Beach Party Bingo with Gecko Galz

 What fun I had making these cute cards with Gecko Galz images!

Very easy to do, just print out your images and punch out some dots of various colors from cardstock. I used some clear dimensional liquid to make the dots shiny, and some glitter glue on their hair.

Be sure to visit Gecko Galz on Etsy to get all your favorite images. Every Wednesday is Dollar Day and offers several sets at a great price!

Happy creating,

Enjoy the Journey with Gecko Galz

I have been working on a Art/Junk Journal for several months now. It is very personal. I have hidden my own art in several places in this journal.  

These two pages represent my journey with Gecko Galz in my journal. I have used a ton of GG stuff, and hope they inspire you to enjoy your own journey using Gecko Galz products.

 Alice's Journey was an unusual one, to say the least! 

 Here is a list of the products I used:

Wonderland Collage Set-Bottle and falling Alice

Ask Alice Collage Set-Rabbit

Vintage Sweets Paper Pack-background

Journal Page Headers Kit-"Dream Big"

Quotes to Live By-Lewis Carroll quote

Then, I did a page supposedly created by a woman who took a journey with her children. She sent a sweet letter to her husband, and on returning, collected all the memorabilia in a special envelope to be kept forever.

 Here is a list of what I used for this card, from Gecko Galz...

Face to Face jewel it Collage Set - Face

Charming Words Collage Set - "Home Sweet Home" and "Bonjour"

Words from the Heart - background

Hear and Soul Stamp Set - digital stamp

Vintage Labels - label

Postcards from Abroad - postcard

Sail Away - ticket, photo and boat card

Pretty Petals - bow and bouquet

So stop by and pick up some of these amazing items! Remember, Wednesday is dollar day, when several items are reduced to $1.

Enjoy!

Retro Summer with Gecko Galz

I've never been to Hawaii, but I love pineapple...does that count?

With all that's burning there right now, I thought I would pay tribute to their

beautiful state...and the delicious fruit that comes from there.

I do have a pineapple plant I am growing from the top of a pineapple. I have actually seen pineapples growing in my neighbors' yards...so cool!

Being a transplant (like most of my friends here in our community) from the north, I am truly captivated by the flora and fauna here in Florida...the birds are amazing too!

Anyway...

the above card was created with some of the newest images from Gecko Galz. The background is from the, First Class Package paper pack. 

My gorgeous lady is from the, Aloha Digital Collage Set. She is framed in black to match the framed sentiment, which is found in the, Quotes to Live By set. 

I made a flower using a soda can and alcohol ink, with the Tattered Floral and Tattered Poinsettia dies by Tim Holtz. The dry embossing folder is by Tim Holtz's Alterations. It's embossed with a polka dot folder from my stash, and has Stickles by Ranger in the center. I also put Stickles on her lei, but they are difficult to see here. They look great in real life though!

The cardstock is "vintage" CTMH...years old!

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Crafty Gals Challenge #167 Summer Colors

Little Red Wagon Challenge #449

That's Crafty Challenge Blog - All in a Summer's Day

Enjoy life today...and have fun!

Asian Fusion with Gecko Galz

 Gecko Galz has the best images! I love this fire-hot image of this geisha. I added an iron gate die cut and some diamond glaze to her eyes and lips.

The image and background are form Gecko Galz.

I also used some black glitter card stock.

I hope you like it.

This card was created with a free image from Gecko Galz.

Sometimes Leanne gives a freebie with each order. It's fun.

I also used several other products from Gecko Galz. Visit the Etsy store for many, many choices.

The bird is fussy cut and added with foam dots. The background color piece was created with an acrylic pour I did. I simply made a copy and printed it out. The sentiment, bird, focal point and Asian script are all by Gecko Galz.

Be sure to visit the Etsy shop, Blog and Facebook Challenge Page for more inspiration and fun!

Garden Time with Gecko Galz

Hello! Welcome to my studio.

Here are a couple of cards I made for this month's Gecko Galz Customer Challenge. The other card is in the previous post.

This first card I simply adore. The little girl image from the Garden Time digital collage set is irresistible. A bit of Stickles in silver adorns her hat, gloves and shoes. I paired her with a seed packet image from Pretty Seed Packs, to which I added a few Glossy Accent puddles. I also distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink by Ranger.

