Gecko Galz Giveaway Winner Announced

It's time to announce the winner of my Gecko Galz Giveaway! 

As promised I put numbers in a hat (well actually in a bowl) and had my dd1 (who's home for the holidays) draw out a number.  And it was NUMBER 2 !!!!

Congratulations to Wendy of Paper Whims!  I'm sending you a private email with your winner's code for your $25 Gecko Galz Shopping Spree!!!!

Thanks to all four of you who entered.  I'm so happy it was a random draw as each entry using this Gecko Galz image was magnificent!

Merry Christmas!

My Latest Gift Tag

It's my turn to post my latest work using Rogue Redhead Designs stamps.  I chose to make this tag to put on top of one of my hubby's Christmas gifts.    hmmmmmm--do ya think he's getting a book?

All the stamps used are from Rogue Redhead Designs' Relish Reading stamp plate.

The current Rebel challenge at Rogue Redhead Designs is to make a one layer card.  I used the technique to create my tag. 

For more details about my tag and/or the Rebel challenge, please go HERE.

Fragile

This is what I posted on my Facebook Page today:

I made this a year ago. It represents how I feel right now when I turn on the tv and witness the sadness.

Celebrating the Season

Monday evening our Prairie Stampers Club met for a potluck and gift exchange.  Many of the members work at Prairie Art Stamps and almost all of us shop and craft there. I brought a gift card to spend at the store placed in a card card holder that I made at the store's holiday open house.

Products used to make this festive card can be purchased at the store--kind of a "try before you buy".  This involves an embossing folder, die cuts, flower soft, white sharpie, velcro closures, corner rounder and Tim's tiny attacher.  I added the Stampin' Up stamp/label.

At the Christmas in July open house at the store, I made this version which involved more layers and gluing rather than stapling the pocket.  Excuse the bow made with oval punch outs.  I didn't take such good care of it over the past six months! LOL

And here is one I made January, 2011 when I was on the Gingersnap Creations design team ( smaller valley fold in the center):

After eating lots of yummy food brought in for the pot luck, we gifted. This year instead of drawing numbers for the order in which we randomly chose our gift from under the tree, we each were given a gift and then played a game.  A story was read and each time we heard the words "left" or "right" we had to pass our gift in that direction.  It was a rather long story and when it was over we simultaneously opened our gifts.  The gift that ended up in front of me was a lovely set of Martha Stewart stamps. 

Here's a photo of Annette, the newly elected club president, Terri, the store owner, and me.

P.S.  Don't forget my Gecko Galz Giveaway going on right now.  Info is across the top of this blog.

Vintage Holiday Tag

This is the holiday tag I made for the 24 Tags at Christmas featured on the Gecko Galz website.  Each day a tag made by one of the design team members is posted along with directions, supply list, and the daily deal.  Previously featured tags are in a special section on the Gecko Galz site along with directions and supply lists.  See them HERE .   Be sure to click each day on the 24 Tags of Christmas badge on my sidebar to see the daily tag and special. Also up on the Gecko Galz site is my cone project HERE.  And don't forget my own Gecko Galz Giveaway posted HERE on my blog.

Santa, Even the Naughty deserve something NICE!

Blog Candy Alert

My cyber friend and blogging buddy, Lynne, reminded me that there is some amazing blog candy up for grabs at Crafty Individuals.  Just take a look at this stampers' paradise:

I would love to win some of this crafty goodness!

My Rogue Candy Card

Today it's my turn at Rogue Redhead Designs.  I created this candy card.  I love combining stamps and using them in different ways.  The stamp element reminded me of ribbon candy. I used two stamp sets from Rogue Redhead Designs:  Just Sayin' and Candy Kisses.

Ink is Ranger distress Festive Berries.  Card stock is Colorbok. Sakura glitter pen and Stampin' Up label punch.

I'm entering this in:

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #192 photo inspiration (red and white dining room with some sweet treats on the table and decorations hanging from the ceiling.)

Gecko Galz Giveaway

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MIDNIGHT CENTRAL TIME DECEMBER 23, 2012 !!!!!!!

This month marks my one year anniversary as a design team member of Gecko Galz.  Indeed, time flies when you're having fun!
And I'm happy to say I get to do this for another year! 

