4th Annual Gecko Galz Blog Hop

Hello Everyone!

I want to welcome everyone to the 11th destination of

Gecko Galz 4th Annual Blog Hop!

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 21 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 another free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to download. 

The one here is

"HALLOWEEN NIGHT."

Also make sure you collect all of the “secret” words on each blog so at the end of the hop you can send in the phrase to enter our drawing for a wonderful treat.  So sit back, relax, take your time and enjoy the hop!

We have FOUR amazing prizes up for grabs:

        First is the Kit Club for each month for an entire year. These are exclusive sets for club members which include a paper set, stamp set, and collage images in each set! That is 12 different sets! This is a $144 value!

       Second prize is the monthly collage sets for an entire year! Each month you will receive all 4 sets absolutely FREE! This is a $96 value.

        Third prize is all of the individual collage sheets each month for a year, this includes the Jewel It sheets! This is a $90 value!

       And our Grand Prize, ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz PRODUCTS!!! That will the Kit Club Set, 4 individual collage sheets, Jewel It set and 4 collage sets each month for the entire year! This is a prize worth $330!

Read on to learn how you can win!

First of all, you will need to visit all of the 21 blogs and leave a comment on each blog. :) This is important so we know you have been to all the blogs. 

Collect all 20 words (one on each blog site except the home site) and at the end of the blog on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to email the phrase to Gecko Galz. This enters you in the contest. On November 3rd we will randomly draw the 4 winners and email each of you, then we will post the winning names 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).  

Your Secret Word is:

WILL

Please enjoy this free Gecko Galz Collage sheet

“Halloween Night”

 as well as the samples I have made using the images!

(Just click on the picture for link to full size sheet)

 "Halloween Kitty"
Supplies:
Echo Park paper
Gecko Galz images
Dritz eyelets
Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Misc. Ribbon.

 "Ladies of Halloween" Banner
Supplies:

Echo Park paper
Dritz eyelets
Gecko Galz images
May Arts Ribbon
Basic Grey Ribbon
Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

"Midnight Hour" Tag
Supplies:

Gecko Galz Image
Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Misc. Transperancy
Daisy D's words
Glimmer Mist
Basic Grey Ribbon
Harlequin Stencil Retro Art Cafe

If you missed checking out one of the blogs or want to go through them again here is the rotation

Here is the Blog Hop Rotation

Sharon Rogers

Joan Liddle

Vicki Romain

Jules Eickmeier

Patti Fisher

Heather Hudson

Diane Bove

Yvonne Garner

Michele Storm

Jessica Moore

Helene Huber

Terri Burnette

Lisette Baker

Barbara Bird

Gerri Herbst

Amanda Phillips

Carol Salisbury

Wendy Waldorf

Leanne Seed 

Enjoy the Blog Hop! 

Happy Scrappy Savings! 

Jess

Upcoming Blog Hop

It is almost that time of year again! Get ready for the 4th Annual Gecko Galz Blog Hop! There are freebies on each blog (20 of them!!), as well as a chance to win some awesome prizes! 

So be sure to mark your calendars and join us on October 30th - November 2nd for some awesome inspiration and fun!

See you then!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Mad Tea Party Coming Soon!

This year I plan to participate in the 7th Annual Mad Tea Party on July 12 at A Fanciful Twist. I am very excited about this, being part of something like this. I wasn't able to play in the Celebrate Oz blog party earlier this year since we were in the middle of our move. 

I plan to create something with teacups, so be sure to stop by on July 12th to see! I will also have a giveaway, fun stuff!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

3rd Annual Gecko Galz Tricks and Treats Blog Hop

Welcome Everyone to the 3^rd 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 15 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 another free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to download, The one here is "Altered Artifacts".

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 48 different sets! This is a $144 value!

·        Second prize is the monthly paper pack for an entire year! Each month you will receive our paper pack absolutely FREE! This is a $72 value.

·        Third prize is all 3 individual collage sheets each month for a year! This is a $54 value!

·        And our Grand Prize ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz  COLLECTIONS!!! That will be 1 paper pack, 1 digital stamp set, and 4 collage sets each month for the entire year! This is a prize worth $288!

Read on to learn how you can win!

First of all, you will need to visit all 15 blogs and leave a comment on each blog :) **This is important so we know you have been to all the blogs **. Collect all fifteen words (one on each blog site) and at the end of the blog on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to email the phrase to Gecko Galz. This enters you in the contest. On October 28^th 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, Facebook page, or website you will be entered to win a Gecko Store Shopping Spree worth $25 - super easy right?  Just post a link to your blog on the Gecko Galz Blog so we can come visit :).
 

