a message board with Avocado Arts

When I first saw the telephone image in Avocado Art’s kit, Hello Friend, I just knew I would have to make some type of message board. Thanks to some great product on the market, I was easily able to make one! This project measures 12x12.”

I started with a base of  12x12 Chalk Stock, then added two pieces of cork, and for the last spot, I found sticky back Dry Erase paper.

Stamping on the Chalk Stock is easy with VersaMagic ink. And the photopolymer stamps make it SO easy to line up your letters. The alphabet letters are Avocado Type.

The cork and Dry Erase paper also took ink nicely. Keep in mind that you will want to use inks made for projects like this AND give them ample dry time to avoid smudges.

A last look at the message board. Some stamped thumbtack images from Strike a Pose seemed to be a cute touch, along with the curly-q phone cord image from Hello Friend.

Check out the rest of the team:
Avocado Arts Blog
AJ Otto
Latisha Yoast
Julia Stainton
Becky Oehlers

Don’t you love it when paper crafting and home projects come together?! thanks for stopping by!

~kimberly

Supplies: Stamps-Avocado Arts (Hello Friend, Strike a Post, Avocado Type), Chalk Stock-Canvas Corp (12x12), Cork-Creative Impressions, Dry Erase (Darice available at Michael’s), Ink-VersaMagic, Palette (Noir, L’Amour, Paris Lights, Landscape, Reflection Blue)

Avocado Arts “perfect pair”

Its time to share another Avocado Arts project with you! This project is using stamps from the soon-to-be-newly-released, Hello Friend. Its so cute. SO cute!

 

I stamped the socks onto a piece of cardstock and then added little stamped red hearts. :) Twine was tied around the card and then I used mini clothespins to hang the socks from the line.

Just a quick look at the sweet sentiment from the set.

Be sure and see the inspiration provided by the rest of the team:
Avocado Arts Blog
AJ Otto
Latisha Yoast
Julia Stainton
Becky Oehlers

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Avocado Arts (Hello Friend), Patterned paper-My Mind’s Eye (Stella and Rose Hazel), Cardstock-World Win (Treasures Canvas, Kraft), Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Palette (L’Amour), Clothespins-Canvas Corp (Natural), Twine-May Arts

Spellbinders Blog Frenzy

Its that time again!!! Time for the Spellbinders Blog Frenzy!! Get all the details about it on the Spellbinders Paper Arts Blog!!

And here is a schedule of the days and the designers:

July 6

Debbie Olson

Kimberly Crawford

July 7

Becca Feeken

Latisha Yoast

July 8

Tonya Dirk

Shanna Vineyard

July 9

AJ Otto

Gloria Stengel

July 10

Christine Emberson

Michelle Woerner

July 11

Judy Hayes

Heidi Blankenship

July 12

Linda Duke

Tina McDonald

July 13

Sherry Cheever

Lesley Langdon

July 14

Holly Simoni

Windy Robinson

Good luck! And be sure to check out all the rules and details at the Spellbinders Paper Arts Blog!

missing you

We are stuck in this crazy weather pattern. Forty to fifty percent rain chance every day. Insane. I guess it might be time to purchase a cute pair of wellies! :) This pair from Avocado Arts will have to do for now. :)

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Avocado Arts (Sunshine and Smiles), Patterned paper-My Mind’s Eye (Stella and Rose; Gertie), Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Twine-May Arts, Button-Buttons Galore

just saying hello

 

…as the sentiment on the card says, just saying hello! :)

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Avocado Arts (Sunshine and Smiles), Patterned paper-My Mind’s Eye (Lime Twist; Fly a Kite), Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Gems-Hero Arts (Olive), Lace-Wrights, Spellbinders-Fanciful Flight

hello friend

 

Its the middle of the month, which means more projects and inspiration from the Avocado Arts design team, including a sneak peek of the next kit!

Today’s card uses stamps from both Sunshine and Smiles and kit 2. Can you figure out which ones are which? :)



I had to use those clouds, again. But they are so versatile, I just cannot help myself. :) I started with canvas and a Spellbinders Rectangles Large die template.



I used paint dabbers from Adirondack on the canvas. I applied in one direction. You can see the coverage it creates. It is not solid coverage. The paint does not flow from the end, like I was expecting. Honestly, I will take the foam topper off and just use the paint. The paint itself is fantastic! Great coverage, colors, and quick to dry!



For the clouds, I applied Adirondack white paint to the solid cloud image from Sunshine and Smiles. Using a foam brush gives me a chance to spread the paint more evenly across the stamp. And don’t worry about “ruining” your stamp. It cleans up easily.



Here are the clouds on the canvas. Pretty cool look, huh?



I decided that I wanted a couple of the clouds to pop out a bit more. So, I stamped over the clouds with a second coat of paint. And reason number 1 million to love about photopolymer stamps; you can see through to line up the image!!

