being for the benefit of mr kite... (long post, song at the end!)

there is a song from the beatles sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band album called "being for the benefit of mr. kite."  the song has a circus/carnival theme in its lyrics and sound.  i love this song.  it turns out from my research that the song was based on an actual circus poster john lennon had in his collection and mr. kite was a real performer.

now why am i telling you this?  i love the unruly paper arts blogozine and facebook group. one of the recent swaps that was set up by our community muse Danie was a fiction/fairytales/fantasy postcard swap.  i love all things circus and decided to create a postcard with a circus theme.  i also really wanted to dig into some wonderful circus stamps from catherine moore's character constructions which i'd bought long ago but not yet used. i do love her stamps!  so here is what i made.

this postcard probably looks simple but there is a lot behind it.  there are multiple layers.  i used a technique i learned from sharon rogers in a post she provided at the unruly paper arts blog.  i started by covering the postcard base in designer paper and then arranging a wide variety of bits and bobs of other kinds of papers and thingies around the postcard then appling a light coating of watered down gesso.  from there i used a variety of spray paints and stencils to create additional dimension to the background.  there is a strip of polka dot washi tape at the bottom to make my little circus "road.'

the circus images are stamped onto vellum which i then adhered to the prepared postcard base.  i nearly messed the whole thing up because i did not stamp with the proper ink and after 24plus hours the vellum still wasn't dry.  i asked for help on the UPA facebook group and got the simple but brilliant answer -- use clear embossing powder and a heat gun to dry the stamped images.  it worked like a charm and gave the final piece some nice punch (which doesn't show so well in the scan unfortunately).
well, that is the very long story of this piece.  and, oh, back to the song -- in making this creation the song popped into my head and that's why i'm sharing it here!





love to all.

remembering summer...

much though i love autumn i never really am quite ready to let summer go.  at the cheerful stamp pad we are starting a new two week challenge "remembering summer."  link up a creation that calls summer to mind.  this gives you a lot of creative room to work!  our sponsor is little blue button stamps so a randomly selected participant will get a prize from their online  digital store.

this is a sweet image from little blue button called "sophie with flower."  I colored her with pencils and used background designer paper by gecko galz. i kept it simple with a flower and enamel dot.
two weeks to link up!

i'm also linking this to pink saturday where we are now invited to share on an "anything goes" basis and not just tings that are pink!

love to all.

jewelry

the theme this week at tag tuesday is a little unusual -- it is "jewelry." i had some ideas about using an old earring instead of a ribbon on a tag or using an actual earring to enhance a vintage image. but in the end, i more practically decided i'd add a "jewel" to an image i already have.  circus themes are still on my mind thanks to the current customer challenge "life is a circus" at gecko galz blog.  thus my "be-jeweled" clown:

the clown in the foreground is from a collage sheet by alphastamps. an enamel dot serves as his bright shiny earring.  the fussy cut clown man and woman in the background, along with the "au cirque" banner are by gecko galz.  the background paper is from moonlight journey.  there's a bit of paris themed washi tape on there too. and i was delighted to find a little piece of harlequin-design ribbon in my stash to complete this piece.

i like how this turned out.
love to all.

she flew...

blue luna press (sister company to/owned by rubber moon art stamps) has a selection of naked lady stamps, one of which i now own.  some of us "moonies"  members of the rubber moon art stamps mail club challenged ourselves to create with the "nekked ladies" as we call them.  here is what i made:

i stamped the lady on colored paper and cut her out.  the designer paper in the background that i placed her on is by gecko galz.  the cityscape she is flying over is from a stamp set by tim holtz.  the word "she" is a sticker.  i stamped the letters for the word "flew" with letters from a magnetic stamp set by pixie press.  the wings are from a lunagirl collage sheet.

enjoy; 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.

happy birthday, part 2

it is week two for the current challenge at the cheerful stamp pad which is "birthday."  this is a good opportunity to get stocked up on birthday cards. once again we are delighted to have little blue button stamps as our challenge sponsor; a randomly selected participant will get a prize from their online stamp store.

i grabbed this little blue button digital stamp from the freebie section of their website.  this creation is entirely digitally created in photoshop.  i bordered the digital image, placed it on digital designer paper by gecko galz, then colored it, and added the sentiment all in photoshop.  i think this one came out very sweetly.  one last week to link up!

