Gecko Galz Annual Blog Hop

Hello Everyone!

We want to welcome everyone to the Gecko Galz 14th Annual Blog Hop.

 This is our Tricks and Treats Blog Hop! 

We have 14 AMAZING blogs for you to visit this weekend, each with some gorgeous projects created using the Gecko Galz collage sheets that we are giving you for FREE on each site! Each blog you visit will have a exclusive free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to download, the one here is

GOTHIC LOVE

(Click Right on the image below to save)

Here are the projects that I created with my collage sheet:

 

 

  

 

 

  

   

Also make sure you leave a message on each blog site you visit, and follow that design team member if you do not already and on the last blog there will be a phrase that you will email to us to be entered in our drawing for a wonderful treat pack.  So sit back, relax, take your time and enjoy the hop!

We have FIVE amazing prizes up for grabs:

        First is a Gecko Galz Kit Club for 2025!

        Second prize is a subscription to the Gecko Galz 2025 Card Topper Kits!

       Third prize is a subscription to the 2025 Tin Topper Kits for 2025!

Fourth prize is a $25 shopping Spree!

       And our Grand Prize ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz PRODUCTS!!! This includes the 6 new collage sheets each quarter, a new stamp set each quarter, a new Craft Kit each quarter, a ATC collections, 1 Paper Pack each quarter, one jewel it collection, Tin Toppers, and Card Toppers!

 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 the phrase at the end of the hop on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to email the phrase to Gecko Galz at geckogalz2019@gmail.com.

This enters you in the give Away. On October 28th we will randomly draw the 4 winners and email each of you, then we will post the winning names  in our Newsletter on November 1st.

 For an extra chance to win make a purchase from the GECKO GALZ ETSY STORE between the 25th of October and the 27th of October and your name goes in again for a better chance of winning (each purchase you make that weekend gives you another chance to win) 

 Now have fun visiting each Blog!

Gecko Galz

Kim Rayko

Robin Francini

Julia Vasquez

Tanis Buckton

Susan Renshaw

Kelly Parker 

Suzanne Franin

Carole Jones

Mia

Gerri Herbst

Jessica Kaiser

Walter Zemrock

Leanne Seed

Joy in the Present - Tuesday Morning Sketches #775

Hey there, friends!

Thanks for stopping by Paper Play.  Today's post is about the card that I created for this week's Tuesday Morning Sketches share.  This was an interesting sketch and, I have to admit, I struggled with it a little bit.  It's not a typical card layout that I would create.

I started my design by finding a patterned paper in my stash that I wanted to work with for the two columns in the front of the card.  I think the floral design on this paper is gorgeous and settled on using it.  I wanted to incorporate some texture into the card and thought that some burlap would pair well with the paper.

I didn't want a background that was too plain; and yet, I didn't want to use a patterned paper that would look too busy with the floral print.  I looked through my stash and found this white polka dot paper and thought it would work well.  It's actually a bag that I received from a shop!  I thought it was cute and figured that I would use it some day.  I'm glad that I did!

I used the deckle edge blade on my paper trimmer to add a little something extra to the overall look.  I also added some slight grunge around the edges using Distress Tea Dye ink, and added 5 pearl gems.

Here's my card and the sketch that it's based on.

I hope that you enjoy this design.  Thanks for reading and, until next time, be well!

Stay Wild, Moon Child - September 2024 Gecko Galz Design Team Projects

Hi, friends!

I have always been fascinated by the moon. I have so many memories of being a kid and standing outside with my telescope looking at it.  I used to hope so much to see something move while looking up there . . . and used to be disappointed when it didn't happen.  I also used to love looking for facial patterns while thinking of the "man on the moon."  These days, I find that I appreciate the symbolism of the moon and what it stands for . . . going through phases, our deepest feelings and instincts, mystery, and more.  I connect with each of those themes and probably more so than ever at this point in my life.  That's why I was so excited to see this month's Gecko Galz theme . . . stay wild, moon child.

Each of my projects this month are directly connected to what the moon symbolizes to me.  The first one is an ornament/hanging decoration that I made.  I took a small wooden circle, applied a coat of embossing paste to add some texture, and then painted it with black paint.  I then applied some glitter paste over it and applied the Geck Galz image in the center.  The hanger is stapled to the back and was made with a piece of wire.  The sentiment is one that I love - the moon will always listen.  It reminds me so much of an Elizabethan sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney called Astrophel and Stella.  It's a poem of unrequited love and, in one part of the sonnet, Astrophel essentially asks the moon if love hurts as much up there in the sky as it does down here on land.  This sonnet has stayed with me over the years, and influenced this design.

