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.

vintage tag

she is remembering with wistful happy thoughts, days spent in the flower garden amid the sweet chirps of swooping, circling birds and special times with dear friends. 

this tag is for two challenges. each month at fripperies and butterflies, blog host leanne provides a free collage sheet and we are challenged to create using that sheet and whatever theme she has chosen.  for august it is a french postcard challenge at fripperies and butterflies -- you don't have to make a postcard but you do have to use images from the free french postcards collage sheet she provided.  the woman and the stamps on this tag are from that sheet. the background paper is from itkupilli and the rest are stash items. the winner of this challenge will get a shopping spree at gecko galz.

the second challenge i'm entering is the vintage-inspired tag challenge at tag-along challenges. it is their one year anniversary at that challenge blog.  the challenge sponsor for that tag is lunagirl and the winner will get goodies from lunagirl.

enjoy; love to all.

wealth, beauty and prosperity

these three -- wealth, beauty and prosperity -- are the hallmarks of the hindu goddess lakshmi, represented on my tag for tag tuesday's "india" prompt this week.  india is the birthplace of the hindu religion.

my tag is simple.  i stamped the lakshmi stamp (by inkadinakado) onto gorgeous background paper by alphastamps.  i added a butterfly, a pretty sticker symbol and the word "delight" from a tim holtz words set.

love to all.  along with wealth, beauty and prosperity!

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.

welcome baby girl!

we are celebrating the theme of "new baby" at the cheerful stamp pad and since i rarely make baby cards it is so far a boon for me because now i've made two baby cards!  last week i shared a card from our challenge sponsor stitchy bear's "baby boy pack" and this week i broke into the "baby girl pack" for my DT creation.

for this card i digitally arranged the stitchy bear baby dress and bonnet on some digital background paper from twisted papers.  i printed that and cut out the baby apparel.  on cardstock i glued some gorgeous designer paper from the primavera line by itkupilli.  i added the baby booties border at top and the "baby" letters from a sticker set i had and then punched a little angel from additional paper by itkupilli.  the edges were distressed and this card is ready for the next baby girl to come.

one more week to link up! this challenge is a great way to get stocked up on cards you might need later on. have a great week.

love to all.

fruity tag

our theme at tag tuesday this week is "fruit."  for my tag i used background designer paper by itkupilli from the primavera line, a watermelon seed packet and garden fairy from lunagirl, washi tape and a bunny brad from alphastamps.

a few little stash items complete this tag.  enjoy!
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.

let's hear it for the boys!

karen at lunagirl moonbeams blog has started us on a new two week challenge in which we are featuring little boys.  so often we feature little girls in our artwork so it is  refreshing (and sometimes challenging) change of pace to make things featuring boys.  but as the mom of a young man who was once a little boy i warm to this topic quickly!  i made a bookmark on the theme of back to school since i realize that this time is right around the corner for those with little ones at home.

my little boy is from the african american images CD sold by lunagirl.  i gave him wings from the rainbow wings collage sheet also by lunagirl.  i often give wings to little girls in my art and decided that little boys should be able to fly too of course!  furthermore nothing gives you wings like education!  the rest of the tems are from my overflowing stash of designer papers and embellies and such.

i hope you will play along!  i'm also linking this up to the week 31 anything goes challenge at scraps of color.

love to all.

welcome new baby!

challenge #93 at the cheerful stamp pad is "new baby" and we are again gratefully sponsored by stitchy bear stamps.  our DT was given digital images to use from the "baby boy" and "baby girl" packs.  i focused on images from the baby boy pack and also used background papers from itkupilli for my digital creation.

the sentiment is by TLC creations.
you have two weeks to enter a baby-themed creation for a chance at winning digital stamps from stitthy bear.

love to all.

something sweet; for the dogs

this ATC is for wicked wednesday "something sweet" and gecko galz facebook/yahoo group challenge "for the dogs."  the "my dear sweetheart" dog is a gecko galz image as is the background designer paper.  the rest -- rick rack, hearts, dog paw paper are stash items -- largely from my valentine's day stash collection!

love to all.

havana cigars -- for flowers and fans...

greetings! i've got one last inspiration piece for you for the flowers and fans challenge at lunagirl moonbeams. the randomly selected challenge winner gets a CD including 25 lunagirl collage sheets -- an awesome prize! this time i've used images from the "fans" collage sheet and a single image sunflower cigar ad also provided by lunagirl.

the two lovely background papers i used are from gecko galz.  the remaining bits (vine, robin, single flower) are from my stash.

if you don't have any fans don't let that stop you -- click here for a lovely vintage fan image available free at the lunagirl site.  just a few days remaining to link up a creation.
enjoy; love to all.

japanese traditions

my august gecko galz DT piece uses images from the gecko galz "japanese traditions" collage sheet and from the "mori girl" paper pack.

