Sunday, August 31, 2014

Sneak Peek #3: FALL in Love

I hope everyone's weekend is going great!  We have another sneak peek of our new stamp set FALL in Love that will be released in its entirety tomorrow!

Sneak peek #3:



Can't wait for the full reveal tomorrow!  Have a great day everyone ;)

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Sneak Peek #2: FALL in Love

Ready for another sneak peek of our upcoming September release FALL in Love??  Maybe another BLOG CANDY winner?  

Here is another sneak peek:



Another BLOG CANDY winner too:

Lysa said...
Super cute cards! Perfect for back to school!
August 20, 2014 at 3:01 AM
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Simply email michelle@avocadoarts.com with your address!  CONGRATS!!  Have a great holiday weekend :)


Friday, August 29, 2014

September Sneak Peek "FALL in Love"

September is sneaking up on us and school is beginning next week for my boys and many others.  They wish summer break could last forever but the reality is Summer is winding down and Fall is right around the corner.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons in Minnesota...the changing colors of all of the leaves, Football games, no more mosquitoes, cool crisp air but not too cold!

I wanted to show you a sneak peek of our September stamp set "FALL in Love"!  There are many coordinating pieces that can create Fall/Halloween cards, scrapbook layouts, tags and more.

Here is just a little teaser of this new set:



Have a WONDERFUL Friday...come back tomorrow for more sneak peeks!  

Thursday, August 28, 2014

You Can Do It Inspiration Recap

Did you see all of the SUPER projects that our Design Team and Guest Designer, Shemaine Smith, created for you this month?  Here is a recap of the incredible inspiration shared this month using our stamp set "You Can Do It".

  

 

  

 

  

    

    





And our Guest Designer Shemaine Smith's projects:




Now that's a WHOLE LOTTA inspiration and ideas!  Come back tomorrow for a sneak peek of our September stamp set "FALL in Love".  We will also be announcing more BLOG CANDY winners over the next few days so don't forget to leave a comment!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!
~Michelle



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Inspiration with Connie

As everyone is heading back to school and college, Connie Mercer has created some adorable tags with thismonths stamp set "You Can Do It".  She has called these sweet little tags "Lunch Box Encouragements".

She shares: "The stamps sounded like encouragements to me, so I thought~how about little cards (like calling cards).  The cards measure 2" X 3-1/2".  You can place them on a ring and then flip through to find the perfect one to add to lunch boxes, leave on a pillow, on the bathroom sink or any place that special person can see it and read it.  There is plenty of room on the back to personalize the message or write an extra note."




A little encouragement can go a LONG way!



Such a GREAT idea Connie!  Thank you for sharing with us.  Don't forget to comment for your chance to win more BLOG CANDY!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Guest Designer-Shemaine Smith


Shemaine Smith is in the Avocado Arts house for our Guest Designer this month.  She is super sweet, extremely talented and has created some jaw-dropping projects for all of you today.  






Hello from sunny Southern California. My name is Shemaine, and I am a work at home mom to two wonderful kids. I'm lucky to be married to a great guy who gets my wicked obsession for creating with paper and doesn't mind me leaving a trail of scraps all over our home.
I am so thrilled to be Guest Designing this month! A few things you might not know about me,  I love Good & Plenty candy, walks along the strand in Manhattan Beach on Sundays with my family and I’m a crime show junkie to boot!  If my days of creating with paper and glue forever were to fade, I can always become a profiler with all the knowledge I have gained from my obsessive watching.  Music is a must in my life, nothing inspires me more...well maybe Pinterest is a close second.  I've been so blessed with exciting design team and teaching opportunities with Anna Griffin and We R Memory Keepers.
I love teaching paper crafting classes and teach card making classes monthly at my public library. One of the highlights of my summer has been teaching for a 3rd year at the Great American Scrapbook convention in Arlington Texas. Life is good.



For Card #1
I thought it would be fun to make twine bows for the smarties and I used watercolors to color each one in. Then I cut them out and popped them with foam squares from Therm-o-Web.


Card #2
I kept it simple with a one layer card. I colored the images in with Copic markers and added some twine from The Twinery.




Card #3
I loved the pencil image. Using a notebook page die from We R Memory Keepers, I colored and cut out the pencil image and adhered it with foam squares from Therm-o-web. Then I added a cute clip brad from Eyelet Outlet.

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GORGEOUS projects Shemaine!  Thank you so much for being our Guest Designer this month and showcasing "You Can Do It".  Make sure and leave a comment for Shemaine because we have MORE Blog Candy to give away ;)  Have a GREAT day!

Monday, August 25, 2014

You Can Do It with Amanda

Hello Avocado fans!  Amanda here today and once again I am smitten by this month's You Can Do It stamp set.  The images are to die for and the sentiments are perfectly versatile.

The smartie stamp in this month's set is one of my favorites of all time.  It is realistic and tons of fun.  I can think of all kinds of fun things to do with this stamp.  I used the smartie stamp to create a fun tag for a Smarties candy gift can.  This would be fun to give to kids at the beginning of the school year.

I stamped smartie in red and colored the candies with colored pencils to mimic the logo on a Smarties candy.  Normally I'm a stamp-in-black kind of girl, but I think the smartie stamp really pops when stamped in red.  I matted the tag with rainbow striped paper to coordinate with the stamp and candies.

I found a fun piece of lined paper in my stash and knew it would be so fun to pair the pencil stamp with the paper.  I layered various strips of paper on the card base to mimic the color pattern of a pencil from eraser to tip.

