Fun with the new Halloween Dies!!

As soon as my new Halloween Cottage Cutz dies arrived in my mailbox, I couldn't wait to get them open so I could start playing!! I just LOVE Halloween products! Every year they just keep getting cuter and cuter and this year is no exception. Something I always enjoy is figuring out how to re-purpose my dies so that I am able to get more use out of them. As soon as I saw the Halloween Cottage Cutz release, I immediately identified several dies that would look GREAT on some Disney layouts!

My layout for today of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World. It is actually a two-page layout, so you have to keep checking back for when I post the second page ;)

I thought the Cottage Cutz Candelabra would make a great and maybe unexpected addition to a Disney Haunted Mansion page! Remember during the ride where you see the floating candelabra?! I also used my silhouette to cut out my title from the font Old English which is equivalent to the QK Haunted alpha. I wanted to make sure that my layout looked spooky without looking Halloweeny.

Be sure to check back later for my second page - lets just say, you might see the Cottage Cutz Haunted House because what would a Haunted Mansion layout be without a haunted mansion embellishment!!

WATCH FOR IT WEDNESDAY #28

Things are getting a little "STICKY" around here.....

Today I wanted to talk about adhesives. I'm always asked "what is your favorite kind of adhesive?" My answer is that there is no one adhesive that is great for everything.

These are the adhesives I like the best and why:

Scotch ATG714 - This is a big adhesive gun but you know what? It's easy to use and I love how it applies adhesive quickly and easy and hold larger rolls of adhesive. You can get regular or acid-free refills.

I use this for adhering my photos to cardstock and all of my bigger jobs.

The Glue Glider Pro is very similar, but came out after I bought my Scotch ATG. This gun is cheaper but the refills are a bit more expensive.

The next adhesive is my Hermafix dispensers. One is the square tabs and the other is tiny dots. These are great for adhering the medium to small items that the ATG is too big for. I also like to cut the squares and apply them to larger letters etc.

Then there is Glue Dots - these are great for buttons, flowers, ribbons, gems and trinkets. They stick super well and are tiny enough for all your little objects.

The last two are the Tombow Mono Adhesives. The purple label is great for metal objects. I use this on the back side of ribbon, metallic cardstock and findings.

The blue label is a life-saver for my diecuts. It has two tips and I always use the small tip as pictured below. This is great for applying diecut letters & putting diecuts together. I use this glue every time I scrap and wouldn't ever want to be without it. It dries clear and lasts for a long time. The only time I ever have problems with this clogging is if I've left the cap off for a long time. If this happens I simply stick a pin down there and it clears out quickly.

Close up of Tombow Mono Adhesive and Glue Dots.

The adhesives I've shown above are very similar to other products on the market, these just happen to be the ones I've used and like the best. I take ease of use and cost when I consider an adhesive. I don't recommend glue sticks because they lose their stickiness after a few years and then your projects start falling apart. I avoid them completely from experience.

Happy Halloween Window

I love Halloween! It's such a fun time of the year for parties, decorations, crafts and fun food.

I took the CottageCutz Window w/canopy and transformed it into a Halloween window for my card.

I cut out my window in black and purple and layered them for dimension. I shaded around the purple layer. I backed it with some gray cardstock and added some little window markings with my black Zig pen. I also used the pumpkin from the Quickutz Cornacopia die and the ghost die. The little ghost is from the Treat bag die.

I love to add mounting tape to my diecuts to add dimension. The first picture shows the dimension of the card. (I was having difficulties getting the picture where I wanted it to be this morning.....)

Sizzix Decorative Strips

It's the time of year to start thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Wow, this year has gone by fast! :) Today's card features one of my favorite
Sizzix Decorative Strips. I've always loved to use ric-rac on my cards and this one
has a "faux" ric rac plus two other great designs. You won't have to stress about not having the right shade of ric rac with this die. :) Be sure to check out all
the Sizzix products at Scrapping Cottage.