i'm also linking this card to pink saturday!

love to all.

net

our new challenge prompt at tag tuesday blog is "net" for which we can do anything involving a "net."  kind of a challenging idea.  my mind turned to the thought of fisher-people and nets in the ocean.  both the fact that nets are a way that these folks make a living and feed our families but also in the way that sometimes these nets trap marine animals unintentionally which is bad for some species. i admit this tag didn't come out entirely as i'd hoped but here it is:

i started with spray inks in hues of blue and green.  i first tried to convey the idea of a net with a stencil but it didn't look "netty" enough for me.  so i then stamped all my images and used a piece of magic mesh to represent a net.  as you can see, the octopus is escaping the net!  by the way, a little trivia about my arty life -- this octopus stamp was one of the first stamps i ever bought!  it was years ago for a project my son was doing at school on marine life and i thought the stamp would make a nice accent to the poster he was doing.  interestingly, this was actually how i got started stamping!

stamps: octopus is by missing link stamp co., waves are by meer image and bubbles are by G-rated stamps.

enjoy; love to all.

t is for turtle

today i'm sharing another alphabet ATC, this time featuring a turtle.  for the month of august you are invited to link up an animal themed creation to the lunagirl moonbeams challenge blog for the chance to win the prize of shopping credit at the lunagirl store.

this ATC has a vintage image (the turtle) from the lunagirl "woodland animals" collage sheet and also includes stamping.  i started with designer paper from my stash adhered to my ATC base.  I stamped the waves which are from meer image.  i fussy cut and applied the turtle and then also stamped the bubbles from G-rated stamps.  i then added the ribbon and the letter T (from a set purchased from altered pages).

you have until the end of the month to link up.
enjoy; love to all.

he reads, he travels, he gives dubious looks...

he is a man of the world!  this is a favorite image that i once downloaded for free from a website no longer in existence.  when I saw that the latest reader art quest (RAQ) at unruly paper arts was "manly" i had to make something with this image!

the background paper is from gecko galz, the map is from retro café arts, the newspaper and the man came from old curiosity shoppe (now defunct) and the rest of the embellies are bits and bobs from my stash.

i can never decide what to make of the expression on his face! but i love it! since i obtained this fellow for free in the public domain and since the site is no longer active and since this image is too good not to be used, here it is!

love to all.

to the moon and back

our lovely image for part 2 of the august progressive challenge at the sweet pea stamps friends and fans facebook page is this darling moon by artist courtney mcansh.  i made an ATC featuring my little vision of moon love.

 

the moon is the digital image we were given to work with.  i printed it and colored it with pencils.  i also printed a face from a collage sheet from the no longer in business dezinaworld company.  i added some touches to the dezinaworld face with colored pencils also.  the background paper is from gecko galz.

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.

altered tin

i wanted to make something special for a friend so i asked her what she would like.  she had seen some of my altered tins and so she requested an altered tin featuring an image of the buddha.  i have a beautiful buddha stamp by inkadinakdo.  here is what i made:

all of the papers are from gecko galz.  i also used little bits of borders and washi tape for the sides and a sticker and enamel dots for the top.  i gave it to her yesterday and she really loved it.

have a great rest of the week.
love to all.

c is for cat

the challenges at the lunagirl moonbeams blog now last for one month so there is still plenty of time to play along with our "animals" theme!  i have another "alphabet ATC" to hopefully spark your interest in joining the challenge. 

you do not have to make an ATC, you can make any creation featuring an animal.  i am just trying to ultimately create a full set of alphabet cards!  this sweet kitty comes from the lunagirl "vintage cats" collage sheet.  i used designer paper from my stash, 2 types of washi tape, letters from a tim holtz collection and a butterfly brad.

a randomly selected winner will win shopping credit at the lunagirl store, a fine prize!  i hope you will play along.

love to all.

numbat all a flutter

are you familiar with the numbat?  i wasn't until i learned that it is an endangered animal in western australia, thanks to a color for a cause fundraiser. i learned of the fundraiser awhile back from visiting donna mundinger's blog. artist mitzi sato wiuff, owner of aurora wings set up the fundraiser.  making a donation means she will send you the exclusive numbat fairy digital image.  i was moved to donate and am honored to have received this gorgeous stamp.  here is what i made with it.

