Rubber Stamps and Avocados.  What a combo!  Do you ever look at the name of a book or the name of a blog and wonder how in the world someone came up with that?   Or wonder what the meaning is behind it?  I try to put a lot of thought into everything I do, so I thought I would share what’s behind the name of my blog.

A few years ago, a dear friend invited me to a rubber stamp party.  It seemed so weird to me.  Rubber stamps?!  I envisioned the little stamps that my 3rd grade teacher used on our assignments. A+ Good Job! Excellent!  You’re a winner!  What on earth would people do at a rubber stamp party?!  I was actually walking the warm, gorgeous sands of Mexico thinking about it and feeling excited to get back home to find out!

Well, let me just say…that night, I made my first greeting card using a simple rubber stamp set and I was hooked.  I went on to purchase quite a few and found that I loved the creative process of making someone a greeting card unlike any that they’ve already received.   It also allowed me to spend some therapeutic, quality time with my teenaged daughters.  They enjoyed creating cards for their friends, and it was something we could do together.  Finding a common ground with your kids through that time is a challenge, as they’re learning to be more independent and often too “cool” to spend time with their mom.   I learned a lot about fashion, too, with those stamps, because learning to put colors together was a chore!

I still have all my rubber stamps, even though I don’t get much time to use them these days.  Keeping the name in front of me is a constant reminder of something I love to do that I don’t want to lose sight of forever in spite of all the busy-ness.  I chose to tie it into my blog for that purpose, but also as a reminder of my first thoughts about rubber stamps.  It reminds me to keep an open mind, that many awesome things come from unexpected places.

As a side note, when I was researching my blog name, I discovered a company, Avocado Arts, that has adorable stamp sets and beautiful greeting card designs!

The avocado portion of my blog doesn’t have quite the story behind it as the rubber stamps, but there are several facets that tie in.  I love the nutrition aspect of the avocado; it’s a superfood that I enjoy incorporating into my meals nearly every day, and hey, it’s green–my favorite color!  Not only that, though, but one day, I was turning my compost (I love to garden), and two avocado pits rolled out, both of them with a little avocado tree growing out of the middle.  I was so excited I could hardly stand it, and within 20 minutes, I had both of them planted.  I’m sorry to say they didn’t survive, but now I know I can grow an avocado tree (or at least get it started pretty easily)!

Now you know what’s behind my blog name.  Nutrition, crafting, being open-minded for wonderful, unexpected pleasantries that can enrich your life, food in general, and gardening.

Thank you for reading Rubber Stamps and Avocados…I’m glad to be on this beautiful journey with you!