Berry Sweet

In the hopes that springtime will eevvvveerrrr arrive here in New England, I'm dedicating this post to all things Strawberry :)

There is a brand new Stamp of the Week at Unity called "Berry Sweet Moments"! Make sure you check out all the amazing cards the Unity design team created with this one stamp... all of them are showcased on this post at the Unity blog.

To sign up for the Stamp of the Week, a new stamp in your mailbox every single week (!), click here!

For my card, the strawberries were colored with Copic markers and a subtle glitter pen was drawn over the leaves. All the beautiful paper for this card is from the brand new "Chalk Fun" stack by DCWV found exclusively at Hobby Lobby stores!

Next I have a strawberry themed tag. I think the sentiment makes this tag perfect for a little 'thank you' gift to a friend.

The tag uses the same papers from DCWV "Chalk Fun", and a cute stamp set from Unity called "Pun in the Kitchen"... which is 50% off during the Unity sale right now!!

Hope you have a little more berry spring in your step this weekend :)

<3 Rachel

Trust

What a busy week it's been! I celebrated my 500th blog post, Meeko got his stitches removed from surgery, Matty and I saw The Book of Mormon musical, and there is so much college basketball to be watched! 

Here's Meeko on the drive home after surgery... he had a fatty tumor removed and two teeth pulled. As you can see, he still had a good amount of drugs in his system ;)

There is a new promo at Unity and Friday means Friends with Flair day! I used the new bunny stamp (that you get free with $15 purchase!) for my card. I was really inspired by Angela's graphic to keep things black and white with a pop of coral.

The only Copics used are R01, Y32, C0, and 0. Pattern papers are from DCWV "Vintage Collector" stack, and trim is from October Afternoon.

My next card uses a brand new Phyllis Harris stamp called "Trust the Creator", that I just love so much! The colors were inspired by the current Unity Be Inspired color challenge. Love this pastel spring mix.

The image was so pretty that I didn't want to add anything else to the card. She's beautiful just the way she is! I used Copics to color the image.

Have a beautiful weekend :)

<3 Rachel

DCWV + Faber Castell Hop - Huge Giveaway!

Are you ready for our first blog hop with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft!? We’ve been fans of their products for a long time so we’re excited that we’re finally doing our first blog hop with them!

There are some great prizes too- Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft and DCWV will be giving away $75 in product at the end of the hop. To win, follow the list below and leave a comment. The hop will end at 5PM EST on Friday, March 28th. The winner will be announced on Monday, March 31st on each of the company’s blogs. For extra entries, follow Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft @DesignMemCraft and DCWV @DCWV on twitter!

I created this mixed media canvas for my bestie (shh.. it's for her birthday!). The flowers are paper pieced from DCWV "Vintage Lane" glossy papers. Since the paper has a glossy surface, I was able to color and shade the flowers with amazing PITT Pens from Faber Castell. The original paper is black and white.

Here is a close up of the coloring with PITT pens. I smeared the ink on the flower to get the shading I liked, and once it's dry it is permanent. Which means I can go over it with some glitter Mod Podge and the colors won't bleed ;)

The texture in the background is from a new DCWV flourish stencil that I coated with Faber Castell Whipped Spackle. This combination gives so much dimension to the canvas! In the corners, you can also see some colored DCWV Corrugate paper.

This was a lot of fun to create and didn't require too many materials. I love the end result and hope my friend loves it, too! Be sure to hop along... there will be a lot of inspiration!

DCWV

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft

Mou

Sara 

Thomisia 

Amanda  

Rita 

Britt

Tiffany 

Tessa  

Karen  

Limor 

Karla  

Jen

Angela 

                                    Rachel   (YOU ARE HERE!)

Jill

<3 Rachel

p.s. - I am very happy to say that this is my 500th post here at RWKrafts.com!!! Thank you all for the fun journey so far and I can't wait for what's ahead :)

Little Moments Big Life

This week has been so very busy! I wanted to share pictures from my trip to South Carolina but just haven't found the time. So they're getting squeezed in today :) But first I'm sharing my card using the new Unity Stamp of the Week by Lisa Arana called "Little Moments Big Life".

Isn't the stamp beautiful? It's a great stamp to repeat, so I was able to fill the entire bottom of the card. It actually started as a full length, but as trial and error goes on... the panel became skinnier and skinnier ;) But in the end I was able to show off the stamp more on its own, which I love. The image is colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with mineral oils. Pattern paper is from October Afternoon "Midway".

Last weekend I got to visit my dear bloggy friend, Donna aka The Crafty Corgi, in South Carolina! It was my first time truly visiting the south and I kind of fell in love. So just pretend you're sitting in your grandmother's living room with the projection reel going, and you have no choice but to sit back and enjoy the vacation photos ;)

Donna and I had fun in her brand new craft room!