The background is from the Kensington Gardens ATC set. I dirtied it up with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I used some old CTMH cardstock to create the card base. What I like about their cardstock is the white core. I don't know if they still make it that way, but this is "vintage cardstock," as it is about 18 years old!

The sentiment is from the Charming Words set...lots of perfect words for any mood. 

The vines were cut with a die set called, "Trailing Ivy" by Creative Expressions. I added some Distress Oxide Ink and Glossy accent drops to provide some real life texture and color. 

I hope you enjoy using these images as much as I do.  I am an artist, and illustrate stamps, paint and draw. I also enjoy making cards, junk journals and collage. Gecko Galz is my go to place for all things gorgeous, unusual and vintage. Be sure to visit the Etsy Shop.  Every Wednesday there are Dollar deals!

I am entering this card in the following challenge...
Hiding in my Craft Room # 339 4/17

Have fun,

In the Garden with Gecko Galz

Hello! Welcome to my studio.

Here are a couple of cards I made for this month's Gecko Galz Customer Challenge. The other card is in the next post.

This second card reminds me of my best friend. She loves plants. This gardener image from the How Does Your Garden Grow? digital collage set, sets the mood. A bit of Stickles adorns the flowers. I also included a butterfly from the same set. The love letters image from the Postal set, is accented with more Stickles. I also distressed all the edges of the elements with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink by Ranger.

A little tag from, Tag You're It and some melted ribbon from my stash dress up the corner of this card.

The background is from the Kensington Gardens ATC set. I dirtied it up with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Some strategically folded patterned paper creates a sort of, clapboard siding, reminiscent of a house where this woman lives and tends her garden.

The sentiment is from the Charming Words set...lots of perfect words for any mood. 

The vines were cut with a die set called, "Trailing Ivy" by Creative Expressions. I added some Distress Oxide Ink to provide some real life color. 

I hope you enjoy using these images as much as I do.  I am an artist, and illustrate stamps, paint and draw. I also enjoy making cards, junk journals and collage. Gecko Galz is my go to place for all things gorgeous, unusual and vintage. Be sure to visit the Etsy Shop.  Every Wednesday there are Dollar deals!

Challenge entered with this card:
Hiding in My Craft Room #339

Have fun,

I Love Spring with Gecko Galz

This is one of two cards I made for this month's Gecko Galz Customer Challenge. The other one can be found in the next post.

I have been having fun with the Artsy Domino Digital Collage Sheet by Gecko Galz. So much variety and COLOR!

I also used a butterfly from Butterfly Dreams. I coated it with Glossy Accents, and attached it with the same. I used one of the Tim Holtz Alterations Die sets that I got for Christmas. I ran a piece I printed on cardstock from the Playing with Marbles ATC Collection. Behind the cutouts, I used some Marabu Mixed Media Art Spray in Cherry Red. It's an acrylic spray paint and it's so cool!

The Postmark is from the Birdie Darlings Set. I simply cut it out of one of the images. I used some Stickles to create the cancellation lines. 

Finally, I used the Charming Words set for my sentiment. 

I hope you enjoy using these images as much as I do.  I am an artist, and illustrate stamps, paint and draw. However, I enjoy making cards, junk journals and collage. Gecko Galz is my go to place for all things gorgeous, unusual and vintage. Be sure to visit the Etsy Shop. Right now Easter stuff is on sale, and every Wednesday there are Dollar deals!

Have fun,

Paris Birds in the Spring

This is one of two I made for this month's Gecko Galz Customer Challenge.  The other one follows in the last post.

I used the following Gecko Galz products. I just LOVE these vintage images!

Butterfly Dreams Collage Set

Birdie Darlings

C'est La Vie Mini Paper Pack

Junk Journal Page Header Craft Kit

Join The Gecko Galz Paper crafting Challenge Group for some really awesome fun. 

Visit the Gecko Galz Etsy shop, especially on One Dollar Wednesdays and now for Easter deals.

That's all for now...happy shopping and vintage crafting!

Putting on the Artsy Green with Gecko Galz

I am not Irish. 

No matter, I had so much fun with the theme for our Customer Challenge this month. 

