Great Day to Fish

~ sproatmeyer ~ 18 Comments

Are you ready for another coloring challenge at Make it Colourful? This week we’re challenging you to color with depths and shadows, to make something look 3D. For my project I went overboard, of course, and colored a full scene. I went minimal with the embellishments and made this card with father-themed in mind.


I colored the images with Prismacolor Pencils, this time blending with the pencils only. I had to apply a lot of pressure to keep the colors smooth so I might be back to a paper stump with oil for the next round. However, I am happy with the bright effect as if the sun is just rising on a perfect summer day.


DT Challenge: Make it Colourful – Challenge #6 (Shadow & Depth)
Challenge: Craft Your Passion – Challenge #44 (Anything Goes)
Challenge: Critter Sketch – Challenge #51 (use critters)
Challenge: Tip Top Tuesday – Challenge #21 (frame it)
Challenge: Scrap-Creations – Challenge #8 (animal antics)
Challenge: Bearly-Mine – Challenge #3 (for the guys)
Main Stamp: Great Day to Fish (CAH) and Country Walk (MiC)
Patterned Paper: Green Stack (DCWV)
Prismacolor Pencil Colors:
-grass: 991, 913, 909, 908, 961, 938
-trees: 910, 909, 911, 908; 920, 1006, 909, 907; 1021, 1020, 909, 961
-road: 940, 1068, 941
-wood/dock: 941, 946, 961, 991
-sky/clouds: 1068, 938, 1023, 1024, 1022, 1025, 901, 964, 938
-beaver: 943, 941, 946, 961
-moose: 997, 940, 942, 941, 946, 961, 962, 964
-shirt/shorts: 928, 926, 924, 925, 937; 991, 910, 909, 907
-hat/water: 1023, 919, 903, 901

Did you know? On 12 February 1988, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Yorktown, while exercising the “right of innocent passage” through Soviet territorial waters, was intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetniy (collision pictured) with the intention of pushing the Yorktown into international waters. This action has been called “the last incident of the Cold War”.
[USS Yorktown, Wikipedia.org]

Louisa & Leoncio Sweethearts

~ sproatmeyer ~ 8 Comments

Ready for another challenge at The Stamping Bazaar? This week is Valentines themed but I made my card to also be used for an nontraditional wedding card too with Louisa and Leoncio! So many of my cards this week have been red and pink and I couldn’t get over the call of this green and gray paper. Plus it works well with the music paper and two sweethearts together. So come on over and join the challenge and lets see what you come up with.


DT Challenge: The Stamping Bazaar – Challenge #15 (Valentines)
Challenge: Copic Creations – Challenge #43 (cool colors)
Challenge: Catch the Bug February Challenge (Anything Goes)
Challenge: Aly’s Sunday Challenges #35 (bling bling)
Challenge: Stampin’ Sisters in Christ – Challenge #75

(no sentements but with a love theme)

Main Stamp: Louisa & Leoncio (TSB) by Marina Neira
Patterned Paper: AB Lotus Tea Box (K&C)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Octagon & Scalloped Octagon and My Favorite Things Die-namics Notebook Edge
Copic Colors:
W00, W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7, W8, W10

Did you know? Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies sold around Valentine’s Day. Each conversation heart is printed with a message such as “Be Mine”, “Kiss Me”, “Call Me”, and “Miss You”. Necco manufactures nearly 8 billion Sweethearts per year. Necco introduced 10 new Sweethearts Conversation Hearts sayings each year which are theme inspired, for example “#1 Fan”, “Fit for Love”, and “Dream Team” (2005); “Sweet Home”, “Home Soon” and “Call Home” (2006); and “Cool Cat,” “Puppy Love,” “Love Bird,” and “My Pet” (2008). However, in 2010 and for the first time in 145 years, Sweethearts discarded all its previous phrases and asked the American public to tell us how they express their love.
[Sweethearts, Wikipedia.org & Sweethearts, Necco]

Emo Valentines Rio

~ sproatmeyer ~ 5 Comments

Phew, can you believe six posts today?! And I can’t believe I found so many Valentines articles in Wikipedia… and I didn’t even get to Valentine being a variety of Sunflower! It’s been fun and a full day of Simply Betty Stamps featuring one of my favorite lines. ;D Unfortunately, here’s the last card made from the Emo Valentines Kit and this cute chick should look familiar from yesterday’s card.


