Simple Recipe Book as a Gift

 This week I am using some of the Cottage Cutz Kitchen Collection of dies to make a simple Recipe Book. I use the simple 4" x 6" albums that retail for about $1.99. They come with a removable front and back cover, all you do is slide the old one out. Than replace with your own covers. They have twelve two sided pages. all you need to do is about twelve pages and they will have additional pages to add more recipes.

 On the cover you see I used the Cottage Cutz Apple Pie die. I selected the criss-cross pie top (the die has two pie tops to choose from). As you can see I gave you the Copic color numbers for the colors that I selected to highlight the card stock. At the top of the chart I made tiles of all the colors of card stock that was used.  I tried to stay in the Black/Red/White theme. . the silver/cream and brown of the kitchen utensils worked in well.

 This is one of the two pages that I have shown you today. This page I used the Cottage Cutz Crock with Utensils die. I wanted to stay in the Black/Red/White color group so the crock is red (so I added the heart as a embossed item to the crock, by using the Copic highlights of darker red behind the heart). On each page I ran a black polka dot paper as a pocket. I only attached the black  paper at the outer edge, so there is a slot to slide the recipe card under. All the die cuts and borders are attached to the black. so the card will slide under all the over lapping die cut designs. 

 You can switch the border throughout the book from any of the four sides. This not only adds contrast to the designs, but also allows the book to stack flat because not all the thickness of the card stock designs are on one side of the book. This is always an issue when designing an album. How do I keep the level of the album?. . You alternate the added thickness of embellishments!!! The pages all fit a 3" x 5" index cars (shown here in white).

Think about doing a baby album this way. If you start with 12 TO 24. .  4" X 6" card stock pages and a 4 1/4" X 6" cover & back. Than place the photos or journaling cards under your embellishments. . . You can work on the pages all at once and WHIP those mini albums out . . just in time. . for Christmas gifts.
  Thanks Barry

Memorial Day Thanks

Hello everyone!  I hope you have been enjoying the long Memorial Day Weekend.  Thank you to all the service men and women who serve our country!  I have great admiration for your bravery and dedication to our country.  It takes a special person to be called to fight for our freedom, and to you I am sincerely grateful! 

Today I have a few samples from the Kitchen Release.  I know I have said this before, but I really love the dies from this release, and I know I have heard it from my fellow team-mates.  The Chef Chick has a new outfit this week.  I assembled the Chef Pig and I think he is adorable.  I  have assembled a sample of the Basket of Baked Goods.  And finally, I used the basket from the Baked Goods to make a basket of vegetables.  The carrot tops reminded me of broccoli, so I added a couple pieces to the bottom right corner.   I hope these samples show some of the possibilities of creating with these dies.  Have a great day!Hugs and smiles,Janice

Homemade Salsa Tag

Good morning!  I have something yummy to share with you today, and I'm not just talking about my homemade salsa.  I think I love this tag even more than I do that homemade goodness in the jar.  I made this cute little tag using the Homemade Tag die, and the coordinating Home Baked Clear Stamps that are a part of the recent In The Kitchen release at The Scrapping Cottage.

 I started with a base tag, and you can cut your own, or use a die, as I did.  Mine was a Sizzix die.  I then used the Homemade Tag die to cut the the lighter paper to be applied to the base tag.  I stamped the veggies with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored them with my Copics.  The edges of the tags are sponged with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Photo.  I did a little bit of paper piercing along the edges of the tag, and each layer is popped up with foam dimensionals.  I added some vintage hardware, a bit of burlap, and seam binding ribbon, which I crinkled for a more vintage look.  The homemade salsa is some from last year's garden.  I sure hope this year will be bountiful so that we can whip up some more of this.  I've given lots of it away for gifts, and it would be a great bake sale item.  The tags just make them irresistible!!  Oh!  Have you checked out the first Cottage Blog Challenge?  There's still time to enter, and you can find all the details here!!

Have a safe and wonderful Memorial Weekend!!  Happy stamping and scrapping!

 

You BOWL me over!

Ha! I make me laugh!. :) Have you seen the new Cottage Cutz In The Kitchen release yet? Oh be still my heart! I have a love for all things kitchen and a weird thing for mixing bowls. LOL Today's project with Scrapping Cottage Cottage Cutz dies includes the super cute new mixing bowl set. I LOVE these!!!