Gecko Galz has some really cool images and papers. I decided to play with anything green, and came up with this card.

For Christmas my dear husband gave me some dies. Being frugal, I look for bargains. I am not so worried about having the newest, but rather the deals. Got a cool Thinlits set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix on Amazon.

I love brads, and vellum, so included them both on this card. Had them in my stash.

Also, I STILL have some "vintage" CTMH cardstock with the white core. Love to distress it. I believe the color is Olive.

Glittery mist is another fave...and I will, I will, I WILL make some using old reinkers I have...really easy according to YouTube videos I have watched. Remember, I am a repurposer!

So here we go...Gecko Galz products listed here:

Artsy Domino Digital Collage Sheet

Playing with Marbles ATC Collection

Charming Words Collage Set

Face to Face Jewel It Collage Set

I have entered this card in the following challenges

Through The Purple Haze Challenge #141
Everybody Art Challenge 418
Crafty Cardmakers Get Inky and Messy
Path of Positivity Challenge 56

Be sure to visit the Gecko Galz Etsy shop...then think outside of the box.

Green is for more than Irish!

Stay well and keep creating,

A Love for the Past

"Thoughts of Love" featuring Gecko Galz 

Gecko Galz Products I used in the above card:

Ladies of the Court Digital Collage Set

Very Vintage Junk Journal Kit

St. Peters Square Mini Paper Pack

Hello and welcome to my studio.

It's a fresh new year!  We all have a clean slate...a chance to start again. 

In my life, and here on my blog, I have found the need to spend the next year being as purposeful as possible.

As I pondered this idea, I came up with some questions for myself. Here they are:

"What am I passionate about?"

"How have I been gifted?"

"What can I share that my family, my friends, and my followers need?"

After giving these matters some thought,  I concluded the following...First, I am passionate about the past. I am drawn to historical fact and fiction. Stories of times past draw me in...causing me to explore further. Historical sites intrigue me. I realized that I also enjoy saving and repurposing items from the past...making them useful once more, if only as décor in my home.

Secondly, I am an artist. I have been told I have an innate sense of design. I am thankful for several wonderful teachers in my younger years, who have helped hone my gift. 

These two facts bring me to the final conclusion that I can share my designs and art with those who might share a love for the beauty of our past, or who are just discovering how history is reflected in our own lives. 

So here we go! My year will be focused on using historical references to create not only art, but repurposed items which have a history of their own. I will endeavor to give them new life, new purpose. 

This excites me!  My work will not be all that different from years past, but will definitely be redefined and more purposeful. I have been self-directed toward a definite purpose. 

Items I repurposed on the above card

Aluminum drink cans (flowers)

Necklace (flower centers)

Doily

If you find that you are also looking for a directed purpose, I hope you will take a few moments to ponder the questions, 

1. What is my passion?

2. What is my talent?

3. What can I share that others can use?

Let me know what you come up with!

I hope you enjoy what you experience here this year.

Cheers to 2018!

My Vintage Winter Necklace

If you know me at all, you know I am an avid repurposer. Why just the other day our chef was cutting up asparagus, and I scored a whole handful of purple rubber bands!

So what if they have sku numbers on them...they're PURPLE!

Anyway, I have a necklace to share today. I made the tags from a metal tin...the one my Prismacolor Pencils came in.

After cutting the tags with tin snips that I got at a yard sale for 50 cents, I sanded the edges with a file, and punched holes with a nail.

 This is the reverse side:

I then printed off four images from Gecko Galz' Baby It's Cold Outside Collage Set. I made them the same size as the tin pieces. Then, I glued them in place with Glossy Accents, and did a double coat of the same on each side of the tags...one side at a time, giving them a day to dry.

I love how they turned out.
 I am entering this necklace in the following Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge
Glitter 'N' Sparkle Challenge #269

Be sure to visit the Gecko Galz Blog, and take a peek at all the DT blogs. Vintage digitals at their BEST.

Stay creative,

Customer Challenge all month with Gecko Galz

 

Hello, and welcome to my studio!

I am having so much fun with Gecko Galz!

My tag begins with a background that I digitally put together using Grandmother's House Paper Pack. 

I added "Merry Christmas" and some digital sponging.
*Of course, this could be done by hand as well. Just print off the paper and add your own touches.

