Have yourself a Moo-ey Little Christmas!

I just love this little Cottage Cutz Calf die from the Autumn release! He is the perfect size to use on cards or layouts. Since I figured it was a no-brainer that this guy is a fabulous addition to any kind of farm-related layouts or other projects, I decided to come up with something a little different for my post today.

I thought he would be the perfect addition to an otherwise traditional looking Christmas card. You know - kind of catch people of guard and have a little fun while you're at it!

I hope this card gets you inspired to try to something fun and different with your Cottage Cutz dies! They are truly perfect for any occasion!! :)

WATCH FOR IT WEDNESDAY #35

Today's tip is faux stitching. I don't know about you but I love the look of stitching on my cards and layouts but I've got to admit I'm not much into sewing these days. Faux stitching looks like you stitched on your project when you really didn't.

You just simply poke small holes and connect the lines with a pen.

As you can see below I poked holes into my cardstock and used a white gel pen for one side and a black pen for the other.

You can use a paper piercer or a push pin to make your holes. Make sure you have something underneath that you can poke into. You can do it free hand or use a ruler, make straight lines or wavy, the sky is the limit to your design and color of stitches.

Here is my finished card. Just like my real sewing I have a few crooked lines because I chose to do it free hand rather than use a ruler.


CottageCutz Country Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving with the CottageCutz Turkey

I'm so glad the Scrapping Cottage decided to put out a realistic detailed turkey. You can make your Thanksgiving turkey in a variety of colors to match your patterned papers.

Whether your wishing someone a Happy Thanksgiving, making placecards for your table or doing a layout after the big day this CottageCutz turkey is sure to please.

BASKET OF PUMPKINS

PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK THERE ARE PUMPKINS.............

A TRUCK FULL OF PUMPKINS AND BASKETS OF PUMPKINS TOO!!!!

WE MUST BE AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!

I AM A FAN OF FALL COLORS AND THE COTTAGECUTZ AUTUMN DIES ARE THE BEST PART OF MY LAYOUT. I USED THE PUMPKIN PATCH SIGN, the TRUCK WITH HAY, THE TRUCK ACCESSORIES and the BASKET OF APPLES. But...I filled the Basket with pumpkins from the PUMPKIN PATCH SIGN!

Happy Fall!

Autumn is a second spring

when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

I found this adorable little orange
crate-a dear leftover from Halloween!
I thought it would be fun to embellish
it with some sweet CottageCutz!



CottageCutz
Harvest Frame
Build a Jack


Have a beautiful weekend!

Silly Scarecrow

The Cottage Cutz Autumn release has so many fabulous dies to add to your papercrafting projects. One of my favorites from this release is the Cottage Cutz Scarecrow Die!! It comes with so many different pieces and ad-ons that enable you to make the Scarecrow in a variety of different ways! It is the perfect addition to any Fall layout.

I had so much fun creating my scarecrow for this layout! I wanted him to resemble the scarecrow in the picture, but not match it exactly. I couldn't decide what color cardstock to use for his pole so I decided to mount him onto a Popsicle stick. (Well, actually, it is a rub-on tool I had laying on my scrapbook table). This method allowed me to really pop the Scarecrow off the page and also add a fun new element to the overall layout. Instead of using the cardstock cut-outs of his arm ties, I used real thread to tie around the Scarecrows arms. Here again, another easy way to add some extra texture to your die cuts.

On a side note, for today's layout, I used one of the new November sketches from Pagemaps. Sketches are a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Some sketches may have all the elements you want and your layouts can closely resemble the original sketches. Other times, sketches can be a great starting point as you let your own vision take your layout in a totally different direction. Either way, they can be a fun tool to use with your scrapbooking.

God Bless our Troops, our Veterans and

all who gave their lives for our freedom.

WATCH FOR IT WEDNESDAY #34

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!! My name is Ann and this is my first Watch for it Wednesday! I am the newest member of the Scrapping Cottage Design Team. I am so excited and honor to be a part of this fun and talented team. I have been making scrapbooks, cards and other project for the past 13 years. It is not only a hobby of mine, I have also become a collector of scrapbook items. I think there is some scrapbook items in every room of my house. One of my best friends got me hooked on collecting Quickutz and now CottageCutz.

