A Patriotic Neighborhood

 I was delighted to see the Hero Arts June Layering Stencil of the Month is still available, because I hadn't had a chance to play with it until now. Since we're so close to the 4th of July, I gave this neighborhood a patriotic touch!

I did some slight color blending within each layer, so the bottom of the image is lighter than the top. For the red houses, I first ink blended with Pale Tomato, and then added in Cherry ink. For the blue houses I first inked in Dusty Blue, and then added Cornflower. The white houses, while subtle, were inked up in Antique Ivory. I used my Blending Brushes for these layers.

The rooftops were done with the Black Wax. I love the texture it added to the roofs!

The background panel is Peacock Cardstock with the Sparkling Firework Bold Print heat embossed in Silver powder. The fireworks are perfect for the 4th!

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a fun and safe July 4th week :)

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Hero Arts Studio July Countdown + Giveaway

 This July card kit is not to be missed! Actually, the entire July release from Hero Arts is going to knock your swimsuits off :) Make sure you leave comments along the hop for a chance to win this incredible kit! You really want to get your hands on this one. Visit the Hero blog for the full blog lineup.

This card was giving me total New England beach vibes the entire time I was creating. My brain was channeling the gorgeous white sand beaches in southern Maine. And everything is colored with ink pads only! The ocean portion was inked with Mist and Dusty Blue. The land stamps were each inked with Moss for the grass, Cup o Joe and Espresso for the wood, and Charcoal for any of the buildings or shadow images. The sky was stamped first in Peony, then Dandelion, and then Grapefruit. So get those ink pads out and ready!

I framed the entire scene in Rounded Rectangles Infinity Dies with cardstocks Mist and Nautical. I'm ready to rent out one of those beach huts, please!

I was having so much fun with this kit that I created a second card with some of the stand-alone dies. I used the amazing Sand Embossing Powder to create the sandy beach as well as the sandcastle. I inked up the water and the sky using the same ink combos as above. 

I framed this card as well, this time using the Postage Stamps Infinity Dies with Azalea and Papaya cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to leave comments along the countdown hop for a chance to win this kit! Visit the Hero blog for the entire hop lineup.

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Happy Summer! Spellbinders Small Die of the Month Card

 Happy summer officially! Ever since moving to the Bay Area, summer is now my favorite season... I would've never said this during my 20 years in Arizona :)

Today's card represents me last weekend. Sitting in the pool (in Phoenix) for five solid hours in my little donut shaped pool floatie with a drink in hand. There is nothing better!

My Spellbinders June '24 Small Die of the Month arrived in the mail today, just in time for summer. I used Concord and 9th Cardstock to die cut my pink hippo and teal inner tube. By the way, I have now been using my Spellbinders Platinum Die Cut Machine for a few weeks and IT CUTS LIKE BUTTAH! I am so glad I made that purchase.

I put my hippo in the ocean with this great Beach Floor Layer Stencil. The water was ink blended from lightest to darkest inks: Pool Party, Splash, then Blue Hawaii. I then used Glitter Paste over the darkest water stencil to add some shimmer. The beach portion uses Sand Ink then Root Beer.

Bonus points to you if you already spotted the giant dog hair that dried in my glitter paste, which I didn't notice until editing these photos.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Summer!

Some links are affiliates, at no change to you. Thank you for supporting rwkrafts!

Pretty Pink Posh Helpers Cards

 Pretty Pink Posh has a lot of new releases this summer that are perfect for the darling kiddos in your life! Today I'm sharing a dump truck themed card AND a firetruck themed card. As a preschool teacher for almost 14 years... I think every single child has an obsession with these things for a good portion of their young life :)

I love this little firefighting doggo! This card uses every fire-themed stamp in the Helper Vehicle Stamp Set, which I colored with Copic Markers and die cut from the Helper Vehicle Coordinating Dies. I backed the images on the Eyelet Oval Die.

The background uses the new Brick Background Stencil. I first blended over the stencil with a light layer of Pale Tomato ink. Then, I swiped my blending brush from the right side to the left only with Cherry ink. This helped add some subtle dimension to the stencil. 

This card is actually a recreation of a card I sent to a very sweet boy who is obsessed with garbage trucks (he gave me a kind gift for Teacher Appreciation Week). I sent him the card and never took a photo (whoops!) so here's the improved version. And yes, I know it's not technically a garbage truck but it's close enough... and he loved it!

The card features the Big Dump Truck Dies, which I cut from Concord and 9th cardstock. I picked colors that would closely match the garbage trucks in our neighborhood :) The 'thanks' sentiment is stamped from the Balloon Alphabet Stamp and fussy cut. I wanted to add them in a way that looked like they're being poured out of the truck.

The background uses a new PPP stencil called Layered Street Signs. I inked up the first layer with Dusty Blue Ink. The second layer is covered in Gold Wax. I love how the colors resemble the blue sky... and gold, of course!

Thanks for stopping by!

Some links used are affiliates at no charge or change to you. Thank you for supporting rwkrafts!

Pretty Pink Posh June Release Blog Hop

 I'm excited to be a Guest Designer again for the June Pretty Pink Posh release! Make sure you leave comments along the blog hop for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to Pretty Pink Posh. 

My cards today feature some of the adorable new outer space themed stamps, dies, and stencils. 

I simply could NOT resist this Rocketship Shaker Die. I gave it a touch of neon with the cardstock colors, too :) The inside is filled with the Starry Galaxy Clay Confetti bits which... Glow in the Dark!! 

 The background uses the new Layered Shooting Stars Stencil paired with  my favorite Glitter Paste. I also die cut some Stitched Stars from vellum to add around the sky.

