Patriotic Horse

~ sproatmeyer ~ 12 Comments

Yeeha! Get your boots on and come on down to celebrate with us today! This week I’m releasing four new Little Miss Muffet Stamps and today you can see two of them at Little Miss Muffet Challenges. I’m showing off Patriotic Horse and gave this little wrangler a Texas theme. ;D Of course, the flag can be customized for any occasion!


July is coming up which is when we see a lot of fireworks in our area as we celebrate our country. It was always ironic to me to use fireworks on such an occasion but the bright colorful explosions are a crowd pleaser and always something to enjoy! So among all the other Snugly Giftables… this one is perfect to fill in the slot for July.


I have two more months on the drawing board which means I’m only a couple more images away from a full set – 12 months of Snugly Giftables! You’ll soon see a monkey, turtle and of course a cat for October. ;D I’ve enjoyed using these for kid’s birthday cards and even a few for Father’s Day too. Hope you like this one and signing off with a big Texas accent… “Y’all come back now ya hear!”


I’d like to enter this into the following challenges:
Use it Tuesday Challenge #9 (chose to use forgotten diecut)
Paper Craft S.T.A.R. Challenge #50 (“S”tar, “T”NT, “A”nimal, “R”ed)
The Paper Shelter Challenge #18 (punches or dies)
There’s Magic in the Air Challenge (chose gems and diecuts)
Aly’s Sunday Challenge #44 (for kids)
DT Previews: Little Miss Muffet New Releases
Main Stamp: Patriotic Horse (LMMS)
Patterned Paper: The Green Stack (DCWV)
Chipboard: Fine Swirls (MiC)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Diamond

Copic Markers colored on Copy Paper:
-browns: E41, E42, E43, E44, E47, E49
-reds: R22, R24, R27, R29
-blues: B34, B37, B39
-grays: W4, W6, W8; C1, C3

Did you know? The Texas Flag Code states that single (lone) star “represents ALL of Texas and stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country.” The three colors of the Texas flag are red, white and blue – blue stands for loyalty, white for purity, and red for bravery. In addition, the flag and gave rise to the state’s official nickname “The Lone Star State.” The pledge of allegiance to the state flag is as follows: “Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”
[Flag of Texas, Wikipedia.org]

Jump

~ sproatmeyer ~ 12 Comments

Here’s my second preview for this week using a Little Darling stamp and one of my favorites from this release! You can check out all the previews this week at the Love to Stamp store blog. This one being showcased today is Jump …


I’ve pared this stamp with the background image from Make it Crafty called Hilly Lane. It took a lot of time to color all that grass but I like how it turned out! Here’s the background by itself…


Most of the card was colored so I didn’t go all out on embellishments but still included a few of my favorites. ;D The felt sun is a die cut from My Favorite Things and a I cut it to contour the horizon of the background. Then the corners are those fabulous laser cut embellishments from Make it Crafty that some how appear on all my cards. ;D I put a few drops of Liquid Pearls on them for fun.


Angie is giving away a grand prize to one lucky commenter this week so you can get your hands on a few of these new releases! Also don’t forget about the Little Darlings Challenge challenge where the rules were changed to include all images – the theme is all about summer

Lastly, the girl image was cut out and put on foam dots so she “jumps” off the background. Hope you enjoy the preview and that you liked my card. Happy Stamping this week!


DT Preview: Love to Stamp Little Darlings Release II
Main Stamp: Jump (LTS)
Chipboard: Swirly Corners (MiC)

Copic Markers colored on Copy Paper:
-skin tone: E000, E00, E21, E13
-browns: E42, E43, E44, E47
-yellows: YR21, YR23, YR24, Y13
-greens: G20, YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99; G21, G24, G28
-blues: B0000, B00, B01; B91, B95, B99
-grays: W2, W4, W6, W3, W5, W8, W10

Did you know? The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing. Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns of three dots each. A dot may be raised at any of the six positions to form sixty-four (26) possible subsets, including the arrangement in which no dots are raised.
[Braille, Wikipedia.org]

Bumble Bear Family

~ sproatmeyer ~ 18 Comments

Welcome to another challenge at Tiddly Inks and this week our theme for you is one layer cards! This is a perfect opportunity to just color and grab one of those stamps you’ve been meaning to get to for a while. I combined several images and came up with the Bumble Bear Family…


All five of these images on here are from Tiddly Inks and they work together perfectly! I also love the simplicity of one layer cards and can’t wait to see what everyone else creates – so come on over and play!


DT Challenge: Tiddly Inks Challenge #54 (one layer)
Main Stamp: Double Trouble Bears, Father Bumble Bear, Mothers Day, Whaz Up or Down, and Hand Written Sentiments (TI)

Copic Markers colored on Copy Paper:
-browns: E42, E43, E44, E47, E49
-reds:
-oranges:
-yellows:
-greens: G40, G82, G85
-blues: BG000, BG01, BG02, BG05, BG07, BG09
-purples:
-pinks: R81, R83, R85
-grays: 0, C1; W4, W6, W8; N0, N2; T2, N4, N8

Did you know? The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptile. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh . Leatherback turtles have the most hydrodynamic body design of any sea turtle, with a large, teardrop-shaped body. A large pair of front flippers power the turtles through the water. Like other sea turtles, the leatherback’s flattened forelimbs are adapted for swimming in the open ocean but claws are absent from both pairs of flippers.
[Leatherback Sear Turtle, Wikipedia.org]

Slow and Steady

~ sproatmeyer ~ 2 Comments
Welcome to a whole week of sneak peeks of all the new Little Darling stamps coming out! The team is previewing every day this week and you can check them all out at Love to Stamp store blog. One of the images being showcased today is Slow and Steady and here’s my card.


