doodled fish

still playing around with doodling for the oodles of doodles challenge at lost coast portal to creativity...

on this ATC, the fish head is from lost coast "up close and personal" stamp set, stamped on designer paper and fussy cut; bubbles stamp from G-rated stamps; the star is a digital stamp from gecko galz and the background paper is also from gecko galz.  fish body doodling is by me with a pro marker pen.

love to all.

scraps and purple

for tag tuesday "use your scraps"
for take a word "touch of purple"

this started with my grabbing a folder of scraps that are two small to do anything with individually but which the hoarder in me thought i'd eventually find a use for -- 

i was happily surprised to see that my folder contained more than just paper scraps, it also had hole punched bits, colored in digital stamps that had never made their way to a project etc.  thus this project with a background of scraps and a foreground including a digital stamp from the octopode factory.

the octopode stamp guy is already such a scrappy character that i think this was the perfect way to feature him.  and given the purple i'd used for his eyelids (back some months ago when i first colored him) along with some of the background strips of paper i decide to link this to the take a word "purple" challenge as well.

also, the other scrap that made its way into this project is the tag base itself -- from my stash of "paint chips" that i keep thinking i will use for something!  well this time i did!

enjoy; love to all.

witching hour ATCs and freebie for you

it is the "witching hour" at gecko galz challenge blog this month. create something on our theme for the chance to win prizes from gecko galz.  i'm sharing 2 more "witchy" ATCs today:

supplies: ATC cardboard base; gecko galz gatsby paper pack; gecko galz spooky tickets collage sheet; gecko galz witchy women collage sheet; word from gecko galz midnight magic collage sheet; moon from rhonda's originals; paper flower; enamel dot; distress inks

instructions: i glued a paper from the gatsby paper pack to the cardboard base.  i cut out the ticket, moon and witch and glues them all to the base as well.  i distressed all edges and added the flower and dot last.

supplies: ATC cardboard base; gecko galz frightfully delightful paper pack (new this month); gecko galz bootiful halloween collage sheet (new this month); pumpkin die cut border; spider sticker; distress inks


instructions: i glued a paper from the paper pack to the cardboard base.  after distressing the edges i cut out the witch and owl and glued them on as well.  my final step was adding the border and spider.

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how to play along: link up your creation on the challenge theme to the blog.  you must use at least one item by gecko galz.  you can find gecko galz images at the etsy shop, free on the pinterest page or sign up for the monthly newsletter and you'll get a free collage sheet every month!

just for fun, here are your gecko galz digital freebies for this month:

just right click and save to your computer!
enjoy; love to all.

july gecko galz inspiration and a digital freebie!

today is my feature day on the gecko galz blog which means i also get to give you a free digital image!  but first let me share 2 more ATCs on our customer challenge theme of "sun, moon and stars."

supplies: ATC base; gecko galz solarium paper pack; gecko galz "sun, moon and stars" collage sheet (new this month!); gecko galz "dream within a dream" collage sheet; sentiment by tim holtz; enamel dots.

instructions: i covered the ATC with paper from the solarium paper pack.  i cut out the moon and star image from the "sun, moon and stars" collage sheet and the woman from the "dream within a dream" collage sheet and arranged them to my liking.  i added the sentiment and enamel dots to finish.

supplies: gecko galz solarium paper pack; gecko galz "sun, moon and stars" collage sheet (new this month!); gecko galz "dream within a dream" collage sheet; washi tape, prima flower; die cut border.

instructions: i covered the ATC with paper from the solarium paper pack.  i added random strips of washi tape.  i cut the two women images from "dream within a dream" collage sheet and the moon from the "sun, moon and stars" collage sheet.  the final touches were the prima flower and die cut border.

to join the customer challenge you must use at least one item by gecko galz.  in addition to the reasonably priced goodies at the etsy shop there are plenty of freebies for the grabbing on the gecko galz pinterest page.

and as promised, here is a freebie for you to save and play with -- this is a fun one for summer!

enjoy; love to all.

garden of dreams -- may gecko galz inspiration continued, and a freebie!

today is my feature day over at the gecko galz challenge blog and i have a few pieces to entire you to join the "garden of dreams" customer challenge.  and of course, a freebie!

