Running Horse

Good Morning Ladies,
I am getting a late start to the morning. Too much playing on the computer.
Today my card is a Running Horse card.

 This card was started with the horse image by Inkadinkado. He was stamped on bristol paper and colorizes with Prisma pencil and Gamsol. My background dsp matched this stamp perfect. I stamped the sentiment on a die cut with a spellbinders set. The same set was used to mount the horse on. The die behind that was cut from a Cheery Lynn die. Nothing fancy to this birthday card, making it the perfect man's card. I think cards for men are the hardest. I always have to remember to take the time to make them.

This is the inside of the card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Easter Cross Ornament with Bird

Good Morning Ladies,
We did not get the snow they were calling for.  That is a good thing. Although my husband did get the snow blower repaired. So we are ready.
I have been told that we need a new printer. So I guess that will have to be purchased. I'm not sure what I want yet.
Today I have created an Easter Cross Ornament with Bird

 I took a little different turn with this cross. The base cross was painted with white acrylic paint. I then took an olive green ink pad and dragged it across the entire cross. Tulle with gold glitter dots was added. The flowers were created with a Sizzix die. I added a little bird to this cross. Birds make me think of spring and remember the warming of the sun, flowers poking through the ground and the sweet morning tweet of the birds.

A closer view of the bird.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Vellum Vintage Rooster

Good Morning Ladies,
I let the dogs out this morning and no snow. That makes me happy. I am looking toward spring. I have another card for Joan's Challenge Vellum Vintage Rooster
You can see and enter the challenge here... http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/this-weeks-challenge.html
The requirements are:
Use polka dots
Use an oval
Use vellum
Here is my card....

 As I said in my post yesterday I don't have many polka dot paper. So this card is made with orange polka dots that I did have in my stash. My image is a vintage German cut out. He sit upon and oval cut with a spellbinders set. A Cheery Lynn die was used to create the oval around the rooster. Pearls are placed on both ovals. White pearl card stock anchors both of these ovals. Now for the vellum part. I had orange vellum in my stock. I cut an orange vellum butterfly using a Cheery Lynn die. I also cut the same butterfly using white pearl card stock. I attached the two by the bodies only to create a double butterfly. White braid finishes this card off.

 A close up of the double butterfly.

The inside of this card is stamped with a sentiment from Heartfelt Creations.
Cheery Lynn dies and Heartfelt Creations can be purchased at Joan's Gardens.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Vellum

Good Morning Ladies,
It's Monday! A fresh start to the week. Mondays are always busy days for me. To much to catch up on after the weekend. And I had been a busy bee this past weekend.
This is my first chance to join http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/this-weeks-challenge.html this week. The requirements are as follows:
Use an oval
Use vellum
Use polka dots
This was a real challenge. I think for me vellum is one of the harder papers to use. And I found out that I don't have many polka dots in my paper collection ( note to self...get more polka dots). It's not that I don't like polka dots, I guess I just thought I had lots of polka dots.
So here is my card for the Joan's Challenge Vellum

 For this card I used the frosted pane technique. I stamped the turtle image on white cardstock. I then stamped the same image on vellum. The cardstock image was colorized with Copic markers in the darkest shades. The vellum image was colorized using lighter color Copic markers. The vellum image was colorized on the back of the image. This is what gives it the frosted pane look. The vellum and the cardstock are put together with pop dots to give the effect. I wish you could hold this one in your hand as I don't feel the photo shows this too well. The pink and white polka dot card stock has glitter dots. An oval spellbinder shape was cut out of this polka dot card stock with a spellbinder die. My frosted layer was then attached to the back of this piece. It was then mounted on a pearl white cardstock. I layered a pretty oval floral die from Cheery Lynn. My roses were created using a Sizzix die. The olive branch foliage was created using a Cheery Lynn die and was cut out of green pearlized card stock. A crystal sprig peaks out from behind a rose to top this card off.