i printed the digital image on colored designer paper and then colored the image with pencils. i added that to additional designer paper and then added my embellishments.  this is the most adorable image and i like how my piece turned out.  it is still possible to donate and receive this delightful stamp.

i'm linking up to the aurora wings challenge blog "anything with wings" contest currently running through september. there is also a numbat creation contest page on the aurora wings facebook page which i will enter.  finally for the first time i am playing along with "the crazy challenge blog" fairies challenge!

love to all.

sweet pea progressive challenge, august

i'm playing the sweet pea stamps friends and fans (on facebook) progressive challenge again this month.  part 1 creations are due by august 9 so i am just making it with a little time to spare.  i made a card with a ching chou kuik dragonfly stamp.  i bought this a long time ago and it is a rubber stamp -- it is no longer available as a rubber stamp but you can find it as a digital stamp here.

i stamped onto green designer paper and colored the image with pencils.  i cut that out and adhered it to additional designer paper from the primavera collection by itKuPiLLi.  the dream stamp is by inkadinkado, also stamped onto colored paper.  beyond that i added enamel dots and distressed the edges.

i'm eager to see what free stamp we will get for part 2 as a prize for playing in part 1!
have a lovely day; love to all.

another "anything goes" creation

it is week two for the "anything goes" challenge at the cheerful stamp pad.  this is a great opportunity to link up whatever you may be working on for the chance to win a prize from our challenge sponsor little blue button digital stamps.  here is my week two inspiration for you:

because i love the beach (and thankfully will be visiting it in just a couple weeks!) i chose this digital image kindly supplied to our DT from little blue button as it inspires me for good times ahead.  i printed and colored the digital image with colored pencils and then laid it out on two different background papers from gecko galz.  i added die cuts and stickers to complete the piece.

i'm also linking to "make it girly" at whoopsi daisy blog, and
"anything goes" at cute as a button blog.

enjoy!  love to all.

summer and sunshine

i am so grateful for summer and sunshine -- we've gotten plenty of bright, hot sun this year where i live -- a little too hot sometimes but a welcome change from the long dreary-ish months we are known for here in the pacific northwest.  at wicked wednesday the challenge theme is summer and sunshine, which seems right on time, in this hemisphere anyway!

 

for my ATC i used background designer paper and a vintage image of a child and dog at the beach from gecko galz.  i added borders and die cut to finish.  wishing you summer and sunshine!

 

love to all.

at the beach, with moos

it has been awhile since i've played along making a teeny tiny moo, a creation roughly 1x3 inches.  the challenge prompt at moo mania right now is "at the beach."  since the beach is one of my favorite things i couldn't resist this theme.

all the vintage images on these two moos are from gecko galz, plus a few little embellishments.
love to all.

correspondence

our theme at tag tuesday this week is "correspondence."  having recently re-discovered some of my awesome postcard images from french kissed postcards i decided to use products from that company again for this challenge.

i imagine this lady has sent a long letter to her love, who of course will be very delighted to receive it once it arrives upon the wings of the postal service! the background paper on the tag is from my stash but the carte postale and the woman are from french kissed postcards.  the wings are from moonlight journey.  the prima flower, washi tape and brad are from my stash.

enjoy; love to all.

b is for beaver

at lunagirl moonbeams challenge blog we are moving to monthly challenges.  for the month of august we are challenging you to use ANMALS in your art creations.  you are not required to use lunagirl images but it is welcomed.  vintage style is also preferred but all styles are welcome.  you can make anything you want -- cards, ATCs, canvases, decorations, whatever!  the randomly selected winner receives shopping credit at the lunagirl store.

 

for some reason i always want to make alphabet ATCs when "animals" are the theme.  eventually i may have 26 cards to make a complete set!  the beaver is from the "woodland animals" collage sheet by lunagirl.  the ATC is made with designer paper, distressing, the vintage image, ribbon and the letter (from a set by tim holtz).

 

i hope you will enter the challenge. 

enjoy; 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.