Challenge: Bee Crafty – Challenge #47 (hearts)
Challenge: Crazy 4 Challenges – Challenge #43 (Valentines)
Challenge: Creative Cowgirls – Challenge #6 (Valentines)
Main Stamp: Emo Valentines Rio (SBS)
Pattern Paper, Dies & Embossing: Emo Valentines Kit (SBS)
Copic Colors:
-skin/eyes: E000, E00, E11, R12, G20, G24, G28
-hair: E34, E57, E59, E49
-creams: E40, E41, E42
-reds: R32, R35, R39, R20, R21, R22
-purples: V12, V15

Did you know? The Valentines were one of the most highly regarded American Doo Wop groups from the mid 1950s. Their records are highly sought by collectors.Although they never had a record on the national hit parades, they were extremely popular in New York and the East Coast in general and had many regional big sellers. The stage performances of the group were sellouts and their harmonizing and choreography in sequence were amongst the most accomplished of their time.[Valentines (Doo-wop Band), Wikipedia.org]

Emo Valentines Miller

~ sproatmeyer ~ 5 Comments

These Valentine cards remind me so much of the smaller one I gave away in elementary school. Now as I look at my kids’ own Valentines, I chuckle at the silly romantics of the messages, old and new, like MARRY ME, ONLY YOU, URA TIGER, SWEET TALK, and KISS ME for example. When did Conversational Hearts get txt messages on them? Apparently they add 10 new ones every year… but we’ll save that trivia for tomorrow’s post. ;D


Challenge: Allsort – Challenge #89 (It must be love)
Challenge: Easy Craft Projects – Challenge #31 (love)
Challenge: Gingerloft – Challenge #11 (red)
Main Stamp: Emo Valentines Miller (SBS)
Pattern Paper, Dies & Embossing: Emo Valentines Kit (SBS)
Copic Colors:
-skin/eyes: E000, E00, E11, R12, G20, G24, G28
-hair: E34, E57, E59, E49
-browns: E40, E41, E42, E34, E57, E59, E49
-reds: R32, R35, R33
-blacks: W2, W4, W6, W8

Did you know? Valentine is a chain of over 100 privately-owned restaurant franchises operating in the province of Quebec, Canada.The first restaurant opened in 1979 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. A few years later, its founder, Jean-Pierre Robin, opened a second restaurant in Saint-Hyacinthe in order to meet the demand for its “famous hot-dogs”. Soon after, Robin’s brother, Daniel, joined him, convinced of the potential of the company. The menu mainly includes French fries, hot dogs, hamburgers, poutine, club sandwich, hamburger steak, hot chicken sandwich, smoked meats, chicken burger, chicken strips and breakfast items.
[Valentine (Restaurant), Wikipedia.org]

Emo Valentines Lola

~ sproatmeyer ~ 14 Comments

Two hours isn’t a lot of time and was just enough to de-bone a ham hock in preparation for dinner… ham and bean soup. One of the simpler meals in my cookbook but one that also gives me more time to color! 😀 And if you’re wondering, yes, I did stay up all night to finish these. 😀 Of course, it didn’t help that I started at 10:00pm to begin with!


Challenge: Catch the Bug February Challenge (Anything Goes)
Challenge: Ellephantastic Challenges – February Challenge #23

(distressing with a love theme)

Main Stamp: Emo Valentines Lola (SBS)
Pattern Paper, Dies & Embossing: Emo Valentines Kit (SBS)
Copic Colors:
-skin/eyes: E000, E00, E11, R12, G20, G24, G28
-hair: R81, R83, R85
-browns: E40, E41, E42, E34, E57, E59, E49
-purples: V12, V15
-reds: R32, R35, R33, R20, R21, R22, RV11, RV13, RV14
-blacks: W2, W4, W6, W8

Did you know? Valentine is a city in Cherry County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,820 at the 2000 census. Recently Valentine was nearly destroyed two years in a row due to a disastrous wind storm and then the “Big Rock Fire” the next year. However, in 2007, National Geographic Adventure magazine included Valentine in its list of the best ten wilderness towns and cities. This city also participates in an annual re-mailing program where thousands of pieces of mail flow into the local United States Post Office so that they can be re-mailed with a special Valentine’s Day postmark and verse.[Valentine, Nebraska, Wikipedia.org]

Emo Valentine Christian

~ sproatmeyer ~ 6 Comments

Christian is a fun character and unfortunately I didn’t get to show him in his tighty-whities, but it still works out. 😀 This is the only card I added an extra embellishment and had to use some chipboard wings covered, of course, with Liquid Pearls. After I had finished, I thought it would have been cool to make Christian look like a playing card… but alas, maybe next time.


Challenge: CES Challenges #22 (Red & Romance)
Challenge: Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday Challenges

(use strips and polka-dots)

Challenge: Crafty Hos’ Challenges #26 (Lov theme)
Main Stamp: Emo Valentines Christian (SBS)
Pattern Paper, Dies & Embossing: Emo Valentines Kit (SBS)
Copic Colors:
-skin/eyes: E000, E00, E11, R12, G20, G24, G28
-hair: W2, W4, W6, W8
-browns: E34, E57, E59, E49
-purples: V12, V15
-reds: R32, R35, R33, R20, R21, R22, RV11, RV13, RV14
-gold: Y32, Y35, Y38
-wings: C00, C1

Did you know? Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name “Valentine”, derived from valens (worthy, strong, powerful), was popular in Late Antiquity. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name
[Saint Valentine, Wikipedia.org]