honeybee glamour

to welcome the second week of the honeybee challenge at lunagirl moonbeams i've got yet another tag.  on this one i have images from the "honeybee tags" and "she walks in beauty" collage sheets from lunagirl.

there is something majestic about this lady here.
one week remains to link up for the challenge; a randomly selected winner will receive a shopping credit prize from lunagirl.

have a wonderful weekend.  love to all.

sweet pea stamps progressive challenge -- part 2

i'm playing along in part two of the sweet pea facebook group progressive challenge.  part one was "anything goes" but to play in part two we were all given a sweet pea stamps digital stamp for our creation, karen middleton's "easter daffodil."  here is my creation:

such a super cute digital image!  i colored it with colored pencils and then adhered the framed image to colorful cardstock and added embellishments from my stash.

all are welcome to join the sweet pea facebook group and play along!

love to all.

sweet pea valentine week 2

it is week two for our valentine challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. our challenge sponsor is sweet pea stamps and a randomly selected winner will get a prize from sweet pea.  there are so many wonderful stamps at sweet pea -- both digital and rubber so this will be a wonderful prize.  here is my week two inspiration piece.

the digital stamp i used and colored with pencils is called "tori the dragon raining hearts" and is a stamp designed by conie fong for sweet pea stamps.  i outline my cut piece with markers.  i colored the cardstock with markers also and then bordered the piece with rickrack.  i added a "be mine" from my stash and two heart brads by eyelet outlet.

one more week to play along and have the chance at a prize from sweet pea stamps.
love to all.

hi honey!

our new challenge at lunagirl moonbeams is "honeybees," a sweet theme indeed.  i've made a piece using images from the "honeybee tags" and "she walks in beauty" collage sheets from lunagirl.

play along with us creating something including honeybees and you will be up for the chance at the prize of shopping credit at the wonderful lunagirl store.

love to all.

moon mail sent...

last year i discovered the delicious and wonderful rubber moon stamp company and signed up for moon mail. moon mail is a monthly rubber stamp club where at an incredibly economical price you get a new rubber moon stamp plus extra crafting goodies every month.  i highly recommend it!  if you get moon mail you are also able to join a secret facebook group and participate in swaps.  this month i am participating for the first time.  our task is to create valentines using rubber moon stamps but NO hearts!  challenging.

this was the first card i made.  it is very simple.  the background is watercolor paints.  and then i used several different rubber moon stamps.  the "sending moonbeams" stamp was the stamp of the month and the only one we were required to use.  anyway i was afraid this wasn't valentine-y enough.  so i made another one.

my goal in arranging the three face stamps as i did was to simulate a heart.  again i used several rubber moon stamps but this time my background is a designer paper by gecko galz and a torn strip of designer paper by lunagirl as well.  the final touch was lace.

turns out i'll be sending these cards to the owner of the stamp company which makes me feel a bit intimidated but hopefully she will like them.

enjoy; love to all.

angel card for a friend

i have a friend who could use an angel.  so i grabbed this image which was a freebie some time ago at the fripperies and butterflies blog.  i used some papers and a leaf from a collage paper pack actually given me by this same friend.  there is a torn bit of script paper from a lunagirl collage sheet as well.  the rest is stash.

i hope this offers her some of the grace she needs!
love to all.

love at my artistic adventures + a giveaway

i'm entering the latest challenge at my artistic adventures challenge blog and it is "love!"  i used gorgeous background papers and the dove/flowers from heather hudson's etsy shop.  the cupid is by gecko galz.

this is a simple valentine which i will enjoy sharing with a dear friend.

good news at lynne's bows and belles -- she is having a giveaway to celebrate her recent publishing in somerset gallery.  look what you could win:

pop on over and have a look, comment on her blog for a chance to win!
love to all.

sweet pea valentine

valentine's day is less than a month away.  to help you get ready we have a valentines challenge at the cheerful stamp pad. for the next two weeks if you link up a valentine-themed project you'll be in the running for a prize from our sponsor sweet pea stamps.  here is my first inspiration piece for you.

i used a lovely digital image designed by helena reis for sweet pea stamps and it is called "follow your heart." i colored her with colored pencils and bordered my cut piece with a red marker.  the background paper on the card stock is from the "love potion #9" paper pack from gecko galz.  i added some simple rickrack and a dragonfly brad from eyelet outlet.