The Little Darlings Challenge theme this fortnight is all about summer which is perfect for these new images but the rules have changed to you can use any stamp to enter. Also, Angie is giving away 5 Little Darling Stamps of your choice to one lucky commenter this week too!


I made an all occasions card for a boy, kept it simple, and thought this image was perfect to tell a story on it’s own. ;D I loved coloring the turtle too – there were so many possibilities but in the end I went for a brown and green look. Hope you enjoy it and come back through the week for a few more sneak peeks. ;D


DT Preview: Love to Stamp Little Darlings Release II
Main Stamp: Slow and Steady (LTS)
Patterned Paper: Lime Twist (MME)
Chipboard: Swirly Corners (MiC)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eleven

Copic Markers colored on Copy Paper:
-skin tone: E000, E00, E21, E13
-browns: E41, E42, E43, E44, E47, E49
-reds: R21, R22, R24, R29
-yellows: YR21, YR24
-greens: YG91, YG93, YG95, YG99
-blues: B91, B93, B95, B97, B99
-grays: N2

Did you know? Turtles are reptiles characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield. The earliest known turtles date from 215 million years ago, making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than lizards, snakes and crocodiles. Of the many species alive today, some are highly endangered. The largest turtles are aquatic.
[Turtle, Wikipedia.org]

The Paper Project – Experiment VI

~ sproatmeyer ~ 2 Comments

This is a test that builds upon the finished results from the last experiment. The results on this one are much more exciting and I love it when there is a clear divide between the good, the bad and the ugly. ;D The image used is Muffy Ketto from Stamping Bella.

Experiment VI – Blending Added Depth

The purpose of this experiment is three fold: first to see if the dried ink can be reactivated for more blending; second to see how additional blending works from a dark gray to a light red; and third to see which papers can hold even more ink! The same red colors were used from last time (R22, R24, R27, and R29) and the grays added are N4, N6, N8. The colored working surface from the previous test was allowed to air dry for two days. The darkest gray (N8) was applied first then the subsequent lighter grays followed by all the reds working my way from the darkest to the lightest and blending as I go.

The papers are identified in the Introduction and here are the results:
(Click on the picture for a zoomed look.)

If you take a another look at the last experiment and compare it with this one you’ll notice right away how much darker the dog’s body is. This is the result from adding in the gray tones which is a nice effect.

Those that did bad in the previous test did really bad here! They were B, C, D, E, and N where the paper just couldn’t hold any more ink or didn’t reactivate the ink for more blending. Here is a close up of B and N where it shows how the ink sits on top of the first layer and just gets moved around which I would describe as blotchy.

(Click on the picture for a zoomed look.)

There were a few papers that started to show impurities in the paper fibers (inconsistencies) or possibly areas that had absorbed finger oils. This would show up as little patches or dots that wouldn’t change color. Somehow those little areas are different from the rest of the paper and may or may not show up on another test. These were found on F, H, J, K, L, P and U. Below you can see a close up of F, which shows one of these large patches near the left side of the nose; and P where the impurities in the paper show up as speckled dots throughout the sample.

(Click on the picture for a zoomed look.)

All the other samples reactivated the ink easily and allowed for more blending without any problems. In my opinion, and direct experience with this test, that leaves A, G, I, M, O, Q, R, S, T, V, W and X to be some of the better papers to work with.

Bathing Beauty

~ sproatmeyer ~ 11 Comments

It’s Saturday and that means another challenge at Make it Colourful! This week we’re challenging you to color with blues and we’re sponsored by Tiddly Inks. For my project I used Bathing Beauty from Tiddly Inks and The Cove from Make it Crafty.


I used lighter tones of blue for the water and the clouds with the main difference being grays. I had added a little bit of gray to the clouds which really changes the tones of the blue.


I used lots of supplies on my desk and in the scrap pile including the summer time paper. Not sure where it’s from but it fit perfectly with these images. The corners are laser cut embellishments from Make it Crafty which I didn’t paint this time around because I wanted a more natural feel. But I had to add a pearl to dress it up. ;D


I used lots of foam dots on this card and raised up the images to three levels. The center part is cut with a Nestability die in blue then again for the background image, each seperated on the card with foam dots. Finally the girl was added as the third level and pops up the most.


DT Challenge: Make it Colourful – Challenge #22 (blues)
Main Stamp: Bathing Beauty (TI) and The Cove (MiC)
Patterned Paper: scraps
Chipboard: Swirly Corners (MiC)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight and Labels Seventeen

Copic Markers colored on Copy Paper:
-skin tone: E000, E00, E21, E11
-browns: 0, E70, E71, E74, E77, E79; E57
-oranges: 0, YR12, YR18
-greens: YG01, YG03, YG17, YG25
-blues: B0000, B00, B01, B04, C1, C3
-grays: C1, C3

Did you know? Gala is a clonally propagated apple with a mild and sweet flavor. Gala apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association’s list of most popular apples, after Red Delicious and before Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji (in order).
[Gala Apple, Wikipedia.org]