To finish off the card, I stamped the open cloud image in watermark ink on the card base, added some super bright chevron patterned paper (SWOON!), and a stamped and Copic colored little birdie. Oh, and the sentiment…it was stamped in black ink onto the canvas. Its a little faded, which works for me in this instance.

And now, what you have been waiting for…the sneak peek of Kit #2!!

Oh it gets better with each stamp shipment!! Sign up today to get in on all the perks of membership!

Check out the rest of the team:
Avocado Arts Blog
AJ Otto
Latisha Yoast
Julia Stainton
Becky Oehlers

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Avocado Arts (Sunshine and Smiles, Hello Friend), Canvas (Canvas Corp 12x12), Paint-Ranger (Adirondack Paint Dabber-Pool, White), Cardstock-Bazzill, Copic Xpress, Patterned paper-My Mind’s Eye (Lime Twist Fly a Kite 6x6), Ink-Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black) (Versamark Watermark), Copic-R22, R24, R27, YR07, Spellbinders-Rectangles Large

what we’ve been up to lately

 

Well, we have been spending as much time as we can on the golf course.

Which means watching the geese families and all their babies.

 

And there are a lot of them. Ducks too. And of course, that brings the fox around…

We have been exploring where we live and taking weekend trips to see places in our new state.
Uptown, Marion, IA

 

We went to a Balloon Glow. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Imagine a field with 6 hot air balloons all glowing in the darkness of night. To watch them fill these balloons with air and get them upright is just fascinating!

 

Once the balloons were all filled, they allowed everyone to come closer. The heat that comes from those blowers is so incredibly intense, I was shocked.

 

And well, we have just spending time with the little man. Legos, blowing bubbles, t-ball, soccer, swimming at the pool, play dates with friends, sidewalk chalk drawing, bike riding, and just plain hanging out in the heat of summer have all been keeping us busy. Time keeps marching on and I am grabbing a hold of it as tightly as I can. Kindergarten will start in just over two months and some days it hits me like a ton of bricks. I know you understand.

thanks for stopping by!

creating a shield tutorial and template

Its pretty fun when you can create something that your child is wanting. My little man is into knights right now. Big time. He has been wanting swords and shields. Using my design and paper crafting skills and products, I was able to create some great shields. And most importantly, I have a happy little man!!

I made downloadable templates for you, to make your own shields:
(I am using a new site, new to me at any rate. I hope that it works for you to download and/or print. If not, please let me know via email.)

Large shield (back)

Small shield (front)

 

I started with the templates, which I printed off and cut out. I used large sheets of Fun Foam, allowing me to cut two shields from each piece.

 

Trace your LARGE shield onto the foam. Cut it out, staying to the inside of the black lines.

 

Cut two LARGE shields out and glue them together. I did this because I wanted the shields to be sturdy (little boy and all).

Then trace the SMALL shield onto your secondary color. Do two of these, as well.

Adhere one the smaller shields to the front. Oh, and I used Aleene’s tacky glue for this.

 

From your scraps, cut a piece of foam about 1.25 x 8.” Glue the ends to the shield. This will never hold. As I found out. :)

 

SOOOO, grab a couple of large brads and push them through to the front.

 

Its kind of a shallow hold, so if you wanted to do this BEFORE adhering the front layer, go for it. :) I just added a second piece (small shield) to the front.

 

To decorate the front of the shields, we used Spellbinders die templates. The little man said we had to make different designs, or that would mean we were on the same team and couldn’t fight each other. :)

These images are from Spellbinders S4-300 Heraldry (lion, winged shield) and Spellbinders S4-299 Fallen Angel (long sword).

Fun foam cuts beautifully with Spellbinders die templates and the Grand Calibur. One pass and perfect!

 

Here is a look at one version.

And here is the happy little man. The colors we picked were based on the two foam swords he had. And yes, we had sword fights for the rest of the afternoon. :)

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and the template! thanks for stopping by!

Design Memory Craft twitter party!

Join Faber-Castell’s Design Memory Craft team, Jenny from @CraftTestDummy and Christy from @ChristyNelson1 for a Twitter party Thursday, June 2, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. EST!

We’ll talk color theory and the 101’s of the Design Memory Craft product line!
· Be sure to follow @CraftTestDummy, @ChristyNelson1, and @DesignMemCraft before the party!

· Join the fun! No one expects you or your tweets to be perfect; we’re just happy you made it to the party!

· Anyone who tweets during the party should use #dmc101

· Watch for questions from @ChristyNelson1 and @CraftTestDummy to WIN awesome prizes including various design kits & products from the Design Memory Craft line!

· To join the party, you can use TweetGrid, TweetDeck or just search #dmc101 on Twitter.

· Ask @DesignMemCraft questions or chat with other partygoers—just use the tag #dmc101 in all of your party tweets!

· Please pay attention to the time zones, the party starts at 8:30pm EST.

****Just a little info for my readers that are on Twitter. This is a great chance to win prizes and start following other people who are into the same companies you are. Consider it a PSA of sorts. :)

thanks for stopping by!