For this project, I used Rangers Glossy Accents. It is a 3-dimensional clear gloss. I cut several different sizes of stars with the Quickutz cookie cutter die. I outlined the bigger stars with

the Glossy accents

and with the smaller stars, I let the gloss pour out of the bottle as I spread it around the star with the tip of the bottle. Drying time will vary depending on the amount of product applied ranging from 15-60 minute.

You can also you this product to give your CottageCutz a shine and even put it directly on your scrapbook paper.

Just Chicken In

When I saw this saying in a stamp catalog I thought it was pretty clever, and this

CottageCutz Country Hen and Nest go perfect with this saying. There are times when you haven't heard from a friend for awhile or you want to send someone you know a get well card. On this die you can chose a sitting or standing hen with a wrap or headband or like I did and just used the comb.

Some other chicken sayings that are going in to my sentiment book are:

Heard you flew the coop

Now That's Eggsciting

Best of Cluck!

You're no Spring Chicken

THE FARM

There is nothing more enjoyable then going to the Farm with my little grandsons. They are growing so fast and the CottageCutz Autumn release is perfect for this memory.

The CottageCutz dies are so easy to use, they gave my layout a great look.

I used the CottageCutz Chicken Coop, the Fence,

the Chicken Family and Crows.

WINTER WONDERLAND COTTAGE CUTZ RELEASE

And what a wonderful site these new Winter Cottage Cutz shapes are!! Order now to take advantage of pre-order discounts!!

Just Because...

I made a card using the COTTAGECUTZ WITCH ON BROOM DIE SC-CC4x4-082-D. I have tried to show how versatile this die can be, by changing the witches appearance and turning her into a Fairy. I replaced the witches hat and used the QUICKUTZ ROSE BUD DIE KS-0451 for her head dress. For her wings in used the COTTAGECUTZ BEE DIE SC-CC3x3-001 that I cut from transparent velum paper, and she is sitting on the tree trunk from the COTTAGECUTZ RACOON & TREE TRUNK DIE SC-CC4x4-014. The fence in the background is made from the latest COTTAGECUTZ FARM FENCE DIE CC3x3-023.
The mice are from the QUICKUTZ EXCLUSIVE PRINCESS CARRIAGE DIE, and I have also used the QUICKUTZ MUSHROOMS DOUBLE KS DIE, and the QUICKUTZ STRAWBERRY DIE KS-0110.

Autumn Splendor

This week I have been really paying

great attention to all of the changing

colors and to the wonderful signs of fall.

I was inspired to create a fall border for
some pictures I took of my children playing
in a pile of colorful leaves on our front lawn!


CottageCutz
Raking the Leaves

School Days Mini Album

I think the new Quickutz Santa's Workshop Gift Set is so fun!! When I first saw it, I was afraid that the albums were going to be too small. Boy was I wrong!! They are perfectly sized for quick and easy mini albums!!

The Peppermint Album is a really nice size! The pages are 3.75 inches wide and 5.5 inches tall. I chose it to use to create my School Days album. I have created a two-page spread for every grade Kindergarten through Senior Year of High School. Now, all I will have to do each year is pop in the new photos and add a few notes and that's it!

I can't wait to see how my daughter changes over the years. I think this is going to be such a fun mini album and so easy to keep current because the album is already finished! I just have to add the updates each year. Anything I can do to make myself feel "up to date" is great!! ;)

I used Imaginesce papers and some other Quickutz dies to embellish the pages and book cover. The little page tab is one of the extra cookie cutter dies that comes in the new Gift Set. How cute is that!! I love it! Lots of other fun little surprises in the Gift Set so be sure to check them out at the Scrapping Cottage! Quantities are limited and once they're gone - they're gone!! So you don't want to miss out!

Watch for it Wednesday #33!!

Hearts of Thankfulness

Our family has a very meaningful

and memorable tradition that

we follow every November and I

wanted to share it with all of you.

Every November I brighten our home
with festive harvest decorations and
we focus on the character quality of
Thankfulness.