Your Secret Word is;

GOOD 

Please enjoy this free Gecko Galz Collage sheet “Altered Artifacts” as well as the samples I have made using the images!

(Just click on the picture for link to full size sheet)

Witches in the Air Tin

 Using a licorice tin purchased at a thrift store (5 for $1.99!!) I covered the top and bottom with the BINGO card from the Altered Artifacts sheet.  I also used the Witch inside from the Witching Hour sheet set.

Fallen Angel ATC

 I covered a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of chipboard with the Chicago Public Library Card from the Altered Artifacts, as well as the Angel Wings. Poe came from the Bump In The Night Collage Sheet Set.

Christmas BINGO Hanging

 I used the BINGO card from the Altered Artifacts sheet, as well as the image of the girl from the Old Fashioned Christmas Collage Sheet Set.

Vintage Card Basket

 Using the image of the girl from the Altered Artifacts sheet, I made this small version of the vintage crocheted card baskets.  So cute!

Now  you are ready to go to the next blog site and see what wonderful treats await you there. Just click the name  to be whisked away to their blog!

Here is the Blog Hop Rotation 

 Hazel Harler

Carol Salisbury

Joan Liddel

Penny Walker

Starr Timmons

Helene Huber

Barbara Bird

Gerri Herbst

Sharron Rogers

Lisette Baker

Sherri Levinton

Jessica Moore (You are HERE NOW!)

Heather Hudson

Leanne Seed


 Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Celebrate Oz 2013 Winners!

I am a day late but better late than never!  I have used that wonderful Random Number Generator from www.random.org to choose the winners of the Celebrate Oz 2013 Blog Hop. One will receive digital sheets from Gecko Galz Whimsical Jewel It Collage Sheets which includes the Wizard of Oz Dominos and the Alice in Wonderland Dominos.  I love these images, which originate from many different versions of each story.  Another winner will receive the Wizard of Oz Domino Book featured in my Celebrate Oz post.  I love this little book, and have plans of creating another to display at my work (whenever I return to the world of public libraries). I love creating art based on books!

 

Without further ado....

Commenter #9 - Winner of Domino Images

Beansieleigh March 15, 2013 at 4:21 PM

LOVE you mini book! So CUTE!!! And my gosh, I've done mini mini albums myself, where mine were still bigger than this, but the small size was still a challenge! So, beautiful work, Jess, and nice meeting you via Celebrate Oz! ~tina

Commenter #1 - Winner of Wizard of Oz Domino Book

Gina March 15, 2013 at 8:21 AM

Wow! Your domino book is amazingly good!...and totally Wicked!!! :D

Congratulations Tina and Gina! I will leave messages through your info left in the comments. 

Thanks again to everyone who visited and left comments, and thanks to Leanne, owner of Gecko Galz, for providing awesome images for this book and for the prize!

 Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Altered Oz 2013

There is quite the event going on over at Linda's Olde Baggs 'n Stuft Shirts Blog, called Altered Oz, a tribute to all things Oz. This year the contributors were encouraged to provide an "altered" view of Oz, mixing it up.

There is a giveaway here, so be sure to read through to find out the details!

 
I didn't "alter" Oz, but I did try something new. I had Wizard of Oz (WOO) domino images from Gecko Galz so I decided to make a domino mini book using them. I love these images because they come from a variety of versions of this book! When you think of the WOO, you think of blue gingham, Judy Garland, , techni-color movie, etc. But there are so many other images and ideas out there.

Anyway, since these were domino images, I thought I would actually work with dominos. First, I used alcohol ink to color the dominos. In the end, the green and grey ink is barely seen since I ended up covering it with red glitter. **Hope you like the images, I applied a bit of Techni-Color myself, to ramp up the color a bit since my pics were a bit flat. Made everything a bit surreal!

 

I added the black and white pictures of Dorothy and the Wicked Witch onto the dominos, painted the edges of the dominos with glue then covered them with red glitter.  Once covered, I added a thick layer of Glossy Accents over the images to seal them in.  I also, once dry, coated the glitter in a thin layer of it so it wouldn't flake off when handled.

Next, I added the gold beads, as feet and as a topper.  The green ball is a stick pin head that was cut and glued to add a bit of "Emerald" to the piece.

Now for the inside. 

