Avocado Arts - Forever Yours and Days and Months

Good morning! I'm super excited to be sharing my first post over on the Avocado Arts Blog this morning! I have 3 cards to share today - and lots of pictures:

First up, I made a couple cards with this months stamp set - as soon as I saw this, I fell in LOVE with that adorable love bug! Isn't it the cutest?!?!?

I stamped it on pattern paper, carefully fussy cut it out, then paper pieced a bit of white paper on it. I stamped that tiny "Just Married" sentiment - that conveniently fits just perfectly in the window - then added the little bow on the back. I used Delicata Gold ink to ink up the bow, as well as stamp the sentiment in the window so that they matched just right.

I used some Heidi Swapp color shine in gold and peach on the background, a bit of embossing paste on a stencil, then attached the bug with foam adhesive.

Finally, I stamped and embossed my sentiment on a Simon Says Stamp tilted black banner. Finished off with a bit of bling and some gold sequins. The first picture shows it best, but I also used my Wink of Stella a little on the car for just a touch of extra sparkle!

Next up - I came OH so close to making a one layer card - but I ended up adding a bit of bling in the end!

I inked up "Congratulations" one time, then stamped it off 3 times to give a bit of movement. The tiny hearts are from the little love birds - I just used some washi tape to mask off everything but the hearts.

I colored the glasses with my Copic markers, then added some Stickles over the surface to provide a bit of sparkle.

Then - I had to play with the add on set for this month - this set has so many possibilities - I can't wait to use it for my scrapbooking! But first I decided to make a card with it.

 

I lined up the days of the week on my stamp press, then added a tiny sentiment from an older stamp set, Wishes and Kind Thoughts. This would have made it super easy to make a large set of notecards, with all the days lined up. So easy to re-ink and stamp over and over.

I inked them with Ranger Archival Ink, stamped on watercolor paper, then used a water brush and some basic watercolors to brush over each day of the week.

I sprayed some Smooch Spritz over the entire thing to magnify the watercolor effect and add a bit of sparkle. It doesn't show very well in the pictures, but maybe you can get a peek in this shot?

Finished off by matting in black card stock to make that panel pop before mounting on my card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!

Valentine in Non-traditional colors

Good morning! Just wanted to share a Valentine card I made recently with my Unity Stamps:

I saw this color combo on Pinterest and fell in LOVE with it:

{Image Credit}

Isn't it dreamy? I used Unity Stamp Companies Love you, XOXO, adore, cupid {wit and wisdom} stamp heat embossed in gold on white cardstock.

After heat embossing it, I used a paint brush and some Mister Huey's to brush in rough strokes over the embossed portion, then wiped it off the embossing. I sprayed some Smooch Spritz over the top, then added some drips in a darker shade of Heidi Swapp Color Shine, as well as some gold of the same spritzed in the corners. 

Once all that dried, I added a couple of gold sequins, some enamel dots, and some doodles with my white gel pen. Finished off by rounding a couple corners, and mounting it with foam adhesive on a soft gray cardstock base.

I am also linking this up with Shop Pumpkin Spice - Hearts Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

MCS Winter Release Hop - Silhouette Shine Cards and Giveaway

Good morning! So excited, since today is the release and reveal of the winter release at My Craft Spot! What a fabulous release it is too! There is also a giveaway at the end of this post! You should have arrived here from Kate's blog - if you didn't you'll want to head back to the beginning and not miss a single stop! Did I mention there is a giveaway on EACH stop? :)

I should warn you that this is a picture heavy post - I ended up with a set of five cards to share with you today! I just had so much fun playing with the release. I also loved the effect of the card I made for the first day of the release (you can see it HERE if you missed it!), that I decided to make a set of them with the same idea, and just slightly different on each one.

 I made a stencil with several different Spellbinder's dies and plain cardstock, used Tim Holtz distress ink in two colors as before and blended, and then spritzed with Smooch Spritz to add sparkle and shine.

Once they dried, I layered an assortment of silhouette cuts that I cut with my Cameo over the top using foam adhesive.

LOVE the sparkle the Smooch Spritz adds to the background!

Next I cut several banners using the new Straight Banner Metal Dies (LOVE these soooo very much...and it just so happens that if you leave a comment on this post today - you have a chance to win a set of these!!!)

This one I used some My Favorite Things ink instead of distress ink - only because I don't have distress ink in yellow...and REALLY wanted to make one in yellow!!!

All my sentiments are from the new stamp set that coordinates perfectly with the banner dies - Christmas Banner Sentiments:

Once I cut the banners, I stamped all the sentiments on using some black Versamark ink for a super crisp and clear image.

