Gnome, Gnome on the Range Card

 

Gnome, gnome on the range...

This little cowboy gnome is so cute! This card features the digital stamp/sentiment "Gnome on the Range" designed by Maurie J. Manning of Mo's Digital Pencil.

I colored the image with Copic Sketch markers and embellished the card with some die-cut clouds and fancy corners.

I will enter this card in the following challenge:

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #306

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Kindle Books For Kids: The Snake Who Wanted To Be A Horse by Valerie Harmon

The Snake Who Wanted to Be a Horse (Wants To Be)

Author: Valerie Harmon
Illustrator: Carol Stevens

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date: February 10, 2013



About The Author And Illustrator
The concept for the WantsToBe Series (and this is book #1 in that series) came about when the illustrator, Carol Stevens, told bedtime stories to her youngest son. He'd pick two animals and she'd make up a story about them, ending with a mashup of the two animals. He loved those stories and they turned out so hilarious that Stevens wanted to share the story with more children.

She approached author Valerie Harmon, and together they are writing and illustrating stories about animals who imaginatively solve their problem with lots of hard work and sacrifice.

A Snake and a Horse
A colorful snake is not happy with his life. He has a tender tummy and he hates to crawl on rough and rocky roads.

One day the snake meets a friendly horse. The snake thinks that if he could become a horse, he could travel across the dirt and stones without any pain. The horse tells the snake that he needs to eat grass, neigh and gallop if he wants to be a horse. It is very hard for the snake to change but he is very determined to be a horse.

The snake is just about to give up when something magical happens! He does not exactly change into a horse, but he is much closer than he was before. The snake's hard work and determination pays off and he lives happily ever after as a "Snorse".

My Thoughts
This is a very imaginative story about a snake and a horse. Kids always love to read about these animals and I believe this story will be very popular with young readers.

The color illustrations are excellent and add a great deal of value to the text. I read this ebook on my Kindle Fire. The illustrations filled half the screen on my ereader. I would love to see this book formatted so that the illustrations fill the entire screen. 

The determination of the snake and the encouragement of the horse are great examples for young readers. I look forward to reading more books in the "WantsToBe" Series. Highly Recommended!

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a digital copy of this book during a free promotion on Amazon.Com. Please check the current price before purchasing.

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Handmade Greeting Card From Upcycled Picture Postcard

I love to look at old picture postcards. I like to look at the pictures and read the descriptions on the back.
If the card was used, I enjoy reading the message and looking at the stamp and post mark. I think there is a great deal of history that can be preserved from old postcards.
I recently bought a lot of old postcards from the early 1900s at a garage sale. Each postcard was stored in a zip-lock baggie. Some of the postcards were damaged and torn but the pieces were saved in the baggies.
This postcard that featured the head of a horse was in five pieces. The largest piece had a tear right through the middle. The date on the back of the card was 1908.  I decided to try to restore the picture and use it for a greeting card.

This is how I made the card;
(1.) I started with a blank kraft cardstock greeting card that measures 5" by 6 1/2".
(2.) I used some Elmer's Craft Bond Rubber Cement to glue the patterned paper and cardboard to the front of the card.
(3.) I carefully applied the rubber cement to the back of the postcard to seal the large tear in the center of the card and a smaller tear on the bottom edge of the card.
(4.) I applied a thin coat of Matte Collage Pauge Decoupage sealer to the front of the card and let it dry.
(5.) I used glue dots to attach the postcard to the front of the greeting card.

This beautiful 1908 horse image will now bring enjoyment to the person who receives this card.

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FREE U.S. Postal Service Antique Digital Image

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing mail service in the U.S. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.  The USPS traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general.

I found this antique image of a rural mail carrier driving a horse and buggy to deliver the mail. The farmer is reading a newspaper and the farm wife is receiving a letter. You can see the farm house in the background.

I think this drawing captures the importance of mail service to farmers in the early 1900s. I found this image in a book that has a copyright date of 1907. This book and image is now in the public domain so I would like to offer this drawing to you as a FREE download.

The image was scanned at 300 dpi and you should be able to easily print it out at 5" by 7" or any size smaller than this. This is a wonderful historical image for card making, scrap booking, altered art, collage, etc. You may also use the image on your blog or web site.

Please CLICK HERE to download the jpg. file.

I would like to know if you were able to download this file without any problems. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

You Can Ride A Horse

Several months ago, my dad suffered a major heart attack.  The doctors said that his heart valves were leaking and he would not survive a surgery to repair them.  He might live a week, month or maybe even a year....but there was no hope for recovery.  Basically, he was a dead man walking.
Dad spent a month in the hospital but he really wanted to go back to his beloved home.  He seemed to be doing better.  He could get out of bed and walk with assistance.  He was eating well and said that he was not feeling any pain.  Unfortunately, he was plagued with shortness of breath and oxygen hunger.
The decision was made for Dad to go home and my mother would take care of him with the help of a Hospice nurse.  He would get up each morning and get dressed.  Some days were better than others but he was very happy to be home.  He was striving to resume his normal routine and that included going into town and have coffee each morning with his friends. 
One day Dad asked the Hospice nurse, "Can I go to the coffee shop"? 
The nurse replied, "You can do anything you feel like doing.  You can ride a horse if you want to!"
This made Dad feel very happy.  Even though he knew what the doctors said, he thought that he must be getting better if he could ride a horse.  Of course, he had no desire to ride a horse but he did enjoy joining his friends for coffee for the last couple of weeks of his life. 
On the day that he died, my mother drove Dad into town to get a hair cut and then they attended the Rotary luncheon.  He spent his last days living life to the fullest and doing exactly what he wanted to do.
I like to think that Dad rode a horse into heaven to meet his Lord on that October evening. 
We should live each day to the fullest.  We don't know how much time we have left so we should spend our time wisely.  Don't wait to live your dreams.  You can ride a horse today!