To celebrate, Leanne, our most generous Gecko Galz owner, is providing for my giveaway one $25 shopping spree at Gecko Galz !  
  
One lucky winner will have fun shopping at Gecko Galz for collage sheets, digital papers, and digital stamp sets.

How do you win this shopping spree?
Let's start with everyone having the opportunity to download this  gorgeous image, part of the December release, Beauty Unveiled .  It is ATC sized, 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches.  I printed mine on matte photo paper using best quality in my software. To download, click on image, then right click to download.

And here's a real treat....  Heather Hudson, who now has her own line of collage images for sale at Gecko Galz (yay, Heather!), made this special collage sheet for me which means really for you..... 

 

Now that you have your freebie, make something with it!  Link it up here for all to admire.  On December 18  24, I will choose a winner by random draw.  I will draw by putting the names in a hat, so that those of you who are first in or last in have an equal chance! Winner will be notified by email with the special code for redeeming $25 worth of product at Gecko Galz so please leave a way to contact you! 

What qualifies as an entry?  Anything your inner artist wants to create with this image.  Digital or paper/cloth etc. craft is accepted.  Image may be reproduced to any size.

Those pesky rules:

This image must be used.

One entry per person.

It is important to note that what you create may only be used for my Gecko Galz giveaway and not combined with other Gecko Galz giveaways offered by other design team members this month.  However, feel free to spread the word about Gecko Galz by entering your creation at other challenges at non-Gecko Galz sites!

Such as I'm entering my example at these challenge sites:
Crafty Bloggers Network:  Challenge 6 Anything Goes (month of December) 
Crafts4Eternity:  R100 Christmas Chaos (mine is the opposite--calm) til Thursday
Sugar Creek Hollow #40 Distressing 

Please link directly to your blog post, not your overall blog site. (First time I'm using inlinkz so I hope I did it correctly.) If you do not have a blog, please leave a comment with a link to your specific post at Flicker or other on-line photo collection.  If you have no posting site and want to enter, leave a comment here requesting my email. 

I reserve the right to not include an entry that did not follow the pesky rules.  

Too many rules--------- let's have some fun! 

I can't wait to see what you create with this Gecko Galz image.  Here is what I made:

Additional materials:
upholstery swatch from book I found at thrift store-- I folded the swatch over doubled cardstock and glued down, then placed hanger on top. Sentiment from Paper Whimsy; distressed green music collage paper from the Paper Studio--torn and inked with Ranger vintage photo distress ink; dresden scrap; Stampin' Up die and their glitter paper for snowflake; the flower is either Prima or from big box store; miscellaneous trims.  Green ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon; red tulle from Stampin' Up. Sakura Gelly Roll clear star pen on Gecko Galz image's veil.

Want more chances to win $25 from Gecko Galz?  Visit my teamies:  Debi    Heather 
Leanne 

Holly Jolly Tree

Happy December 1st!  It's a new month which means new themes for the holiday season.

At Unruly Paper Arts, this month's theme is Passion for Paper

As a design team member, I made this card as a sample for:
Unruly Paper Arts December Reader Art Quest 1:  four or more patterned papers.  There also is a RAQ 2 which is an easel card.

Be sure to enter your RAQs by December 25 and then come back at the end of the month to vote.  Details at the Unruly Paper Arts blogozine.

I am a paperholic, and my favorite line is Graphic 45.  So creating a sample for this RAQ was a perfect fit!

Materials:
beige card stock base
3 Graphic 45 Christmas papers (one double sided paper cut 6 times with scallop punch, then folded and layered to form tree)
Stampin' Up embossing folder used to create 4th paper
Ribbon and brad from stash

Gecko Galz December to Remember

GECKO GALZ
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
24 Days of Fun!

We are having our HUGE end of the year blow out! This month you will get amazing deals each week as our gift to you, including a $1collage sets section that will change weekly! 

Plus each day for the next 24 days we will have a new tag design for you to create designed by our amazing design team members so check back each day for a new tag! 