garden of dreams domino pendant

supplies: gecko galz "butterfly kisses" collage sheet; gecko galz "nature's bliss" collage sheet; domino, bail, diamond glaze; black sharpie

instructions:  i sanded the domino and adhered the image from the "butterfly kisses" collage sheet with the diamond glaze.  i cut the bird from the "nature's bliss" collage sheet and glued it on as well. i outlined the perimeter with a black sharpie.  i covered the domino with another coat of diamond glaze and once dry, added the bail on the back and the chain as well.

my next piece is not focused on gardens but uses one of the new collage sheets this quarter, "go ask alice": 

"don't be late!" a white rabbit domino pendant

supplies: gecko galz "go ask alice" collage sheet; clock image from my stash; domino, bail, diamond glaze; black sharpie

instructions: i sanded the domino and adhered the image from the "go ask alice" collage sheet with the diamond glaze.  i cut and added the clock, outlined the domino with a black sharpie, and did a final layer of diamond glaze and once dry added the bail and chain.

now as promised, here is your freebie, it is on the theme of "mother's day:"

and here is what i have done with it:

i printed and colored the digital image with colored pencils then cut it out and adhered it to cardstock covered in paper from the gecko galz "spring awakening" paper pack.  the border and hydrangeas are stickers from my stash.

i hope you'll find time to join the customer challenge.  you must use at least one item from gecko galz; check out the freebies on the gecko galz pinterest page.

love to all

those who don't believe in magic...



believe in magic and you just might find it!  for the latest progressive challenge at sweet pea stamps friends and fans on facebook, here is a card featuring a lovely image from artist ching chou kuik, "misty reflections."

i printed and colored this digital image with pencils and placed it on cardstock covered with background paper from gecko galz.  the sentiment comes from a tim holtz set.

sadly i must tell you that sweet pea stamps, the online store from which i obtained this image, is closing in about a month.  if there are digitals or rubber stamps from that company that you've been craving you have only a short time left to shop.

i wish a happy hallowe'en and happy all saint's day to those who acknowledge them, and as always, love to all.

autumn clown

happy saturday friends. today, for part two of the sweet pea stamps progressive facebook challenge for October and for the one sweet challenge blog fall colors challenge i present this sweet clown by artist katerina koukiotis, of sweet pea stamps.

i colored the lovely digital stamp with pencils and fussy cut it, applied to to digital background paper from the "autumn harvest" paper pack by gecko galz and then embellished with distressing, borders, leaves and words. 

also linking to "anything goes" at pink saturday.  enjoy!

love to all.

the hop to stop.... domestic violence

thanks to blogger KTFitKitty i discovered a very special blog hop this month -- the hop to stop domestic violence at the damsel of distressed blog.  all are invited to create with purple, the color of national domestic violence awareness month.  domestic violence has touched my family and sadly 1 in 3 women will experience it in their lifetimes.  so it seemed a small thing to participate in this meaningful event.

i used this beautiful digital stamp by helena reis, from sweet pea stamps.  i colored the image with colored pencils in shades of violet and violet indigo with some other accent colors.  the background paper covered in butterflies is by gecko galz.  i wanted to use the phrase "you are enough" and i thought i would have to handwrite it but I hoped I might find something in my stash (at least the three separate words which i could string together) and to my happy surprise (synchronicity alert!) this phrase was already present in a tim holtz ideology "small talk" sticker book i picked up last week on a whim.  wonderful.

i'm also entering this truly at the 11th hour in the sweet pea stamps facebook group progressive challenge which closes today.

finally I am linking to the "for a cause" challenge at the eclectic ellapu.  please check out the "hop to stop" and help raise awareness to end domestic violence.
love to all.

happy birthday!

well i am sure today is someone's birthday!  it is always good to get stocked up on good homemade birthday cards so our new two week challenge at the cheerful stamp pad is "birthday."  i'm happy to tell you that our challenge sponsor is once again little blue button stamps; a randomly selected participant will get a prize from their online stamp store.

this creation is entirely digital.  i took this adorable digital stamp from little blue button and placed it on digital designer paper from gecko galz.  i colored the image and added the sentiment using adobe photoshop.  this will be a fun card to share with someone.