The other three projects that I made are all greetings cards.  One celebrates the moon theme of phases, another the mystery of always looking up at the moon, and the last the theme of staying true to our deepest feelings and instincts.

I hope that enjoyed learning more about what influenced these designs!  Until next time . . . be well!

Beauty of the Far East - Gecko Galz August 2024 Design Team Projects

Hi there, friends!

Thanks for stopping by Paper Play.  Today is my day to share my August design team projects for Gecko Galz.  Our theme this month was Beauty of the Far East.  Gecko Galz has so many beautiful products that may be used for this theme.  My goal was to use colors and styles inspired by the Far East to bring these projects to life.  Please be sure to let me know how I did!

 

 

 

 

My first project is my favorite for this month.  When I think of the Far East, I think of the beautiful design elements that we in the West have adopted from them.  In particular, I have always loved the Japanese paper screen doors and I wanted to create a frame that incorporates them.  I took a small rectangular wooden box from Michaels and used brown ink to stain it.  I then printed the photo to size, added some grunge to it with Distress Ink, and glued it to the inside of the frame.  Two strips of foam were colored with Distress Inks to look like stone and glued at the top and bottom of the frame.  Their purpose is to support the doors with pin hinges, and those pins stick into the foam to allow them to open and close.  I made the doors by cutting four rectangular pieces of cardboard to size, using an exacto knife to cut out the centers, and then coloring them with black and grey ink.  I printed the images for the doors to size on vellum and let them dry.  Once dry, I cut them to fit between two pieces of the cardboard and glued them into place.  Stick pins were glued to the top left and bottom left corners of one door and then repeated on the right corners for the other door.  I attached small nobs to the front center of each door to allow for easier opening, and then put the doors in place by inserting the pins into the foam and aligning into place.  This is actually a very easy project to create, and I think it adds a beautiful vintage style to any decor.

My second project is a vintage fan, which is really quite easy to create.  I took an 8.5"x11" inch piece of kraft cardstock and glued an 8.5"x11" piece of paper printed from the Asian Botanical Paper Pack to it.  I used Distress Ink and Ink Spray to add some grunge to the front and back of the paper.  I then used my scoring board to score a line at each 1" and then used a bone folder to burnish each line of the fold.  Once folded, I glued twine to the handle, starting at the bottom and working my way up to the point where I wanted it to end.  Some pearl gems were glued and the fan was complete.  I think it would look pretty either hanging or resting on a shelf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My final three projects are greeting cards that I made.  The shadow box card and fun fold frame card were made using dies that I have for each.  I used a variety of Gecko Galz images, Distress Inks, alcohol markers, lace, and paper flowers to create them.

I hope that you enjoyed learning more about my August projects and that I may have inspired you to try one!

Thanks for spending some time with me here on Paper Play today.  Until next time . . . be well!

AECP Level 3 - Mission: Inspiration

Hello, friends!

Welcome back to Paper Play.  Today's post is a little bittersweet because it's all about my last AECP course, Mission: Inspiration.  This class focused on using social media and other sources for inspiration for your cards and how to organize such sources. It's also the first time that I've done a card layout sketch.  I'm not a fan of card sketches - I prefer to just dive in, start creating my card, and let my intuition guide me.  While the class didn't change my mind about that, I can see where it can be a useful tool to capture ideas in a journal of ideas.

The source of inspiration for my project was a piece of art that I had recently seen on Instagram.  Here's a screenshot of it:

As you know from prior posts, I'm a huge fan of the vintage style.  Additionally, I'm a fan of the Art Deco style as well.  I have long been fascinated by the "Roaring 20's" and the history of the era.  I think it all started when I did a project on Prohibition for my 8th grade history class.  It only grew as I read classics of American literature like The Great Gatsby and Babbit.  I have created other projects inspired by this time period and style, and the above pic just called out to me as soon as I saw it.  I don't keep a written journal of ideas and, instead, take screenshots to keep in photos on my phone.  I took a screenshot of this one as soon as I saw it, and I knew immediately that Altenew's Deco Cover Die Set and Streamlined Spring Die Set would be used to create my card.  Here's the card inspired by the artwork that I created:

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I was able to bring in the gold and black colors, the teal/peacock from her fashion and hair, and the scalloped shaped florals that are so very art deco.  I also made sure that there was a lot of depth in the card by using lots of line scoring, double stacked die cuts, and foam tape.