 I wanted to focus one side on the "Good" of Oz, with images of Dorothy, the Emerald City, Toto, Dorothy and the Lollipop Guild, The Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy and her friends, and Dorothy with Ozma.  The background paper, which I adhered over the folded cardstock, was a paper with the Emerald City already on it.  I added sequins to it to give it some flat bling.  I stamped out a few things, like Toto, and the phrase, "There's No Place Like Home." I also added some ruffle gingham ribbon that I bought for this project.

For the "Wicked" side, with the Wicked Witch on the cover, I used a newsprint paper as the background.  I used images that portrayed the Witch and her side of things.  The first image is of her and Glinda, embracing.  Then it progresses to bad deeds.  The phrase stamped is "I'll Get You My Pretty." I also added a brass broom and the word "sleep" under a scene in the poppies.

I added black seam binding to the back of the dominoes, then glued the accordion pages to them. 

I wasn't sure at first how this was going to turn out.  It is my first attempt at a domino book, as well as my first time using Wizard of Oz as my subject.  I was thrilled to try since it is one of my favorite books and I am a Children's Librarian! I love all projects made with books as the theme!

So, I hope you enjoyed my contribution to the Celebrate Oz event.  Please be sure to check out Linda's Olde Baggs 'n Stuft Shirts blog for more contributors to this fabulous event!

For the Giveaway, please leave a comment below.  Following my blog is optional, though I hope you do.  One or more lucky winners will get a special prize, which I will announce later.  Could be a piece of art...could be some cool images.  So please comment and I will pick a random winner on Friday, March 23rd.

**a lucky winner will get the Wizard Of Oz Dominos, and another will get a special Wizard of Oz art piece. So be sure to leave a comment!

Good Luck and Thanks for Stopping By!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Cat in the Hat Birthday Party

Whew, what a party!  My kids, Gwyneth and Leo, turned 4 and 2 last weekend.  Since the party was on the 2nd, we decided to have a Cat in the Hat party to honor Dr. Suess' birthday as well!  And, as a children's librarian, I knew I could save all of the decorations for work. Bonus!

I used Pinterest a lot for this party, as inspiration and for instructions.  Here is a photo of all of my projects, and I will break it down below as to where I found my ideas so you can check them out too!

A) I made green eggs and ham!!  I saw green deviled eggs on Pinterest, HERE, and knew I had to do it.  I didn't look for how to make them, I just used it as inspiration and added green gel food coloring to my own eggs recipe.  They looked great, though the picture doesn't really do the green justice!

B) Party hats are a must!  Kids are too cute in them, especially when they are all around the table eating cake.  Leo, my birthday boy, really didn't want it on long, especially while he got down to the business of eating cake!  I had originally wanted to buy plain colored hats, since nobody on the island really sells Cat in the Hat party supplies.  But the hats come in multi-colored packs and that just wouldn't do for the party!  So, I found THIS pin about making hats.  Now, I didn't make them totally from scratch.  I did buy those multi-colored hats.  But I traced their shape onto wrapping paper, then used crepe paper to add a ruffle around the base, then a little tuft at the point.  I only did the tufts for the birthday girl and boy, as well as cutting out numerals with my Cricut. 

C) Well, this pic is just a side view of my table.  The red tissue paper ball I made, as well as a blue one that hung to the left of the banner, were so simple and cheaper than buying premade ones!  I didn't actually learn this one on Pinterest, but from YouTube.  But HERE is a pin covering the same technique.

D) Oh the lollipop tree!  My inspiration one was covered in blue ribbon instead of yarn, and I added yarn pom-poms and a Cat in the Hat to the top.  Check it out HERE.

E) Okay, there are a couple of items in this frontal pic of the table.  The banner was made using my Cricut.  I saw different banners on Pinterest, so I decided to use them as inspiration and just do a simple pennant shapped one.  I used cardstock for the background, cutting it on the cricut.  Then I cut one out 1/2" smaller and used the negative to trace in a beat up copy of Cat in the Hat.  I found it for 69 cents at the thrift store, with a very faded cover and water stained pages.  So, yes, the librarian cut up a book!  For my crafts, I will do almost anything!  But it helped that it was a crappy copy!  Then, after putting them together, I cut out my kids' names with the Cricut, in black, and glued them on.  Punched holes in each corner, then used small scraps of ribbon to hook them together.  I have already taken the letters off and saved it for a future library event.  Easy! Here is ONE similar that I used as inspiration!

Also in this picture...goodie bags!  I found inspiration HERE for them, but because of time restraints, only did the scallop scissors then sealed them with Washi Tape in the opposite color.  Buttons and twine would have been adorable too, but the dang hats too all day so I was running out of time! 