I stamped the pencil on various pieces of cardstock and paper pieced it together.  The layers of paper add a bit of dimension to the card, almost making it pop off the page.

The sentiments in the You Can Do It set are some of my favorite of all time.  Not only do they pair well with the graphic stamps, they also stand on their own.  I used the twists and turns sentiment with some spiral paper strips to make a fun encouragement card.

To make paper spirals, wrap narrow strips of paper around a wooden dowel and secure with tape.  Lightly spritz with water and let dry completely.  Untape the paper and gently slide the paper off of the dowel when dry.

GIVEAWAY!  Remember to leave comments on this post and other blog posts throughout the month to be entered to win some BLOG CANDY at the end of the month!

Happy crafting!

Amanda

Saturday, August 23, 2014

You Can Do It with Heather P.

Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy Heather's projects that she has created for you today...soft colors, watercolor pencils and so much more!  BLOG CANDY WINNERS posted below and more to come so make sure and comment!


Hi, everyone! Heather P. here with three projects featuring the new August set, You Can Do It.


For my first card, I started with a white card base, and stamped a rainbow row of pencils in yellow, turquoise, gray and coral.  I then cut a strip of striped patterned paper, and adhered it to a gray scallop edge.  Next, I attached a yellow ribbon and bow, then adhered the layer to the card front.  The sentiment was then stamped in versamark ink onto a piece of light gray card stock before heat embossing with white powder.  To finish up, I attached the sentiment to the card front with pop dots, then embellished with aqua enamel dots.


For my second card, I started by first stamping the image onto watercolor paper with Stazon gray ink.  I then watercolored the image, and set it aside to dry.  Next, I die cut two pieces of red card stock with a scallop circle die to create a mini-card base.  I also die cut mint and white card stock layers, and adhered them together.  Once the image was dry, I fussy cut it out, and determined the general placement.  Using watercolor pencils, I created a small shadow on the white card stock circle layer.  The sentiment was then stamped in versamark, and heat embossed with white powder.  To finish up, I adhered the sentiment and image with pop dots, then embellished with clear gems.



For my last card, I stamped a Smartie pattern, alternating rows of yellow/turquoise and coral/gray.  I then stamped the sentiment onto a strip of patterned paper, then heat embossed it with white powder.  The sentiment was then layered onto two scallop strips and adhered to the card front.  To finish up, I embellished with yellow enamel dots.

Well, that wraps it up for me, but be sure to come back on the 25th for more Avocado Arts inspiration! :)

FABULOUS job Heather!  Here are some BLOG CANDY WINNERS drawn from comments left on blog posts this month:
Terri Burson said...
Heather, you are everywhere! Haha. Love your sweet cards!
August 13, 2014 at 6:33 PM
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Celeste Goff said...
What fun cards and projects!!!
August 10, 2014 at 5:36 AM
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 Ardyce Seabrook said...
Love your creations! Loving all the colors on the smartie card! Thanks for sharing!
August 16, 2014 at 1:26 PM
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More winners will be announced so make sure and comment on all of the blog posts throughout the month.  If you were a winner, simply email me at michelle@avocadoarts.com with your mailing address and your FREE stamps and goodies will be mailed out to you.  

Monday, August 18, 2014

Annette Allen inspires with "You Can Do It"

Annette is ONE SMART COOKIE as she has made some ADORABLE projects using our new stamp set "You Can Do It".  Make sure and leave her some LOVE and comment because we will be offering some BLOG CANDY throughout the month from the comments left for our amazing Design Team!

Hello Avocado Arts friends... today I am sharing from the August release called You Can Do It. This is set is perfect for all those back to school cards. I know many of you are getting your kids back to school. This set is perfect for those sweet cards you might be putting into the lunch boxes of your sweet kids. 
How fun are these pencils? I did a little masking and colored with Copic sketch markers.
It's Your Day was from last months mini set. This cupcake is just too sweet.
I added some Enamel Dots and did a watercolor background to really make the cupcake pop from the card. 
I used a stencil on this card to create this fun polka dot background.
With these fun stamps I really did not need much more on my card. 
I just love the Smartie candy.

Well thanks for joining me today.
I hope that I have inspired you.
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THANKS ANNETTE!!!!  Gorgeous projects that are sure to inspire!  Don't forget to leave her some love and comment for YOUR chance to WIN some BLOG CANDY throughout the month!

Friday, August 15, 2014

You Can Do It Back To School Ideas With Pinky

Hey there again it's Pinky today with 2 Back To School 
craft ideas and one other project to share for home decor. 
First of all I wanted to share these "Lunch Notes" that I created,
I love making little notes to put in my kids lunches, and the
You Can Do It stamp set was perfect for that encouraging word every kid needs. 
I took little acrylic leftovers and put the stamped images on
pattered paper then added a little bow to tie them onto the sandwich bags. 
For my next project I decided to make some fun pencils to pass out
and keep in the treasure box at school- I added little tags and twine to 
tie them to the tops. 
For the last project I wanted to do a home decor piece because the quote 
"You can make it through life's twists & turns" was so inspiring
I thought I would put it in a bubble frame and set it on my desk to remind me
that it's going to be alright at the end of the day. 
Avocado Arts has done it again! Great stamp sets and super versatile too. 
Check out all their stamps here:

Until next time- keep on creating!

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Such great ideas Pinky!  Incredible projects created from just one stamp set.  Don't forget to leave a comment for Pinky and the rest of the Avocado Arts Design Team throughout this month.  We are going to be giving away BLOG CANDY!!  Have a GREAT FRIDAY!