gecko galz inspiration

this month at gecko galz a couple of fabulous new products have been launched and i have made two projects here using some of those brand new products.  first, my "live, love, laugh" card.

my supplies:

gecko galz “chalkboard sentiments” collage sheet image; gecko galz school days digital stamp; designer paper; coordinating ribbon; paper flower; a brad and distress inks.

and here's what i did:

first i re-sized the chalkboard sentiment image i'd chosen in photoshop to make it larger and also digitally created a border around it.  i also re-sized the digital stamp so that it would fit the sentiment.  i printed and cut both out.  on the original digital stamp the children in the stamp were doing math problems but i cut that out so that it would appear they were writing the sentiment on the chalkboard.  i covered the cardstock with designer paper and distressed the edges.  i arranged the sentiment and stamp to my satisfaction and finished the piece by adhering two different colors of ribbon and adding a paper flower and brad in the corner.

now here is my "always believe" card:

my supplies:

gecko galz “chalkboard sentiments” collage sheet image; gecko galz school days digital stamp; designer paper; flower die cut, dragonfly die cut.

and here's what i did:

i covered the cardstock with 2 coordinating designer papers, tearing the piece on top to create a ripped finish.  distressed the edges with distress inks.  in photoshop i re-sized the chalkboard sentiment and added a border around it.  i also re-sized the little girl.  i adhered the sentiment, the flower, the girl and then finally the dragonfly.

i loved making these and hope you will check out the rest of the DT efforts using the beautiful new products at the gecko galz website.

love to all.

sweet fairy

it is time for more inspiration to join the fairyland challenge at lunagirl moonbeams!  well, who really needs a nudge to come to fairyland?  especially when fairies like this one below beckon so becomingly?

this is actually a teeny tiny tag -- about 1x2 1/2 inches.  i have images from lunagirl collage sheets "beauties" "rainbow wings" and "shabby lilac."  the background paper is some free paper offered at the site many months ago and i added some lace.

this will also be my tag tuesday piece for this week since we also have a fairy theme.

i hope you'll play along but whether you do or not have a lovely week.
love to all.

fairy trick or treat!

for week two of the "anything goes" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad this week i chose a fairy digital image from our sponsor stitchy bear (image design by "lil diva").  i colored her with pencils.  when i started coloring i didn't realize she was going to come out quite so gothic looking.  but since she did i thought here is a chance to make a hallowe'en themed card -- it is right around the corner!

the wonderful gothic background paper is "coven" from gecko galz.  the very cool moon and moon-crow are by rhonda's originals. i added the words "trick or treat" and a ghost brad from my stash.

since the challenge is "anything goes," you can link up a creation on any theme or in any format. the randomly selected winner will get a shopping spree at stitchy bear.  if you take a cue from me and involve a fairy in your creation, remember that there is a fairyland challenge theme lasting one more week at lunagirl moonbeams; so link up there as well if your creation fits that theme.

have a wonderful week.
love to all.

traveling gift swap

i participated in a neat swap at the scraps of color community recently -- a traveling gift swap. basically if you signed up the person in line ahead of you sends you a gift and then you send a gift to the person in line after you.  everyone had a week to turn their gift around but most people were moving much faster.

the person ahead of me was treva of treva's craft corner.  she altered a giant clothespin!  this thing is about 7 inches high.  never seen anything like it.  here is a photo montage i made of it -- it is so cool and i love that it has my name on it:

she also threw in some random and fun craft supplies as a part of my gift.  i had decided i would alter an altoid tin for the gift i would send.  here's the photo montage of what i made:

this is maybe the 3rd or 4th tin i've done and i should share that my inspiration tutorial from it came form here.  i used designer papers from my stash, lots of measuring and cutting of course.  the vintage photo image is from lunagirl.  around the top lid is some very cool adhesive fabric lace i found at my local daiso japanese store.  i love the crafty stuff they sell.  and then other goodies are on there too.

this was a fun swap, it was nice to be in a swap where i could just make whatever i wanted that i thought my recipient would like.  i did email and ask her in advance what she wanted but she said "surprise me."  she has already received it and says she did like it.  i also sent her some crafting goodies since my gifter did that for me.

have a wonderful weekend,  love to all.

silhouette tag

we are working with silhouettes this week at tag tuesday so i decided to make a tag using both some digital and traditional stamps.

the hummingbird and butterfly are digital images from bugaboo stamps.  the gorgeous flower is from my favorite rogue redhead designs "floriculture" stamp plate.  the primary sheet of background paper for the tag as well as the paper the hummingbird was printed on are both from the primavera series by itKuPiLLi.

in addition to some distressing and ribbon, i added a little bead for the hummingbird's eye and some additional paper at the bottom that looks like a stone wall.

hummingbirds are my favorites.
love to all.

you are now entering fairyland; and altered deck fun

our new challenge at lunagirl moonbeams for the next two weeks is all about fairyland, a place many crafters visit with or without a challenge as far as i can tell.

in my ATC one beloved fairy keeps watch over other sweet fairy friends as they primp and play and relax among the flowers.  all vintage images (fairies and fan) are from lunagirl. background papers and butterfly are from my stash.

please join us in fairyland.
now i also want to share something else i am quite excited about

claudine at claudine's art corner is hosting an altered playing card challenge at her blog which just started in september so there is time to join the fun if you like.  i have always wanted to alter a deck of cards and this challenge is a great way to get started.  on day one we had the option to gesso (or sand) the entire deck so that each card will be prepped for the free tutorials to follow.  here's my evidence laying out to dry:

i'll be posting more photos as i continue along with this process!  i believe we will get a new instruction each week.
hope your week is moving along just right.
love to all.

school days!

it's a new month and at gecko galz that means a new monthly challenge.  since it is september it makes perfect sense to choose "school days" as our challenge.  if you link up a school days creation featuring at least one image by gecko galz you'll be in the running for a prize pack including a $25 gecko galz shopping spree and a prize pack from rhonda's originals.  here's some inspiration from me for you:

for my "scholar" tag i used the following supplies:

gecko galz school days digital stamps

gecko galz “old world maps” vintage image

designer paper

washi tape

ribbon

distress inks

polyvinyl hole reinforcement

and here's what i did:

first i re-sized the digital stamps to the desired size, printed and fussy cut.  i covered the cardstock tag base with alphabet designer paper then tore a piece of map from the old world maps collage sheet to adhere to the tag base.  i used distress inks around the edges.  i arranged the two digital stamps on the tag as I wanted them and added washi tape, the hole reinforcement and the ribbon.

i love the digital stamp i used here -- it reminds me of some old style cartoon.

link up your school days creation for fun at gecko galz!
i'm also linking this up to the week 34 back to school challenge at scraps of color.

love to all.