This card starts with the Layered Shooting Stars Stencil. I did the first layer in modeling paste with bronze iridescent embossing powder. The second layer of the stencils with Gold Paste. Love the look over the black cardstock! I die cut the panel with the PPP Wonky Stitched Rectangle Dies.

I stamped the cute images from the PPP Outer Space Stamp Set and colored them with Copic markers. I used the coordinating die set to cut out the images. Some were placed on the card with foam adhesive to help them pop.

I love this Saturn shaker card! I used the Layered Shooting Star Stencil again, this time with Butter Bar and Papaya Ink blended on top. I also ink blended the edges with some Granite ink to shade it. I added some Stitched Stars cut with vellum to the background, and more little stars stamped and cut from the PPP Outer Space Stamp Set and Dies. 

I love this Planet Shaker Die! It was very easy to turn into a shaker, too (bonus!). I added silver glitter paper for the rings, and filled the inside with the Construction Zone Shaker Beads - they were the perfect color match to my card!

Enjoy the rest of the hop! Be sure to leave your comments along the way for a chance to win a gift certificate.

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Lindsey Larsen

Zsofia Molnar

Rachel Kleinman *You are Here*

Dana Kirby

Kristie Marcotte

Annette Allen

Laura Evangeline

Bold and Bright Art Deco Card

 Hero Arts has really been knocking it out of the park with their latest art deco inspired releases. We don't typically think of NEON when we think of art deco - so I'm here to change that :)

This card features the new Color Layering Tile Stencil. Truly, the color combination options are endless... I'll definitely be making multiple card sets with this single stencil set! 

I used the following inks in order of the layered stencil (the stencils are numbered when you get them):

1. Key Lime Fizz

2. Blue Hawaii

3. Pool Party

4. Berry Smoothie

5. Redid the stencil layer 2 with Glitter Paste on top (you know I need that Glitter Paste).

Since the stencil openings are pretty large, I used my XL Blending Brushes for this one. I also used my Palette Knife for spreading the glitter paste. Once the paste was dry, I die cut the panel from Rounded Rectangles Infinity Dies.

Just like my last stencil themed post - I couldn't dare cover up too much of the beautiful background. I opted for a simple 'thanks' stamped in Berry Smoothie from the Geometric Frames stamp set. The vellum diamond is from the Geometric Frames Coordinating Dies. Finally, the panel is paired with the neon Ultra Pink cardstock base. Neon, baby!

Thanks for stopping by!

Some links used are affiliates, at no cost or change to you. Thank you for supporting rwkrafts!

Santorini Inspired Stenciled Card

 It is officially summer as far as I'm concerned - school's out! My brain is in vacation mode and the card I'm sharing today had very specific inspiration - the blue and white buildings in Santorini. The design of the Decorative Tile Pattern Stencil also reminded me of old-world designs.

I couldn't pick from all the gorgeous shades of blue ink, so I went ombre with it. I used my magnets to hold my stencil in place on top of Smooth White Cardstock. I inked over the stencil using my Medium  Blending Brush and Reactive Inks in Splash, Blue Hawaii, and Pool Party.

I couldn't dare cover up the gorgeous stenciling, so I used an inlay technique for the sentiment. I die cut the large 'friend' die from Smile Friend Stamp and Cut XL right into the center of the panel (the stamped sentiment is also from this set). I also die cut the banner shape below it, from Essential Messages Stamp and Cut XL. I then added foam adhesive and put the pieces right back in place! 

To finish it all off, I glued the panel onto gorgeous Peacock cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by! Some links are affiliates, at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting rwkrafts!

June Hero Arts Studio Blog Hop!

 Happy June! This month, Hero Arts is launching a brand new way to subscribe to their amazing kits. You can still subscribe to the incredible monthly kit that you loved - and now there are new options like dies, background stamps, and stencils! Make sure to leave comments along the hop for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Hero Arts!

My first card features the June Card Kit of the Month. I'm calling this card Sunset City :) The large stamp set included in the set is like a mini Hero Scape (my fave!) I stamped the first set of clouds in Dandelion and Cotton Candy. I then stamped the second cloud layer in Butter Bar and Azalea. This created the perfect cotton candy sunset sky!

The bottom portion of the card using those cool city skyline stencils. I inked the open portion in Granite ink. The city lights were inked with Butter Bar, and then I spread Glitter Paste on top to make them sparkle. The sentiment and birdies were stamped with Charcoal ink.

My second card features the June Cling Stamp of the Month, Circling Texture. This stamp instantly reminded me of tree rings, so I wanted to pair it with something outdoorsy. 

I heat embossed the Circling Texture stamp on Sand Cardstock with Gold Embossing Powder. I then inked the edges of the panel with Cup o Joe ink to add dimension. Now to find my Looking Glass Forest and Mountain dies! I knew this was what I wanted, but it took me a solid 20 minutes to find the dang things - so yes, I literally dug through my stash for them! Worth it.

I die cut each window frame also from Sand cardstock and inked up the different layers. The inks used are Forever Green, Pine, and Green hills for the forest, Sand ink for the mountains, Periwinkle for the sky, Unicorn for the snowy mountain tops, and Summer Sky for the river. I also added some Sparkle Clear Lacquer Pen to the snow and the river.

The card panel is backed with some beautiful Pesto Cardstock. The sentiment is from the Art Journal Message stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Dana Joy
Heather Ruwe
Ilina Crouse
Jennifer Kotas
Kailash Naidoo
Karen Brown
Lydia Fiedler
Michelle Short
Natasha Polite
Natasha Vacca
Pocono Pam
Rachel Kleinman **You are here!**
Rosie Lopez
Seeka
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Kelly Taylor