Graphics 45 Football Birthday

Good Morning Ladies,
I am working this morning. Then it is me, Windy, and Dude off to the dog show for the long Labor day weekend.
The card for today is Graphics 45 Football Birthday

This card was created using the Graphics 45 Good Ole' Sport pad. Plain and simple it is just layers.

This is the inside sentiment. The sentiment is from a the Stamps of Life clear set. The football guy was from the same pad. He is hand cut and inked.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Adventure Awaits Dog

Good Morning Ladies,
I am in the process of getting read for the Labor Day dog show. I have been packing the camper and doing the laundry. I still a ways off but feeling like I am making progress.
The card for today is Adventure Awaits Dog

This card developed on it's own. When I stamped the hunting dog image on the rust card stock I had no idea where it was going to lead. The hunting dog image is from Stampabilities. It was stamped in coffee Archival Ink. The swirls were added as it needed something. The swirl image is from a CTMH aspire set. I still felt like the panel lacked something. So I dug around and found the Adventure Awaits Heidi Swapp image. Now that the panel was done it need to sit on some kind of base. I did not want to use more of the rust as it was rather bold. The dark brown card stock piece was sitting in my cutting area and it looked rather good with the rust. A panel of tan was my next choice. I put them together and they worked. But the card still lacked something. So I went to work and stenciled the birch trees with the same coffee ink and a make-up sponge. The birch tree stencil is from Memory Box. Acorns in cream were stamped on the brown panel. I am not sure what company the acorn image is from as the wood mount was not marked.

The inside sentiment.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Peace on Your Wings tag

Good Morning Ladies,
I am up and at it early this morning. I already have the laundry going. The dogs have been fed and out twice and now laying at my feet. I think today is going smooth so far.
Today I have a Peace on Your Wings tag ....

This tag started with the tree stamp from Inkadinkado. It is from one of their clear sets. This was stamped on a tag base with black Memento ink. Next the sentiment was stamped in the same ink. The sentiment is from Stamping Sensations. It reads I will write Peace on your wings, And you will fly all over the world. Sadako Sasaki. The tag was then sponged with Tim Holtz distressed inks. The tag was lined with a gold art deco pen. A flat back dove was attached at the top of the tag. Fiber was added as a tie.
I have dived back into my fibers again. I think they fit some of the creations I have been making.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Zebra Tag

Good Morning Ladies,
Dog training classes started back up again last night. Dude got to do some obedience in Connie's class. I have a nice class of dogs. I did get a few things created this past weekend.
Today is a Zebra Tag

The zebra image is from the Rubber Cottage. Another stamp I purchased at the Fort Wayne show last year but had not had a chance to use. I could let him sit no longer. He was stamped on a tag. The weeds were stamped several times just using a portion of the stamp each time. This stamp is from Stampscapes. The sentiment is from CTMH. The background was created using make-up sponges and Tim Holtz distressed inks. The sentiment Peace On Earth usually comes with a Christmas set. But I don't think of it as a Christmas sentiment only. And I thought it was perfect for this sweet gentle faced zebra. A gold art deco pen was used to edge the tag.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Beary Special

Good Evening Ladies,
I could not post this morning as the links to the photos were broken. I am hoping they are working now. The card is Beary Special

 Ah...success! this card started with the bear. Once again I don't know the company of the bear or the sentiment as the wood mounts were not marked. the bear was stamped on watercolor paper. He was colorized using Stampin' Up watercolor crayons. The dsp is from DCWV.