Plus check out our facebook page, pinterest page and blog page for amazing giveaways each week!  Gecko Galz site is HERE


Here is one of my design team projects:

Gecko Galz products used for this cone:
Collage (ephemera) sheets: 
12 Days of Christmas (sheet music);
Angels (angel)
Old Fashioned Christmas (sentiment)
Digital Paper
Tis the Season from Grandma's House digital paper pack

Directions:
Select and print Gecko Galz digital paper onto 8-1/2 x 11 paper (note heavier card stock is a little more difficult to roll and keep together, especially at the point)
Flip paper, return to printer and print cone shape on reverse side.
There are many on-line templates, this one uses:
http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf2/gift_cones.pdf
Cut, place double sided tape along edge of long side; roll into cone
Trim cone with lace and flowers, including point at bottom. 
Cut small piece of ribbon and attach inside to top of cone for a handle.  This cone has the hanger in the back portion rather than equidistant from side to side. (I used Stampin' Up ribbon for this as well as over the crochet trim from Really Reasonable Ribbon)

If desired, inside of cone can be layered with tissue paper or other trim.  This cone uses pre-gathered tulle.

Fill cone with treats or décor.  This cone uses glittered boughs and berries from craft stores as well as fussy cut images from Gecko Galz collage sheets: music, angel and sentiment.   
Edge images with Ranger Vintage Photo distress marker for a finished look.
Adhesive used for this cone was a liquid that dries clear.

I'm linking up my holiday cone to Beverly's How Sweet It Is blog for Pink Saturday.

BE SURE TO COME BACK MONDAY DECEMBER 3RD.  I WILL HAVE SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL RELATED TO GECKO GALZ TO SHARE ON MY BLOG ....

Getting in the Spirit

Here's a card I made at a Stampin' Up Holiday Workshop. Therefore, you will note that I don't have my watermark on it because it is not my design.

This card is the reason why I bought that Stampin' Up snowflake embossing folder.  You can see the snowflakes used here as a subtle background.  On my recent tag (see previous post), I used core'dinations paper and sanded the flakes so they'd pop.

I forgot to buy that adorable frame die.  I have many dies but for some reason really like this one.  I especially like how it was used with the snowman layered partially out of the frame.

I'm posting this to get in the holiday spirit.  I have technology issues which are dragging me down.  Smartphone not so smart anymore.  Blogger blinking all over the place, making it difficult for me to leave comments on other blogs.  Mixpod (my beloved music chosen to go with my posts) no longer exists.  And my Adobe flashplayer keeps crashing.  Other than that, keep calm and craft on.........

Freebie and Cyber Monday Shopping Enabler

I don't know about you, but I love sitting in the comfort of my own home, in my cozy jammies, sipping a cup of coffee, and checking out the Cyber Monday deals.

To help get you in the mood, here's a little freebie.....
Thanks to Gecko Galz, it's my little holiday gift to you.  Just click on the image to enlarge it, then right click to save the image to your computer.

And now for the shopping enabler part.......
Gecko Galz has some amazing offers for you today as part of Cyber Monday:  

1) buy one / get one sale on regular priced items--collage sets, digital stamps, papers....everything!

2) featured sets that are $1.00 today only

3) if you spend $50 or more, you get a FREE Gift set which includes an exclusive paper set, stamp set, and collage set!

4) if you purchase a gift card for $25 or more, you will get a $5 gift card FREE! 

As you complete your purchase, I'd appreciate a mention that Helene (that's me--aka 2amscrapper) sent you over.   Have fun shopping!  The Gecko Galz site link is HERE

FYI:  There are more of these cyber freebies from other Gecko Galz design team members.

Update:  fellow DTer Heather Hudson made my freebie into a collage sheet JUST FOR YOU!   Thanks Heather!

Winter Tag

I don't know about you, but I feel like a stuffed turkey!  I was doing fine pacing myself through the meal until the homemade pumpkin ice cream took me over the top.  It was a great Thanksgiving Day with so much to be thankful for!  

We always have a family reunion at Thanksgiving which means the younger generation returns home with their children for four days of fun and games and lots of good food.  We had 17 from the immediate family at Thanksgiving dinner at my sister in law's place.  I think the biggest crowd will be on Saturday when we get to see the newest baby in the clan.

I will get back to visiting all your blogs after our busy weekend. In the meantime, I hope all of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving had an amazing day.   And to my international blogging buddies, I hope all of you are in good health and fine spirits.  

Today is my design team day over at Rogue Redhead Designs.  You can see this tag THERE along with my supply list.  I love these mittens from the Candy Kisses stamp plate.

