Love at First Slice

Yesterday proved to be a very successful Thanksgiving in our little household! We even got some light snow, which was very peaceful to see while watching the National Dog Show :) It can be difficult to think about food right now, but these little cuties deserve some love!

These little "Guac Love" cuties from the Sweet Stamp Shop are so sweet and versatile... I think they could make an adorable new born card, too! I even created my own sentiment using some letter stickers to say 'love at first SLICE'. Using stickers for your sentiment is an easy way to personalize your card and to also get more versatility out of your stamp collection. 

Now these guys are ready for a fiesta! I'll be flying home to Phoenix next week and I see a lot of yummy Mexican food in my near future! The little speech bubbles and phrases in the "Taco Bout It" set are so fun to mix and match to make my card special :) This could be a great party invitation!

Now in 30 minutes my Alma Mater is playing their biggest football game of the season! And it just happens to be our huge rivalry game too! I'm decked out in Arizona Wildcat gear and ready for the Duel in the Desert!

Bear Down!

<3 Rachel

Little Prince

I have a very special post today, in honor of a dear crafty friend and fellow Mixed Media Monthly Challenge team member... LALO!

She recently gave birth to beautiful baby number 5!! He is such a precious little bundle, and we know Lalo must have her hands full! The MMMC team wanted to throw a little bloggy baby shower of sorts :)

Here is my baby card made especially for sweet Lalo...

Lalo and her family live in gorgeous Hawaii, and she often posts pictures of all her babies SURFING and just enjoying the great outdoors. So this little prince beach card fits perfectly for her family and new little bundle :)

Stamps are from Lawn Fawn "Life is Good" and "Hello Baby". I colored images with Copic markers and blended Distress Inks to create the sunset sky.

Please head back to the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge post and wish Lalo a big Congrats on her new baby boy!!

<3 Rachel

Brown Thursday Unity Hop!

It's the biggest Unity Hop of the year! Brown Thursday has arrived and the design team has SO much to share with you. PLUS it's the biggest sale of the year... 55% off EVERYTHING at the Unity store!!

There are also a TON of new releases today, but I'm actually going to share a a card with an older stamp - Lizzie Girl.

This card is pure paper piecing, one of my favorite things to do with my stamps. If you look closely, you'll see that I used a total of 8 different patterned paper for my Lizzie Girl. I love her plaid rain coat and I would love one like that for myself! :)

Remember to leave comments on each blog along the hop for your chance to win this fun itty bitty prize pack!

Once you're finished hopping, you can start SHOPPING! Make sure to enter the code 55THANKS at checkout to get that amazing deal!

Spellbinders + DCWV 2014 Holiday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spellbinders Product Partner Holiday Blog Hop for 2014! I'm excited to be a part of this hop representing DCWV! For all the details, inspiration, and info about PRIZES please visit the DCWV blog or the Spellbinders blog :)

I created a holiday frame for my coffee table using DCWV Winter in the Woods stack and the gorgeous Spellbinders Contemporary Circles background die. Now I invite you to follow a full step-by-step tutorial for how this was created!

Materials:
DCWV Winter in the Woods stack
DCWV Vintage Essentials stack
DCWV Glitzy Glitter stack
Spellbinders Contemporary Circles die
Distress Ink Tea Dye and blending tool
Inexpensive frame (this one is from Ikea)
Glitter tape
Stickles in Silver
Wink of Stella glitter pen in clear
Mod Podge
Foam brush
Cutter Bees (detailed scissors)
Foam tape
Tombow Mono Multi Glue

Trace the photo mat that was included with your frame onto your paper and cut. Glue the cut paper onto the mat, then ink around the edges.

I die cut the Spellbinders Contemporary Circles from a lovely light blue paper. I backed the cut paper on some silver DCWV Glitzy Glitter paper, and framed the edges with silver glitter tape.

Adhere the cut paper to the back of your photo mat.

Now use DCWV Vintage Essentials tissue paper to decoupage the frame. Then place your photo mat inside the frame.

Now that the base of the frame is complete, we can start decorating the inside!

One of my favorite things to do with my DCWV stacks is fussy cut! I cut the 'Merry and Bright', which will be the main focus of my frame. I also cut out little deer and snowflakes and glued them to some twine to wrap across my frame.

I had originally kept the 'merry and bright' sentiment on the full journal card it's from, but I didn't like how much it was covering that great Spellbinders Contemporary Circles die cut. So that's why I decided to fussy cut around the individual letters.

I also popped the sentiment up with foam dots. This also helps keep it away from the gorgeous background die.