The inside sentiment is from Hero Arts.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Magnolia Ponies

Good Morning Ladies,
I was up a little earlier this morning than usual. I guess I got plenty of rest yesterday and ready to go today.
The card for today is Magnolia Ponies

 I have done a fair amount of buying used stamps this summer. So I have many new things to play with at little cost. Yay me! It is fun to see how elements come together for me. The start of this card was the Magnolia Ponies stamp. They were stamped on Bristol paper. Colorized with spica pens they are sparkly. They were then hand cut. I looked over to the side and the arches Sheena embossing folder from Crafter's Companion was staring me in the face. I ran it through my cuttlebug with a lighter weight grey scrapbook paper. I then took a white cat's eye ink pad and ran it over the top for more dimension. This is a 5 x 7 embossing folder so it gave me room to make my ponies leap across the card. The three flowers were created using a Cheery Lynn flower die. These were in my flower bowl all ready to go and they matched my ponies perfect. So they grace the corner of the card with a pearl sprig underneath. The sentiment is cut with a Spellbinders die set. The sentiment is from a clear set. I don't know the company though as it came without one.

This is the inside sentiment is from the Stamps of Life.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Birthday Nymph

Good Morning Ladies,
It's Saturday morning and I don't have to be anywhere this morning. That is all most unheard of. So how did I spend my early morning? Well of course working on cards and things. My son even joined me to work on a paper mache' treasure chest.
The card for today is Birthday Nymph

The Nymph character is an image from Crafter's Companion. They have so many cool designs over there. I can't get enough of them. She was stamped with Memento ink on Bristol paper. She was then masked with Eclipse tape. A leaf image from US Art Quest and Sandi Miller was then stamped several times to create a seat for the Nymph. The mask was then remove. The scene was the colorized using Prism pencils, Gamsol, and glitter pens. This was mounted on blue cardstock. Flowers were created using a Sizzix die, and a Cheery Lynn die. A tag was inked on the edges and stamped with a sentiment in coffee archival ink by ranger. A fiber was tied on the side. I have not used fibers much on cards lately. But it seemed fitting for the Nymph.

This is the inside sentiment by Crafter's Companion.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Autumn Pumpkin

Good Morning Ladies,
The kids in my area are back in school. So the yellow buses are rolling down the roads in the morning. Fall is headed our way. The card for the day is Autumn Pumpkin....

The pumpkin image is from the Rubber Cottage. I picked this stamp up last fall at the Fort Wayne stamp show. This is the first time I have had time to use it. It was stamped on glossy cardstock with coffee Archival Ink. This is an unmounted stamp. The tree branch image in the background is from Stampscapes. The wheat image is from an unknown company. I have purchased a few used stamps this summer and most of them are not marked with the company. Tim Holtz distressed inks were used to colorize the entire scene. The card base is color blocked with three different colors of card stock.

This is the inside sentiment. Again from and unknown company. I believe the acorn image is from Stampin' Up but once again I am not sure.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Star Birth Moon

Good Morning Ladies,
This morning all is well with the world. My dogs are happy and so am I!
My card this morning is Star Birth Moon

I did do one mask to create this card. The moon face is a Victorine Originals image. It was stamped on glossy card stock and then I applied the mask. The star birth image from Stampscapes was stamped several times on the panel. The mask was removed. The images were then colorized with See D's dye inks Tim Holtz die inks and Andirodak inks.Little stars were added with a white paint pen.  The panel was matted with black card stock. Dark blue card stock covers the card base. A moon and stars ribbon in dark blue was tied at the bottom.

The inside sentiment is by Stamping Sensations.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Wild Wolf

Good Morning Ladies,
All is quiet here this morning. I was up earlier than usual. No reason. Training classes start up next week so I am will be back in full swing again.
My card for today is Wild Wolf

This card was created using a very large wolf stamp. A friend of mine purchased this wolf stamp for me at a garage sale. He is beautiful, but there is no stamp company anywhere on the stamp. He was stamped on watercolor paper with coffee Archival Ink. He was then colorized using watercolor crayons and a water brush. The feathers were created using a Kelly Purkey feather die. The feathers were inked in brown cat's eye ink. This was all mounted on a dark brown mat.

This is the inside sentiment. It is from Stampscapes.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Little Brown Church in the Woods

Good Morning Ladies,
Tuesdays are my long days, but I got fitful sleep last night. It should be a good day. I spent some time scene stamping with a good friend a few days ago. I have finally put a couple cards together with them. My first scene card is  Little Brown Church in the Woods
When I was a child we sang a song at church by the name of Little Brown Church in the Woods. When I put this card together this song came into my head and I was singing it. Here is the card....