Here's what I used to make it:

• Altenew Deco Cover Die Set
  
• Altenew Streamlined Sprig Die Set
  
• Altenew Deco Greetings Stamp Set
  
• Altenew Antique Gold Metallic Ink Spray
  
• Altenew White Gel Pen
• Altenew Gold Gel Pen
• Brutus Monroe Peacock Chroma Mist
• Brutus Monroe Gold Acrylic Bubbles
• Nuvo Gold Metallic Marker
• White A2 card base
• White card stock for die cutting
• Black card stock for die cutting

Here's how I made it:

• Used the largest Deco Cover die and black card stock to cut out the frame; adhered the frame to the card base with craft glue.
• Scored the inside piece cut from the Deco Cover Die at each 1/16 measurement on my scoreboard (i.e. each line on the scoreboard); doing so adds some depth to the piece.

• Sprayed some Antique Gold Ink spray onto my palette and sprayed some water to dilute it a bit, misted the scored die cut with some water, and then used a paint brush to apply a coat of gold to it; doing so gives it a lighter touch of gold while still allowing the black to come through.
• Once dry, put double sided foam tape strips on the back of the die cut, aligned it with the card base, and adhered it.
• Sprayed the white card stock for die cuts with the Peacock Chroma mist and let it dry.
• Die cut the flowers and leaves (1 of each for each position on the sprig die and 4 extra of the large flower) from peacock-colored card stock, and two of the sprig dies from black card stock.
• Scored lines at 1/16 on each of the four extra flowers to add more depth and make them stand out from the sprig die cuts.

• Used the gold gel pen to add some color to the inside of the scored lines on the flower and used the white gel pen to add some highlights to the spaces between the lines; doing so softens the color, adds another element of gold, and differentiates these flowers from the one sprig.
• Adhered a flower into each of the four inside corners with craft glue; add them at an angle to have the scored lines go in a different direction than the scored lines on the card panel. 
• Glued the two black sprig die cuts together and colored the top one with the gold metallic marker; the stacked die cuts add more depth to the sprig.
• Glued the flowers and leaves to the back of the sprig, adhered double sided foam tape strips to the back of it, and placed it on the card.
• Stamped the sentiment, ran some black ink around the sides of the sentiment, and glued it in place.
• Glued down three gold acrylic bubbles.

I really like my interpretation of the image.  The card has varying degrees of depth and color in the art deco style.  I can picture this image hanging on a wall in Gatsby's mansion as a fabulous party is underway!

I hope that you enjoyed learning about my inspiration and creative process!  My next step in this AECP journey, should this project be accepted, will be to create my course for a live session.  I already have a couple of ideas swirling around and look forward to fleshing them out.

Thanks again for stopping by.  Until next time . . . be well!

BPM/IBFS - Dream, Inspire, Grow

Hello, friends!

Thanks for stopping by Paper Play today.  My first card for June was all about self love and doing what is good for your soul.  Today's project is along the same thought and features the words: DREAM, INSPIRE, and GROW.  An important reminder for everyone that we are never too old to dream, incapable of inspiring, or without the ability to grow.  I love that Blank Page Muse used these words in a stamp set for an art doll.  Art dolls have an interesting history in that they were made as a piece of art rather than as a toy for a child, and their purpose was to communicate or express a message.  Sometimes they may have lacked arms, legs, or both; sometimes they were made with different mediums/materials.  The one included in this stamp set is a great visual representation of the words included with it.  I share it with you today to hopefully inspire you, my dear crafting friends.

Here's what I used to make it:

• Whatever is Good DREAMER Art Doll 1
• Steampunk Romance: Digital Printable Papers for Journals, Cards, ATCs
• Blocks Pattern Stencil 
• Distress Oxide Inks: Salty Ocean, Spun Sugar, Lost Shadow
• A2 black card base
• White card panel - 4" X 5.25"

Here's how I made it:

• Blended blocks from the stencil onto the card panel in an alternating pattern with the oxide inks; stamped circular patterns down the left & right hand sides with black ink.
  
• Stamped the art doll and sentiments onto a scrap piece of paper from the Steampunk Romance kit.
• Colored the art doll with alcohol markers, glitter gel pens, and metallic gel pens.
• Adhered doll and sentiments to card with double sided foam tape.
• Spritzed the card panel with some tea stain spray to add some grunge.
• Adhered the panel to the card base and glued on three rhinestone gems.

 

A very easy card to make!  It has a very pop art look and feel to it, and is fun & whimsical.

I hope that you enjoyed learning a bit more art dolls and how I created this card!

Until next time . . . be well!