This is the inside of the card. The sentiment is from Heartfelt Creations. The spellbinders set used on the inside of this card is the same set I used on the front of the card to create the oval cut in my polka dot card stock.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Easter Cross Ornament Blue Roses

Good Morning Ladies,
Up and at it early this morning. I did not sleep very well last night. To many creations going through my head. I held off in bed for as long as I could.
I have another cross ornament today... Easter Cross Ornament Blue Roses

This cross was created using a paper mache' cross ornament as my base. It was painted with white acrylic paint and then brown was added on top using a cat's eye ink pad. The vines are created using a Memory Box die. A pearl sprig peaks out from behind the blue roses. The blue roses were created using a Sizzix rolled rose die. Ribbons top this ornament off.
Now off to create!
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Vintage Easter Egg Cart

Good Morning Ladies,
I have been a busy little bee. I went to a Norwex party at my sisters last night. I ordered the window cleaning cloths and the webby dish cloth. Domestic Goddess I ain't , but if something makes cleaning simpler I am all for it. So I am going to give it a whirl when it comes in. I figure it will give me more time to create.
Today I have a Vintage Easter Egg Cart framed piece.....

To create this I started with a finished 5 X 7 frame. My image is a German cut-out. I think these are so artsy, I just love them. My mats are a textured pale green card stock, and a smooth brown card stock. Behind the egg cart is a Cheery Lynn die cut out of the same green card stock. The blue vines are cut from a textured card stock using a Memory Box die. This framed piece would look great hanging behind an Easter display at home.
I think we sometimes don't think in terms of home decor when we are creating cards. It takes the same products to create a home decor piece as it does to make a scrapbook page or a card. In fact if you create a card you really love it can be framed too.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Easter Cross Ornament Vintage Chicks

Good Morning Ladies,
It looks like we did not get the amount of snow they were calling for. That's good. I am awaiting spring. And of course I have to have things ready for Easter. So some may say it is too early for Easter things. But mine are handcrafted so it takes some time to have things ready.
Today I have an Easter Cross Ornament Vintage Chicks

 The cross ornaments are double sided. If the sides are the same I only show one side. On this ornament I show both sides to show both chicks. The base of this ornament is paper mache'. It was painted with white acrylic paint. After it was dry it was spritzed with a blue tattered angles spray. The vines were cut using a Martha Stewart punch. They were cut out of blue textured cardstock. The rosettes were created using a Sizzix die. On top of the rosettes vintage German Easter chicks were added. Ribbon tops this ornament off.

This is the flip side with the boy chick.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Framed Giraffe

Good Morning Ladies,
Last night and yesterday I did do washing machine shopping. I think I have settled on one. Big enough to do my bedding and crate pads. Going to do some comparison shopping and hope to make a purchase this weekend. Not what I wanted to spend money on right now. I can't believe how much washers have changed over the last 25 years. When I talked to sales people they asked what are you looking for. I had no idea what I was looking for. My maytags have lasted me so long I guess I thought they would be with me forever. Who knew a new washer would create such a journey!
Today I have created a Framed Giraffe ....

To create this framed piece I started with a 5 x 7 frame. I then looked for an image that I felt was worthy of framing. This giraffe image was perfect. He is stamped on white card stock and colorized with Copic markers. I then hand cut him. The mats are textured yellow card stock and a DSP by GCD. The vines are cut from one of my new Memory Box dies from http://www.atjoansgardens.com/  I am very pleased how it all worked out.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Easter Cross Ornament

Good Morning Ladies,
My washer is going capooie...I am going to have to shop for a new one...uggh!
I am working on things for my Easter tree up at the Co-op Shoppes. So today I have for you an Easter Cross Ornament . Here it is....

To create this ornament I started by using a paper mache' base. This base cross was painted with white acrylic paint. Two coats were added. I then took a wisteria ink pad and inked the cross. My vines are cut with a Memory Box die from http://www.atjoansgardens.com/ They were attached to the cross with Beacon 3 in 1 glue. Crystal sprigs were added next. My rolled flowers were created using purple swiss dot paper and  Sizzix die. Ribbons were added to the top to finish this cross off.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Schnauzer Dog Flea Birthday

Good Morning Ladies,
Busy, busy day yesterday! I am moving a little slow this morning. The wind is pretty cold and now a few flakes are swirling in the air. I am going to be so happy to see spring!
My card for today is Schnauzer Dog Flea Birthday
A fun birthday card fit for a man.

 This card started life with the schnauzer dog. I can't tell who this image is from. I stamped him on white card stock and embossed him in black. He was then colorized with art markers. I had cut him out. He was added to three layers of a Spellbinders shield die set from Creatopia. I found this die recently on e-bay. I did not even know that spellbinders made dies labeled with the Xyron trademark. The border was stamped using a TCP image. The sentiment was stamped in black. It is from Sparkle and Sprinkle. They do have a nice assortment of cute dog stamps.