This scene was created using seven Stampscapes stamps. It started with a piece of glossy card stock. The images were all stamped in black Memento ink. No masks were used to create this scene. That is the beauty of Stampscapes. The next step was to use a makeup sponge and cover the whole scene with Adirondak sandal ink. This helps the other colors slide on. Multiple colors and layers of See D's die inks were used to colorize this scene. We tried something new to colorize with. We used the handles and sponges from the pan pastels. They worked great!

This is the inside sentiment. Also from Stampscapes.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Too Much Fun Halloween

Good Morning Ladies,
It's Monday.... It seems humid out there this morning. But who am I to complain. We have had a wonderful summer so far. On with it all....my card for today is Too Much Fun Halloween .

Once again I used the Too Much Fun postage stamp block. It worked perfect with the Theresa Collins Halloween clear set. The panel was first sponged with Tim Holtz distressed inks. I then stamped the postage stamp stamp. I then stamped the halloween images. I am loving this Theresa Collins set. I then mounted the panel on black card stock. A golden yellow covers the card base. In between those layers is a Halloween word paper from my stash. 

I added three spooky Halloween buttons to the side of the card. I cut the button shanks off so they would lay flat against the card.

This is the inside sentiment. It is by Stampin' Up.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Sledding Polar Bear

Good Morning Ladies,
Yesterday morning and the night before were a little rough. I was not feeling well at all. I am much better this morning. I guess you have to feel yucky every once in a while so you remember what good feels like. LOL
Today I have a Sledding Polar Bear for you.....

This card was created using a CTMH holiday polar bear stamp set. This is a really cute set. I stamped the sledding polar bear on Bristol paper with black Memento ink. He was then colorized using Prisma pencil. The background was colorized using Prisma pencil and Gamsol. I stamped the polar bear at an angle so that I could add a snow hill. The snow hill was created by layering torn shimmer paper. The snowflakes finish the background. They are stamped with blue color box ink. This panel was layered on two colors of blue card stock and shimmer paper to cover the card base. A ribbon was tied on the side to top this card off.

The inside sentiment is from the same stamp set.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Live with Passion

Good Morning Ladies,
I am not feeling up to par this morning. It has been a long week and it has taken it's toll on me. But I forge on and I have made art this past week to share with you.
Today's card is Live with Passion .....

I have decide to use the CTMH Aspire set again. I am loving this set. It feels emotional to me. To create this card I started with a piece of glossy card stock. I sponged the glossy card stock with Tim Holtz honey distressed ink. I then took the star Memory Box stencil and placed it over the glossy card stock and sponge Tim Holtz orange distressed ink over it. I did not tape the stencil down in any way. I just held it with my free hand. This is one of the things I love about the thin stencils no taping required. Yay! With black Memento ink I stamped the three dancing figures. The sentiment is from Stampin" up. This panel was then layered on the card base with black, orange, and yellow card stock. Blank in the inside as I feel this card could be used for many different times.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Life's a Picnic

Good Morning Ladies,
Friday has arrived. The weekend is coming close. This weekend I will be up at the dog show at least one day helping out. No dogs for me to show this weekend.
I have a card for you today...it is Life's a Picnic

I received an outdoor grilling set in the mail. It is an Inkadinkado would mounted set. I thought it was a cool set and wanted to use it before summer was over. I cut a piece of Bristol paper and started stamping. The first thing I stamped was the postage frame set from Too Much Fun rubber stamps. Next I stamped the images from the set in each postage frame. The images were colorized using Prisma pencil, Gamsol, and Copic markers. The background of the postage frame with Prisma pencil and gamsol. The white edges were then stamped with the tablecloth image in blue. I stamped the sentiment Life's a Picnic over the table cloth pattern.The sentiment is from CTMH. A tied red and white checked ribbon was tied on the side of this layer. The panel was mounted on a blue piece of card stock and then mounted on the card base.