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.

sweet pea progressive challenge for june, part 2

for part 2 of the june progressive challenge at the sweet pea stamps friends and fans facebook page we were given a digital image by karen middleton called "mushroom fairy."  here is my creation:

 

 

i colored the mushroom fairy digi with colored pencils and cut it out.  the background is 3 different designer papers arranged to my liking.  the "one fine day" stamp and prima flowers are from my stash.  this piece makes me happy because summer has arrived in my hemisphere.  in general i am always too busy with work or responsibilities of various kinds.  but i have already been blessed with a few fine days like this fairy is having, days of sweet quiet, contemplation and little to do.  this card reminds me of the value of that sweet contemplation.

  

 

enjoy!  to learn more about the monthly progressive challenges search for the "sweet pea stamps friends and fans" page on facebook.

 

love to all.  and wishing you many fine days! 

tickled pink

at the sweet pea stamps facebook site we are on part 2 of the latest progressive challenge.  we were given a digital stamp by artist lynne stansbery to play with.  i printed the image on designer paper by gecko galz and colored it with pencils.  I added a few other bits to finish.

i made it in just under the wire again!
linking up to pink saturday.

love to all.

zentangle moon love

it is week two of the zentangle challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.  you can enter any creation featuring a zentangle you've made, or one credited to another artist.  our DT is working with the zentangle art of courtney mcansh, designer of digital images at sweet pea stamps, our challenge sponsor. i've taken courtney's moon zentangle and combined it with images from gecko galz for my creation this week.

i printed the wonderful digital moon image and colored it with colored pencils.  i used background paper and a vintage lady image from gecko galz and arranged them with the zentangle.  i added washi tape, a pink lace border, a white heart brad and the words "moon love" which i formed with vellum stickers.

one week left to join the challenge for the chance of a prize from sweet pea stamps.
you may zentangle your own creation or use an existing zentangle image.

i'm also linking this to the gecko galz paper crafting group on facebook for the "anything goes" challenge.

love to all.

zentangle challenge at the cheerful stamp pad

zentangles are great fun to make, but there are also zentangle images out in the world to play with too.  for our new two week challenge at the cheerful stamp pad we are working with the zentangle art of courtney mcansh, designer of digital images at sweet pea stamps. i've taken courtney's elephant zentangle and made two alphabet ATCs.

with both ATCs i printed the digital image and colored with colored pencils.  on the first i used a background paper from itKuPiLLi and added a flower and washi tape.  the word elephant was stamped with my mason row pegz.

the second ATC i actually posted previously as it was a part of a challenge at the sweet pea stamps facebook page.  the background sunburst paper is from mcmahon five designs and i added flowers and a letter.  i decided to share both ATCs today because i like the contrast as they were each done slightly differently.

a randomly selected winner of this challenge will win a prize from sweet pea stamps so i encourage you to join -- whether you make your own zentangle creation or work with an already created zentangle you will be eligible to play along.

i'm also linking up to the "animal instincts" reader art quest at unruly paper arts.

love to all.

in the kitchen with "lil chef

for week two of the "in the kitchen" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad i used another cute digital image by our sponsor stitchy bear stamps.

i printed the little chef and colored him with pencils.  the first background paper is from my stash but the sunburst is by mcmahon five.  i used some stick on letters for the sentiment and punched a heart with my heart punch to finish the piece.

i hope you will play along for the chance at winning a prize from stitchy bear.
i'm linking this to the march 2015 "anything goes" challenge at mema's crafts.

love to all.

in the kitchen!

it is cooking time and we are "in the kitchen" with the cheerful stamp pad and our challenge sponsor stitchy bear digital stamps.  for the next two weeks link up a creation on a kitchen/cooking theme at the cheerful stamp pad challenge blog for the chance at a prize from stitchy bear.  i used a very cute stitchy bear digital stamp called "tea time" to make a recipe pocket.

i started with a library card pocket.  i covered it in two different papers from the background fairy   I adhered those to the pocket and added a border and a heart punched from one of the two papers. i colored the digital stamp with colored pencils and cut it out and added it to the pocket.  my final step was adding some words and putting a recipe into the pocket.