This is the inside of the card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Dog Show Utility Card

Good Morning Ladies,
I had a long but fun weekend at the crop. A friend reminded me that we have one thing checked off the bucket list. What is that thing? Spending the night locked inside of the library. Sleeping peacefully beside all those wonderful books. I did not get much done, but isn't it about friends, good food and sharing anyway?!
What I have for you today is a Dog Show Utility Card .
I know this will not make sense to most of you, so I will just post the card. No instructions.

Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Baby Dear Ducky Card

Good Morning Ladies,
Just  a quick post before I head back to the crop. Baby Dear Ducky Card is what I have created for today.

 This card features a cute little ducky in his boots. He is stamped on bristol paper and colorized with prisma pencil and gamsol. Cut and layered with a spellbinders set. The three flowers were created using a sizzix die using printed paper. A ribbon across the bottom tied in a knot finishes this baby card off.

This is the inside sentiment of this card.
Now off to shower and spend a little time with the dogs!
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Flea Birthday Dog

Good Morning Ladies,
I am off to a crop this weekend. Hoping to get a lot done. We will see. No really I'm going to try hard this time.
So before I leave this morning I am bring you a fun card ....Flea Birthday Dog

I created this card using one of the layering packages from The Paper Cut. I stamped the dog on white cardstock and embossed him in black. I then colorized him with art markers. He was then hand cut. I placed him inside the window of the card. I stamped the sentiment on the top layer and stamped paw prints all the way around. 

 This is the inside of the card.

This shows the window cut in the front of the card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Happy Birthday Giraffe

Good Morning Ladies,
Sometimes morning feels like it comes earlier than some mornings than others. This is one of those mornings. I am hoping that the eight inches of snow they are calling for tonight passes over us.
I have been working like a busy little beaver to get cards created. A new challenge is abound at Joan's Garden. Here is the link to the challenge.... http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/joans-card-for-this-weeks-challenge.html Come join us!
My card for this post and challenge is Joan's Challenge Happy Birthday Giraffe
The requirements for this challenge are fun and easy ...
Create an outdoors card
Make it a Happy Birthday Card
Here is my first card for the challenge....

 To create this card I started with the giraffe image from Inky Antics. I stamped this cutie on bristol paper and colorized him with Copic markers. I then hand cut him out. I chose a sun die cut I created with a Sizzix die. I used three different shades of brown for my matting. At the bottom of the top layer of mats I tore a piece of cardstock and added ink to the torn edge to create a ground for the giraffe to stand on. At the top of the card I cut leaves from a Memory Box die. There are five of these die cuts layered. I then added the stamped Happy Birthday.

This is the inside of my card. I chose the celebrate sentiment, because when I see this giraffe he just makes me want to celebrate!
Thanks for a great challenge Joan!
I hope Selma and her family heal soon.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Floral Butterfly Sympathy

Good Evening Ladies,
I am posting late today. I had too much running around to do today. I did get my haircut and that was an early beginning to my day. I do have a card.... Floral Butterfly Sympathy

 I created this card using a butterfly die cut from a Cheery Lynn die set. It was cut from the white cardstock and black cardstock. The were put together like a puzzle. Sticky paper was placed on the back. Glitter was sprinkled on the top and copic markers were colored on the back. It is a very cool effect. The flowers were created using a memory box die and a spellbinders die. Pearl sprigs in two different colors peak out from behind the flowers. An orange dotted ribbon top this card off.

This is the inside of the card.
We don't like to think about having  a sympathy card on hand. But it is nice not to have to go out and shop for one at the time we need it.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Happy Spring Bunny

Good Morning Ladies,
The sun is shinning this morning. Not enough sleep last night. So I am a little sluggish this morning. I do have a card for you today.... Happy Spring Bunny

 Are you ready for spring. I sure am. Here is a bunny to cheer you up. The bunny image was stamped on bristol paper and colorized with Prisma pencil and Gamsol. He was then hand cut and added to a mat cut with a spellbinder die set. He was then popped up with an action wobble spring that you can see in the photo below. Another spellbinder set was used to stamp the sentiment on.