The inside sentiment is from Stampin'  Up.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Mr. Bones Tag

Good Morning Ladies,
I can't believe how cool this summer has been. It has been nice. But it is winding down fast. Next week the kids will go back to school and fall is right around the corner.
Today I had a Mr. Bones Tag.

Yes I am still having fun creating tags. This tag started with the jar stamp from a Fiskars clear set. I stamped the jar on the tag in memento ink. I then colorized the entire tag with Tim Holtz distressed ink. It was applied with make-up sponges. Mr. Bones was then stamped in the jar. The next job at hand was to colorize the jar lid. This was done with a silver metallic gilding pen. The bat was stamped next and then the spiderwebs at the bottom corners. The edges of the  tag were lined in the silver metallic gilding pen. Mr. Bones, the bat, and the spider web corners are from a Theresa Collins clear set.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Hedgehog gift card holder

Good Morning Ladies,
Boy did we get the rain yesterday. I guess we needed. It cooled down a lot and that felt good.
Today I have something different for you, Hedgehog gift card holder....

I was looking for something else when I came across these coin envelopes I had purchased some time back for another project. They caught my eye so I grabbed one and started to look at it to see what I could do. I purchased the hedgehog CTMH clear stamp set from Kathy Anderson at the last crop. So this set was laying on the table. It looked like a good fit for the envelope. I stamped the elements from this stamp set with Tim Holtz distressed ink on the envelope. The just a little somethin' is from another CTMH clears stamp set. The for you is from a clear set from the Stamps of Life. All the edges were inked in cat's eye brown ink.

This shows the back of the coin envelope. A gift card fits inside. I purchased these coin envelopes at a local store here in town called Kemps. Kemps is a fun place to visit. You can find all kinds of stuff to use in you card making and scrapbooking. When you walk in it is like walking into the old days. Of course they have all the new techie stuff also. But the feeling has not changed much for a long time. The people that work there are very helpful. You know the feel you get when you go into a home town business.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Spooky Tag

Good Morning Ladies,
Another Monday has come! What and where will this week find me? Maybe it will be a quiet week.
I have another tag today... Spooky Tag

I received the Crafter's Workshop bare tree stencil in the mail the other day. It made me think of Halloween. So I thought I would try it out on a tag. I laid the stencil on on the tag and sponged over it with Tim Holtz distressed ink in four colors. I took a look at it and decided it needed some foreground so I stamped a Stampscapes on the bottom. The cat, flying witch, and stars are from a Teresa Collins clear stamp set. They worked perfect on this tag. Turned out pretty spooky. A black and gold ribbon is tied on the top.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

CTMH Aspire tag

Good Afternoon Ladies,
I did not post yesterday because my desktop melted. It is gone. Important working parts melted into the motherboard. So now I am forced to learn my laptop. And things were not working just quiet right with the photo library. I had to wait for my son to fix it this morning so I could download photos. But they are now downloaded and I know how to do it I think.
Today I have a CTMH Aspire tag

I am still working on tags. I probably already said it but tags are a great way to try out new stamp sets as well as techniques. I sponged on three colors of Tim Holtz distressed ink with make-up sponges. The dancer and sentiment was then stamped with black Memento ink. A different color of distressed ink was used to stamp the flourishes. A ribbon was tied at the top through the hole.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Trust Your Heart Tag

Good Morning Ladies,
All is quiet here this morning. It seems darker each morning when I get up and the sun is setting a little bit earlier. Summer has run away from me this year. On an up note my watercolor crayons arrived yesterday. I am so glad to have this set. I have a Trust Your Heart Tag for you today.
Here it is....

This tag started with the CTMH dandelion set. It was just in the choosing because I did the background first. The background was created using Stampin' Up watercolor crayons. I colored them directly on the tag and then washed them in with my water brush. The dandelions and sentiment were then stamped using coffee Archival ink. Fibers were tied at the top.
Tags are an awesome way to try out different products and techniques. 
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Polar Bear Scenes

Good Morning Ladies,
Last night was open agility training and we had a great bunch of dog teams come out. It has been a fun summer with open agility. Next week is our last week for open training and then classes start again.
I have two scenes left that I created at the scrap a little while back. And here they are... Polar Bear Scenes ...

