Beach Bag Perfection

 What would you pack away in your ideal beach bag? I am fortunate enough to live less than a mile from the ocean. In the summer, our car trunk is the home to beach chairs, beach blankets, and a beach bag... because you never know when you need a beach trip! I've put together my ideal beach bag in this card...

Bread, wine (or champagne?!), flowers, and a visit from some friendly crabs... I don't need anything else!

This card was put together using the beautiful stand-alone die set that is part of the June 2025 Hero Studio Card Kit of the Month. I also used a large variety of new Spellbinders Colorwheel Cardstock to cut out the images. For many die cut pieces I shaded the edges with a similar, but just so slightly darker, ink color. The crabs were actually left over from my Father's Day card I shared over at the Hero Arts blog.

The bottom portion was stamped with the June 2025 Cling Stamp of the Month which is the stripes. There is a whale die cut included and, well.... I had to use it. So there it is :)

What would you put in your bag for a day at the beach?

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Lemons Lemons Everywhere!

 A couple weeks ago I participated in my first class from Spellbinders called The Weekender. It was such a fun day filled with cardmaking and beautiful card inspiration! The two cards I'm sharing today are from the amazing Cathy Zielske class which featured my faaavorite... LEMONS!

These card designs are from Cathy but I can't wait to use these dies to create my own designs. The lemon die is from Citrus Spritz Etched Dies and it's a smaller set so that means you know the price is right on this cutie.

And can I tell you how much you need this 3D embossing folder in your life?! It is just beyond gorgeous, and clearly the perfect match to the lemon die.

All of the beautiful cardstock is from the new Spellbinders Colorwheel Cardstock collection.

The second card has added yellow ink to one side of the embossing folder before running the paper/folder sandwich through my die cutting machine. This leaves a lovely impression for the background.

And lastly those sweet little banner sentiments were added. This is another smaller set with a perfectly friendly price point: La Dolce Vita Banners Etched Dies.

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June Hero Studio Hop - Coastal Vibes

 Welcome back to another Hero Studio blog hop and giveaway! The studio kits this month are super beachy and perfectly summer. Be sure to leave comments along the hop for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Hero Arts! *Log in to comment or leave your name so your comment isn't anonymous*

Aren't you ready for a bike ride now?! The June Card Kit is packed with a large stamps set and coordinating dies, plus a stand alone die set perfect for a beachy outing. It is a gorgeous gorgeous summer kit!

I recreated my personal cruiser bike in teal, complete with a basket full of beautiful hydrangeas. There are so many different elements that you can build any type of beachy scene you can imagine!

My second card shows off the lovely June Layering Stencil of the Month - Hydrangeas. 

I absolutely love when hydrangeas have a mix of blue and purple in one plant... to me, they are the quintessential New England flower! My card is stenciled using the purple inks of Thistle and Grape Slush, then blending into the blues using Cornflower and Indigo for the center.

That bold sentiment actually comes from the Whole Studio Subscriber Bonus! I heat embossed the sentiment with Brass Embossing Powder (my fave) over Vellum, then die cut.

Everything in the June Hero Studio really mixes and matches together so well. If you were to ever subscribe to the Whole Studio - this is the one to do it!

Now it's time to hop! Remember to leave comments along the way for a chance to win a gift certificate to Hero Arts!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Michelle Short
Rachel Kleinman *You are here*
Jeannie Lieu
Anna Mahtani
Natasha Polite
Seeka
Channin Pelletier
Rosie Lopez
Charlene Madrid
Jennifer Kotas
Mindy Eggen
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Karen Brown
Special Guests:
Nichol Spohr
Jenn Shurkus

Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. Thank you for your support!

Case Closed - You're Awesome!

 There's a brand new collection being released today over at Hero Arts called Case Closed. The entire collection mixes and matches together so seamlessly! Be sure to join the Instagram hop to catch the Creative Team's amazing samples and leave comments for a chance to win a Hero Arts gift certificate!