One more thing of interest, the wrapping paper on the wall.  Another Pinterest idea.  Check it out HERE!

F) The cake was inspired by many.  I knew I wanted a hat on top of another tier, but most out there are in fondant.  Here are a couple that I really liked as inspiration cakes:

CAKE 1
CAKE 2

G)  Ah, my wreath.  I love this thing.  Definitely a keeper for future events.  I didn't know where I was going to put it, but at the last minute we put it above the banner and it worked perfectly!  There were a couple of inspiration pieces that led to this creation.  I wrapped a foam wreath with yarn.  Then I made pom-poms.  I had never made them before, so here is the PIN where I learned that technique.  Then I cut my pennant banner out of felt, glued them to twine.  Then I used brads dipped into glue, poked them into the wreath, and strung up the twine.  I adhered sticker letters with a bit of glue too so they wouldn't fall off.  I covered the brads with printed images that I colored over with a brighter red to match the yarn.  Easy peasy!

Here are a couple of inspiration wreaths:  Wreath 1, Wreath 2

H) Last but not least, the Fish in a Cup Jello!  Saw this on Pinterest HERE and knew I had to represent Fish!  All it is...blue JELLO with a Swedish Fish in the bottom.  I think the kids were more excited for these than the cake!  I bought the cupcake stand after Valentine's Day at Target (love anything 50% off!) and covered the heart with the Fish in his bowl.  Easy! The cups fit perfect, though some were a bit cramped but it worked.

So, that was the party.  Here are a few more pics of that big day!

A quick note...their outfits were handmade from Etsy HERE.  Their invitation, which everyone loved, also came from Etsy, HERE.  All I did was send the file to Walgreens and print them out as pictures!

I am linking this post up to Glitter Tart's 2nd Monthly Pinterest Party, I Saw It On Pinterest & Did It! Please visit her blog and check out what other people are doing with their Pinterest ideas!

Enjoy!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Winter Jar Swap and Blog Hop

I was so excited when I saw the Winter Jar Swap on Glitter Tart's blog! I have been wanting to make a jar for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Here are the details she gave us:

What's a Winter Jar? 

Simple, a glass jar (minimum size 6 oz) that you fill with a winter scene of your choosing.

Decorations can be on the inside and outside but must be winter themed.

Think, snow, frost, winter animals, children bundled in coats, snowflakes, leafless trees etc etc...

She has some great tutorials on the original post if you are interested in learning how to make a winter jar. Click here to visit the ORIGINAL post.

I received a jar from my swap partner, artJOYstuff, and I love it!  The shape of the jar is awesome, and the Jello mold tin she used for the base, so cool!  Check it out!

For my jar I decided to use some birds in my jar, birds that I found on my February Gecko Galz products for the design team.  I loved the snowy birds and their orange breasts.  I decided I wanted them on snow covered branches.  Well, that turned out differently than expected, with the red berries bleeding through my puffy paint snow.  So, it became a romantic winter jar because I loved this happy accident!  

I put the spray of branches in a half styrofoam ball that I covered in those fake snowflake stuff you can get at Christmas.  That provided a perfect base, once glued to the lid.  I fussy cut the birds and adhered them to the branches, along with a banner, printed from Graphics Fairy, with Winter Romance written on it.  I slid my olive jar over and screwed it in. 

Next, I painted the candle holder white, and added a ring of heart glitter, source unknown, that I have been hoarding forever!  Added crochet lace to the lid, some pink vines around the "neck," and some flowers with rhinestones for centers.

Next I added some Zva Creative pearl flourishes to the base of my jar, some pink lace to the top, the other half of my snow covered ball, and a white bead held by glue and a pink stick pin.  Kind of looks like an ice cream sundae with that on top!

 Supplies:

Jar - Olive Jar
Candle Holder Base - Woodworks Ltd.
White Paint - DecoArt
White Heart Glitter - stash
White Crochet Lace - Really Reasonable Ribbon
Pink Vines - Really Reasonable Ribbon
Flowers - Prima
Pink Rhinestones - Studio G
Bird Images - Gecko Galz
Branches - JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts
Snow - Puffy Paint
Snowflakes - Wal-Mart
Bead - Darice
Pin - stash
Banner graphic - Graphics Fairy
Pearl Flourishes - Zva Creative
Pen - Stampin' Up
Pink Lace - Target Dollar Spot
Scor-Tape
Glossy Accents 

Enjoy the rest of the blog hop!