play along with us!

love to all.

recycle, re-purpose, reinvent!

i am delighted to be a guest designer this month for the recycle, re-purpose, reinvent challenge blog. this is a companion challenge blog for CS designs digital stamp co.  i have been a fan of CS designs for many years and have enjoyed using their products.  so it is a great honor to get to do some special designs for the challenge blog this month.  the only requirement for the challenges is to recycle, re-purpose, or reinvent in the making of your creation.  here is my piece for today:

this piece started as a small composition book, about 4x3 inches.  and here is a closer look at the final project:

i covered the composition book, front and back, with a digital background paper from CS designs called "circle twirls" which i'd printed on dark green paper. i used a piece of brown book binding tape to make the new book binding border.  i also sized and printed digital stamps from the "women head shots" and "masculine collage pieces" sets onto light brown kraft paper.  i carefully cut out the male and female images along with the clock.  the final piece was a sentiment from the "mystery and imagination" series which i also sized and printed on kraft paper and cut out.

i came up with an arrangement i liked but i needed something to break up the dark colors.  i used stickers from my stash, one with a musical score in the background, one with script and one with the word "enchantment" to create additional background interest for the final piece.  i added some flowers in the corners and one last round sticker to complete this piece.

check back in a couple weeks for more guest pieces featuring wonderful digital stamps from CS designs!  and i hope you will create some recycled piece of art to join the challenge!

love to all

more gecko galz february inspiration

i've got another card with brand new images from the gecko galz shop to share today.  this may be my favorite one i made with the gecko products this month.

supplies: gecko galz “royal beauties 2” collage sheet; gecko galz “all you need is love” digital stamp set; gecko galz “love potion #9” paper pack; my artistic adventures vintage valentine sweethearts bitty collection paper pack by heather hudson; pink paislee “queen” stamp; felt lace border; washi tape; distress inks

instructions: card stock was covered with one of the papers from the vintage valentine sweethearts bitty collection and distressed with ink.  the “love me” digital stamp was printed on one of the papers from the gecko galz love potion #9 paper pack.  i cut out the digital stamp and the image from the royal beauties collage sheet.  i stamped the queen stamp on another paper from the vintage valentine sweethearts bitty collection paper pack.  i arranged everything to my satisfaction and then glued it all down and finished with the border and washi tape.

don;t forget to play along with the gecko galz "vintage ladies" customer challenge!

love to all.

dreaming of spring, part 2 plus blog candy at mea culpa

while it is more than a month away spring holds the hope of sun and flowers and new things ahead. at the cheerful stamp pad we are encouraging you to create with the hope of spring in mind.  our challenge sponsor is sweet pea stamps.  not only did they generously provide digital images for our DT to use, they will generously provide a prize to the randomly selected winner of this challenge.  so play along for a chance at a lovely digital stamp.

this gorgeous digital stamp called "mary's magic" was created by joanne schempp for sweet pea stamps.  i colored it with colored pencils, fussy cut it and arrange it on some designer paper and cloth lace. i added a couple stickers as well.  this definitely makes me want to make sure the front yard is suitably messy so that fairies can be comfortable hiding there!  well, anyway that's my excuse for avoiding yard work!

play along with our challenge for the chance at a "sweet" pea prize.

hey do you like blog candy and digital stamps from aurora wings?  check out the blogoversary candy at mea culpa blog.  the more comments made on the blog the bigger the prize will get!

love to all.

spring at the cheerful stamp pad

well, spring is really more than a month away but we can dream can't we?  and there is no better way to dream than with the very dreamy stamps from sweet pea stamps.  so this new spring challenge at the cheerful stamp pad lasts for two weeks and a randomly selected participant will win a prize from our sponsor sweet pea.  all very sweet!  here is some inspiration for you to play along.

the lovely digital stamp which i've colored with pencils is called "forget me not" and was created by artist ching-chou kuik for sweet pea stamps.  love love love it!  i used simple designer papers, borders and stickers to finish this simple card celebrating the spring we hope for.

i hope you will play along!  love to all.