This is the inside of this cheery silly card. Just right to brighten up somebunny's day.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Hunting Cabin

Good Morning Ladies,
I am so ready for spring. I'm tired of the cold. The wind was so fierce yesterday. It sounds like it has calmed down today.
The card  I have created for today is the Hunting Cabin . This is a square 6 inch by 6 inch card. I have not done one this size lately but this stamp called for it.

 The image is an Embossing Arts Stamp dated 1997. I picked this stamp up at a garage sale at a scrapbook store. I stamped the image on smooth bristol paper. I colorized it with Prisma pencil and Gamsol. The reel on the rod is colorized using a star dust pen. The mountain tops have liquid pearls on them for snow. The base card is red. The image is matted with ivory and navy textured cardstock. A perfect card for a man's Birthday.

The sentiment on the inside.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Horse Life

Good Morning Ladies,
The wind is blowing like crazy this morning. I could hear it howling during the night. It woke me up a time or two.
I was back at it again and made another card for Joan's Challenge Horse Life
You can see and enter the challenge here.... http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/this-weeks-challege.html There are many cool cards. Need ideas check the other entries out too.
The requirements for this challenge are as follows...
Use blue, green, and white.
Use a printed flower
Use a stamped sentiment
Use an oval
Here is my entry for today...

 If you follow my blog at all you know I love animals. I will work an animal into every challenge I can. Most of the time I like to colorize my animals. But this is what came into my head to keep the colors for the challenge true. The horse is a clear stamp by inkidinkado. My die cut ovals are cut using a spellbinders die set. The floral leaf flourish die is one of my new dies from Joans and is a Memory Box die. For me the hardest part of this challenge was creating the patterned flowers. I started with a plain white piece of cardstock. I stamped a butterfly background image in blue ink on it. I then cut my flowers using a sizzix rolled flower die. I rolled them up. I think this set of flowers turned out pretty good.

This is the close up of the pattern on the flowers.
Thanks Joan and Selma for another challenge that helps us all to push our limits!
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Blue, Green, and White

Good Morning Ladies,
I am home all weekend. Regenerating for busy times to come.
I created another card for Joan's Challenge Blue, Green, and White . You can see and join the challenge here... http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/this-weeks-challege.html
The requirements are...
Use blue, green, and white
Use an oval
Use a stamped sentiment
Use a printed flower
Here is my card....

 I have a lot of dog friends. So you will see the dog theme pop up a lot. I started this card with the happy running dog. I stamped him on bristol paper and colorized him with Prisma pencil and Gamsol. I used two different ovals on this card. The larger floral oval is from Cheery Lynn Design Dies. The navy card stock oval is from Spellbinders. I created my flowers with a Memory Box die. The flowers are cut from the same blue card stock the dog sits on. I stamped the paper with a paw stamp in white versa-craft ink to create a patterned flower. The photo below is a close-up of the flowers. It was hard to show the pattern on the flowers. My sentiment is stamped on an oval from the same Spellbinders die set. The sentiment is from Hampton Arts. The oval the dog is on is mounted on the card with an Action Spring Wobble. I am pretty sure Joan told me she has these in stock. They make a card so much more fun. There is a photo below showing this device.

 The paw print flowers.

 This is a photo of the Action Spring Wobble. If you have not tried these you should. They are awesome.

 This is the inside of my card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Printed Flowers Labrador

Good Morning Ladies,
Oh Saturday Morning...well I slept in this morning. That almost never happens. I guess I am fresh for the day. So much running to do today.
I am starting off with this post Joan's Challenge Printed Flowers Labrador . Here is the link to this challenge.. http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/02/this-weeks-challege.html  Come join us!
 I have made a card that fits the requirements.... and they are...
Use blue, white, and green
Use a flower that has a pattern
Use and oval
Use a stamped sentiment
Here is my card....

 I received my new dies from Joan this week. So when this challenge came up I knew I would use a couple. I love new dies! I used a oval spellbinders set to create the focal point of my card. My sentiment is stamped in the center. This is a Hampton arts stamp. My blue, white, and green cardstock is from a Tim Holtz pad. This pad was laying in the collection of paper that I was working out of. I could believe it had the perfect paper in it. The fairytale die from Joan's gives grounding to the Labrador die. Both of these are new dies from Memory Box that are new from Joan's. Expect these to be popping up in my cards. I love them. The flowers are from a Sizzix bigz die. Look at the close up below to see the print on these flowers made from the same Tim Holtz pad. A white pearl sprig tops this card off.