The polar bears were stamped first. They were then masked. Next the ice float was stamped. The icicles were stamped last. I then removed the polar bear mask and colorize them with Stampin' Up watercolor crayons. A little bit of US Art Quest mica paint was added to the icicles to give them a shimmer. These panels were matted on black. The card base was covered with a light blue map paper. DCWV dotted glitter paper was matted over the light blue map paper. 

Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Bold Lion

Good Morning Ladies,
It is suppose to cool off again today. It has been a nice summer but is going way too fast!
My card for today is Bold Lion.

The lion image is a stamp a friend bought for me at a sale. It does not have a company stamped on it. All I know is I fell in love with it the moment she brought it to me. I stamped him on Bristol paper and colorized him with Gamsol and Prisma pencil. He has a partial border around him which I cut off. He was hand cut. I had the yellow pebbley leather paper in my stash that seemed to match him. I mated him in black so he would remain the focal point of this card. The Leaves are cut from a Memory Box die and the flower was created using a Cheery Lynn die.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Oval Framed German Cuts Horses

Good Morning Ladies,
My dad loves auctions and I love auctions. But I have not had time to go to auctions. My dad attends them most every weekend. If he finds a treasure I would like he picks it up for me. Why am I telling you all of this? Because my dad brought me some old brass Italian oval frames. What a find! I opened them up and took out the photos someone had put in them. Judging by the clothing the children were wearing I would say these got placed in these frames in the 70's. Only one frame had something in it from a long time ago. But I still don't think it was what was in the frames originally. I added black cardstock cut in an oval and then grabbed my German embossed cuts of horses. The photos below are what they look like now. Here they are.....

 I love how they turned out. It's super fun to created something new with two older things.
Of course these are offered for sale down at the Co-op Shoppes in La Porte.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Graphics 45 By The Sea Shadow Box

Good Morning Ladies,
Today is the beginning of a new week. A little lighter week than last week I am hoping. I did get some time to work on a project or two.
Today I have a Graphics 45 By The Sea Shadow Box....

This piece was inspired by the Graphics 45 By The Sea pad. The calling card with the little kids was so cute I decided it should be the main focal point of this shadow box. The shadow box started out with unfinished wood. It was stained with three different Tim Holtz distressed stains. The first layer was broken china, the second layer was white wash, and the third layer was saphire blue. The last two colors were applied while each layer was still wet. Once that was dry I started to add to the shadow box. There is a mat of cream cardstock beneath the calling card. It is inked in blue cat's eye ink. The sea shells were added next. The By The Sea sentiment was added next. It still needed a little something so I added the sea theme brass charms. The hangers on the shadow box are on each corner at the top. I used this to my advantage and added a blue star ribbon hanger.

A close-up of the inside of the shadow box showing the real seashells.

The back of the shadow box showing the hangers.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Fairy Garden

Good Morning Ladies,
I have been MIA. Last week was a killer. So I missed blogging for three days.
Today I have something totally different. And really different for me. I normally do not do plants. But I was up at Chesterton Feed and Garden a few weeks back. There I saw fairy gardens and fell in love with them. I returned the following week with my sister in tow. She is a plant person and happens to also love fairies. She helped me find what would work and came home and planted it for me. I added the little things that make it a fairy garden. I had yet to finish it until yesterday. And it is really not finished yet as I want some stars hanging from the top. So here is my fair garden....

This is a photo of it sitting on the porch. I added dried moss to the space between the container and the bird cage. I then took it out in the yard and sprayed the moss with gold glimmer mist. I also sprinkled fairy dust (glitter) over the entire thing. Fairy gardens are creative and fun!

A close-up of the little do dads you add to your fairy garden.

And here it is hanging on my porch. I chose the bird cage because I can take it in and hang it in the house when the weather turns cold. That way I can enjoy it year round.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog