*** HUGE 25th BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY! ***

It's finally here!

September 1! Which is also my BIRTHDAY MONTH! And I wanted to celebrate this huge quarter-life event with all of my amazing bloggers!

On September 19, I will be turning TWENTY-FIVE (25!) so in honor of this huge milestone, I will be giving away one $25 GIFT CARD to JOANN'S or MICHAEL'S (winner's choice!) 

I am also sharing a huge huge coupon code for everything in my etsy shop.... 25% off everything, even custom orders!  Enter the code BIRTHDAYBASH at checkout for 25% off!  And new items will be added all the time for September, so make sure to check back often!

Ok so... a chance to win $25 gift card to an amazing craft store AND 25% off everything at my etsy shop... what could be better? Maybe I can make you some cupcakes to celebrate :)

Oh, Martha

 

Ok now the boring part --- HOW TO ENTER --- (it's super easy, promise)

1) Please become a follower of my blog! I love love love meeting new bloggers and learning amazing ideas from all of you... I really do appreciate you guys!
2) Leave me ONE comment right here on this post.... Tell me what was your favorite birthday gift you have ever received! (and please leave me a way to contact you)
3)  Make sure you enter by September 18 at 11:59pm EST... This is also when the coupon code BIRTHDAYBASH will end!
4) Check back on my 25th Birthday (September 19th!) to see if you've won! I will be picking a random winner woop!

Happy September!  Good luck, and make sure you hit up the shop and use the code BIRTHDAYBASH for 25% off!  You have until 11:59pm on September 18th!  Woohoo!!!!!

<3 Rachel w k

FOUR Moxie Sketch Cards ....

Over at Moxie Fab World they are doing a lot of sketch challenges to get your ideas a'flowin. I love working with sketches because they really force me to work outside of my comfort zone.  So here goes...


First up is the Shaped Sketch Challenge...

I made this nautical Thank You card for my friend who invited me to Marthas Vineyard for a mini getaway! To cut all the shapes I used basic shapes in my Make The Cut software and cut with my Silhouette.  The sailboat was cut with my Cricut from the Just Because cartridge.  I heat embossed the brown and the blue on the sailboat, and stamped the Martha Stewart sentiment in aqua ink.


Second up is the Square Sketch Challenge....

I didn't get caught up in the whole 'Christmas in July' thing, but now that it's August I felt a huge urge for some winter themed stuff.  The snowflakes were cut with my Silhouette machine and Make the Cut software.  The 'tis the season' stamp is by Inkadinkado, and all I added was a simple winter button in the middle.


Third up is the Horizontal Sketch Challenge AND my CAS-ual Fridays 'Stuck on You' entry, which was to use a sticker or a rub-on....

This is a very basic sketch and I wanted to keep it that way.  I just cut squares in Autumn colored card stock, rounded two corners on each, and added the red leaves which were my stickers.  The 'hello' sentiment is from a Hero Arts stamp, inked in orange. The edges of the card have also been inked in orange.


Fourth and Last up is the Vertical Sketch Challenge....

I loved making this card because I finally had a reason to use my favorite DCWV paper stack ever in the history of everdom.  The Colorful Life paper stack is so so gorgeous, I love the artwork of the pages which was actually my inspiration for my huge canvas painting. I texture embossed the blue paper with a Sizzix folder.  Instead of triangles like the sketch shows, I did dripping buttons adhered with GlueDots.  The 'oh, hay hay' (which always makes me laugh inside) are glittered letter stickers.


Deep Breath! That's a lot of cards for one post, I hope you were able to take it all in.  I had fun with these sketches because they seemed different than all the sketch challenges I usually partake in.  I hope you join in the fun!

Also I'm freaking out about Hurricane Irene.... coming from Arizona there aren't many natural disasters we have to worry about. This weekend will definitely be a new experience.  Please stay safe

<3 Rachel w k

So You Think You Can Paint?

I hope yall are gearing up for hurricane Irene! Please be safe and prepared for the worse.  As for me, I'll watch the water creep up and hope no trees crash on top of my car

If you follow me on twitter, you may remember a few weeks ago I purchased the largest canvas Michael's had in stock.  It was so big it wouldn't even fit in the trunk of my car, so I considered that a pretty big success.  So this giant thing has been taking up space in our kitchen for a while. I had no idea what to actually do with it, I just knew I needed it.