Of course I added foam tape for dimension -- because that's how I bowl, I mean roll! :)



For my message I used the measuring spoons. These are so cute AND they come with mini stamps with measurements on them (which you can see I did not use in this sample). Still, they are stinkin' cute!

Hope you enjoyed my kitchen punny card this week. ;) This release is my all time fave. If you can't find something you like In The Kitchen, I don't know if we can still be friends. HAHA!! Have a crafty week, peeps!

Let's do Some Bakin'

I'm absolutely lovin' this Kitchen Release! I started a recipe book years ago and I'm constantly adding to my book. I was so excited to get my hands on these kitchen dies for this very reason.

I used the Measuring Scoop Mini die and the Flour & Sifter die for my recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits.

It also comes with two stamps to complete the look.

I added a little bit of Picket Fence Stickles to my sugar to make it look real.
Tell us what you think of this release and the fun ways you have found to use them.
Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Kay

A Birthday Wish

 A Birthday Wish for your Happy Day!. This weeks card I used the Cottgae Cutz Cake Slice die, along with the flowers and party horns from the large Cottage Cutz party collection of dies. I decided to make the cake chocolate with strawberry frosting. I created a shadow box style card. The card is 6" x 6" with a 4" x 4" window. I used foam tape to raise the frame up from the white inside panel of the card. I than cut four banners to create a dimensional loop of paper. . . like a ribbon coming out of the card. The frame was filled with card stock flowers, foil streamers and bow stickers.

Check out the party collection of Cottage Cutz dies, there are a lot of celebration opportunities. Birthday, Get well and even wedding.

Thanks Barry

Cookin' Up Something Sweet

Hello friends!I am having a difficult time writing my post this morning.  I am so saddened by the recent devastation of the tornadoes in Missouri.  The images of the damage caused by the tornadoes are so unsettling.  I couldn't just jump in without giving pause to those who have lost loved ones, lost there homes, lost their sense of well being, not just in Missouri but around the world.  So I just want to offer prayers and positive thoughts to those facing any difficulties.  

Now on to my card.  The new Kitchen Release is definitely a favorite of mine, and I am sure it will be a favorite of yours too!  I used Chef Chicken to create this card.  I think the apron and her bloomers are too cute.  I like to use patterned paper for the clothing pieces to give the die cut more character.  I will post more later to show how fun they can be.
Don't forget about our first ever challenge.  There is still plenty of time to participate for a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to the Scrapping Cottage Store.  You can see the details here.
As always, thanks for stopping by!Hugs and smiles, Janice

The Spice of Life

Hello and happy Friday!!  Oh my goodness!  Have you seen the newest release from The Scrapping Cottage?  This In The Kitchen release has to be my all time favorite!  After operating our own restaurant for 7 years, and our son just taking it over within the past month, this couldn't be more timely!  I'm seeing all kinds of food and restaurant themed projects and cards in my future!!   When I saw this adorable Spice Rack & Jars die, I fell in love!!  Am I the only one that is totally addicted to spices and unique flavors when I'm cooking?  If I happen to get to the Amish store in our area, I'm hard pressed to make it out of the bulk spices aisle!!  I LOVE spices!!!  This adorable Cottage Cutz die comes complete with 12 stamps to make your spice cabinet personalized to your liking and is over the top fun to work with.

I kept this card on the clean and simple side, because I didn't want to detract one bit from this wonderful die, and I didn't want the card to become too busy.  I cut this with a variety of colored card stock and sponged the edges of nearly every element with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.  Although the gingham and baker's twine in the photo look black, they're actually chocolate brown.  The sentiment is computer generated, and is popped up with foam dimensionals.  I hope you like this as much as I do!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I wish you a blessed day and weekend, and of course lots of happy crafting!!  Oh, and before I forget, have you checked out the first ever challenge from this blog.? Please check Monday's post to find all the details about our newest venture.  There is a fabulous prize that will be awarded to one lucky player, so pull out those Cottage Cuts and Cottage Impressions, and play around with the inspiration challenge this month!!!  I can't wait to see what you're doing with your Scrapping Cottage goodies!!  You can find all the details here.

Sign of Summer

Mowing the lawn is a chore my husband absolutely hates. Don't ask me why, considering our teeny lawn area that takes maybe 15 minutes at the most to mow. It usually takes many "gentle" reminders before he'll wheel out the mower, but this time I nearly fell over when he did it on his own without any prodding whatsoever from me! Go hubby! I keep telling him it's the little things that make me happy...but I guess to him, the mowing is a big thing. Oh well.

