Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop

Happy National Coffee Day! A lot of bloggers are celebrating this amazing holiday by participating in the Coffee Lovers' Bloghop, hosted by Chaitali and Amy! Simply create a coffee themed project and link it up at Chaitali's blog here.

So grab your favorite cuppa and enjoy the hop :)

Before I share my coffee card, I wanted to share my special coffee shop layout. This has only been posted on my Instagram (rwkrafts) and is from our anniversary trip to the Catskills over the summer. This super funky coffee shop called Mama's Boy became our morning (and afternoon) pit stop each day we were there. The coffee mug, tea bag, and beans were all paper pieced and added to my layout. Paper is from Cosmo Cricket.

I've had this sweet Penny Black stamp set for almost a year, but just haven't inked it up yet! Mimi in Paris has the cutest little cafe stamp, so here she is for my hop project! I colored Mimi in traditional French colors with my Copic markers. I added the sentiment from a very old Fiskars coffee stamp set. With the exception of the very tiny red rhinestones, this is a One Layer card!

The blog hop put together some fun Questions for each participant to share. Here goes...

1) When did you start drinking coffee?
    - I absolutely hated coffee until freshman year of college. A Starbucks iced vanilla latte changed my life forever :)
2) What is your favorite brand?
    - I love my Starbucks, but also love some of our local coffee shops (Blue State in New Haven is fantastic!). I also love my Target brand k-cups!
3) What is the most amazing coffee you've had?
    - Another local shop called Willoughby's once had a seasonal drink called the Mexican Mocha. It was espressoy, chocolatey, and spicy... and it was oh so yummy.
4) If I don't drink my coffee I will....
    - Be totally fine. I am so thankful I don't get "coffee headaches"! But I do still drink a cup daily out of habit ;)

Thank you to all the wonderful coordinators of this fun hop! Enjoy your coffee today!

<3 Rachel

Warm and Cozy

Have you already packed up your fans, AC units, and summer dresses? Pulled out those cozy knit socks, sweaters, and had your pumpkin-flavored-whatevers? October is only 2 days away (I know, it's crazy) and it's time to start thinking about all things warm and cozy! The new Unity Stamp of the Week "Warm and Cozy" will work with all of your winter and holiday themed cards.

Don't they look so scrumptious?! I wanted the socks to have more of a winter vibe than a Christmas vibe, so I opted for a very blue and grey color palette. I colored the socks with Copic markers in the B, BG, and C-grey family. And obviously a winter card needs glitter, so I added some Silver Stickles throughout.

I used kraft cardstock for the base and added the blue pattern paper from DCWV Winter Basics 6x6 pad. Since the socks are so detailed, I kept the card fairly simple. A little piece of white jute cord and some pearls finish this one off.

I'm also excited to be (finally) linking up to the Christmas Card Challenge for the first time! This week is Anything Goes!

Are you ready for cable knit sweaters and wool socks? I am... as long as winter never comes and it just stays autumn forever :)

<3 Rachel

ETA - Linking up to the Paper Issues "Say it ain't snow cold outside" linky party!

Unity Hop - 40k Facebook Fans!

Unity Stamp Company is celebrating another huge milestone! We've reached 40,000 Facebook fans (make sure you've 'liked' us here!) so there will be a HUGE sale all weekend long!

First, we have a few new releases and great inspiration to share throughout our hop :)

We have new Suzi Blu stamps! Yippee! This adorable cat is great on my Halloween card, and that sentiment is adorable. All paper, sequins, and the spider web are from DCWV's new line Eek-a-Boo which you can find at JoAnn's. I distressed edges with "Dusty Concord" and "Spiced Marmalade" ink. The spider sequins are covered with Black Diamond Stickles for some extra sparkle.

We also have a new sentiment kit called 'Thanks and Giving' by the lovely Lisa Arana. There's a special promo this weekend to get the stamp kit PLUS a great Unity bag for only $16!

I created a fall themed card using that fantastic leaf stamp. I stamped it in grey, trimmed it, and distress inked the edges. The plaid paper and the foil leaf are from DCWV "Sweater Weather". I accented the card with the gold leaf trim from May Arts.

I did mention there would be an amazing sale to celebrate, right? 50% off sitewide!! Use coupon code FB40 at checkout!

Of course a Unity blog hop needs PRIZES! Leave comments on all the stops today for your chance to win these great sentiment kits!

Happy hopping and happy shopping!! Your next stop is SHILO! Or start from the beginning at the Unity Blog :)

<3 Rachel

Mix and Match Stamp Sets

Happy autumn! Have you already gone apple picking, drunk hot cocoa, or used your crock pot ;) ?! I know some of my friends are dreading the fact that summer is long gone. So just for all you summer lovin' people I am dragging summer out a little longer with my fun card today.

This summer card is all about mixing and matching stamp sets to create a scene. I have been eager to stamp up the cute trailer stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop Campout, but I didn't want to do a typical woodsy themed scene.... so the beach would be the perfect spot to camp out :)

The first element I included was the beachy sand. When I started this card, all I really knew I wanted was a beach and that trailer :) I added sand with this teeny tiny sand cluster stamp (from Beach Bum) and just repeated the stamping until the card was filled.

I stamped the trailer, chair, ball, and sand toys on a piece of Neenah Solar White and colored them with Copic markers. I fussy cut each element and started arranging them how I wanted to create a nice scene.