Don't forget to enter the current Rebel challenge.  Read all about it at the Rogue Redhead Designs blog!

Vintage Angels ATCs

I fell in love with these digital images: Gecko Galz Vintage Angels collage sheet. I printed them out, cut them, and edged them with Stampin' Up champagne glass Stampin' Glitter. 

It is so hard to photograph glitter!!!!!

I hope in these close-up photos you can see:

the DCWV glitter paper snowflakes (Martha Stewart punch) muted with Ranger brushed pewter distress stain;

the Ranger Icicle Stickles on the Flying Unicorn roses;

the Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Star pen that glittered up the angel wings and lettering Make A Wish.  The actual affect is smooth fill-in lines of glitter. 
I think you can see it best on the word Make in this photo....

and on the angel wings and jewelry in this photo:

I think these angels are perfect for these challenges:

Shabby Tea Room's Challenge #140 Sweet Shabby Christmas: photo inspiration and include shimmer and or glitter.

The Crafty Bloggers Network Challenge #5 Christmas - Anything Goes

Unruly Rogue Tag

It's my turn to post a creation at Rogue Redhead Designs'  (RRD) blog HERE so I made a tag 
because:

The new RRD Rebel challenge is Anything But a Card. RC017:  UNCARD 
The Unruly Paper Arts November Reader Art Quest 1 is a Gift Tag.

Put them all together, and you get this from me:

Stamp Plates from Rogue Redhead Designs, LLC:
Female image:   Nature Notes
Roses:  Floriculture
Happy Holidays:  Bits and Pieces

Other Materials:
Pink Paislee London Market paper pack, page cut to 6x4 inches
Staz On Timber Brown ink pad
Ranger Distress Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Walnut Stain

Reader Alert:
Rogue Redhead's Snow Hugs stamp plate is featured in the Stamping Contrasts article in the November issue of Craft Stamper magazine.  The link to the magazine's table of contents is HERE  http://www.craftstamper.com/issues/?i=4456
FYI, I noticed this magazine's website has some bonus on-line articles and tutorials from all their issues.
I'm looking forward to picking up my copy of the actual November issue from my local supplier, Prairie Art Stamps and Supplies.

Shopping Enabler:
Don't forget about the Anniversary Mega Sale at Rogue Redhead Designs.  Sale ends November 11.

Ribbon Candy

My blogging buddy Heather Hudson is on the design team for Really Reasonable Ribbon.  This is the first time I'm entering a challenge over at that site. 

RRR59 Challenge Winter Holiday and Ribbon
I'm using Rogue Redhead Designs stamp plates.  I went with a Christmas holiday color theme--green (Stampin' Up gumball green) and red--ish (Ranger Picked Raspberry distress ink) .  And of course the Christmas rose.  I used my own ribbon (from dd2) as I haven't placed my RRR order yet. 

It kinda reminds me of ribbon candy which brings to RRR's great blog candy offer.  Just look at all of this yummy candy. Head on over to see the details.

Linking this up to Beverly's Pink Saturday.  A blogging community all about friendship and fellowship.  With this card, I'm wishing all my visitors a stress free holiday season, especially those on the east coast--as well as serving up a blog candy alert. After all, that's what friends are for.  I appreciate all of my blogging buddies here in cyberspace. 

A Gecko Galz Calendar

It's November which means a new design team project from me as well as a new special offer from Gecko Galz.  

This month make a purchase of $25 or more and get our exclusive "Very Merry" digital stamp set FREE! 
And we're in Week 8 of holiday crafts, featuring "holiday crackers".  Check it all out at the Gecko Galz website HERE.
While there, look for me wearing a Santa hat!  Check out my gallery HERE.


Last month I made myself a Christmas shopping mini to carry in my purse.  This month I made myself a 2013 calendar book in which I can keep track of my design team deadlines and challenges.  

I started with a pack of Skinny Cards from Hobby Lobby.  They measure 9 inches by 4 inches.  I intertwined two envelope flaps to form the covers.  This created a pocket on the inside of each cover. Only the front cover showed the flap which I covered with the striped paper.

I opened and stacked 3 cards which formed my 12 calendar pages.  Using my long arm stapler, I stapled the cover and pages together down the center fold.  