Last week I had a lot of alone time, and figured I might as well just do it.  And do whatever the hell I want with it.  Please know I am not an artist/painter and don't consider myself to be one! I only have about 8 colors of paints (most of which are various shades of teal) so I at least had fun mixing a lot of colors in tubberwares and seeing what happened...

 

Now we have a 3 foot by 4 foot painting hanging between two tall windows in our bedroom.  I gotta admit, I kind like it. A lot.  And it's a pretty good view from the bed!

Do you ever go outside of your 'crafting comfort zone'??? Have you been happy with what you made, or just decided to stick with what ya know?

<3 Rachel w k

Card Challenges for the Weekend!

It's been a while! I got back from Martha's Vineyard on Wednesday, it was a very cool place! Granted it rained from the day I drove there to the morning I left, but I still saw a lot and got some shopping done :)

I made two cards today for four challenges! So let's do it to it...

Cas-ual Fridays Challenge, emboss

The Shabby Tea Room challenge, use polka dots

My embossing polka dots!

I don't usually do black and white cards, elegant things are not really my thing. Anyway, this card will be submitted to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #16 which was to emboss. I texture embossed the black with Swiss Dots folder and rubbed white chalk to make the dots pop. I texture embossed the border, then also heat embossed the raised part with black. The 'Miss You' sentiment is also heat embossed with black.  All the Polka Dots in various forms are for the Shabby Tea Room challenge #75.

Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger

Mojo Sketch and Tuesday Trigger Colors

I love the color combination with this Tuesday trigger at Moxie Fab World, yellow and pink are always my favorite! I used the sketch from Mojo Mondays 204 to combine the colors. The pink paper is a very very pale soft pink, so it was hard to photograph. I also love the 'thank you' stamp (inkadinkado). I really like how this one turned out! The black flower is felt, with a dab of cotton candy stickles in the middle. The black glittered border is from K & Company, and the black and white corner piece is DCWV chipboard.

Thanks for lookin :) I hope you play along with these challenges!

<3 Rachel w k

CAS-ual Card and a Color Challenge

It's late Saturday night, and I'm packing to go to Martha's Vineyard (!!!) tomorrow! I had to get this challenge post in before I left....

CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week was actually a SKETCH challenge, which was a fun change. They teamed up with Clean & Simple for a really fun sketch to try out.  The talented card maker Virginia also shared a Color Trends Challenge at the Embellish Magazine blog.  You can combine the color challenge with a sketch challenge, so this is was a perfect match! I had a lot of fun combining the color trends with the sketch...

coloring color trends inspiration

CAS-ual Fridays and Clean & Simple sketch

Here was my take on the sketch and the color combo...

The yellow flower and stem is from a DCWV Lemon paper, which I cut out with a craft knife. I added the smallest little gold blings to the stem, and gold stickle in the center of the flower.  The beige paper is from k-i memories. I used a teeny bit of light pink for the sentiment, which is a Hero Arts stamp.

Now back to packing for Martha's Vineyard! I have never been to any of those new england-y islands, as we don't have many islands in Arizona. I get to ride a high speed ferry, so cool!

<3 Rachel w k

Havin a Mojo Moxie Shabby Chic Kind of Day!

 ***If you're looking for Travel the World Wednesday - Germany Please Clicky Click Here!***

I'm so clever.  The title for this post is for each challenge this post is entering! I made a separate card for each challenge:  Mojo Monday 203, Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger, and the Shabby Tea Room week #74.

First up is MOJO MONDAY sketch 203! I was craving the need for a nice autumn card and this sketch was gonna fill it. I fell in love all over again with the DCWV Autumn Stack from 2009! I barely used it, but I'm definitely going to this year, two years later :)

Mojo Monday 203

All patterned papers from the 2009 dcwv autumn stack. Border punch is ek success, the 'hello' stamp is from tpc studios.

Second up is Moxie Fab's Tuesday Trigger! I need to admit... I hated this trigger. I thought the dress was busy and ugly and so hippy dippy it probably bled peace signs and LSD.  Needless to say, I was not the most inspired by it, and it was a huge challenge. I am not particularly liking the card I made, but hey... I need to show the good, the bad, and the really ugly...

Moxie Fab tuesday trigger

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

So for this card I was 'inspired' by the mix and match patterns, and the curves, and the multiple layerings.  Guess which stack I used for this baby?  All patterns are from one sheet of paper in the DCWV Hippie Chic Stack. I cut apart the different patterns in the one paper and pieced it back on this card.  The sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts.