i also used two different stamps: a japanese script stamp from mad rat rubber and a lantern stamp, company unknown.  there's a bit of washi tape and a heart sticker from a local japanese gift store.

please check out more of this month's DT samples at the gecko galz site!
i'm linking this to the fan-tastic tuesday "it's hip to be square or rectangular" "anything goes" challenge.

love to all.

more flowers and fans

hello friends. continuing with this rather romantic challenge theme of flowers and fans at lunagirl moonbeams i've made a tag, again featuring both flowers and fans from the collage sheets "blossoms," "lady of the flowers" and :fans."

the gorgeous background paper is from the itkupilli primavera collection.  i've added washi tape, distressing and ribbon of course.

wishing you had a vintage image of a fan to add to your collection?  click here for a nice freebie from lunagirl! just one more week to link up with your flowers and fans creations.
love to all.

all that jazz, continued

for week two of the "all that jazz" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad i've made another digital creation with images from our challenge sponsor stitchy bear digital stamps.  the background paper is a digital background from mcmahon five designs.

the "bright lights" and musical notes are from my stash.  if you link up a musicla creation of your won you'll have the chance to win shopping credit at stitchy bear.

love to all.

up in the air

in her moon-clock-hot-air-balloon this beauty has taken flight and is floating dreamily up in the air on wishes for sweetness, peace and joy.  the vintage image beauty and the background maps and script are all from gecko galz.  the wing on the beauty is from lunagirl.  i've also used magic mesh, washi tape and a butterfly from my stash.

i'm entering this to two challenges:
"up in the air" at the gecko galz facebook/yahoo groups papercrafting group; and
"take flight" the latest readers's art quest at unruly paper arts.

wishing you floaty dreams and goodness; love to all.

gecko galz and itkupilli

at the gecko galz site each month we combine gecko galz items items with items from a featured company. this month the cross promotion partner is the wonderful artist itkupilli! itkupilli has provided some gorgeous papers from her primavera line for us to create with.  i've made two tags combining images from the two companies.

i call this tag "reverie."  the gecko galz vintage images are from the "sunny august" and "la vie en rose" collage sheets.  the gorgeous background paper is from itkupilli. i've used washi tape, polyvinyl hole reinforcement and ribbon to finish the piece.

i call this piece "fairy kiss."  again the background is primavera paper from itkupilli.  the image is from the gecko galz "sunny august" collage sheet.  the kissing stag is washi tape.  the butterfly and rabbit are brads by alphastamps.

check out the gecko site to see additional cross promotion pieces by the design team!
love to all.

it's a man thing

our tag tuesday theme this week is "its a man thing."

i found these men from a victorian era clothing ad on the lunagirl collage sheet "ladies and gents."  i created a background for the tag with multiple images from the gecko galz "old world maps" collage sheet.  i have additional background paper from gecko galz, distressing and the steampunk-ish brad from alphastamps.

love to all.

flowers and fans

joy, happiness and romance are in the air! join us at lunagirl moonbeams for the new "flowers and fans" two week theme challenge.  you are invited to create using flowers and fans and link to the challenge site.  i made a card featuring flowers and fans from three different lunagirl collage sheets -- "blossoms", "lady of the flowers" and "fans."

i think this card would be lovely for any occasion.  learn more about the victorian era language of flowers and fans here.  a randomly selected challenge winner will get shopping credit at the lunagirl store.

happy week; love to all.

all that jazz!

do you love music?  i do!  join us for challenge #92 at the cheerful stamp pad, "all that jazz!"  link up your jazzy music themed creations for a chance to win something fun from our challenge sponsor stitchy bear stamps.

the background paper on my card is a digital background by french-kissed postcards.  i digitally added the harp and grand piano, from the "all that jazz" collection generously provided to our DT by stitchy bear.  i then added my cut out vintage lady, also by french-kissed postcards.  my lovely chanteuse is surrounded by les papillons -- butterflies -- from my stash.

we would love to have you play along.
love to all.

very vintage customer challenge -- and some giveaway news...

at the gecko galz blog the august customer challenge is "very vintage."
i have made an ATC to encourage you to join in the challenge.

my very vintage creation features a mysterious woman of the world, perhaps a fortune teller?  the woman is from the gecko galz "jazz hot ladies" collage sheet and the map and compass part in the background is from the gecko galz "old world maps" collage sheet.  there is some additional background paper from my stash in the background, some distressing with distress inks and a pocket watch brad from alphastamps.


any vintage creation will do, though you are asked to use a minimum of one image from gecko galz -- but keep in mind there are always freebies on the website!  also, if you sign up for the monthly newsletter you'll get more freebies every month right in your email inbox. so i hope you'll play along.

i'm also entering this ATC to the week 29 "going in circles" theme challenge at scraps of color.

and here's some unrelated but very cool giveaway news:  if you like the unruly paper arts facebook page and sign up for the UPA newsletter you'll be entered into a drawing for some fab stamps from darkroom door.

pretty!
love to all.