i'm linking up to the anything goes challenge on the sweet pea facebook group as well!

love to all.

bicycle vacation postcard

i've never taken a bicycling vacation but it seems like a fun idea, a wonderful way to see the countryside of the place you are visiting while at the same time keeping fit -- usually not so easy to do when you are traveling.  for week two of the "postcards and letters" challenge at lunagirl moonbeams challenge blog i've made a postcard depicting a bicycle vacation.

same as last week, i started by gluing one of the postcard images from a lunagirl collage sheet to some cardboard and distressed it.  this was my base.  from there i used a variety of things to create this collage.  i used washi tape from cavallini and co in several places.  the two bicycling women are both from lunagirl sheets as are the torn strips of letter writing and cancelled postage.  the butterfly is also from lunagirl!  the flower was a final touch as i felt that corner needed a little something.

play along this week for a chance to win shopping credit at lunagirl!

enjoy; love to all.

more gecko galz inspiration for january

here is a new card showcasing more of the new images and products from the gecko galz shop this month.

supplies:

gecko galz love potion #9 icons

gecko galz love potion #9 papers

gecko galz love so divine collage sheet

designer paper

cardstock

distress inks

instructions:

i selected the image of the couple in the canoe from the gecko galz love so divine collage sheet. before printing it i sized an image from the gecko galz love potion #9 icons (the rectangular “love you) and added it to the image of the couple.  i printed and cut this image. on my cardstock i attached a beautiful paper from the gecko galz love potion #9 paper pack and distressed the edges.  i took another piece of designer paper from my stash, tore it, distressed it and added it to the bottom of my card stock.  i added a white lace heart shaped doily to the card stock.  i distressed and added the image of the couple and also cut out the heart and arrow from the gecko galz love potion #9 icons.  adding the red buttons was the final step.

one last reminder that you can link up a creation on the theme of "all you need is love" at the gecko galz blog for the monthly customer challenge and the chance at shopping credit at gecko galz.

love to all.

diva tribute tag

i was visiting desire's blog recently and learned about the "anything goes" challenge at the art by miran challenge blog.  although you do not have to use an art by miran stamp to play i was inspired to treat myself to a new digital stamp at the art by miran shop.  our prompt at tag tuesday this week is "diva" so i specifically chose a stamp to match that challenge!

love that pink feather boa!  i colored this image with pencils, outlined her and fussy cut her.  the background papers on the tag are from an old alphastamps kit.  the dragonfly is from eyelet outlet and the rest are items from my stash.

i'm linking this to the new year of blogger challenges at scraps of color for challenge #1 "anything goes."

by the way, i love that our tag tuesday prompt is "diva" on january 13 which is my late grandmother's birthday.  she was a true diva in the best possible way!  so this is a tribute to her as well.  she could sing like a bird, decorate a home on a dime, she sewed her own clothes, made hats and all of it was super fabulous. no pattern required and almost always recycled/upcycled before upcycling was invented!  she had deep, rich spiritual faith and was a guide to all our family.  and she had eye-stopping style even into her 90s she has been gone now three years.  here she is at 90:

i miss her but seek to carry her creative and loving spirit wherever i go.  happy birthday Dear.

happy week; love to all.

monogram week 2

we're working with monograms for another week at the cheerful stamp pad, playing with digital images by floppy latte digital designs as provided by our challenge sponsor stitchy bear stamps.  play along with our challenge by linking up a creation with a monogram or letters for a chance to win shopping credit at stitchy bear.

for this card i used an "R" for my mother Regina.  i printed it on colored paper and further colored it with colored pencils.  i added it to some cardstock covered with primavera paper by itKuPiLLi then added a lace border, some pearls and a bird image from lunagirl.

enjoy; love to all.

another altered altoids tin

because i've been wanting to make more altoids tins but i can't buy out all the altoids in town i put a sign up on the refrigerator at work asking people to donate their old tins if they did not need them. one person gave me about 10 of them!  since she gave me so many i asked what her favorite things were since i said i would give one back to her.  she didn't understand i would be altering it so she said chocolate.  i tried to embrace the chocolate idea with what i made and then when i gave it back to her i did put some chocolate inside!

i used an image by twisted papers and a cupcake digital from far far hill.  the rest -- washi tape, heart sticker, background papers, etc, are stash items although the background paper on the top is from stitchy bear stamps. 