 This is an angled view of my printed flowers.

 This is my inside sentiment.
Thanks Joan and Selma for helping me to step outside of the box.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Butterfly Oval

Good Morning Ladies,
So it looks like we missed the ice storm again. I am loving that our weather is holding it's own to be good.
Today I have a card Butterfly Oval. Here it is....

 This card was created with help from a friend. The oval was created by my friend. The butterflies were cut using a spellbinders die in the oval and the butterflies themselves. I'm not sure of the brand of oval die she used. The oval with the butterflies set in were then covered in the back with clear contact paper. She sprinkled fine glitter over the top of them. She then flipped it over and colored the back with sharpie markers. This creates the most beautiful glittery effect. This oval was placed on pink shimmer cardstock with a black layer underneath. The vine and rolled flowers were created using Memory Box dies. I used a banner die from Spellbinders to created the hinges on the side of the card. Liquid pearls were added to create nails to the hinge pieces.

This is the inside of the card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Rain or Shine

Good Morning Ladies,
We must have missed the ice storm they were calling for last night. It looks pretty darn good out there. That is good because I have quite a bit of running around to do today.
Here is my card today... Rain or Shine

 This duck-goose is from Inky Antics. Yes you have seen him before. He is just so versatile. I stamped him on bristol paper and colorized him with copic markers. I then cut him out and layered him with two spellbinder ovals. He was then matted twice. The blue cardstock was stamped with a rain stamp. I added glitter pen to the rain drops. A dotted ribbon in orange tops this card off.

This is the inside sentiment.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Joan's Challenge Vintage Lion Tamer

Good Morning Ladies,
Twice in one day! I have one more card for Joan's Challenge Vintage Lion Tamer . Here is a link to the challenge  http://www.atjoansgardens.com/2013/01/this-weeks-challenge_31.html Stop on over and see all the wonderful challenge cards. And Joan's awesome shop.
I thought about this card last night just as I went to bed. I did not write it down and when I got up this morning I had already forgotten the idea. I went to my work and it came back to me. The perfect thing for this challenge is Graphics 45 which Joan stocks in here store. My favorite of all paper companies. And it is all vintage. I also received my die package yesterday from Joan with the new dies I had ordered. So here is what came to fruit....

 This is from the Graphics 45 circus pad. I cut the images out and framed them out with black cardstock. I decided on the checked background paper. I used one of my new dies by Memory Box. I didn't know if it would work with this scheme or not. But I cut it in black and I think it worked perfect. The pointing hand stamp is by Prima. I stamped it on bristol paper and hand cut it out. It is colorized with copic markers. I added double pop dots to raise it up.

This is a view of the popped up hand.
Thanks Joan and Selma for a great challenge to use Graphics 45.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Born Free or the Lion King

Good Morning Ladies,
It is not snowing this morning. The dogs are out enjoying the snow from last night. Play, play, play they love to play!
My card today is Born Free or the Lion King . I guess it depends on how old you are. When I saw this image it made me think of born free. But I showed it to someone younger and they said the Lion King. At any rate it is a beautiful image.

This image is by Biblical Impression. I stamped this on bristol paper and colorized it with Gamsol and Prisma pencil. I edged the panel with brown ink. It was then matted in two tones of brown. This is all that was needed for this awesome image. The card is blank inside.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog

Wild Horse Birthday Card

Good Morning Ladies,
I am off to a football widow's crop this morning. I am picking up my mom and meeting a new friend there today. We have lots of snow but we will make it there.
My card for today is a Wild Horse Birthday Card

 I have been working on Birthday cards. You know you just never have enough. To create this card I stamped the horse image from Serendipity Stamps. This is one of my favorite images that you will see crop up time and time again. I stamped the image on Bristol paper and colorized it with Prisma pencil and Gamsol.
It was then cut with a spellbinders die set along with the mat underneath it. I used the same die set to cut my sentiment out. The sentiment on the front of the card is from CTMH. This can be a man's birthday card as it is not frilly in any way.

This is the inside of the card.
Happy Scraps,
Mrs. Swandog