.  to learn about the "scandalous bribery" sale she has going right now see HERE.

hey, what a lot of lovely pink here; perfect for pink saturday!

i hope you'll check out Trishia's blog and also check out the many pink treats at the pink saturday site.

love to all.

a heart full of love

a few more valentine type items to share...

this card could be used for any occasion but i sent it to my aunt for valentine's day.  just like my aunt, this woman clearly has a heart full of love.  the image is from moonlight journey.  awhile back i was doing a lot of cards with images from this black americana set from moonlight journey.  i'm going to get back to that set and to another set i found with vintage images of african americans so stay tuned as i'll be making many more. i'll also link this to the "woman thing link party" at cindy adkins whimsical musings.

here is another tag i made for valentine's day.  featuring a stamp by "ducks in a row."
oh, and here's another card with a vintage child's valentine from twisted papers.

ok, one more then. and this is probably it!  also an image from twisted papers.

this last one went to my DH's dear sweet grandmother and she is as sweet as she can be. oh i love making valentines!  but now it is time for me to get to making twinchies since i'm in a swap and must get mine mailed out the end of this month.  stay tuned for that too!

love to all.

love love love to all!

one more day until valentine's day!

so here's another tag!

or two...
love to all!

thankful for....

blog friends like Cindy from cindy adkins whimsical musings blog.  she sent me this lovely Christmas tag.

this came when i really needed a lift.  thanks dear Cindy!  please visit her blog if you never have before because her art is luminous and there are fun tutorials and all kinds of goodies.

i can't believe i didn't have time to make and send any thanksgiving cards this year.  i love doing it but i just could not pull it off.  it has been a really busy fall.  but i am thankful for life and health, family and friends.  so to those who celebrate thanksgiving i wish you a wondrous one.  if you don't celebrate i wish you a wondrous day, whatever it is, however you spend it!

love to all.