Third up and Last up is the 'Tea for Two' challenge in the Shabby Tea Room! The challenge was to get inspiration from the lovely photo, have a 'tea' theme and use the colors green and blue.

Shabby Tea Room inspiration photo

Shabby Tea Room 'Tea for Two'

I made a teapot shape card!  The teapot shape is from Lettering Delights 'J'adore' svg set.  I made a shadow layer and welded the tea pot so the card is held together at the top.  The white is lightly inked with brown and light blue ink. To the delicate patterns on the teapot, I added silver and blue stickles for some sparkle :)

Thanks for peeking at all my challenge entries! These challenges just started so there is still plenty of time to participate!

<3 Rachel w k

Party Lizards Card Set and BUTTON TRADE

I have been eager to try out the new Leapin Lizards svg set from Lettering Delights since the first day it came out! Yesterday I finally went for it, and I just went all out.  I absolutely love this little set of cards. My husband now wants me to make a party lizard for him to keep at his office :) they're so freakin adorable I can't stand it.

love these little cuties!

 Here is a close up of each one. I added googly eyes and matching stickles to make some of the pieces pop. All of the paper is actually from a bright stack by Cricut (believe it or not!) I used my Silhouette SD and Make-the-Cut software for each cut I made.

BLOG HOUSEKEEPING--- BUTTON TRADE ------

I have made a little BUTTON for my blog you can grab it right off my sidebar! If you would like to trade buttons please contact me at rwkrafts{at}gmail.com to see if our blogs are a good match.  I would love to showcase your button and you can showcase mine :) They will be placed under the "blogs i heart" section in the right sidebar!
I'd love to add you!

<3 Rachel w k

thanks berry much CFC14 and Sparks Challenge

Woohoo for the weekend! Did you all see my adorable fur baby that just got added to our family? Please help welcome him in our lives :)

Yesterday a new Sparks challenge over at Paper Smooches was posted! I didn't even know this challenge existed, but there are amazing prizes to be won

I was also excited about the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, which is to use a glue-dot to adhere glitter so I was excited to try that!

PS Sparks August challenge and CAS-ual Fridays #14 Challenge

When I saw the requirements for of these challenges I knew it would be a great fit to do together.  For the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge I was inspired by the inspiration photo which had some pretty fushias, pinks, a brown fence, and also some pretty white and silver bling! With the CFC challenge to use glittered-up Glue Dots, I knew I needed to add them to this stamp and they would fit perfectly :)

Material Deets:

paper smooches free digi stamp for the grapes

paper smooches free digi stamp "thanks" and "i love you berry much" that I combined to say "thanks berry much"

large 3-d Glue Dots

martha stewart fine silver glitter

colored pencils for the grapes

black marker to add little 'grape' dots to the letters

dollar ribbon

dcwv paper from Safari Kids solid stack.

I am entering this card in these challenges...

cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com

papersmooches.blogspot.com

I hope to see you play along!

{this card will soon be posted in my etsy shop!}

<3 Rachel w k

Help Welcome our Newest Addition - And a Video!

We have some big exciting news in our little family!!

Last weekend we added a new fur baby to our pack :)  Peanut (our older guinea pig) just turned one and we really wanted to get him a little brother but were waiting for the perfect match to come along.

So I'd like to introduce you all to our newest fur baby, Pumpkin...

Pumpkin and Peanut got along immediately and spent the entire day playing with each other and squeaking until they fell asleep.  Our dog, Meeko, was very excited as well. Can you spot him in this next picture...?

To get the full experience of our guinea pigs and our dog meeting for the first time, you must watch our home video! Meeko was trying to sound like the squeaking piggies :) and you can even see a little bit of my office in the background!

I have watched this video multiple times a day since we got Pumpkin, it always makes me smile :)

Thanks for welcoming our newest addition! We love our fur babies very very much, and they always keep our lives full of smiles and entertainment.  What kind of fur babies do you have? Do you consider them a big part of your family?

<3 Rachel w k (and Pumpkin, Peanut, and Meeko... oh and my hubs)

Pool Party Birthday Tags

I have been very busy helping out a friend with her son's birthday party! One of my good friends is throwing a little backyard pool party for her 5 year old, complete with treasure hunts, games, a bouncey house, and an ice cream truck! What 5 year old wouldn't love that?! So I made her and her son special birthday cards, and I also volunteered to help with the gift tags for all the guests...