I created a special container that I leave on
our kitchen table for the whole month. In
front of "Our Thankfulness" canister I
leave a pile of colorful notecards that I
made out of bazzill paper with inked edges!


Anytime that a member of our family or
any visitor to our home desires, they have
a wonderful opportunity to write down
a few things that they are thankful for. On
Thanksgiving Day, all of the precious notes
are read and our family is dearly blessed
to see all that we have and all that we are
grateful for. It brings the true meaning of
Thanksgiving to light and helps us to
appreciate all that we have been blessed with.


You can use a variety of containers to create a
thankfulness box. I chose to use a Quaker Oats
oatmeal container. I just decorated it with festive
paper and a few beautiful CottageCutz harvest
dies. My family and I have a lovely place to share
our love and gratitude for many years to come!


CottageCutz
Acorn Embellishment
Mini Leaf
Mini Acorn

Happy Fall Y'all

When I saw Rochelle post her Crow tag last week I thought "oh, now I've got to wait to post mine". I decided that since my card had the message "Happy Fall Y'all" on it I'd better post it anyway since fall is quickly approaching winter here in Utah where we had snow last week.
Fortunately this week is supposed to me more fall like again.
These CottageCutz crows are so cute and like Rochelle mentioned last week they go together so quickly. I thought it would be fun to mount them on top of the Quickutz Scarecrow for a smile.

I added a little bit of Black Diamond Stickles to the indent marks to highlight them a bit.
I love fall and I'm excited to work with these wonderful Autumn CottageCutz dies this month.

Be sure to check them out at the Scrapping Cottage.

TRICK OR TREAT!!

Halloween has come and gone but I can continue to enjoy the memories and all of the fun while I scrapbook my pictures with my CottageCutz Halloween Dies.

This layout is last years pictures of my two darling grandsons. Luckily for me , I waited to scrapbook the page, so I could use my Halloween CottageCutz dies to embellish my page.

For this layout I used CottageCutz dies Trick or Treat, the Witch Legs, one of the pumpkins from Build-a-Jack and the cauldron from the Witch with the Cauldron.

If you look closely at the witches potion in the cauldron and the fire you will see it has a three dimensional cracked finish. To get this effect, I used Ranger's Crackle Accents. I also applied it to the buckle on the witch shoes and on the stars in the title Trick or Treat! It's a great way to accent your CottageCutz Dies!!!

Firstly I would like to start off by wishing our Blog readers a ‘TERROR’IFIC AND ‘SPOOK’TACULAR HALLOWEEN.


Being Halloween today, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use my CottageCutz Halloween dies again. I decided to do another Halloween layout this week, but I didn’t want to try cram everything into one page, so decided to spread it out over a 2 page layout.


For this layout I used the following COTTAGECUTZ DIES:-
COTTAGECUTZ Witch On Broom CC4x4-082-D,
COTTAGECUTZ Haunted House CC4x4-074-T,
COTTAGECUTZ Spider from Witch Hat CC3x3-017,
COTTAGECUTZ Skull MINI,


I also used the following QUICKUTZ DIES:-
QUICKUTZ Snake QK-E-0761,
(The Scrapping Cottage has a very limited number of these never released SNAKE QK-E-0761 & LIZARD QK-E-0760 dies for sale in their store for only $7.99 each OR $12.95 for BOTH, and that includes a free CottageCutz MINI die of your choice. Have a look at THE SCRAPPING COTTAGE for these great bargains - They would make a great addition to your Quickutz collection.)
QUICKUTZ City Skyline Border die CC-BDR-040,
QUICKUTZ Suburban Skyline Border die CC-BDR-038,
QUICKUTZ Fence Border die CC-BDR-041,
QUICKUTZ Bats REV-0241-D,
QUICKUTZ Sign RS-0265,
QUICKUTZ Broom RS-0578,
QUICKUTZ Trick-or-Treat pumpkin KS-0885,
QUICKUTZ Cauldron KS-0577,
QUICKUTZ Witch RS-0184,
QUICKUTZ Spider web C-0088-S-REV,
QUICKUTZ Haunted Mini Alphabet Set 4x8-HAUNTED-M,