I used these Gecko Galz products to create the pages:
Calendar Days collage sheets
Violets Are Blue collage sheets:  printed 1/2 size and fussy cut to create my own collage stickers
3 sheets from from Vanity Fair Digital Paper Pack:  striped tags made from Picadilly patterned paper, decorative tape, journal plates
I resized the decorative tape, smaller to tape the calendars, larger for the covers.  I also resized the plates to fit my circle punch.

I used the same design on each page, varying the trims.

 
Other Materials:
ColorBok earthtone paper pack: calendar mats and blue paper for calendars
Markers for outlining: black Sharpie, Ranger Vintage Photo
Ranger distress inks: Weathered Wood, Tea Dye, Aged Mahogany, Worn Lipstick
Stampin' Up ink pad and ink pen in Crumb Cake
Ranger brass distress stain and punchinella (sequin waste)
Red Lead Paperworks hand died pink ribbon
Wilton doilies
Jenni Bowlin butterfly
buttons and other trims from my stash

Thanks to everyone who stopped by here at my blog during the Gecko Galz blog hop.  There were so many wonderful free collage sheets to collect along the way, not to mention the amazing prizes!!!!  Did you check the Gecko Galz blog to see who won?  If not, you should stop by HERE.  just saying..........

While there, be sure to check out that fabulous challenge for those of you who collected the collage sheets.

And don't forget to check out the Gecko Galz Yahoo Papercrafting Group for lots of other challenges and chances to win even more prizes.

With so many opportunities, you can see why I need a calendar! 

Rogue Redhead Anniversary Sale

It's our 2nd Anniversary!  Time sure flies when you are having lots of inky fun!  Rogue Redhead Designs LLC has been proud to provide quality unmounted rubber stamps in eclectic and vintage designs since 2010!  We now have five fabulous full-size plates, four half-size plates and two minis in inventory along with some select singles!

Our one-week only Anniversary Mega Sale will run from November 4 to November 11, 2012 with lots of great savings on all your favorite unmounted rubber stamp plates!  This is a great time to start going Rogue with your stamping or round out your existing Rogue collection!

On top of all the great savings on individual unmounted rubber stamp plates, we also have two great bundles to bring you even more savings!  Our Beautifully Dunn Winter Bundle - which features the full-size Snow Hugs plate, the half-size Candy Kisses and the Carnival Dreams mini - is available the low price of $30.00!  Similarly, the Half Plate Bundle -  including Floriculture, Bits and Pieces and Nature Notes - will also be on sale for $30.00!  Both these great deals are available only until November 11, 2012!  Get in on the savings today!

Although I've been a member of the Rogue Crew (design team) for just a couple of months, I've been using Rogue Redhead Designs stamp plates for a long time.  

Here is a blast from the past--one of my earliest RRD creations using the Relish Reading stamp plate.  I call this the Tree of Knowledge.  I remember searching for a page of text and then punching out and gluing on all those tiny word blossoms.  And I liked making the skirt from a book page. 

Unruly ATCs Arrive!

Happy mail yesterday!  I received the eerie Halloween ATCs from the Unruly PaperArts Yahoo Group swap.

Here are the ones I made and sent in.  We had to create four different eerie ATCs to be swapped out.  I had posted them individually with details as I completed each one.

Here are the ones I received:

Love the texture on the glass, the eerie figure, and the amazing shiny embossed background

Love the glitter down the left side, the spooky font, crazy eerie skeleton and awesome pop of color with the spider and gems

love the texture of all the trims.  And of course I'm a huge Poe fan--- so happy to have this one in my collection.

love the awesome owl and vintage witchy woman.  That one pumpkin looks pretty worried while the other one seems to be in on the prank!

This is my last Halloween themed post.  I'm ready to move on to November with a new blog background.  I'm putting away all the Halloween stuff and tucking away my ideas until next year.  I'm working on some design team projects to post later this week.  Whether or not you celebrate Halloween, I hope you get lots of treats!

I'm sending best wishes to all affected by the storms on the east coast.

Last Day for Gecko Galz Blog Hop

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE GECKO GALZ BLOG HOP, IT IS HERE (click on the word HERE or go down two posts)

Taking a Chance

I went with the headline prompt to create my second piece for Fall Fearless and Fly at Artists in Blogland.  