New Autumn Cottage Cutz Dies!!!!!!!

The latest release of Cottage Cutz Dies is now available for pre-order!!! Don't miss out on your chance to save up to 25% with introductory pricing good through Sept 28th!! Plus, with any order from the new Autumn Cottage Cutz dies, you get your choice of one of the adorable new Cottage Cutz Autumn Minis! Don't delay!!

TRIKING ALONG

It has been a little while since I last posted a project to the Cottage Blog, and I am very excited to be able to share my work with you all once again.

Today I would like to share a 12x12 page layout I did of my son Jacob playing in our back yard. He just loves this Trike his daddy bought him at a garage sale a few months ago, and would love it even more If only his little legs would actually reach the peddles.


For my layout I have used the following dies:-
COTTAGECUTZ TRIKE SC-CC4x4-042,
COTTAGECUTZ LAMP POST SC-CC4x4-023,
COTTAGECUTZ TREEHOUSE SC-CC4x4-041,
QUICKUTZ SUN RS-0934,
QUICKUTZ SOCCER BALL RS-0140,
QUICKUTZ CLOUDS BORDER DIE CC-BDR-032,
QUICKUTZ PICKET FENCE BORDER DIE CC-BDR-039,

For the smaller font, I used the inside of the QUICKUTZ DISCO 4X8 FONT,
and the larger letters are from the QUICKUTZ BLOSSOM GRAND ALPHABET.




I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink to ink all my dies cuts before assembling them to give them a much nicer 3D look. I have got so used to inking and Love it, as It’s just so quick and easy and the finished product looks Great :-)

Spooky, Kooky, Creepy, and Fun!!

Halloween is the time of ghosts, witches, and

scary black cats. Of spooks and spirits and

silly-fun tricks! And candy corn,

jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses, and bats!

I created this "Halloween" box to sit on our
kitchen table for the season. I will keep it
filled with fun, tasty treats for all of us to
enjoy.

It would have been impossible to make such an

animated piece without the awesome designs of

CottageCutz and some fun QuicKutz shapes.

CottageCutz

Build-a-Jack

Broomstick

Ghost

Bat

Witch Hat

Spooky Tree

Black Cat

Ghost with Legs

Quickutz

House and Tree

Spooky Scroll

Halloween

Ghouls Rule :)

Ever since The Scrapping Cottage previewed the Sept. Halloween Cottage Cutz release, I have been chopping at the bit to get my hands on these adorable Halloween dies!! Finally, I just couldn't wait any longer to make a Halloween layout. (I know, it is only Sept - what can I say - I love scrapping Halloween pics!!!) So, as I was thumbing through my Cottage Cutz dies looking for some inspiration, it hit me - how about a Haunted Tree House!! So I went about turning the already adorable Tree House Cottage Cutz die into a spooky Haunted Tree House.
I had so much fun putting this tree house together! And everything you see came from the Tree House die except the little ghost swinging on the tire swing. He comes with the Haunted House die from the Sept Halloween release. It is hard to tell, but I actually painted my little ghost with glow-in-the-dark paint! I can't wait to see if it really works!!

If you haven't already purchased your Cottage Cutz Halloween dies yet, you had better get your order in fast!! Well over half of the first shipment has already sold out so you want to be sure to get your name on the waiting list for the second round!!

Happy Haunting :)

Watch for it Wednesday #27

This week's Watch for it Wednesday features...

Tissue Paper!!!

Tissue paper can be a very valuable asset to

every scrapbooker! It is a wonderful and

inexpensive way to highlight, enhance, and

give dimension to all of your paper crafting

projects!! There are a multitude of colors to

choose from as well!! Today I chose to use a

scrap of white tissue paper, as well as, a

scrap of white cardstock.

First, I ran the white cardstock through my die
cutting machine to create a die of this sweet
little ghost. After that I took the piece of tissue
paper and crumpled it up into a ball to give
it a wrinkled look. I smoothed it out, just a
little, and ran it through my machine.