If you follow my twitter you probably read how frustrated I was with all of my crafting electronics. I wanted to throw my cricut, my gypsy, my laptop, and my silhouette sd right out the damn window.  I always thought crafty ladies who had more than one cutting machine were insane but it actually came in handy for me. You see, right when my gypsy decided it wouldn't hold a charge anymore, I could turn to my Silhouette.  And then when my Make-the-Cut software decided it didn't want to cut (only print and cut) I could turn to my cricut... and my gypsy was suddenly 100% charged! Awesome!

I digress 

I'll shut up about my anxiety inducing electronic craft and cutting machines and just show pictures...

A lovely photograph of everything.  The name tags are to tie around goodie bags, and various summer treats to tie around the bag as well.  Did I mention this party will have an ice cream truck? So cool...

The name tags for the party guests.  I cut all of the tags using my Gypsy and Cricut.  I then used my Gypsy to fit the names inside each tag, and re-"cut" the mats with a Cricut marker. I'm so glad they turned out, or else I would have slapped a bitch.  The font for the names is from Kate's ABC cart.

Popsicles! The birthday boy loves popsicles, especially those Bomb Pops that are red, white and blue. I was too frustrated to do that many layers, so the kid gets red.  I used a graphic from Lettering Delights' Summer Treats, and pixel traced it to be a layered svg.  I really love how they turned out, actually.  All paper is from DCWV Stripes and Polka Dots stack, I added cotton candy stickles, and I used Make-the-Cut and my Silhouette to cut the shapes.

Ice Cream! This image is from Lettering Delights' Soak up the Sun svg set.  I used Make-the-Cut software and my Silhouette to cut the shapes.  Papers by DCWV, and I embossed the top with swirls Cuttlebug folder.

Did I mention my Silhouette cutting machine decided it didn't want to cut? So I was in the middle of these watermelons and it stopped working. Cool. Remember when I said two machines actually came in handy so I could use the other as a back up? I never thought I'd say this, but my little Cricut came to the rescue! I remembered there was a cute watermelon on the Just Because Cards cartridge. Sigh of relief. Green paper from some DCWV stack, and pink paper from DCWV Sweet stack.  I added black diamond stickles to the seeds.

Finally!!! After two straight days of cutting, gluing, stickle-ing, and extreme electronic frustration, I finished these little party gift tags! Regardless of the ugh-ness, I actually really like how they all turned out!

How do you react when your craft supplies crap out on you? Do you have back ups or do you swear like a sailor?

<3 Rachel w k

How-To Tuesday: Make a Side Step Card

Happy how-to Tuesday! I'm excited to share the side-step card with you. It looks complicated but once you get those measurements sorted out it's really easy. So let's do it to it...

Materials Needed:

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of card stock (sturdier the better)

craft blade or exacto knife

score board and score blade

Step 1:  with your 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" card stock, place it at your score board or paper trimmer at the 2 inch mark. With the craft knife, cut a slit from 2 1/8" down to 7 1/2" mark. So your paper should look like this...

step 1 - cut a slit from 2 1/8" to 7 1/2"

Step 2:  next you'll use your score tools. Turn your paper horizontally and first score at 4 1/4" all the way down the paper.  Your next score marks will only be from the top of your paper to the 2" slit mark (pictures will help with this part!) So score at 2 1/8" to the slit. Score at 5 3/8" to the slit. Score at 6 1/2" to the slit. Score at 7 1/2" to the slit....

Step 2 - notice that only the 4 1/4" score mark goes all the way

I added notes with the measurements to make a little more sense....

Score at the yellow marks, cut at the red mark.

Step 3:  You're ready to fold the card! First I fold the single score mark at 4 1/4" at a mountain fold, then accordion fold from there. It will now look like this...

Step 3 - accordion fold your steps!

You're finished! That's all there is to the side-step card! The measurements are confusing but the card itself is pretty easy to put together, and they are so fun to decorate!

Using this blue step card, I made a card in honor of Shark Week!
All die cuts in the shark week card are from Lettering Delights Something Fishy svg set!

Using the step card outline, I also made these adorable Maine vacation cards for family members...

Have fun making your step cards! They really make a huge impact with lots of room to add your embellishments :)

<3 Rachel w k