How cute is this detective? I used the Miss Detective Stamp & Cut bundle for the main image. The stamp includes separate eye images so you can create your own face styles. I colored my detective girl with Copic markers. But I had some fun paper piecing her houndstooth jacket...

To create the jacket, I started with Arctic cardstock and used the new Houndstooth Layering Stencil blended with Mist Ink on the first layer and Cornflower Ink on the second layer. I then re-stamped the detective girl and fussy cut her jacket pieces. The background stamp is an older cling rubber stamp Rough Dot which I stamped with Naples Yellow Reactive Glitz Ink on Mustard cardstock.

Bonus card! I absolutely had to make a shaker card with the new Magnifying Glass Die Set. The set includes a couple different magnifying glasses so you can also leave the center closed. I die cut the magnifying glass from Charcoal cardstock and then the handle from Sand cardstock. I also heat embossed the Charcoal portion in Clear Embossing Powder to give it a metallic look.

The background was to create! I again used the new Houndstooth Layering Stencil and blended the first layer in Butter Bar Ink and the second layer in Soft Blossom Ink. I also found some old newspaper rub-ons to add to the background. These are from the Collage Backgrounds Transfers Set. Once the background was complete, it was cut with the Postage Stamps Infinity Dies - if you only ever purchase one infinity die, make it that one! The fun shaker beads from the Be Mine collection.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to leave comments along the hop for a chance to win a gift certificate!

Some links are affiliates at no charge to you - thank you for your support!

Mother's Day Florals

 I'm pretty proud of myself that I actually got Mother's Day cards out in the mail this year! I was able to create a few extra cards really quickly with some beautiful matching floral plates.

The flower image is from an old Spellbinders Glimmer of the Month plate, called Card Front Floral. I love a single image that can take up the entire card! It makes my job so much easier. There is also a matching stencil set that was used to color the image, but unfortunately it may be sold out. The image is large enough that any coloring option will work here.

This card uses the Glimmer Hot Foil system for the outline of the flower with a dark gold foil. The flower is colored by ink blending Distress Ink colors Kitsch Flamingo with Squeezed Lemonade. The leaves use a blending combo of Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, and some Cracked Pistachio on the edges.

The sentiment is put together from a Spellbinders set called Colorful Expressions Sentiments, which I paired with Champagne foil cardstock from C9.

The blue flower was ink blended with Salvaged Patina and Dusty Concord. I also switched the foil to be silver on this card.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're able to get those Mother's Day cards sent in time.

Some links used are affiliates at no charge to you. Thank you for your support.

Bright Pattern Play Cards

 I have something bright and colorful to share today! I received the new Pattern Play dies and had to dive in immediately...

For my first card, I followed the pattern outline on the large plate.

I used my favorite bright colors with just a touch of light pink. All of the cardstock is from Concord and 9th's variety pack.

My second card was born with the leftovers from my die cutting session.

And even a third card, again born out of leftover bits that were cut...

All of the cards use the same sentiment. The 'hello' die is cut from champagne cardstock and is from the True Story die collection.

I hope I've brightened your day :) 

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VIDEO - Flower Watercolor Wreath

 I have another quick reel to share! This time I'm showcasing the brand new May Hero Studio Stamp + Cut set, called Flowers Bloom.

Watch the YouTube Short Video Here!

Here is a list of the supplies used:

May Hero Studio Stamp + Cut Set

Spellbinders Die Cutting System

Mini MISTI

Wagner Heat Tool

Embossing Ink

Gold Embossing Powder

Reactive Glitz Naples Yellow

Reactive Glitz French Pink

Reactive Glitz Spanish Orange

Reactive Glitz African Violet

Reactive Glitz Egyptian Blue

Water Brush

Watercolor Paper

Pitch Black Cardstock

Fiskars Trimmer

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Hero Arts Studio May Release Hop!

 I really can't believe how quickly April flew by - how is it already time for a new Hero Studio release?! This release is so very beautiful and I have a sneaking suspicion it just might sell out. Be sure to subscribe to the kit to guarantee you get it!