I lined the die cut tissue paper up with the die cut
cardstock and glued it on. After, I took a few more
scraps of the tissue paper and crumpled them up.
I then smoothed them out, ever so slightly, and
glued them onto the ghost. The tissue paper adds
dimension and also gives the ghost more of a
flowing, transparent look.

Fun, Fun Fun!!!

Check back on Friday to see
how I used this little guy!!

Anyone Having a Bird-day today?

Today's card is made from the CottageCutz Tropical Bird #1 which is a 3x3 die. I really wanted to create a card with this cute bird that you could give a guy. I Googled tropical birds and was amazed at how many different colors real tropical birds come in. I found one that was this gorgeous blue and tried to copy it.

I added 2 extra tail feathers and some gems for the eyes to give him a different look than the sample picture on the die. Remember to think outside the box when it comes to using your dies.

I placed some mounting tape on a few tropical leaves to give him some dimension.

I'm anxious to make a girly card next with this cute little bird.

CottageCutz Penquin

I have a fun card for you today using the CottageCutz Penguin. He is a super easy one to cut out and put together. On this card there are a couple of different patterned papers plus black and white cardstock. There is a little zig zag stitching
at the top and bottom. The letters are foam thickers by American Crafts and I used
some circle punches for the "snowballs." Just think of all the fun things you could do with the CottageCutz Penquin! :) Be sure to check out all the great CottageCutz dies at Scrapping Cottage.

Wild About You!

CottageCutz are incredible!!

Everytime that I work on a layout,

I look through my stash of

these awesome dies and I always

find the greatest addition to

all of my pages.

From hibiscus flowers and wishing wells

to pelicans and ghosts with legs.....

CottageCutz bloom wherever they are planted!

Spooky News

For all those that pre-ordered the awesome Halloween CottageCutz dies they are starting to ship!

Mad Tea Party with the Scrapping Cottage Exclusive Die

As soon as Scrapping Cottage released this Exclusive Tea Set Die, I snatched it right up. I just knew there were going to be so many opportunities to use all the different parts of this die in my future scrapping. Princess tea parties...heritage layouts...wedding showers...the list goes on!!

When I started working on my Disney World pictures of the Tea Cups ride, I immediately thought of using this Tea Set. I don't use a lot of stickers because I like to be able to coordinate my die cut embellishments to my pictures and papers. However, I have purchased some of the Disney character stickers and so forth for my Disney pages. But the teacups sticker that came with the Mad Hatter package of Disney stickers was cute but way too small for a layout. So, by using the cup and saucer from the Tea Set die, I was able to recreate the stacked cups sticker in a much larger and perfectly color-coordinated form.

I also used my Silhouette to cut the Spinning in the Teacups title as well as one of the 12" Wave Borders to create the spinning trail coming off of the title.

Last Day for Cottage Cutz Special Sale!!!

WATCH FOR IT WEDNESDAY #26

Ink Chart

I created this ink chart a few years ago and I am amazed at how often I reach for this.

I have one for all my inks, but today I'm just going to show you the one for my Distress Inks.

I simply type up a list of the colors I have (or plan on getting) and then stamp the color right next to it's name for easy reference. I do a lot of shading on my patterned papers and diecuts and like to match the color as close as I can.

I just place the ink chart up to my paper and see what color or colors match the best.

I have found that the color on the pad or the top of the box isn't always an accurate match to the actual stamped color.

I also like to label my distress inks so I can easily see what color I'm reaching for. I always store them upside down too to keep the ink at the surface.

Get Well "Well" Card

CottageCutz Wishing Well

The moment I saw this die I knew what I wanted to do with it. This is the perfect die to make Get Well & Best Wishes cards with.