I layered the background on a piece of CTMH cardstock that I have had for AGES. First I embossed it, and sanded off a bit of the color. 

The sweet little girl is from the All the Trimmings Digital Collage Set.

This set is two sheets of the absolute cutest little munchkins ever. Many in the set are perfect for fussy cutting. I love to cut. It's like therapy for me.

I made the flower from petals I had in my stash. They are made from drink cans and cereal boxes. The musical notes are old music sheets. the beads are from an old necklace I got at a yard sale, and the wire was snatched from my husband's man cave. 

The redness of the flower is alcohol ink.

Two final touched...lace and ribbon from my stash. I keep the ribbon in place with Glue Dots.

Oh! And the reason it's shiny? Shimmer Spritz by Imagine Crafts.

Come back tomorrow, when I will explain how I made these:

Be sure to visit Gecko Galz Blog and check out all the posts for this Dashing Through the Snow Customer Challenge. There is always a free digital stamp to use...most every post has one.

Stay Creative,

Enjoy Your Holiday with Gecko Galz

When I was a little girl, I had a muff. It was rabbit fur. I loved putting my little hands inside that silky-lined hand warmer.

I wonder what happened to it?

This image is from the, Baby It's Cold Out Here collage set by Gecko Galz. I kept the card pretty simple, since the image is so inviting. The only thing I added before printing it out, was the greeting near the bottom.

The embossed layer is from the Winter Wishes Digital Paper Pack. It's embossed with snowflakes.

I have some old CTMH cardstock in my stash. I enjoy distressing it, as it has a white core. I then used Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger on all the edges, using a small sponge. 

The ribbon and brads are from my stash. I hit it with my heat tool to melt it a bit. I love doing this, and sometimes I get a few interesting, "time worn" holes.

Stickles by Ranger finish off this card.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Pile It On Challenge
Craft-Dee BowZ December Challenge
Monochrome Magic
DL.ART December Challenge

I will post one more sample tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Please be sure to join in the fun at Gecko Galz' December Challenge. More samples to inspire your creativity can be found there on the blog as well. 

Stay Creative,

Home for Christmas with Gecko Galz

Oh how I wish I lived in this little cottage at Christmastime...

Can't you just imagine the fire in the fireplace, comfy beds upstairs and a delicious meal on the table?

Snow is part of my memories and dreams of Christmas. Now, red and white lights wrapped around palm trees is what we have, and I look forward to them every year.

For this card, I used all Gecko Galz products, and created it in a photo-editing program.

The main image is from the new, Baby it's Cold Out Here Digital Collage Set. I flipped it horizontally, and erased the edges.

I then added the beauty in the upper corner from the new release, Victorian Dreamers. Once again I flipped her, and changed the color from black and white to a more vintage hue. I erased  the edges to help blend the two images.

The background pattern is from the new, Courtly Love Digital Paper Pack.

 a couple of lines of script interpret the mood of the images.

A bit of digital sponging and framing, and I am done!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Digi Choosday

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge

DL Art December Challenge

Thank-you for visiting. Be sure to stop by the Gecko Galz blog, where you will find our Design Teams' links to more amazing samples using the newest Gecko Galz has to offer...so many choices for holiday cards and gifts that you will enjoy making, and giving from your heart.

More to come...with Gecko Galz, tomorrow!

Stay creative!

Fairwell Halloween, Hello Santa!

Whooooo wouldn't love to be this woman? She is dreaming...or maybe the woman in the upper corner is dreaming...I'm not sure. All I know is that this was so much fun to do!

I used all Gecko Galz products. 

The colorful woman is from Gecko Galz' Boo-Tiful Halloween Digital Collage Set. 

I also added a couple of lovely ladies from Sparkle and Shine.

I cropped all three images, and layered them, changing the opacity of the layers.

The background layer is one of the digital papers in the Time Flies ATC set. 

Erasing, coloring, enhancing...all digitally, created some cool effects.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Glitter and Sparkle challenge 264
Angie's Digital Stamps Anything Goes, optional twist, holidays

November is here, and we are on to a new Customer Challenge...Santa Claus Lane. You can find all the details here.

Be sure to check out all the samples for this challenge...details on their blogs.

Have fun,