Here's a little fussy cutting trick: See that beach chair? I wanted it to be popped on foam adhesive, but there was no way I was cutting in between those chair legs. Also no way that I would leave that popped up and solid white (not my thing). So I used that same sand cluster and stamped in the white areas. Now it just looks like the beach chair is nestled nicely in the sand where it belongs.

Once all my elements were in place, I stamped and colored some clouds and then heat embossed the sentiment in black. The 'explore more' fit so perfectly with my scene, I couldn't have come up with anything better!

For the finishing touches I just added some "Star Dust" Stickles around the banner, the chair, and random spots in the sand.

I hope this scene will help you grasp on to summer for just a bit longer! Make sure you pull out a variety of stamp sets when you're creating. I'm sure you'll find that it's much easier to use multiple sets on one card than you thought!

<3 Rachel

Rainbow Tricks

Our weather has been so beautiful lately. I think it's putting me in an extra happy mood :) It all shows in my card today, which is a rainbow overload!

There's a new flickr challenge for Simon Says Stamp that is run by the fabulous Barb! The challenge now is a tic-tac-toe board. I went right up the left side including polka dots, twine, and a die cut.

I even have some fun RAINBOW tips and tricks to share.

The polka dot background:

I used the polka dot stamp from "Ice Cream Dream" and pulled out a rainbow of my mini Hero Arts inks. When using the mini inks it's easy to just stamp one cube along the row of polka dots. I repeated this inking and stamping until the entire card front was covered. The effect was completely worth the inking time!

The rainbow twine:

I took a strand of white jute twine and colored it with Copic markers in rainbow order. This was a much better choice than using 7 different twines in 7 different colors.

Here's a close-up to show the fun rainbow background and the rainbow twine...

After coloring the Popsicles with Copics I coated them with Glossy Accents and then added large flake glitter on top. Once it all dried, the glittery gloss looked amazing!

The die cut on the card is from Lawn Fawn's Polaroid die.

Have a fabulous, rainbowy, sun shiny Sunday ;)

<3 Rachel

SSS - Ice Cream Dream	Lawn Cuts Dies, Say Cheese	Shadow Ink, Soft Pool	Hero Arts - Lemon Yellow	Hero Arts Ink Lime Green
Shadow Ink: Mid-Tone, Orange Soda	Shadow Ink: Mid-Tone, Pale Tomato	Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12"")	High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2""	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Black & Pink
Honey Bee Non Stick Scissors	A Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Ream	Accents, Mini Glossy	XPress It Blending Paper	Bo Bunny - Lemonade Stand 6x6
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black	Copic Markers	Copic Markers

InLinkz.com

Unity Blog Hop with Faber Castell!

Can you hear my high pitched squealing through your computer screen?! I'm beyond thrilled that Unity teamed up with Faber Castell for the entire week! They are two of my favorite favorite companies, so I had to join in the blog hop today!

I really encourage you to leave comments along the hop today, and also leave comments on each of the Unity posts this week AND each Faber Castell post this week! Why? Ah-Maze-Zing prizes are to be won!!
Here is the prize that Unity has to give away...

Now it's time for me to share my art journal page :)  I used a healthy variety of both Unity stamps and Faber Castell Design Memory Craft products.

I created a step-by-step photo collage to share my process in making this page.

Now for the step breakdown!
1) Lay down some pattern washi tapes, tape the center of the spine, and place some dry wall tape. Cover with Faber Castell Gesso. Let dry.
2) Scribble a variety of Gelato colors over the page. Mist with water and blend Gelatos with your fingers. Let dry.
3) Use Faber Castell PITT Pens as 'ink' for your stamps. This is one of my favorite ways to add color to my stamps, because once the PITT Pen dries, it is permanent and won't bleed!
4) I mixed a bit of Gelato with some Whipped Spackle to dye it. I have a quick video showing you how to do this; you can find it here :)
5) Use a palette knife to apply Whipped Spackle over a stencil. Let dry.
6) Stamp Donna's Poppies in Versamark ink and emboss with UTEE. I did this in 3 different areas.
7) Stamp your images and color with PITT Pens.
8) Stamp large 'true' sentiment and add 'stay' sticker letters.
9) ALL FINISHED!

Now for the fun close-up shots...

The Unity stamp sets I used are KOTM May 2014, SMAK May 2014, BIG Inspiration BIG Words, Donna Poppie's, Tumbleweed Houses, Create Your Day, ...And Then There was a Boy.

This journal page was also created for the current Mixed Media Monthly Challenge! They have a gorgeous photo inspiration challenge this month, which inspired the colors in my page.

Now, it wouldn't be a Thursday without a brand new Unity Stamp Co sale, would it?! Plus a LOT of new releases that I know you'll love. Once you're finished leaving those comments, jump over to the Unity store to shop away!

Your next stop today is STEPHANIE! Happy Hopping

<3 Rachel

Unity Stamp - SMAK May 2014	Unity Stamp - KOTM May 2014	Unity Stamp - Donna Poppies	Unity Stamps - Create Your Day	Unity Stamp - Tumbleweed Houses
Unity Stamp - And Then... a Boy	PITT Big Brush Pens	Faber Castell Gesso	Faber Castell Whipped Spackle	Faber Castell Gelatos
UTEE	Palette Knife	Ranger Heat Tool	Dylusions Creative Journal

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