For this card I cut out my pieces from cardstock and then used my Copic Caio markers to color them. I used a darker brown to outline the marks in the wooden roof and made some of my own details, then colored the whole piece with a lighter brown. For the brick part of the well I used a Copic to outline and then applied a little white ink shading to the side. I wanted some flowers in my pail so I punched out two circles and shaped them to look like flowers. I wanted the well to stand out a bit so I mounted it with mounting tape on top of a cardstock panel I ran through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder.

These CottageCutz dies are so original and fun to work with. I can't wait to work with the upcoming Halloween dies! There are some spooky things ahead....

CottageCutz Chicken

Have a fun card for you this week using the CottageCutz Chicken die. I did some shading with chalks, used some foam tape on the wing, and added a small black brad for the eye. The papers are by Anna Griffin and the sentiment was computer generated. I thought using the leopard print
with this die gave it a fresh and funky look. :) Be sure to check out all the
unique CottageCutz dies at Scrapping Cottage.

Baby, it's cold out there!

As promised, here is the entire layout I mentioned on my post from yesterday. You can see the little overlay strip of ladybugs that I decorated with the stickles. When I added the piece of cream cardstock onto my layout, I felt like it was sort of boring. So I pulled out one of my Embossing folders to liven it up a bit. I used the Polka Dots folder to coordinate with the other dots on the layout. These are so easy to use and can really add a fun element to your pages and cards. Be sure to check them out!

Watch for it Wednesdays!! #25

I love that so many manufacturers provide such fun embellishments to coordinate with their paper lines. It makes it so easy to add some extra elements to your pages when someone else has done the "matching" for you. Recently, I purchased some cute overlays. The designs were really cute but I wanted to add a little something extra.

My tip for this week is how to dress up your overlays. For these little ladybugs, I wanted to add a little extra bling. So I flipped over the overlay and added black stickles to the head and red stickles on the back to color the spots. You don't have to worry about trying to get the stickles to stay inside those tiny little ladybug spots because the extra won't show through on the front. Once the stickles are dry, flip your overlay over and look how cute these little bugs are now! You could also use your Copic markers to add some color to your overlays as well.

Come back tomorrow to see the rest of this layout!! :)

We're HALF Way There and a Red Hibiscus!

This is so neat to see our followers increase daily. Thank you to all those who have chosen to be followers of the Cottage Blog and hope you enjoy it here! We have 250 more followers to go and we can draw a winner for a $250 shopping spree here at the Scrapping Cottage.

Today I'm featuring the CottageCutz Large Hibiscus. There is so much you can do with flowers, especially this famous tropical Hibiscus. I chose to make mine red because growing up in Southern California we had neighbor who lined their fence with these and they grew over supplying us with these beautiful red flowers. I remember taking my teacher a few of these on more than one occasion.
I shaded my flower with ink and applied some yellow Stickles to the top of the center.

I think anyone would appreciate a cheery Get Well Card like this. Other card ideas would be:

Birthday, Thank You, Aloha, Vacation Wishes, Wedding etc.

Think Outside The Cage

As you know from previous posts, I have a thing for butterflies and frogs. :) I also love bird and bird related things. I was super excited when the new
CottageCutz Tropical Bird dies were released. :) Today's card is a fun one
using the CottageCutz Tropical Bird 2 and
CottageCutz BirdCage. Be sure to check out all the great CottageCutz dies and
other products at Scrapping Cottage.

Fall is in the Air

I know it is still August and not a single leaf has

fallen from any tree but there is a definite sense

that it is almost fall.

Children are going back to school,

Department stores are filled with long-sleeved shirts,

There is a brisk, quiet breeze,

and a feeling of excited anticipation for a welcome change.

I love the fall....in fact I love every season. I am
always ready for the next glorious season to arrive.


Not only do I derive great pleasure from God's beautiful
transformation, I am also overjoyed by the realization that
with each delightful month that passes, there will be a new
CottageCutz release!!!


I wait in excited expectancy for the incredible
fall release that will shortly be upon us!