Now on to the details. Let it first be known that he doesn't even know I got these pictures. LOL Pattern papers on this page are October Afternoon, Farm Fresh. One of my faves, but most everything OA is a fave really.

I used the Cottage Cutz lawn mower cuz, well, how could I not for these pics!?? I used the grass from the pumpkin scarecrows and you can see I "trimmed" the grass behind the mower. Hee hee!

For my subtitle, I used one of the flags from the plain pennant die. The top of the flagpole is the dot for the 'i' that I didn't use with the letter.

And the main title banner is done using both the plain pennant and the pinking pennant dies. These are both must-haves for layering. Super cute! I popped the letters with foam tape, and added tiny buttons to the twine for even more dimension.

These pennants have endless possibilties. Great for party invites, thank you cards, birthday or any celebratory occasion. How cute would it be to make a mini banner for a bake sale table at church, or lemonade stand in the summer...endless. :)

Thanks for coming by today. I hope you'll be inspired to create a fun banner for one of your projects this week!

Birthday Wishes

Good morning CottageCutz followers, I hope the weather is better where you are than here in Utah. It's been cloudy and rainy since Monday. Today I'm featuring two dies from the Birthday release: the Happy Birthday Phrase and the Presents, Variety, both are 4x4 dies.

I inked the edges and used some foam tape to pop out the Happy Birthday from the busy background and used some Glossy Accents on the presents bow.

The picture below just shows you the pieces you get from this die. They are all individual so you can put it together any way you want it. I love the versatility of these dies!


Have a great day and don't forget our May challenge for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Scrapping Cottage!

Kay

Make A Wish Matchbook Card

 Make A Wish, again and again until you get what you want!. If it only worked that way!. This weeks card is made like a giant matchbook. I used two of the Cottage Cutz Party collection dies. The Cottage Cutz Candle and Celebration die. The candles were cut in light pink card stock and highlighted in bright pink ink, in the embossed stripes on the candles I filled in with a white gel pen. The stars and confetti are from the celebrate die.

 The inside of the card looks like a matchbook that all the matches have been used.  (my guess is it took all the matches and candles to get that wish). In lower fold of the card I cut two strips of brown card stock and cut slits about half way down, the torn edge looks like torn matches (torn at different levels). I added another candle and more confetti on the inside of the matchbook along with the finished verse.

 Bad photo. . sorry, but was trying to show you a side view of the folds in the matchbook.

The size card stock on the matchbook card is 4" x 9 1/4" base with score lines on 4", 4 1/4", 8 5/8" and 8 3/4". Just remember when you glue the lip over the matches, to leave enough room for the matchbox to catch under the lip when closed. 

Thanks Barry

Happy Monday Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Spring is still trying to make it's presence known here in New England.  Rain is expected most of the week. Darn!  Oh well, something to look forward too.

For today's card I used the Cottage Cutz Funny Flowers die by Peachy Keen.  The die comes with 7 clear stamps.  I used white cardstock to cut the flower pieces and colored them with copics.  The background paper is from The Girls Paperie.  Finished card is 5 1/2 by 5 1/2.
Don't forget to participate in our new challenge for a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to The Scrapping Cottage!  Have a great day!
Hugs and smiles,Janice

Cottage Blog Challenge #1

Hello Cottage Cutz Fans!Today we are excited to start our first challenge!  We will start a new challenge the 2nd Saturday of each month.  I am the host for this month's challenge and I chose to use a photo for inspiration.  I think this photo is so pretty! When I started making my card, I really struggled with it.  I thought, great, I chose the photo and now I am  feeling really challenged.  I was inspired by the colors in the photo.  How does it inspire you?  Is it a feeling it evokes in you?  Are you drawn to the actual image, or the colors?  For this challenge you are to create a card, layout, or whatever your inspiration leads you to create.  It will be fun to see how each person interprets the challenge.

Here is my card and the projects of the other designers that were able to participate.

Here is Shar's beautiful card!

Play along for your chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to spend at The Scrapping Cottage store.  To qualify for a chance to win you must use a Cottage Cutz die or dies in your project.  Please use Mr. Linky to link to your project post, not just your blog.  Most importantly, have FUN!!Hugs and smiles, Janice