i'm linking up to pink saturday today.

she was surprised and delighted to receive this and i still have many more tins to play with!
love to all.

postcards and letters at lunagirl moonbeams

the challenges at lunagirl moonbeams are moving to fridays this year and our first challenge of the year -- "postcards and letters."  you could do just about anything with this challenge -- make a postcard, or use bits of postcards or letters for a card or some other type of creation.  let you imagination go!  i used a postcard image from the lunagirl "vintage postcard set 2" collage sheet, attached it to some cardboard and used it as a base for my mock postcard.

i used torn bits of letter from the "ephemeral memories" collage sheet, added washi tape, brads and beads for decoration.  the girl is from the lunagirl "steampunk girls" collage sheet, the moon-face-girl is from the "celestial" collage sheet and the stamp is also from the ephemeral memories sheet.

this was a simple fun postcard to make.  i hope you will play along with this challenge as the randomly selected winner gets shopping credit at the lunagirl store and there are so many goodies at that shop!  the challenges still last two weeks so this one lasts until january 22.

love to all

gecko galz january inspiration

as a member of the gecko galz design team it is a pleasure to work with the new products each month and share some inspiration with others.  today i am showcasing another item using some of the brand new images and products available at the gecko galz shop this month.

supplies:

gecko galz all you need is love digital stamps

gecko galz love potion #9 papers

gecko galz love so divine collage sheet

gecko galz love potion #9 icons

white flower border

buttons

cardstock

distress inks

instructions:

part of this card was constructed digitally.  i started by printing a sheet from the gecko galz love potion #9 papers and then running it through the printer a second time with a digital stamp from the gecko galz all you need is love digital stamps.  i adhered the paper and image to card stock, distressing the edges.  i printed and fussy cut the image i wanted from the gecko galz love so divine collage sheet and added that as well as a heart image from the gecko galz love potion #9 icons.  the last stage was adding the buttons and white flower border.

remember that if you make a love-themed creation this month you can link it up to the gecko galz blog challenge "all you need is love" for a chance to win shopping credit at gecko galz,

love to all.

monogram challenge

challenge 102 at the cheerful stamp pad is "monogram" and we are using flowery lovely monograms created by floppy latte and made available to us through our challenge sponsor stitchy bear stamps.  as usual a randomly selected challenge winner will get some digital images from stitchy bear.

this is a birthday card for my friend yvette who bemoans the fact that when you shop for letter items they almost never have the letter "y" and she is right because now i always look and i never do find any of the "y" names!  so i colored this monogram digital image with colored pencils and then covered my cardstock with primavera paper by itKuPiLLi and added flowers and a lace border to finish.

whether you use a formal monogram or just create something using initials or letters your project will be welcome and eligible for a prize!

enjoy; love to all.

altoids tin for a barter

my friend nancy has started making jewelry.  i saw one of her pieces on another friend and loved it so i contacted her about buying a piece.  she said she wasn't ready to sell yet because she didn't think her pieces were good enough (wrong!) but since i couldn't talk her into selling it i said okay then i will bring you a handcrafted gift in exchange for a necklace.  i made her an altered tin.

the papers for the outsides and inside are all stash designer papers but the torn music and goddess image are from lunagirl.  i added pearls, a cloth flower, some flower petal stickers and a moth for embellishment.  i hope she will like it!

love to all.

all you need is love!

happy new year!  it is a new month and a new challenge at the gecko galz blog and our theme is "all you need is love!"  valentine's day may be a month away but we are starting the love celebration now. link up your lovely-dovey creation for a chance at a wonderful prize from gecko galz.  here is an ATC to inspire you, featuring images newly available at the gecko galz shop this month.

supplies:

gecko galz “kirchner cuties” collage sheet

gecko galz love potion #9 icons

designer paper

black lace

black beads

heart brad from eyelet outlet

washi tape

distress inks

instructions:

i printed and cut the woman and frog from the gecko galz “kirchner cuties” collage sheet and also printed and cut the “all you need is love” image from the gecko galz love potion #9 icons (after sizing it the way i wanted it).  i attached my designer paper to my ATC base and distressed the edges.  after adding the washi tape i arranged the woman and frog image.  after adhering the black lace i added the “all you need is love” image.  the final stages were adding the black beads and the white heart brad.

enjoy; i hope you will play along.

love to all.  because all you need is love!