From this point on, I really just kept cutting images from the DCWV stack to embellish the edge of the frame. I added glitter accents throughout the frame.

Now for all the finished photos! Woohoo! You'll notice that I kept most embellishment off of the die cut background. I really liked how detailed that die was and I didn't want to cover it. I also love the glitter background, it looks like shimmery snow!

I really really love that gorgeous Spellbinders die! I have already cut it for many more projects and cards to come.

Now make sure to head back to the Spellbinders blog and the DCWV blog for a lot more holiday inspiration! Thanks for joining me!!

Have a fabulous holiday season!

<3 Rachel

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

Appalachian Trail

It seems like over the weekend winter unofficially begun for most of the country! My instagram is filled with photos of snowy yards and icy roads. We've had some very frigid days, but thankfully for now we are snow-free! Don't get me wrong, the 'first snowfall' is always beautiful, peaceful, and memorable... but it's all the horrible snows that follow for the next 4 months that I'm not a fan of!

So to trick my brain, I went back in time to scrapbook some photos from this summer. Matt spent a couple extra days in Maine and he got some gorgeous photos while hiking the Appalachian Trail! They finally needed to get in the scrapbook.

Paper Issues has a new Sketch Saturday, which means me so so happy! I struggle with layout designs, so I almost always follow a sketch when scrapping. I followed the sketch pretty closely, I just rearranged where my title and journaling went. THANK YOU Paper Issues for offering a sketch! I hope you keep it up :)

My title is "Hiking the Appalachian Trail". I used a mix of Thickers, some white chunky glitter and the other has a map print (which is fitting with the theme). The two types ended up working really well together, but the only reason I did that is because this title has so many dang A's in it!!! One thicker sheet does not accommodate The Appalachian Trail!

There is a variety of embellishments on this page. I wanted as many light-blue items that could fit! Embellishments are from Heidi Swapp Project Life kits, Maggie Holmes, Glitz 'Wild and Free' stickers, Studio Calico wood veneers, Crate Paper globe, and some washi tape.

The pattern papers are from Carta Bella "Ahoy", October Afternoon "Midway" and "9 to 5". I'm also linking this layout for the Paper Issues "Game On" issue. I'm entering this because hiking (especially a crazy intense trail like this!) is definitely considered a sport in my book!

Have a fabulous week ahead :)

<3 Rachel

Thanksgiving Wine Tag

Welcome to our Thanksgiving Blog Hop! We are a group of crafty 

blog friends who like to get together and share crafty ideas. We're 

using products we like to make projects we enjoy creating. 

All Thanksgiving tables need wine, wine, and some more wine! Here is a simple wine tag that just uses 2 stamps! I used images from the October Unity Kit of the Month. I colored the image with copics and heat embossed the sentiment in gold. To make the tag shape I simply rounded the corners and die cut a circle on the back flap. Done and done!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the blogs of the other ladies 

participating in our Thanksgiving Blog Hop today - I've listed their 

names and links to their blogs below!

Donna Bowman

Rachel Kleinman

Lynn Kopas

Jen Cuthbertson

Ceal Pritchett

Mixed Media Ornament

I'm over at the Faber Castell Design Memory Craft blog today with a project I am SO excited about! I've been waiting a long time to share this little birdy ornament and I hope you like it, too!

Watch my whole process here:



I'd love if you visited the full post over at Design Memory Craft and left a comment :) ALL supplies are listed on the full post as well.

This ornament also goes with the November Mixed Media Monthly Challenge to use STAMPS! Winner receives $50 to Unity Stamp Co!

<3 Rachel

Like White on Rice

Hello again! Who's ready for a hump-day treat?

I have some super duper cutie Sweet Shop pandas to share today! Since the day I was born, pandas have been my favorite animal. There was a panda stuffed animal in my crib, named Bear Bear, and I loved him to literal rags and pieces. Pandas are the best, am I right?

When a sentiment this good pops into your head, you just gotta run with it. No matter how many individual alpha stamps it takes ;) These adorable pandas are stickin' together like white on rice. That's true love!

I used the brand new 'Pho You' set and my go-to favorite 'Alpha Tabs' from the Sweet Stamp Shop. All the images were colored with Copics and fussy cut, even those adorable panda chop sticks! I love them!

I popped up the pandas up with foam tape so they stand out from the rest of the card. I used a fun woodgrain note card from Lawn Fawn and my favorite My Mind's Eye Marketstreet papers.

And just for fun, I created a mini take out box to match this cute stamp set...

Ok one more... last one I promise...

You really can never have enough adorable pandas in your life! Have a happy hump day!

<3 Rachel