Taking a chance:  
I thought this was a timely choice of words since the news last week was all about Fearless Felix who fell 128,000 feet from the sky at 833.9 miles per hour and captured several world records. I immediately thought of the Graphic 45 steampunk man so I wanted to incorporate him (talk about a leap of faith flying in that contraption!).  I also thought of the Websters' Pages balloons.  And then there's Dorothy and Alice, both of whom did their own falling fearless.

Headline Prompt:  Taking a Chance:  When did you take a chance or a leap of faith?  How did it turn out?  What did you learn?

My answer before I made my page-  I've taken several leaps of faith--going off to college, moving cross country, believing my dh would safely return home from two deployments (which thankfully he did) while I survived by myself in a city far from home (it was all a big adventure back then), changing jobs, climbing Indian ruins in spite of a fear of heights, putting my papercrafting out there through blogging and being on design teams.  What I learned is that I have an inner strength to persevere in these great leaps of faith and, after managing to (gratefully) survive the experiences, I have a sense of satisfaction that I am able to fall fearless and fly.  Perhaps it's my inner Dorothy and Alice.

My answer now that my page is done- the biggest leap of faith is doing this art cleanse.  When I look at the other entries,  I feel  I am out of my league.  I'm out of my comfort zone.  I'm a papercrafter learning to art journal.  Jumping in with both feet.  I'm so new at this art form and know that I have so much to learn to get better at it.  It just is what it is.  My tenacious personality will have me continue on this journey because I love the prompts and love being part of this project, seeing such amazing talent displayed by the rest of group.

What did I learn from this particular assignment?  My thick paper didn't hold up well to lots of water from the acrylic paint wash.  Pithy and wrinkled, I kept on, covering with products that reacted to the paper.  That was quite a lesson.  Next time, I'll be using canvas paper or  manila tag.  Throughout most of the process, I didn't like how the page was looking.  In the end, I think it's acceptable to me and reflects the theme I was going for.  Even though it's the second prompt, I've made it my journal cover.  I will place inside all the pages from this art cleanse.  And in the end, I will click my heels like Dorothy, and say I made it home from one incredible journey.

Materials:
Webster's Pages:  Your Life Beautiful  6x6 background balloons  (keeping to this size for all the prompts)
Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante (image of woman on worldly balloon and image of man flying)
Ranger Picket Fence Distress Stain and Adirondack Cloudy Blue washed over the paper to tone down the balloons
Eyelash trim covered with Adirondack Juniper and Peeled Paint Crackle
Dyan Revely stencil to create my own yellow brick road, Delta creamcoat: Old Parchment; Ranger Distress Stain: Tarnished Brass
Graphic 45 Cling rubber stamps by Hampton Art:  Magic of Oz2 ; Copics E50 and E31, Prismacolor PM 198
wings from Heartwarming Vintage Crafty Secrets Altered Fairies page
blue text from Pink Paislee She Art paper dolls collection: She felt like she could fly.  She decided to leave her fears behind.
American Crafts Thickers for letters FALL pounced with Ranger distress ink in Worn Lipstick and stamped with Ranger distress ink in Faded Jeans using Rogue Redhead Designs background from Relish Reading stamp plate
Tim Holtz Ideaology Plain Alphas used as a stencil for the word FLY

computer generated words; black markers, white Sharpie

This prompt features Ronda Palazzari who is giving away her book to one lucky participant.

GECKO GALZ TRICKS AND TREATS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the 2^nd Annual Gecko Galz Tricks and Treats Blog Hop

 I am the next stop on your “hop”.  Welcome to my blog! If you started here you might want to go back and start at the beginning at the Gecko Galz blog so you won’t miss anything!  

We have 14 AMAZING blogs for you to visit this weekend, each with some gorgeous projects created using the Gecko Galz collage images, that we are giving you for FREE! Each blog you visit will have a free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to download, mine is "Oh My Goddess". Also make sure you collect all the secret words on each blog so at the end of the hop you can enter to win our wonderful treat.  So sit back, relax, take your time and enjoy the hop!

We have FOUR amazing prizes up for grabs:

• First is the ephemera collections for each month for an entire year. That is 60 different sets! This is a $120 value
• Second prize is a $50 shopping spree at the Gecko Galz website….you pick it and we send it!
• Third prize is one free digital collage set each month for an entire year, you get to pick the collage sheet you want each month and we send it off to you! This is a $24 value
• And our Grand Prize ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz  COLLECTIONS!!! That will be 1 paper pack, 1 digital stamp set, and 5 collage sets for the entire year! This is a prize worth $240

Read on to learn how you can win!