This final one, instead of using Smooch Spritz, I sprayed on some gold Heidi Swapp Color Shine - just to get a slightly different effect - it worked just like I was hoping!

Finally, I matted them on coordinating solid cardstock from Papertrey Ink, Bazzil, and My Favorite Things.

If you made it to the end - I'm impressed! Sorry for all the pictures! Make sure and leave a comment before you leave for a chance to win those banner dies! Your next stop is Marlene - and here is the entire hop line-up in case you get lost somewhere along the way:

Kimberly
GiGi
Ally
Gwen
Robin
Kate
Heather (you are here)
Marlene
Sherrie 

Thanks for dropping by today! Have a wonderful first weekend of November!!!

I am also linking this up with a few challenges - first up CAS-ology's cue card for the week - black:

Then Simon Says...Anything Goes, and Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes.

MCS New Release Day 1 - Wise Men Still Seek Him

Good morning! I'm so excited to be kicking off the first day of sneak peeks for the Winter Release at My Craft Spot! Today we are sharing peeks of 2 new banner die sets, and a new stamp set called Christmas Banner Sentiments, that conveniently coordinate perfectly with each other! Here is what I made for today:

This was one of those ideas that pops into your head when you are falling asleep at night, and then has to be made as quickly as possible in the morning! I started off by stamping and heat embossing the star from Chunky Alphabet stamp set in yello, then I cut a circle mask out of some plain white paper with a Spellbinders die, laid it over some Avery Elle gray cardstock, and then inked inside the circle with 2 different colors of distress ink, blending in the middle. I added a spray of Smooch Spritz, then pulled the mask off and let it dry.

Next, I cut, stamped, and folded the banner, and attached it on the bottom. I cut the little wiseman using my Silhouette Cameo. I wanted to fit 3 of them on, but couldn't get them to cut as small as I wanted, so I just settled for the one.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure and head over to My Craft Spot next to see what the rest of the design team put together, and enter today's giveaway!

Distress Leaf Card

Hello! Ah...but it feels good to be crafting so much lately! I think that is one of the things I love about fall - the crisp days (or occasional snow when you live at 7,200 feet elevation) - makes me want to make soup, homemade doughnuts, and craft! Does it get any better?

So, yesterday when I saw the new Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger, this card popped into my head and had to be made - I hope that happens to you sometimes too?

This is the Trigger Photo - captures fall perfectly, don't you think?

I also wanted to play along with the Avery Elle monthly challenge, which is a sketch this time around:

I started off by cutting the leaf with my Silhouette Cameo using white cardstock. I then inked it with 4 different colors of Tim Holtz distress ink, blending well, and saturating the leaf super well. Next, I spritzed it with a bit of Smooch Spritz to add a little sparkle, and a bit of a mottled effect. LOVE this effect! I just tried it the other day for the first time on a card for the new release next week at My Craft Spot - can't wait to show you that card! 

I also created a textured background, but using embossing paste, and a stencil I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo - you can see a little here the subtle texture it gives:

Stamped my sentiment from Avery Elle's Handwritten Notes stamp set with Staz-on ink on a vellum banner, used some Avery Elle Maple Woodgrain Cardstock (LOVE this too!) for my cardbase, and added just a touch of black jute twine to finish it off. Oh - one other tip - I attached my vellum banner by adding just a *dot* of glue with my Zig 2 Way glue pen to the edges where it touches the leaf. Vellum can be SOOO hard to attach - and I found that this worked perfectly on here, because you don't see the glue, since it is the only spot touching the leaf, and floating free across the rest of the card.

I am also linking this up with this weeks Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Halloween or Halloween colors (fall colors fit, right?)

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you are having a great fall afternoon!!!

Watercolor Mother's Day Flowers - MCS Challenge

Good morning! It is time for a new challenge over at My Craft Spot - and appropriately, we are celebrating Mom this week! I made a Mother's Day card:

I used a sentiment from Happy Easter, and some black jute twine.

I have been wanting to play with some flower silhouettes and some watercolor effects, so I decided to do that on this card. I used watercolor paper and used "Insightful Meadows" from Unity Stamps for the flowers. I inked them up with varying colors of MFT ink, then sprayed with Smooch Spritz before stamping. I let them dry really well before adding my sentiment.

I then added a slim strip of black cardstock along the side, then attached to my cardbase of Avery Elle kraft cardstock before wrapping with my black jute twine and tying in a bow. 

I am also linking this up with the Wonder of Watercolor Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will join us in creating a card to honor mom this week! Have a great day!!!

I am also going to link this up to one of the National Scrapbook Day Challenges over at Shop Pumpkin Spice, Mother's Project. The prize for each challenge is $20, and their aren't that many participants yet, so your chances are pretty good! Hope you will come play along!!!