Hero Arts will give away a $50 gift card, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by Tuesday, May 6 at 11:59pm PDT, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Leave a comment on all stops for more chances to win!

There are so many dies and stamps AND stencils included in this month's kit, you will be blown away. My first card features the Hero Studio Card Kit of the Month.

The flowers are just from that gorgeous layering stencil that's included in the kit. I used a variety of purple inks and green inks to get those pretty colors. And there's even an outline die to cut out the whole bouquet! The background of my card uses an older cutting plate called Woodgrain Texture Plate.

My second card for the hop uses the ADORABLE May Die Set of the Month called Village Florist. Isn't that little shop so darling?!! I pieced it together with brand new Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock, and I used my handy Platinum Die Cutting Machine for all the pieces.

Since it was my first time using these dies, I kept my shop pretty simple. There are so many ways you can make this different every time, and it's even better when paired with the other elements in the May Hero Studio release!

Now it's time to hop!

Hero Arts
Hero Arts Creative Team:
Anna Mahtani
Channin Pelletier
Charlene Madrid
Jeannie Lieu
Jennifer Kotas
Karen Brown
Lisa Tilson
Michelle Lupton
Michelle Short
Mindy Eggen
Natasha Polite
Natasha Vacca
Rachel Kleinman *you are here*
Rosie Lopez
Seeka
Special Guests:
Rebecca Keppel
Nichol Spohr

And thank you for shopping through my links! These are affiliates are no charge to you and helps to support my site. Thank you!

The Lovely Letterpress Collection

 Some gorgeous new press plates just dropped over at Hero Arts! The best part about Hero Arts plates is that they can be used with your Glimmer Hot Foil Machine AND with your BetterPress Letter Press system - a twofer!

This card features the new Floral Border plate. I inked the plate with Hero Arts Intense Black ink and used Hero Arts Watercolor Paper as my letterpress paper. It works like a dream in my BetterPress!

I did simple Copic coloring (no shading, just one color per image) which looks so rich and vibrant on this Watercolor paper.

I added some very light splatter with Royal Purple + Gold Metallic Spray and also Bright Yellow + Copper Metallic Spray. I then used the 'hello' sentiment from the new Hello & Thank You plate. I inked up the 'hello' in Fresh Lawn ink and ran it through my BetterPress, then fussy cut to add it to the center of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. I really appreciate your support!

It's Your Special Day

 When I excitedly purchased my BetterPress machine many many months ago, I was so intimidated by it that it stayed in the box for weeks (months). I have no idea why, because it is SO EASY to use! I think the beautiful results made me assume it was complicated but that's not the case at all. 

Hero Arts creates the most beautiful plates for BetterPress, and the best part is that their plates are specially created to work with your Glimmer Hot Foil Machine, too! You'll see this Floral Frame plate in many of my cards in the future :) Once you pop you can't stop!

I inked up the Floral Frame in Hero Arts Intense Black Ink. I used Hero Arts Watercolor Paper because it's thick like letter press paper - and cheaper to buy! I colored the image with Copics and added the sentiment from Special Day Butterfly Stamp Set (also brand new!).

Look at that beautiful letter press indentation - swoon! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Some links are affiliates are no charge to you. I appreciate your support of rwkrafts!

Mixed Media Tag with Hero Arts

 I'm over at the Hero Arts blog sharing my process creating this fun mixed media tag. You can all the step outs over at Hero Arts. Here, I have the quick video for you! It's only 1 minute and 45 seconds... enjoy 😀

Watch the short on YouTube by clicking here.

Here are all of the supplies used:

Spellbinders Platinum Die Cutting Machine

Hero Arts Watercolor Paper

Liquitex Gloss Gel

Hero For You Stamp & Cut

Intens-ified Black Ink

Bright Yellow + Copper Metallic Spray

Bright Green Liquid Watercolor

Tag Infinity Dies

Fuschia + Gold Metallic Spray

Orange + Shimmer Metallic Spray

Hero Paste White

Floral Garden Stencil

Palette Knife

Thanks for stopping by! Some links are affiliates at no charge to you. I appreciate the support!