First of all, you will need to visit all 14 blogs and leave a comment on each blog :) **This is important so we know you have been to all the blogs **. Collect all eleven words and at the end of the blog on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to the Gecko Galz website where you will email us the phrase the words make up. This enters you in the contest. On October 31^st we will randomly draw the 4 winners and email each of you, then we will post the winning names on our website and on the Gecko Galz blog site.

For an extra chance to win make a purchase from the Gecko Galz site and your name goes in again for a better chance of winning (each purchase you make that weekend gives you another chance to win) 

Finally, we are having one more give away! If you post our Gecko Galz badge (found on the Gecko Galz Blog) on your blog or website you will be entered to win a Gecko Store Gift Certificate worth $25 - super easy right?  Just post a link to your blog on the Gecko Galz Blog so we can come visit :).

My Secret Word is:   MAKE

Now go to the next site and collect the next word plus your next FREE collage sheet.

 Here is the Blog Hop Rotation 

 Carol Salisbury

Hazel Harler

Starr Timmons

Barbara Bird

Joan Lindle

Penny Walker

Sherri Levington

Debi Ryan

Heather Hudson

Sharon Rogers

Gerri Herbst

Jules Eickmeier

Helene Huber  (you are here)

Leanne Seed

Please enjoy this free Gecko Galz Collage sheet “Oh My Goddess”

as well as the samples I have made using the images

Since Halloween is fast approaching, I took these Goddesses to the dark side.

#1 Doomed Goddess:  Her fate was sealed because others saw her as too beautiful, too intelligent, and too powerful.
paper pieced tag

Gecko Galz Ooh La La envelope
Gecko Galz Tag Your It collage sheet (background tag)
Gecko Galz Repunzel from Ever After digital paper pack (baroque label shape)
Gecko Galz Ooh La La banners with computer generated sentiment layered on top
Gecko Galz skull from Shakespear collage sheet 
Ranger Distress Ink Iced Spruce
The Paper Studio wax sealing
Tim Holtz Alterations Baroque die cut
Gold foil dresden scrap and Wilton gold foil doily, both dabbed with Ranger distress marker in Vintage Photo to create a tarnished gold effect
Cardmaking and Papercraft designer templates dabbed with Ranger distress ink in Vintage Photo
cameo skull  my source-Alpha Stamps
trims from my stash

#2 Goddess of Dark Visions (dark visions is the name of one of the papers in the Gecko Galz Hocus Pocus digital paper pack--had to go with those words!)
mixed media piece
 

Gecko Galz witch's potion paper from Hocus Pocus digital paper pack
Gecko Galz Fortune Has It collage sheet
Slide Mailer and dresden foil scrap --my source is Alpha Stamps
Ranger Distress Ink Pads:   Walnut Stain, Wild Honey (also in stain), and Rusty Hinge
upholstery cloth sample cut up for curtain effect
strong adhesive--I used red line tape and Glossy Accents liquid glue
Ranger Stickles in Diamond
trims and embellies from my mixed up stash.

Ink technique:  cover mailer with gesso.  Use wild honey liquid stain as base.  Ink up with wild honey and rusty hinge inks.  While inks are still wet, add clear embossing powder, shaking off excess.  Heat set.  Now there is an orange peel effect.  Rub in walnut stain ink and then wipe off excess. 

#3 Enchanted Goddess (went with the fairytale Snow White theme here)
hybrid digital art
 

Gecko Galz Shrine collage sheet
I converted the shrine and the goddesses to ping files and layered them together.  When I used the photoshop paint tool on the left panel, I liked the color and dabbed it on the right panel to give an eerie effect on the goddess holding the treasure box (does it contain the heart?)  After printing on cardstock, I fussy cut the shrine and edged with gold metallic marker by American Crafts.
Bring Me Her Heart sentiment computer generated, paper torn, rolled, and distressed with Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Paper and Stampin' Up ink in Crumb Cake.
the symbolic mirror, as well as the treasure box, are from my personal vintage finds
Tim Holtz Ideaology key, word heart is accented with Ranger Adirondack snow cap acrylic paint dabber