Her dogs are adorable

Donna made me eat grits and let's just say... they're gross.

Oh cool, a giant leaning fire hydrant!

My dad insisted I needed to "visit some history"... so we went to the State House

The University of South Carolina campus is pretty

I made this art journal page while I was there. Unity and Christy Tomlinson stamps!

That's enough for now. Enjoy your Sunday

<3 Rachel

I Think Olive You...

... so what am I so afraid of?

Now you have that song stuck in your head for the weekend :)  you're welcome!

I'm joining in with Unity Stamp's Friend with Flair Friday! Did you see the adorable punny stamps that were just released? I can never get enough puns in my life!

The stamp set is "Olive You" by Unity and the cuties were colored with Copic markers. The olives are popped up on a stitched journal card with a banner accent on top. Pattern paper is from Studio Calico "Here and Now", journal die cut from Lawn Fawn, and banner die cut from Spellbinders.

There's one more card using the March 2014 SMAK kit great subway art stamp.

I accented parts of the stamp by coloring them with Copics. The colors were inspired by my new phone case with blue and yellow stripes :) The image is matted on DCWV "Colored Burlap Matstack" in teal. Of course, some Stickles were added over some of the sentiments to make them stand out.

Have a wonderful weekend and good luck on your NCAA brackets (especially if you have Arizona going all the way)!!

<3 Rachel

Unity Thursday Hop (My first!)

Did you hear the amazing news?! I am so excited and honored to be a new member of the Unity Stamp Company design team! This is such an amazing company that I have been a fan of for a long time... to be 'official' just makes me squeal with joy! So welcome to my first ever official Unity Thursday Blog Hop! woohoo!

You should have arrived here from the talented Kris. If not, just start at the beginning over at the Unity blog.

Here is a brand new stamp that comes free with any order over $15! It's called "Boots, Class, and Sass" and I immediately played with this sassy boot...

I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with mineral oils. The sentiment is layered over some DCWV 'Corrugate Mat Stack' that I shaded with white India ink. I'm hoping the snow melts soon so I can see some of these gorgeous flowers!

Have you had a peek yet at the March 2014 KOTM? The bird alone has me swooning :)

These images were also colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with mineral oil. They are mounted on a journal card die cut (by Lawn Fawn) and pattern paper from Studio Calico 'Atlantic' pad.

We have TWO amazing Unity filled prize packages to give away! Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win. The winners will be announced Saturday night on the Unity blog. 

Your next stop is the amazing Swarup 

Unity Stamp Co - http://theunitystampco.blogspot.com/ 

Andrea - http://www.mystampingheaven.blogspot.com/

Jimmi - http://www.stampingwithjimmi.blogspot.com/

Shemaine - http://shemainesmith.blogspot.com/ 

Stephanie - http://www.handmade75.blogspot.com/

Jolande - http://www.justjolande.blogspot.com/

Angeline - http://www.scrappyscrappy.blogspot.com/

Kassi - http://kassicreations.blogspot.com

Kris - http://www.klcardcollection.blogspot.com/

Rachel - http://www.rwkrafts.com (You're here!!)

Swarup - http://sanketij.blogspot.com/

<3 Rachel

Coral and Navy

I have a lot of projects to share today using the Coral and Navy papers from DCWV. I'm cramming a lot in one post because tomorrow I'll be leavin' on a jet plane to visit my friend Donna! There will be hours of craft time and I just can't wait to play!

Let's show the cards first...

The background paper on the 'enjoy everyday' card is my favorite single piece of paper! The colors, glitter, design... I hoard the paper scraps from this pattern. The flowers were individually cut from papers in the stack. I also included a cut-apart journal card and used a stamp from the DCWV "Vintage Collector" stamp set. TIP: Since this stack uses glossy papers, make sure to use a permanent ink when stamping (I used StazOn in 'Jet Black'). This stops the sentiment from smudging.

The Love is Simple card focuses on papers in the set. All images are from the Coral and Navy stack. I only added a strip of pink ribbon from DCWV "Vintage Collector" embellishments.

Now time for a layout! I used sunset photos from my recent trip to Phoenix.

Now it's time to pack up a suitcase and head to South Carolina! :)

<3 Rachel

Love will prevail

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work with a great company filled with thoughtful and caring people. Some of the European distributors have asked us to contribute pieces of art that inspire peace and well wishes for the people in Ukraine. It is a simple gesture, but one I wanted to be a part of.

Here is a little art journal page to remind us that peace and love will always prevail

All papers and images from DCWV "Vintage Lane" stack. Bird and flowers colored with Faber Castell pitt pens. Other materials: DCWV polka dot stencil, Studio Calico heart wood veneer, Golden acrylic paint "Titanium White", Liquitex gel medium, October Afternoon alphabet stickers, Stickles "Crystal", chipboard banner by Carta Bella.

<3 Rachel